Europe for 1 month, May-June 2013
Nov 5th, 2012, 01:20 PM
#1
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Europe for 1 month, May-June 2013
Hello,
I will be travelling europe next summer with two of my friends. I am wondering if this itinerary looks okay.
Rome 3 days, 2 nights
1
2
3 late evening train to Florence (1.5 hours)
Florence 2.5 days, 3 nights
4
5 Pisa or Sienna
6 afternoon train (at around 12) to Venice (3 hours)
Venice 1.5 days, 2 nights
6 half day
7
8 travel to Salzburg (6 hours) (i.e. 9-3)
Salzburg 2.5 days, 3 nights
8 half day
9 go to hallstatt
10
11 early train to Vienna (9-12), spend day there,evening train (7-10) to Budapest or go to Mauthausen and then straight to Budapest
Budapest 3 days, 3 nights
12
13
14 overnight train (9pm-6:15am)
Munich 1.5 days, 1 night
15 tour city plus castles
16 Dachau camp, train to Freiburg (4.5 hours)
Freiburg 2 days, 2 nights
17
18 evening (1 hour)
Basel 1.5 days, 2 nights
19
20 afternoon train (3.5 hours)
Paris 3.25 days, 3 nights
20 evening
21
22 Versailles (30 minutes)
23 night train
French Riviera 2.75 days, 2 nights
24
25
26 night train or flight
Seville 3 days, 3 nights
27
28
29
Beaches around Mallorca, or possibly Grenada
30
31
We are going to Freiburg and Basel because we have friends there, and Munich only because it is close to the castles near Fussen. We are interested in going to some type of concentration camp and were thinking of either Dachau or Mauthausen. Thoughts??
Another thing to note: we were originally planning on staying in Vienna for a few nights but I am worried that we would only end up rushing plus we already have quite a few big cities already.
If i could get some feedback on this plan, it would be greatly appreciated.
I will be travelling europe next summer with two of my friends. I am wondering if this itinerary looks okay.
Rome 3 days, 2 nights
1
2
3 late evening train to Florence (1.5 hours)
Florence 2.5 days, 3 nights
4
5 Pisa or Sienna
6 afternoon train (at around 12) to Venice (3 hours)
Venice 1.5 days, 2 nights
6 half day
7
8 travel to Salzburg (6 hours) (i.e. 9-3)
Salzburg 2.5 days, 3 nights
8 half day
9 go to hallstatt
10
11 early train to Vienna (9-12), spend day there,evening train (7-10) to Budapest or go to Mauthausen and then straight to Budapest
Budapest 3 days, 3 nights
12
13
14 overnight train (9pm-6:15am)
Munich 1.5 days, 1 night
15 tour city plus castles
16 Dachau camp, train to Freiburg (4.5 hours)
Freiburg 2 days, 2 nights
17
18 evening (1 hour)
Basel 1.5 days, 2 nights
19
20 afternoon train (3.5 hours)
Paris 3.25 days, 3 nights
20 evening
21
22 Versailles (30 minutes)
23 night train
French Riviera 2.75 days, 2 nights
24
25
26 night train or flight
Seville 3 days, 3 nights
27
28
29
Beaches around Mallorca, or possibly Grenada
30
31
We are going to Freiburg and Basel because we have friends there, and Munich only because it is close to the castles near Fussen. We are interested in going to some type of concentration camp and were thinking of either Dachau or Mauthausen. Thoughts??
Another thing to note: we were originally planning on staying in Vienna for a few nights but I am worried that we would only end up rushing plus we already have quite a few big cities already.
If i could get some feedback on this plan, it would be greatly appreciated.
Nov 5th, 2012, 01:31 PM
#2
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I can't imagine spending just 30 minutes in Versailles.
Dachau is more readily accessible by public transportation than Mauthausen, which is closer to Linz than Vienna.
Siena would be between Rome and Florence.
Dachau is more readily accessible by public transportation than Mauthausen, which is closer to Linz than Vienna.
Siena would be between Rome and Florence.
Nov 5th, 2012, 01:47 PM
#3
It is certainly possible, though you are hoping about a fair bit. Sienna is far nicer than Pisa and you get a good idea of what a hilly medievel hill citta looks like in Sienna.
