abmamo

Hi everyone i am just about to graduate college and planning a trip from the US to europe with two of my friends for one month!

We have a list of cities in mind and after looking at the map and some flights here is the idea of where we are planning on going.. not exactly sure on how to get from each place or how many days we should spend in each city just yet. Any advice/changes/recommendations would be greatly appreciated. thanks so much in advance!

fly into London>Amsterdam>Berlin>Prague>Florence>Barcelona> Paris> fly home

artsnletters

These days, flights can be cheaper than the trains. Take a look at whichbudget.com or skyscanner.net to see the possibilities for flying between your destinations. You'll surely want to do that for some of the longer jaunts - Prague-Florence and Florence-Barcelona. For train trips under 6 hours, you'll probably find the train just as fast, given that you don't have to get to the airport, check in, fly, retrieve your luggage (carry-on limits are <i>very</i> low on European airlines) and get from the airport to your hotel. You can get train schedules for all of Europe at bahn.de, the German rail site. There's an overnight bus from Amsterdam to Berlin which you might consider.

What kinds of things do you hope to do on this trip? I'm guessing partying is on the agenda, what with Amsterdam, Berlin, and Barcelona. Anything else?

abmamo

Thanks so much for your reply! Honestly we are looking for a little bit of everything before we have to go back and start our jobs full time. I have only been to Madrid, Seville, and Salamanca for a few weeks but I absolutely loved all of the architecture, museums, and sight seeing. Definitely planning on waking up as early as possible to enjoy all the cities have to offer, but also plan on spending a good amount of time enjoying the night scene as well. I'm a huge foodie but into the historic sites as well, any recommendations you have for must-sees are really appreciated thanks again!

Jean

Whatever the form of transportation, moving around costs money and takes time. You'll lose at least a half day every time you switch cities.

You've done the usual newbie thing of writing down a list of destinations and decided on "a month" without knowing how much time you'll need to see what you want to see everywhere. That's OK, you either see what you can in the time available -or- you figure out the time needed and then decide how many cities you have time for. So far, you've chosen the former.

I suggest you all start reading guidebooks or even perusing the Destination Guides available on Fodors.com. [Click on "Destinations" in the orange banner at the top of every page.] Agree on what everyone wants to see/do everywhere and then think about how much time that will take. If museums make your list, check the open/closed days and hours. Once you know generally what month you're going, check each country for possible national holidays that could impact what's open/closed.

adrienne

With 7 cities in 30 days you have about 3.5 days in each city which is probably enough for Amsterdam, Florence, and Barcelona but not nearly enough for London and Paris which I would suggest need 5 days each for a first visit.

The best thing to do is determine what you want to see in each place and then decide how much time you'll need. You'll have a more accurate itinerary using this method.

<< any recommendations you have for must-sees are really appreciate >>

It's a lot to ask people to type a list of their must sees for 7 cities. Better to come up with an itinerary and then ask for input or ask if there's anything wonderful that you've overlooked.

Robert2533

"but not nearly enough for London and Paris " but of course 3 days is enough for any recent college grad.

Since I don't relate too much with to anyone in their 20's, it's difficult to say which destination I would spend the most time in, but when I was in my 20's, it was Paris, not London.

msteacher

If you haven't purchased plane tix yet, it would make more sense to visit Paris after London. There are very easy train connections (Eurostar) between London, Paris, and Amsterdam.

Prague, Florence, and Barcelona are not really near each other, so this part of your trip is going to eat up a lot of time and money in travel. You may want to consider cities with easier transportation connections, such as Rome, Florence, Venice or perhaps Vienna, Salzburg, Munich. If you are under 26 you should be able to get a discounted rail pass, so train travel will be relatively cheap. Sounds like a wonderful trip. Enjoy!

abmamo

Thank you for everyone's response! Really helpful and appreciate it... Paris is the most important city of the group so I plan on spending at least 5 days there. Unfortunately I start work right away so a month is all I could spend, but I am trying to make the most of it.

I know 7 cities is a little tight and the trip is not as cohesive as it could be. I don't mind flying between cities, but obviously want to be as savvy as possible and minimize travel hopefully. Is there a better starting point that would make more sense? Is there one city that seems more disposable than the others? Thanks again!

abmamo

We were also considering:
Prague>Berlin>Amsterdam>London>Paris> and then possibly fly to Barcelona and then fly to Florence and then go home

RoamEurope

I would start in London, which allows you to get your feet on the ground in an English speaking country and then go Paris-Amsterdam-Berlin-Prague, probably all by train. Then... probably chose between Italy and Spain for the last two stops if you want to cover that many cities. Good luck!

abmamo

For some reason, italy and spain are both so attractive to us.

Venice-(train?)prague(train)-berlin-(train)amsterdam-(train)london-(train)paris-(fly)barcelona

does this seem ok/doable?

IMDonehere

Since you are young and appreciate travel, I would cut down on the number of cities and lean more about the places in which you will stay. You will return. Think of this advice as the difference between a survey course and an advanced class.

abmamo

Thanks. I would definitely like to shorten the list of cities and embrace all the cities have to offer. That is really great advice. Is it totally crazy to cut London from the list?

Venice-prague-berlin-amsterdam-paris-barcelona

artsnletters

I don't think that there's anywhere it's crazy to cut, if that reflects your priorities. There are people who go to Italy and don't see Rome. If other places are more important to them, then that's a good call. Same with you and London. If, of the places you're thinking of, it's the least important, then it's perfectly sane to save it for another trip. You're young - you'll be back.

IMDonehere

London is a rich and wonderful city. You will find in the future there are many connecting flights in Amsterdam and London. We have spent 2 or 3 days in London many times because of that.

Remember you lose between 1/2 and a full day every time you move to a different city.

You will have a great time whatever you do because you have a great attitude.

abmamo

Awesome. Thanks so much for your replies. After doing some research on flights and talking with some other people, we came up with this itinerary. Im tempted to cut one city because its a lot of travel and not a lot of time in each city. But right now it looks pretty good I think.

London>Paris>Amsterdam>Berlin>Prague>Rome>Barcelon a

Any advice/recommendations on this route?

adrienne

The sequence looks fine. Now you need to allocate the number of days to each city and remember to add in travel time between locations.

Travel time does not mean the time the train or plane takes to get from one place to another but also means getting to the train station or airport and back into town at your destination. It means packing, checking out, unpacking and checking in to your next hotel. For train travel, add at least 2 hours to the time the train takes; for airline travel add 3 to 4 hours to the flying time.

abmamo

Thanks so much! Travel days are definitely hectic, so the advice is appreciated and welcome! Would anyone recommend I switch out Rome for Budapest??

jamikins

Completely depends what you are interested in as they are completely different. Much more to see in Rome but we enjoyed three days in Budapest.

abmamo

Thanks for all of your feedback. I am really interested in seeing some countryside as well and Rome seems a little far out of the way. Any advice on this route?

London(3 days)>Paris(3 days)>Amsterdam(3 days)>Berlin(3 days)>Prague(3 days)>Budapest(2 days)>Switzerland(2 days)>Barcelona(3 days)