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First ever trip overseas - itinerary check

First ever trip overseas - itinerary check

Old Apr 23rd, 2014, 12:53 AM
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First ever trip overseas - itinerary check

Hi all

I am planning my first overseas trip to Europe. I will be going solo for 2 months. Because its my first trip solo I am going on a Contiki tour for the first two weeks of my trip to get my feet and bearings. Before Contiki I will kick around with some family in UK for 2 weeks as well. So I have 4 weeks left to really venture out by myself. (Sept/Oct)

The purpose of my trip is to check out some old buildings and sights. Not overly keen on museums but I will go to a few to immerse myself in some history.

Contiki is a slow pace tour and spends approx 2 nights in each place. I will see: Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague and Rome.

So I am hoping for some advice on my draft itinerary (post Contiki).
- Florence: 5 nights
- Siena: 1 night
- Cinque Terre: 4 nights
- Milan: 1 night
- Venice: 3 nights
- Switzerland: 5 nights
- Zagreb: 1 nights
- Dubrovnic: 3 nights
- Budapest: 3 nights
- Barcelona: 4 nights

Does the above make sense in way of being a logical route and reasonable amount of days in each place?

Thanks all
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Old Apr 23rd, 2014, 02:43 AM
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>

That's a fast-paced tour! LOL

Siena - it's only an hour from Florence by bus so no need to spend a night there - you can stay in Florence if you want. You'll need to go back to Florence to get to Cinque Terre.

Cinque Terre - 4 nights in October? Probably too much time here. What will you do there in October?

Why a night in Milan?

Where in Switzerland?

Are you flying to Zagreb? It's a long way from Switzerland for 1 night.

Why not put Budapest before Zagreb and then fly from Dubrovnik to Barcelona?
adrienne is offline  
Old Apr 23rd, 2014, 02:47 AM
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I'm not saying don't take the Con Tiki tour but I don't see how it will help you get your bearings. You're not going back to the cities the tour covers and it's a lot of time on a bus for very little time in each city.
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Old Apr 23rd, 2014, 03:27 AM
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Yeah its fast paced but I figured I would mix it up with solo travel and also with a tour group.

Siena, I am in 2 minds about doing it as a day trip and staying the night.

Cinque Terre maybe too much time but I thought it may be a good chance to have some rest days to chill out.

Milan, for some reason I am anticipating that I won't like it, but if I get bored in CT I could leave a day early and spend 2 nights in Milan.

Switzerland, still a little undecided - maybe Interlaken, Gimmelwald, Zurich and/or Glacier Express train trip.

I was thinking of Zagreb on the way to Dubrovnic so that I can go to Plitvice Lakes National Park. I think there is an overnight train from Zurich to Zagreb, then fly to Dubrovnic.

Still tossing up between Dubrovnic/ Zagreb with Istanbul. Only reason I am leaning towards Croatia is that its not as far away and maybe easier to fit in...
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Old Apr 23rd, 2014, 03:49 AM
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If you really like hiking, and if the weather is nice, four nights in the Cinque Terre would be fine. However, there's really nothing else to do there except buy postcards and tatty souvenirs.

I don't know why people don't like Milan. Have they been told they're not supposed to like it? Isn't it quaint and medieval enough for them? It's a wonderful, vibrant city, with lots to see and do. Maybe the people who don't like it never venture away from Piazza del Duomo. If you're not going to spend at least a few nights in Milan, there's no point in going there other than to change trains.

I think you should consider dropping Barcelona and adding a few nights somewhere else along the way. It's a long way to go to see just one city for four nights. Why don't you plan a future trip to Spain and spend much more time there?
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Old Apr 23rd, 2014, 03:50 AM
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I'm confused - you said you will have 2 weeks after Con Tiki but your itinerary has 30 nights listed (and doesn't allow for any time to get from one place to another).

If you really only have 2 weeks I would pick 4 places (cities/hotels) no more if you actually want to see anything.

