Eurotrip France-Spain-Portugal

[cooldsunshine]

Hi everyone!!

So I'm traveling alone from July 5 to August 14.

This is my itinerary :

- Day 1 : Fly to Paris and train to Lyon
- Day 2 : Lyon
- Day 3 : Train to Nice
- Day 4 : Nice
- Day 5 : Train to Marseille
- Day 6 : Marseille
- Day 7 : Train to Toulouse
- Day 8 : Toulouse
- Day 9 : Train to Barcelona
- Day 10 : Barcelona
- Day 11 : Barcelona
- Day 12 : Train to Madrid
- Day 13 : Madrid
- Day 14: Madrid
- Day 15 : Train to Granada
- Day 16 : Granada
- Day 18 : Train to Seville
- Day 19 : Seville
- Day 20 : Train/bus to Lagos, Portugal
- Day 21 : Lagos
- Day 22 : Lagos
- Day 23 : Train to Lisbon
- Day 24 : Lisbon
- Day 25 : Lisbon
- Day 26 : Fly back to Paris
- Day 27 : Paris
- Day 28 to 39 :
- Day 40 : Fly to Montreal

So as you noticed I purposely left out 10 days to spend in the cities I'm visiting or in other cities that I haven't heard of yet.

I was thinking of taking a detour to Amsterdam, but I want to leave from for spontaneity and freedom, and if I add Amsterdam, I feel like I'm just gonna rush from one place to the other.

I'm traveling solo, so obviously I want to meet a lot of other travelers. What do you of my itinerary for this? Did I choose a good route for that or am I gonna be missing out ?

I want nice scenery, culture (not just churches and museums!) and nice parties (maybe not of the drunken frat house type )

Also, any advices for a solo traveler? Hostels?

Thanks a ton!!
Coold

[Eagle]

cooldsunshine,

Welcome to GFE! I have a few thoughts to offer.

Your Itinerary looks reasonably well organized, however there are too many short visits for my preference. For example....

> Lyon - my preference would be to skip Lyon and spend the time in Nice, which is a good "home base" for visiting other places in the area such as Eze, Villefranche or Monaco / Monte Carlo.

> Marseille - I'd skip that entirely unless there's a specific reason for stopping there

> Toulouse - is there a reason you chose that?

> Barcelona - you might want to add a day or so, as there's lots to see there. BE CAREFUL though, as Barcelona has a well deserved reputation for pickpockets and scammers. Wear a Money Belt!

> Madrid, Granada and Seville look good, although I'd suggest adding at least one day to each if possible. If you skip Lyon, Marseille and Toulouse, that should allow some extra time.

> Lagos and Lisbon look good - have you booked a flight from Lisbon to Paris yet?

> I'm not sure you have time for Amsterdam?

Yes, Hostels are a good option especially for solo travellers, PROVIDED you don't have a problem with "communal living" and Dorm rooms. You might find it helpful to get a membership in HI Hostels, as they have properties in the places you'll be visiting. A membership will give you preferred booking and better rates over non-members. I've found that the HI Hostels are well run, the facilities are fairly consistent from one location to the next, and they're not "party Hostels". Of course, if you stay at independent Hostels, the membership won't be of any benefit.

For staying in Hostels, I'd suggest packing a good quality Padlock for Hostel Lockers (nothing too large). DO NOT use the cheap TSA Luggage Locks, as they're simply not strong enough. For staying in Hostels you'll also need a Towel, Soap and possibly some Flip-Flops for the shower. The Micro-Fibre Towels are a good choice as they're light and easy to travel with.

If this is your first trip to Europe, I'd highly recommend reading the Guidebook Europe Through The Back Door prior to your trip. It provides a lot of good information on "how" to travel in Europe. It would also be a good idea to check a few country-specific Guidebooks to plan your sightseeing and transportation in each location.

Are you planning to buy your rail tickets when you arrive in Europe? Note that some trains (ie: TGV in France) have compulsory reservations, which will be included in the cost of tickets. If you're travelling with a Railpass, you'll have to pay separately for the reservations.

July and August are PEAK travel season in Europe, so it's likely going to be hot and crowded. You might want to pre-book at least your first and last nights accommodations (and perhaps others too).

Happy travels!