Seville, Cordoba, Grenada are the three big drawers on the south coast. Train system is great to get around in Spain, but you can use either a train or a cheepo airline to get from Northern Italy to Southern Spain
skyskanner. is a useful tool for the flights.
bahn.de is useful to get overviews on trains on mainland Europe though trenitalia, SNCF and RFE are the things to use in the each country.
You'll find switzerland hits the wallet pretty hard.
30 minutes LOL.
French Riviera why? Dull, expensive and....
Seville, Cordoba, Grenada are the three big drawers on the south coast. Train system is great to get around in Spain, but you can use either a train or a cheepo airline to get from Northern Italy to Southern Spain
skyskanner. is a useful tool for the flights.
bahn.de is useful to get overviews on trains on mainland Europe though trenitalia, SNCF and RFE are the things to use in the each country.
You'll find switzerland hits the wallet pretty hard.
30 minutes LOL.
French Riviera why? Dull, expensive and....
Nov 5th, 2012, 02:05 PM
#4
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Well, it's a dizzying pace, and going to be very expensive with all that moving about, but I suppose it's do-able.
30 minutes at Versailles? It will take you a bare minimum of half a day to get out there, get inside the various buildings, and get back to Paris - and that's rushing things.
30 minutes at Versailles? It will take you a bare minimum of half a day to get out there, get inside the various buildings, and get back to Paris - and that's rushing things.
Nov 5th, 2012, 02:26 PM
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You're really covering alot of geography in a short time. I know it's tempting (this is what I did for my first 2 trips unfortunately) but sometimes it's better to focus on a smaller geographic area (perhaps 2 countries) so you're not constantly moving. Have any of you traveled abroad before? If you are set on seeing this much you may want to consider an organized tour. I'm not a big fan of organized tours but they will take care of all the logistics which for the trip you have outlined could be overwhelming.
Nov 5th, 2012, 04:47 PM
#7
I wouldn't even count all of those partial days ("Paris 3.25 days"!!) because you'll lose time everywhere just checking in and out of hotels and getting to and from all of those train stations. Not to mention that trains aren't always on time...
I'm curious as to why you chose Budapest over Vienna, considering the additional distance/time involved.
Have you investigated whether the things you want to see in each city will be open on the day of the week you'll be there?
Where do you fly out of at the end of the trip?
Do you and your friends handle high temps and/or humidity well?
I'm curious as to why you chose Budapest over Vienna, considering the additional distance/time involved.
Have you investigated whether the things you want to see in each city will be open on the day of the week you'll be there?
Where do you fly out of at the end of the trip?
Do you and your friends handle high temps and/or humidity well?
Nov 5th, 2012, 05:39 PM
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<< If i could get some feedback on this plan, it would be greatly appreciated >>
I think you're gonna come home frustrated and sorry and perhaps not liking Europe very much. That's often what happens when people do not schedule enough time in places.
You have way too many locations for a month. I would cut out Spain and the French Riviera. You're not allowing any time for unforeseen events such as train strikes and don't have nearly enough down time for wandering around the cities/towns. You don't even allow enough time for seeing the major sights in places like Rome and Paris.
You've factored in train time but have not allowed time to get to and from the train stations plus time to get acclimated to a new location and visit the TI to get maps and other information.
Do you have a list of important sights to see and are they open the days you're in that town?
Europe should not be a mad dash from place to place just to come home and talk about all the places you went. It should be an experience and a fun time. A time to see the sights and hang out and meet other travelers.
I think you're gonna come home frustrated and sorry and perhaps not liking Europe very much. That's often what happens when people do not schedule enough time in places.
You have way too many locations for a month. I would cut out Spain and the French Riviera. You're not allowing any time for unforeseen events such as train strikes and don't have nearly enough down time for wandering around the cities/towns. You don't even allow enough time for seeing the major sights in places like Rome and Paris.
You've factored in train time but have not allowed time to get to and from the train stations plus time to get acclimated to a new location and visit the TI to get maps and other information.
Do you have a list of important sights to see and are they open the days you're in that town?
Europe should not be a mad dash from place to place just to come home and talk about all the places you went. It should be an experience and a fun time. A time to see the sights and hang out and meet other travelers.