By the way, the Con Tiki tour is very fast-paced - not slow - giving you only one day in each place (two nights equals one full day).

Have you looked at the cost of this trip - moving around so often will really drive up the cost versus staying in one place and learning a little about the history/culture.
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Old Apr 23rd, 2014, 03:50 AM
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How are you going to get to the national park? And you only have 1 night and 1 day there. I don't think it's enough time if you want to see the park.

Istanbul is infinitely more interesting than Croatia. With cheap intra-European flights it's probably just as easy to see Istanbul as Zagreb/Dubrovnik.

I believe you can rest and chill any place. Venice is perfect for chilling out and relaxing. So peaceful.

There is a night train from Zurich to Zagreb but it takes 18 hours so it's a night and a day train.
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Old Apr 23rd, 2014, 03:51 AM
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How long do you have in Paris, for example? Rome? Milan is boring. Switzerland can be if you spend time in the cities--it is also very expensive. You haven't said if you have any budget constraints.
As much as I love Florence, 5 nights might be too much--but it is your trip.
Everyone loves Croatia.
You may find you'd like to revisit some of your Contiki stops also.
You may end up with part of your trip as "if it's Tuesday it must be _____" and be sorry you didn't go back while you have the chance. 2 days in a city on a tour is really only 1.5, maybe, by the time you get in and out of a hotel and loaded on a bus.
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Old Apr 23rd, 2014, 04:03 AM
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>

He said 4 weeks after Con Tiki. "So I have 4 weeks left to really venture out by myself"
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Old Apr 23rd, 2014, 05:33 AM
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Sorry for the vague bits there.

Contiki call it slow-pace which its not but it is compared to their other tours.

So yes, 4 weeks after the Contiki.

bvlenci - Yes I think if CT has bad weather (which is a risk at that time of year) I think I probably would high tail it to Milan before the 4 nights is up. I think its good advice about Spain, the more I research the more I want to see in Spain, so its probably warrants a separate dedicated trip.

Adriene - The national park is only really accessible by car and I think I may have to drop it, as its going to eat into my time too much. I am almost considering replacing Barcelona with Istanbul.

Gretchen - I have planned 5 nights in Rome (one day for a trip to Pompeii) and 5 in Paris. Everyone seems to rave about Florence, thats why I gave it 5 nights, maybe also to unwind after the Contiki. I think you make a good point about putting to much emphasis on planning. I don't want to miss out on something/somewhere I really like for the sake of moving onto something else. So I think I need to be willing to dump a city to re-visit a contiki city.

I feel like I am over thinking this but definitely appreciate all the comments. I am not a very adventurous person so this is going to be a big experience for me
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Old Apr 23rd, 2014, 05:43 AM
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I would cut and slice as
- Florence: 5 nights
- Cinque Terre: 3 nights
- Venice: 3 nights
- Dubrovnic: 4 nights plus ferry trips
- Switzerland 1 city: 4 nights
- Budapest: 4 nights
- Barcelona: 4 nights

That leaves you time for one other stop. Consider Vienna, Prague or Madrid
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Old Apr 23rd, 2014, 06:15 AM
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Our daughter went to Europe for a month one time and they were in Spain. Decided they hated it (for whatever reason) and just went somewhere else. You have a great length of time. You can probably be flexible.
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Old Apr 23rd, 2014, 06:25 AM
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I assume you are going by train? If so check out these superb sites for help planning that part: www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

How old are you? If under 26 look into the bargain Eurail Youthpasses - otherwise probably no regular Eurailpass would be cost-effective but for Switzerland even a few train trips can make the Swiss Pass pay off (www.swisstravelsystem.com for lots of good stuff on Swiss trains and passes.)
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Old Apr 23rd, 2014, 07:06 AM
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Yes, take your rest days in a city. If you're resting in the Cinque Terre and it rains all the time, there's nothing at all to do.

