EUROPE IN 35 DAYS?!
Jul 31st, 2012, 06:40 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
EUROPE IN 35 DAYS?!
My bf and I are planning a trip to Europe. We arrive in London on October 2nd shortly after lunch. Our flight from London departs back to Canada on November 7th.
At first I tried to come up with an itinerary to see London and get a good feel for most of France and Italy. Just taking our time through.
Included some places like this:
London
Paris
Dijon (Cote d' Or)
Nice (Cote d' Azur)
Venice
La Spezia (Cinque Terre)
Florence
Siena (Tuscany)
Rome
Pompei
Positano
However, we're young and this is our chance to take 1 month to experience as much as we can and I am fully aware that you cannot "get a feel" for a country without spending alot of time there, but in the future we can always take smaller 1-2 week trip to places we'd REALLY like to spend more time in. I feel like in 35 days, there is alot more that we can accomplish than just London, France, and Italy? (I also had in mind, I'm not sure if we'd get the complete experience of the coastal Italy in October as much as in summer? Opinons?)
So I came up with a 2nd rough itinerary which looked like this:
*LONDON- 3
*PARIS- 4
*VENICE- 2
*LA SPEZIA (CINQUE TERRE)- 1
*FLORENCE- 4
*ROME- 5
*POMPEI- 1
MUNICH- 3
NURUMBERG- 1
BERLIN- 3
AMSTERDAM- 4
VIENNA- 2
LONDON- 1
Now it might be too much?
I am interested in seeing ANYTHING! Whatever works with our schedule. I'd like to go to Spain someday as well, but just geographically speaking, that seems like it would be a separate trip. Also, Switzerland isn't anywhere on there.. Greece is nearby Italy too.. I'm not sure how urgent it is to see places like Vienna but as I said, I don't know what is recommended to see or what would work with our schedule! If we're going to Germany, a stop at the Nurumberg racetrack is a must to accomodate the bf, hehe.
IF ANYBODY HAS ANY SUGGESTIONS OF WHERE TO GO/WHAT TO DO IN 35 DAYS BEGINNING AND ENDING IN LONDON, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!! The places that are starred are what we HAVE to see. The rest is up in the air!
We are very adventurous. We are backpacking and trying really hard to stick to a tighter budget. We're open to ANYTHING. We want to see the major highlights of places but mostly interested in the culture, food, etc. of each place.
We want to see the world and have fun doing it!
Thanks!
At first I tried to come up with an itinerary to see London and get a good feel for most of France and Italy. Just taking our time through.
Included some places like this:
London
Paris
Dijon (Cote d' Or)
Nice (Cote d' Azur)
Venice
La Spezia (Cinque Terre)
Florence
Siena (Tuscany)
Rome
Pompei
Positano
However, we're young and this is our chance to take 1 month to experience as much as we can and I am fully aware that you cannot "get a feel" for a country without spending alot of time there, but in the future we can always take smaller 1-2 week trip to places we'd REALLY like to spend more time in. I feel like in 35 days, there is alot more that we can accomplish than just London, France, and Italy? (I also had in mind, I'm not sure if we'd get the complete experience of the coastal Italy in October as much as in summer? Opinons?)
So I came up with a 2nd rough itinerary which looked like this:
*LONDON- 3
*PARIS- 4
*VENICE- 2
*LA SPEZIA (CINQUE TERRE)- 1
*FLORENCE- 4
*ROME- 5
*POMPEI- 1
MUNICH- 3
NURUMBERG- 1
BERLIN- 3
AMSTERDAM- 4
VIENNA- 2
LONDON- 1
Now it might be too much?
I am interested in seeing ANYTHING! Whatever works with our schedule. I'd like to go to Spain someday as well, but just geographically speaking, that seems like it would be a separate trip. Also, Switzerland isn't anywhere on there.. Greece is nearby Italy too.. I'm not sure how urgent it is to see places like Vienna but as I said, I don't know what is recommended to see or what would work with our schedule! If we're going to Germany, a stop at the Nurumberg racetrack is a must to accomodate the bf, hehe.
IF ANYBODY HAS ANY SUGGESTIONS OF WHERE TO GO/WHAT TO DO IN 35 DAYS BEGINNING AND ENDING IN LONDON, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!! The places that are starred are what we HAVE to see. The rest is up in the air!
