Philrick

Hi fodors forum, new to this forum saw that people really get good help here, thought people could share that wealth of knowledge with me.

My friend and I are going to Europe for 3 months. Flying to london from Sydney, and back from London. We are travelling via train for our trip. We are both 24 years old, very physically fit, and enjoy historical, natural and cultural sites (and ladies of course haha)

We have our heart set on quite a few countries, if anyone could help out even with a country or two, as to how long generally to stay there and which cities, that would be great!

Countries:
England
France
Spain
Italy
Switzerland
Austria
Czech rep.
Germany
Denmark
Sweden
Norway
Iceland
Netherlands
Belgium

I know everyone has different views on where and why and how long, but that is really what I want to see, other peoples opinions, THANKS GUYS!

Philrick

Oh and its from May 25-August 25

bilboburgler

You are from OZ so the heat waves of Italy in August carry no fear but you might want to avoid being on holiday when particular areas are crowded. So generally Europe heads south from Mid July until the end of August, so I would aim to be in the North then. Switzerland and Norway are pretty expensive but everything else is pretty level. Trains will be good but you may also like to look at cheapo airlines and will have to to get to Iceland. I might also look at the Azores as something wonderful and of course you have missed out Portugal

qwovadis

Hi Philrick welcome to Fodors.

Coming from Oz have a look at airasia.com sales will save you a lot. backpackeurope.com great info hop regional trains like a local fun cheap seat61.com pass BAD value for me. Years back when I did this I headed south first to Greece and worked my way north as the weather warmed to be in Scandinavia eurocheapo.com/copenhagen my fav there in August..
Always stay flexible stick with top hostelbookers.com party hostels for travel buds. generatorhostels.com LON backpackers.gr Yellow in Rome catshostel.com Madrid centricpointhostel.com Barcelona www.3ducks.fr to name but a few.

Have fun less is more pare back for better experience.

qwovadis

Ooops forgot econo air skyscanner.net works better for me for longer legs usually easyjet.com or ryanair.com for me train the shorties. If super budget www.eurolines.com can make sense
goes all over cheaply bus xport is ok not great some log slogs but the cheapest way to do this and see lots of great country you might miss by flying.

PM if I may help further many do and happy trails!

Philrick

Thanks for the quick replies guys,

@Bilbo, yep roughly we will be in Scandinavia by August, so Italy will be roughly late June. We wanted to add more countries like Greece and Portugal, and thought it may be overdoing it. But I will definitely look into it!

@qwo, thank you for the info mate! We already have our flights booked, and are pretty keen on travelling by train within europe, except obviously for our trip to iceland. Thanks for the links!

Probably shouldve stated in the 1st post, we will have roughly 10,000-12,000 euro each for this trip, but still want to do the hostel scene as we are keen on meeting others and partying too!

jamikins

I recommend getting a Lets Go guide book and seeing what interests you. Once you have a basic plan its easier for us to provide logistical help and fill in the gaps. This question is just so open that its difficult to begin to help!

jamikins

Oh mean to add - the Thorntree forum may have more people your age doing this sort of trip so its worth posting this there as well!

PalenQ

For the train part with that much travel and all those countries that a 3-month Global Eurailpass would be idea and since you are under 26 you can get the Youthpass, 2nd class as opposed to the 1st class for folks above 25 - but with a Saverpass - for two folks traveling together on one pass you will find perhaps that each on a Sverpass in first class comes out about the same as two separate Youthpasses so take the first class option as in many ways so so much more relaxed and in many countries you can just hop on any train anytime and in first class always IME find empty seats - two seats together usually.

Anyway you are one of the few profiles to warrant the Global Eurail 3 months - and it would cover all your travels save getting to Britain and in Britain itself.

Anyway great sites for planning a European rail adventure - www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.seat61.com. Check www.seat61.com's commercial link to RailEurope for pass prices - buy your pass in Australia before leaving as not sold at most train stations in Europe and if are cost more. If Man in Seat 61's site www.sedat61.com has a link to RailEurope Australia as I think he does then you can buy your pass thru his site and give him some well-earned commission - pass prices are universal no matter where you buy.

HI hostels are not generally party places but the zillions of youth hotels and private hostels can indeed be - check out Amsterdam for a few days in one of the many neat but Bohemian youth hotels -Let's Go Europe guidebook will be invaluable to you for hostels and youth stuff.

ira

Hi P,

>We wanted to add more countries like Greece and Portugal, and thought it may be overdoing it. <

I take it that you think that this will be your only visit to Europe for the next 50 years.

At this point, you have planned for about 6 nights per country. It does take time to get from one place to another, so figure that you will lose at least 7 days in transit.

If you are thinking of sleeping on trains, keep in mind that it is not very restful. By the end of 2 months, you will be sleep deprived.

Just how important is Iceland?

nytraveler

Fo ryour budget - and you're not clear if this includes air from OZ - but assume it does include train and air within europe - your budget is not large. I would assume that staying in hostels would be necessary - esp in the more expensie countries.

A couple of things to keep in mind - beer and wine - esp in student areas - are generally fairly chea - but hard liquor or mixed drinks are usually outrageouslt expensive.

Several countries (esp Switz and Scandinavia) are very expensive. On the McDonal's scale (not that you should be eaint Mickey D's - but as a comparison) the meal that is typically $8 in the US (not sure aobut OZ) are $18 to $20 in these areas - with other meals equivalent. So, for those areas definitely plan with care. August is usually good for Scand with some deals available - since many locals are either on vacation in the south or at their country cottages.