Nov 5th, 2012, 06:15 PM
#9
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CathyM: Regarding whether we have travelled abroad, one of my friend has lived in both Germany and Spain. The other two travelers are my sister and I. We were born in Europe but have not been there for over 12 years. I have never done a trip like this before. Living in Canada, our trips usually entail 20 plus hours of driving to get to the desired location, or of course a plane. That being said, we are used to long road trips, but I understand that it can get expensive and cut into valuable time within the cities.
I understand that it is a lot to fit in. I think that one of the problems is that we all have varied interests. Personally, I would much rather tour Spain and the small towns with character rather than the big cities such as Rome and Paris (partially because it eats up all of our time and also because we still barely cover the surface). I think that sometimes you get more of an idea of the culture of a country when getting away from the overcrowded cities.
Additionally, none of us are really into museums or art galleries and I don’t think we would be devastated if we could not see every sight while in the city. We chose some more southern areas as it is warmer (a big plus) and we do not live anywhere near an ocean so although it may not have as many major sights, it is a sight for us.
We are still discussing whether to remove Vienna or another city instead. Budapest was chosen as one of my friends top places that she would like to see and we are trying to get a bit of variety. We may decide to cut this one out as it is further away as was mentioned.
Regarding which days things are closed and open, I will definitely need to look into that. I know Sunday’s and Monday’s can be iffy so we would have to make sure we are not only staying in a city for two days and have it fall on these days. The trip is still six months away so we will need to look into that.
We will likely be flying out of Seville, and two of us will be travelling up to Sweden after this to visit family for two weeks and my other friend will be flying home.
I think that travelling in mid-May to June; the weather will not be overly hot. But if anything I do not think it will be a problem as it will be a welcome break from the cold that May usually brings.
I understand that it is a lot to fit in. I think that one of the problems is that we all have varied interests. Personally, I would much rather tour Spain and the small towns with character rather than the big cities such as Rome and Paris (partially because it eats up all of our time and also because we still barely cover the surface). I think that sometimes you get more of an idea of the culture of a country when getting away from the overcrowded cities.
Additionally, none of us are really into museums or art galleries and I don’t think we would be devastated if we could not see every sight while in the city. We chose some more southern areas as it is warmer (a big plus) and we do not live anywhere near an ocean so although it may not have as many major sights, it is a sight for us.
We are still discussing whether to remove Vienna or another city instead. Budapest was chosen as one of my friends top places that she would like to see and we are trying to get a bit of variety. We may decide to cut this one out as it is further away as was mentioned.
Regarding which days things are closed and open, I will definitely need to look into that. I know Sunday’s and Monday’s can be iffy so we would have to make sure we are not only staying in a city for two days and have it fall on these days. The trip is still six months away so we will need to look into that.
We will likely be flying out of Seville, and two of us will be travelling up to Sweden after this to visit family for two weeks and my other friend will be flying home.
I think that travelling in mid-May to June; the weather will not be overly hot. But if anything I do not think it will be a problem as it will be a welcome break from the cold that May usually brings.
Nov 5th, 2012, 07:33 PM
#10
If you haven't booked flights yet, I would look at flying into the city that is farthest on your list (Budapest?).
I think you need to drop some cities. I don't think you are factoring in time for basic things such as figuring out where things are in each new city. You will get lost sometimes. You also need to factor in laundry time weekly.
Why is Basel on your list?
Have you checked that all the night travel you've listed actually exists? The days you are planning departing late, you will have to arrange luggage storage with your hotel and go back and retrieve your luggage. If not, you will have to store it at the train station which means an extra trip to the station that morning to put it in storage. There can be long lines at some left luggage facilities to check and to pick up.
I think you need to drop some cities. I don't think you are factoring in time for basic things such as figuring out where things are in each new city. You will get lost sometimes. You also need to factor in laundry time weekly.
Why is Basel on your list?
Have you checked that all the night travel you've listed actually exists? The days you are planning departing late, you will have to arrange luggage storage with your hotel and go back and retrieve your luggage. If not, you will have to store it at the train station which means an extra trip to the station that morning to put it in storage. There can be long lines at some left luggage facilities to check and to pick up.
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