Note there's a bus to Plitvice--from Zagreb or Split.

And the bus from Florence to Siena lands you in the middle of town -- as opposed to the train which puts you outside the walls at some distance from the Centro Storico. This bus leaves from across the street from Florence's main train station, Santa Maria Novella.
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Old Apr 24th, 2014, 08:19 AM
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The usual, 'First time to Europe, too much in too little time Itinerary'. No surprise there.

A common, 'Take a Contiki Tour to ease me in to things.' No suprise there.

You can find plenty of reviews of Contiki if you look. Here is one. http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowTopic-...n_England.html

With 2 months available my advice is to research all the places that are of interest to you. But plan nothing beyond your first stop.

Travel can be as simple or as complicated as you choose to make it. Go to A, stay until you are ready to leave and then decide where B is going to be. Repeat this process until either the time available or the funds available run out. Go home.

Itineraries put blinders on you to opportunities. You may well meet someone heading somewhere and looking for company or hear of somewhere that sounds interesting that you have never heard of. When that happens, you can respond in one of two ways. 'Oh wow, that sounds great and I would love to go BUT I have a reservation in X and CAN'T go.' Or, 'Oh wow, that sounds great, count me in.'

No one ever gets to go to everywhere in Europe that would interest them, in one trip, no matter how much time they have. If you can accept that fact then you can free yourself to see and do as much as you can in the time you have.

Most people will say they want to 'do as much as they can' but confuse the word 'much' with the word 'many'. They are not synonymous. The way to do as 'much' as you can is to spend time IN places, not in BETWEEN places. In travel as in many things, less is more. The less you move the more you see/do.

You will see and do more if you stop in 8 places for a week each than if you try to visit 18 places in the same 2 months.
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Old Apr 24th, 2014, 09:04 AM
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I've been to nearly all of the places on your potential itinerary. Honestly, I would forget the Contiki tour because I don't think all of that moving around is going to help you get your bearings. How about starting in Amsterdam after your family visit to the UK? Virtually everyone there speaks English, so you could get your feet wet there. Then, I'd make my plans to visit the more northerly parts of Europe first and move south as the fall progresses. Also, the best of Europe is not necessarily just the larger cities that everyone has heard of, so be sure to include some smaller, lesser-known destinations too.

How are you planning to get around from place to place? With a ton of different destinations, you are going to be exhausted from all of the moving around, and it is not going to be easy with public transportation non-stop. I know what I am talking about too as far as exhaustion from moving around on a trip of that length. My husband and I just returned from a six week trip (the same amount of time you have) to India and Nepal. Our first three weeks unintentionally ended up being broken up into many stays of two nights (with an occasional one nighter), and by the time we got to Nepal for the second three weeks we told ourselves we had to slow down the pace. Incidentally, even if you are only traveling for two or three hours, consider that a lost day. by the tie you pack, travel, get to your new place, get your bearing, and walk around a bit, the day is gone.
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Old Apr 24th, 2014, 10:24 AM
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I agree with adrienne about 4 days being to many in the Cinque Terre during a time when rain is not unusual - plus if you are young the crowd I've seen in 5 Lands is mainly older. I'd get bored stiff after two days there unless using it as a base from which to visit Pisa or the towns on the coast to the north or south (Portofino being the most famous one).
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Old Apr 24th, 2014, 11:48 AM
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I like Bilbo's itinerary. However, I would cut the CT or at least the time there and substitute Vienna or Munich for Barcelona. Barcelona is an outlier on this trip and IMO will take too much travelling around to get to. You may find you want to go back to Prague (or some other city you visited with Contiki (Paris and Rome being the ones most likely to fill this description).

You'll have nearly as many days moving around on the Contiki tour as days to see things and one day in each city is by no means "slow travel." We're not slow travelers, but we need at least three nites in a new city to see anything. So if it were my trip, I too would skip the Contiki, but it's not, so hope you enjoy it.
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