2 Months in Europe, France, England, Spain, Italy Help!

I can try to help you regarding the Spain portion. First of all I'd definately visit Sevilla as part of your visit to Andalucia. If you want to visit Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid, Granada and Sevilla I think you need more than 14 days in Spain. My personal minimums are Barcelona (4), Valencia (3), Madrid (4), Granada (2) and Sevilla (4) w/a daytrip to Cordoba. This is 17 days and with only 4 days in Barcelona and Madrid it doesn't give you time for any day trips. You could easily spend 21 days in these cities in Spain and not be bored. So I'd add time to Spain. May is also a wonderful time to visit. My other comment is around your comment on loving food. If you really want the ultimate foodie experience I'd head to the Basque Country for a week - spend 3-4 days in San Sebastian then a couple of nights in a smaller coastal village and a couple of nights in Bilbao.

You are going to have a great time! Don't stress so much and just be happy you are getting away. It sounds like you have everything pretty much figured out but, if you can, try and get down to southern Italy (Capri, Amalifi, etc.). The little towns south of Naples (which is not recommended, btw) are BEAUTIFUL. You can take a train right from the main rail station in Rome to Naples, and can head south from there, either by hydrofoil, cab, bus, etc. One place that is amazing is Pompeii, esp if you're into being outside and checking out ancient artifacts. Anyway, that's what I recommend! Good luck!

I would take at least five of your extra days and add them to Italy, specifically the Amalfi Coast. It is gorgeous and romantic.
Plan some day trips from Florence or some time in Tuscany. Siena and Lucca sound like places you would enjoy.

I think your time in Spain is fine. I would visit Sevilla over Valencia and do at least a couple of day trips from Madrid. May is perfect in Granada, so spend a couple of days there - the landscape is lovely.

Other places that come to mind that would work well with your itinerary would be a few days in the Netherlands (Amsterdam) which is lovely in the Spring or Provence.

One good thing is you are not rushing around trying to see a dozen countries in your two months.

I think you have a good plan in general - but on the way to Italy - suggest you try take a couple days from Italy/Spain to visit some of the beautiful Swiss Alps - perhaps staying a couple days around/above Interlaken - where they have beautiful villages (Wengen, Murren, etc) - and hikings in the mountains above and views of the big troika - the Monch, Eiger and Jungfrau.

It's called the Bernese Oberland area - and here are some pics: http://www.google.com/search?q=bernese+oberland&hl=en&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=-ehAT6qKN4KoiQLgseCoAQ&sqi=2&ved=0CEYQsAQ&biw=1253&bih=660

Hi CathyM, thank you so much for your advice! I think I just about have Spain covered now thanks to your help. The suggestion for San Sebastian and Bilbao sounds like a dream! I'm going to map Spain out and talk to my fiancee and I'll update you as soon as I've figured out which one of those cities I've chosen and for how many days, etc. Thank you!

Hi Leia, Capri Almifi and Pompeii, are definitely now on my list of places to go. Thank you so much I honestly would not have guessed. I will update you as soon as I make an updated draft of the trip.

Hi Sassafrass! Honestly, I have been trying to push for Amsterdam and now that you say it is beautiful in the Spring I will try even harder. He is a bit resistant to Amsterdam for some odd reason, but he I think if I make the case for it he will budge. Good to know about valencia/sevilla. I can't believe I forgot about Tuscany! I will look into Siena and Lucca as well. Thank you for your recommendations, I can't wait to look into the cities and update you about Italy! I definitely want to spend time on the Amalfi coast.

Dear Tomsd,
I have heard Switzerland is beautiful in the Spring. I am sure we can spare a couple of days in the Bernese Oberland area. Thank you for the link, it really looks beautiful. I will talk to him and update whether we will stop by or not soon!!

If traveling by train over the OP proposed itinerary then I would think you should look strongly at the Eurail Select Pass, a 3-country pass valid in France, Italy and Spain - if under 26 years old then look at the Youthpass version - use it to cover long train rides between bases - pass is valid over a 2-month period and you use days as you go - once in a base you don't use the pass - pay local fares for cheap short excursions, etc. the railpass would even give a good discount on the overnight ferry between Italy and Spain.

Anyway some great sources IMO for planning a rail journey in those countries - www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com. For schedule I always use the fab www.bahn.de or German Railways web site that has schedules for all European trains and is the easiest one I have used.

Wel, first of all - even trying to keep this budget friendly this is a very extensive and will be a very expensive trip. You said yuo didn;t do it before since you lost all o fyour money. Have you managed to get together $15,000 since then? If not - how are you planning on paying for this trip?

Suggest you get a couple of Let's Go student guides and look at the Thorn Tree section of the Lonely Planet website. This will gie you an idea of rock bottom costs - staying in dorm rooms in hostels and eating picnics with food form markets. (And based on your post - I think you want something upsacel from that - like a private room for the two of you and meals in sit down restaurants.)

(My yonger daughter went with 2 friends last summer - and staying in modest hotels - but with AC in hot countries and private bath - it cost her about $9000 for 6 weeks.) Remember the dollar is low and costs in many places are higher than they are here.

DH (doctor) and I (lawyer) have been where you were! It"s great that you can do this at the beginning of another big journey for the both of you. And I bet you'll have another trip at the end of law schoool and med schoool.

I did a month-long trip after law school, 2 weeks with my mom; then two weeks with DH, who was already in his residency by then.