Philrick

Thanks Palen!

@ira, iceland is important hehe, its 3 months though, not 2..

@nytraveler, yeah I didnt really mention it, we will have 10,000-12,000 euro spending money, eurail pass will be bought, plane tickets are already bought. 10-12k is purely money for when we get there.


Thanks for the advice guys, however, what I really wanted information on, is places in the countries ive listed and how long you would stay there, whether its a week in paris or a day trip to pisa. Im not saying we are going to all those places, I just want a rough understanding on other peoples opinions on how long is a good amount of time in certain areas/cities.

aussiedreamer

Hi fellow Aussie, we did 3months in Europe the year before last, best trip ever. You're welcome to read my trip report but we are 'a bit' older than you so may not be relevant.

suze

You need to trim down your itinerary imo. Or at least get more specific about what cities or regions you want to visit within each country.

You listed 14 entire COUNTRIES in 90 days time. Let's start with 90 minus 14 (giving you 1 day to change countries each time, travel days) = 76 days divided by the 14 equals only 5 days per each entire country.

I'd suggest you trim your countries list, and get more specific about where exactly it is you want to go.

Philrick

I dont think im saying it right haha...

What I wanted help with is out of those countries, where is nice, why and how long would you stay at these places. Ive never been to europe, ive never even been out of Australia. I can only go by what I read, ive read A LOT on the net about these countries and where to go, now I just want public opinion on where is nice and how long to stay at these places. I know what I like, I want to know what you guys like and why.

bilboburgler

England, English speaking, fine old buildings, free museums, rolling countryside. Worth a week the first time say 4 days in London and a trip or two to Yorkshire/Oxford
France, Often English speaking, fine old buildings, expensive museums, a certain style and warmer than UK. Paris 4 days and the Loire for 2/3 days of Champagne/Alsace for similar first time.
Spain, big country relatively empty but fine old buildings, museums, 3 days Madrid or Barcelona, then rest of time in Saville/Cordoba/Malaga/Granada.
Italy, fine old buildings, museums. Florence/Venice are top drawers but Siena is a close third (the eternal city is not as exciting as you might think)
Switzerland, Fine mountains and expensive. Nothing to see here as they used to say about Bognor.
Austria, See switzerland though Vienna has a certain declined beauty and a good textile museum
Czech rep, Prague, worth 4 days visit
Germany, educated English speaking generally unless you leave the major cities in which case just pretty conservative. Good party country
Denmark, see Germany and think flatter and duller
Sweden, Good hiking country, my swedish friends call it the land of tree, rock and bog. Actually very beautiful
Norway, see Sweden but nicer and more expensive, only interesting if you like fjords (see south New Zealand) and jumpers
Iceland, Lovely horses, worlds oldest law, only one city, spa culture
Netherlands, more conservative than you might think, however good party country, good museums, great English. Very pretty mothballed cities from 1600s
Belgium, see Netherlands only half don't talk to other half

Given your time scales this is what I would do. I'd try to fit in my Spain trip, Paris/Alsace/Mosel, Amsterdam, London and Berlin with a finish (dadah) in Helsinki (cause the finns are some of the most interesting people). Basically because of all the places I've seen in Europe, and I've seen a lot, these give a good idea of a range of different peoples, countryside, food and drink. I'd use trains and I'd take picnic on all trains and offer the picnic to those around you. It is a great way to meet people and that will be the best fun.

If you just want to party then I'd look differently and do a tour more like Greek Island, then north to the Dalmatian Islands, across to Sicily, then Majorca and the party islands near spain. Cheapo airlines should be good for that

Philrick

That is incredibly helpful, thanks bilbo!!!

Mrs_Wilde

Since you are flying into and out of London, maybe split your days there - 4 days on arrival (plus you are coming quite a distance so factor one of those days just to get over jet lag) and maybe two nights before you fly home so you don't feel so rushed leaving

Netherlands - 4 days in Amsterdam, great laid-back city, supremely walkable, take a daytrip by train to one of the folk museums to see some windmills

Germany - my only experience is with the southeastern part of Bavaria, but 4 days there (one of which was a daytrip by bus to Prague) was a nice break from the city, hiked in the forest and basically took a vacation from our vacation

Czech Republic - as stated above, went there for only a day but loved Prague, great vibe, would have liked to stay a few days, felt like a young person's city

Many of the other countries you mention are on my "want to visit" list. Please consider doing a trip report on your return - or as you go - so we can see how you ended up putting it all together. It's so wonderful that you have such an opportunity!

Philrick

Cheers mrs wilde!

Christina

I haven't been in some of these places (like Scandinavia) so can't comment on them. I think basically, it would make sense to go to the city that is most "famous" in any of these cities, they seem pretty obvious (mostly the capital, except not in Switzerland--which I didn't personally find any more expensive than most other places I've been in Europe). Because with 4-5 days per country, you don't really have much choice of going to a lot of different places per country.

These are some suggestions:
Netherlands -- Amsterdam
Belgium -- Brussels and Bruges (you might cut out this country if you have time problems, I wouldn't put it at the top of must-sees, although it's enjoyable if you have time)
France -- Paris and either Avignon or Montpellier on your way to Spain
Spain -- Barcelona and Madrid (I love Seville, also but not sure if that fits in itinerary)
Switzerland -- Montreux and maybe some of those mountain places I've never been, I'm sure you know them (eg, Interlaken), Lucern a possibility but I think you might enjoy Montreux more

Czech Republic -- Prague, obvously

Germany -- Dresden and Berlin