We are very adventurous. We are backpacking and trying really hard to stick to a tighter budget. We're open to ANYTHING. We want to see the major highlights of places but mostly interested in the culture, food, etc. of each place.
We want to see the world and have fun doing it!
Thanks!
Jul 31st, 2012, 06:53 PM
#2
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 57,890
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I won;t try to talk you out of this - although I think you have way too many places - but at least save yourself a day by returning home from Vienna - or whatever you last stop is - than wasting a day going back to London. An open jaws ticket is no more expensive.
Also - look at the weather when deciding where to go and n what order - seaside in late Oct or Nov makes no sense.
Also - look at the weather when deciding where to go and n what order - seaside in late Oct or Nov makes no sense.
Jul 31st, 2012, 07:01 PM
#3
Just a very quick comment. "<i>The places that are starred are what we HAVE to see. </i>"
If the starred entries are your must list, they could very easily fill 35 days. Those seven plus one or two other destinations would be a full 5 week trip. remember - every single time you change cities you lose a minimum of 1/2 a day, and often a FULL day.
If the starred entries are your must list, they could very easily fill 35 days. Those seven plus one or two other destinations would be a full 5 week trip. remember - every single time you change cities you lose a minimum of 1/2 a day, and often a FULL day.
Jul 31st, 2012, 07:03 PM
#4
Meant to add - your plan really only has 2 free days in London. If you don't land til afternoon, basically that day is shot. Plan on about 2.5 hours or more from landing to central London hotel.
Jul 31st, 2012, 07:12 PM
#5
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 9,754
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Tianna,
My first thought was the same as janisj.
Spend your 35 days seeing the starred places.
Think about this - the more you move around the more expensive your trip becomes. You actually see more for your $ if you slow down a little. Plus you will enjoy much more.
Buon viaggio!
My first thought was the same as janisj.
Spend your 35 days seeing the starred places.
Think about this - the more you move around the more expensive your trip becomes. You actually see more for your $ if you slow down a little. Plus you will enjoy much more.
Buon viaggio!
Jul 31st, 2012, 07:21 PM
#6
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 5,830
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I agree that you should plan to move from north to south. By late October it will be chilly and rainy in Amsterdam, for example. So do it early on. Etc. I assume your plane tickets are already bought so you can't change where you leave Europe from.
You are not allowing for transit time in your itinerary. For example, if you arrive in Venice on your first day, it will take you a good part of the day to get settled. then you have half a day, but the next day you go to Cinque Terre, which is a long train trip, OR you spend two days in Venice and then on day three go to CT, in which case your one day is down to almost nothing. If you do the north-to-south thing, then your last day in Italy is mostly taken up by a plane trip back to London so you can go home the next day. Remember, in order to have a full day anywhere, you have to spend two nights there.
You are not allowing for transit time in your itinerary. For example, if you arrive in Venice on your first day, it will take you a good part of the day to get settled. then you have half a day, but the next day you go to Cinque Terre, which is a long train trip, OR you spend two days in Venice and then on day three go to CT, in which case your one day is down to almost nothing. If you do the north-to-south thing, then your last day in Italy is mostly taken up by a plane trip back to London so you can go home the next day. Remember, in order to have a full day anywhere, you have to spend two nights there.
Jul 31st, 2012, 07:32 PM
#7
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 4,350
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
We loved Italy in October, and for us the weather in the CT was great the first week of October.
How are you planning to travel between all these places? Will you have a car anywhere? Are you sure you don't want to fly open jaw...say into London and home from Rome? It will save a lot of backtracking.
I will say it is a fast pace but the positive thing is that you have several 4 day stays interspersed amongst your entire trip so that is a positive.
If you are not flying open jaw and really want to see Vienna I would do it after Pompeii on your way to Munich and not backtrack all the way from Amsterdam, which is super close to London.
How are you planning to travel between all these places? Will you have a car anywhere? Are you sure you don't want to fly open jaw...say into London and home from Rome? It will save a lot of backtracking.
I will say it is a fast pace but the positive thing is that you have several 4 day stays interspersed amongst your entire trip so that is a positive.
If you are not flying open jaw and really want to see Vienna I would do it after Pompeii on your way to Munich and not backtrack all the way from Amsterdam, which is super close to London.