Your schedule sounds great, and you are including many wonderful places with decent amounts of time in ghe various locations. But you said you like rural areas,too, and I don't see much of that. Also consider taking a vacation from you vacation; and booking 5 days of so at an apartment in a rural area somewhere for some hanging out time. This will also help you to save some restaurant costs. You can still enjoy wonderful local fooods, but you will be buying it at a local market rather than a restaurant. And while 3 nights somewhere may seem fine right now, by the time you get to your 15th 3-night place; you may want a break from moving around.

I second the suggestion of Let's Go Europe - a wealth of great info for travelers like you - I have seen no other guide approach it for younger folk - accommodations coverage is great - Lonely Planet guides only seem to cover a few upscale hotels but Let's Go Europe covers zillions of hostels, youth hotels and B&bs, budget hotels, pensions, etc.

Dear ny traveler,
Thank you for your caution. I am now limiting the dates to be from 4/1-5/17 also I've found flights for 731 each round trip. We want to do couch surfing for most of the trip which would practically eliminate the cost of accommodations. So far I'm looking at spending 1462 on flying tickets also we don't mind eating from the markets. Thank you for the websites you've given me I will use them extensively to figure out a budget friendly vacation. I would hope that we don't need 13000 dollars for transportation within four countries food and sites. That seems a bit much. I think the most we can get together is about half that which is 8000.

Dear Palenq,
Thank you for your support! Now that I've changed the dates do you think I should still schedule a break. Also what do you think the minimum costs would be if we were to travel for one and a half month having already bought tickets for 1462. What do you think the minmimum costs for sites, transportation, and food will be? Also do u recommend treain or flight between countries ? Do you recommend any where in london ?Thank you.

Dear lexma
Thank you. Im really worrying about the budget now since it will be very hard for me to come up with 15000. Please let me know what you think on this matter

the daily costs of food can vary greatly as to whether you eat mainly in restaurants and what type of restaurants - I often picnic from supermarkets which now mainly also have take out deli fare so not just opening a can.

Things like coffees can cost a fortune - $4-5 a cup at a cafe so those expenses can add up

minimum costs would be I think for the average low-budget folk about $100 a day - I spend much less but I think I am the extreme starvation budget traveler - out of necessity and also out of desire - I hate fancy restaurants and love picnicking with a view on a park bench - no restrictions pretty much anywhere sipping wine or beer outside either.

pomparr: "Im really worrying about the budget now since it will be very hard for me to come up with 15000. Please let me know what you think on this matter"

Not to worry, nytraveler's $$$ estimate did not take couch surfing into the mix. (I think nytraveler will admit she isn't a couch surfing sort of girl )

If you are couch surfing or even staying in nice hostels, you'll need a fraction of that amount.

And I, also, can't provide much help on the budget. I will say that going between countries would add to the price of the trip, as will staying in more-expensive cities such as London, even if you're couchsurfing. (You will have to buy some food.)

I'm also not a couchsurfing sort of girl, and I wouldn't have been even back when I did my month-long trip. I would not find it relaxing at all to stay in a stranger's home. (That being said, even now, we aim for family-owned small inns, and B&Bs where it makes sense, so we're not extravagent.)

Train or plane between countries depends on the countries and the distance.

Generally speaking, seems like $8,000 should work for 6 weeks, but I think you'll need to plug in some numbers for transportation to see how much that will eat into your budget. And remember, you can lower the transportation costs by going to fewer countries/cities.

PalenQ janisj and lexma thank you for your advice!

So I just am booking the tickets today from april 1st to may 17th flying into madrid. I was thinking to fly then from madrid to london using ryan air so that we would start in london to paris to italy and end up back in spain where we would leave back to la. Do you have any recommendations as to whether i should do a
spain-london paris italy spain
or
spain italy paris london spain
?
Thank you

In Italy, while you are in the Florence area, take a bus to Siena, a wonderful medieval town. Stay overnight there if you can so you can experience the evening. Also an overnight trip to Cinque Terre would be awesome. This is on the Italian Riviera, but five quaint small towns and relatively non-touristy. They had some major damage from a landslide in October, but they are working to restore everything and mostly already open for business. (Pisa is right on the way!) Rick Steves has a lot of information on Eurail passes in his books -- try Europe Through the Back Door. He also has lots of great ideas for the budget travelers, like when it makes sense to get things like a Roma Pass and such. His website has free downloadable MP3 walking tours of several places in Italy. Your trip sounds wonderful, and you are smart to do this while you are young with few responsibilities! Best wishes for a great adventure.

pomparr: "whether i should do a spain-london paris italy spain
or spain italy paris london spain?"

IMO it really really doesn't make very much difference whether you do a clock wise or counter clockwise loop. Some will say hit Italy first so you'd be in London later and maybe have better weather.

But you can't make any assumptions like that - UK weather is very changeable. It could be nicer in London in May - or not

I'm not sure a eurail pass works out. You are taking at least one internal flight, maybe more, and the Eurostar between London/Paris is not covered by the pass.

Check out individual ticket prices (NOT on the eurail site) to see if Eurail makes sense

If you want to start in London, book a multi-city ticket rather than a round trip. Arrive in London and depart from Madrid or Barcelona or arrive in Madrid or Barcelona and depart from London, etc. It might make sense to consider London-Paris-Barcelona or Madrid and fly to Italy (Venice or, Milan) from Spain and home from Rome. It would really depend on what flights I could work out, both from the US and within Europe. Just check out the best multi-city options and work from there.

This is really personal preference; I don't mind rain in London or Paris, and would want my best weather and longest days of sunlight to be in Italy or Spain so I could enjoy being outside, walking a lot. I would definitely start in London because of that.

Thank you all so much!! I have officially booked the tickets april 1st-may 17th!! Now I actually have to do the planning...