Help with Itinerary!

[danielletc]

Hey everyone,

I know it's super early but I am planning a trip to Europe from May 17 to August 1, 2013. I was wondering if you all can look over my itinerary and let me know if it looks good or if I should add or take away cities. Any advice on where to stay, what to see, restaurants, etc would be very much appreciated.

Before I begin, I would just like to give you some quick information regarding my trip. I will be backpacking solo. My budget is $9,000 and I will be staying in hostels. I have been to Italy numerous times, and I have even lived there so I will be omitting that from this trip so that I can see more places. I like cities but it is also very important for me to see the countryside as well; the best of both worlds. It will be my first time travelling to all of these places except for France (I have visited Paris, Loire Valley) and Monaco, so of course I want to see all of the main attractions, however, I also love to get a feel for the culture wherever I go. I would prefer to dine with the locals instead of the tourists so when recommending restaurants, please keep that in mind. Here is my mock itinerary in the order in which I will travel....

May 17- depart NY
May 18- arrive London
London - 7 days
Paris - 3 days
Bordeaux and wine country - 3 days...if anyone can recommend vineyards to visit
Seville - 3 days
Barcelona - 4 days
Aix-en-Provence - 2 days
Annecy - 2 days
Heidelberg - 2 days
Rothenburg ob der Tauber - 1 day
Fussen - 1 day
Munich - 3 days
Salzburg - 1 day
Croatia - 3 days ...I would like to be on a beautiful beach here and unwind, if people can please recommend a beautiful beach with breathtaking views, warm crystal blue waters
Montenegro - 2 days...if someone can recommend a place to go here as well
Greece - 7 days...not sure where I want to go aside from Athens and Santorini..more recommendations of islands would be great
Vienna - 2 days
Prague - 2 days
Berlin - 2 days
Luxembourg - 2 days
Amsterdam - 2 days
Brussels - 2 days
York- 3 days
Edinbourg- 2 days
Loch Lomond - 1 day
Dublin - 2 days
Killarney ( or Dingle, haven't decided). - 2 days
Then back to America

I left about a week free incase I wanted to spend more time in a city. Please give me insight into this itinerary and please give me recommendations of islands to visit in Greece, amazing beach in Croatia, and something to do in Montenegro.

Thank you,
Daniella

[Eagle]

danielletc,

First of all, welcome to the Boards! I have a few initial comments to offer.

It's great that you're getting an early start on the planning. That will allow you to get all the arrangements "ironed out" and hopefully your trip will go smoothly.

One of the points that stands out with your proposed Itinerary is the number of one and two-night stops. With Itinerary planning, it's extremely important to allow adequate travel times. In many cases, one-night stops actually only allow a few hours in a particular location so they may not be worth the effort to get there.

One good example is the trip from Rothenburg to Füssen. Travel by train will be about five hours with three changes. Rothenburg is on a "spur" line so you'll need to get to Steinach before you can connect with other trains. By the time you check out of your Hotel, get to the station, wait for the train, get from the station to your new Hotel, get checked-in, etc., that's the better part of a day.

My suggestion would be to add a day in Munich and take a day trip to Füssen (I'm assuming you want to see the Castles?). You can do the trip to the Castles on your own (but you'll have to make reservations) or take a day trip with www.radiusmunich.com. That's what I did, and they take care of all the arrangements.

Regarding Greek Islands, you may find it very helpful to have a look at www.greecetravel.com, which is an excellent resource for planning trips there. In addition to Santorini, you might consider a visit to Naxos since in they're both in the same "group" of islands and Ferry connections are easy. Leave Santorini until the end, as it has an airport, so it will be easy to get flights to Vienna. I'd recommend Aegean Air, as they're a real "class act". You'll probably have to make a connection in Athens though.

Croatia and Montenegro may be "problematic" as the transportation isn't as well developed there, so it will be harder to get around there and will require lots of time for travel. While there are some budget flights available in Dubrovnik, they tend to be seasonal so you'd have to determine if any are available at the time you plan to be there. If flights aren't available, getting out of Dubrovnik involves a Bus to Split (about 4 hours), where you'll be able to connect with the trains. Check www.whichbudget.com for flight availability. Ferries will also take time, and sometimes only run once a day.

That's about all I can think of at the moment. My overall impression is that skipping a few of the locations you listed might be a good idea, to structure the Itinerary in a more "relaxed" fashion. However, I'd have to sit down and spend some time working on details, but hopefully the others will have some suggestions (calling MadamTrashheap!).

Good luck with your planning!