HELP! 3 weeks in Europe
Aug 2nd, 2014, 09:16 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
HELP! 3 weeks in Europe
Greetings All!
My boyfriend and I are going to Europe for 3 weeks (End of Sept thru mid October--dates are flexible but must be limited to around 21-25 days including travel time from Florida)
We have not booked flights yet and it will be his first time traveling Internationally--I went to England, Paris, and Edinburgh when I was 19 and spent 6 weeks over there but was not able to really take advantage of traveling as I was by myself supporting a family member. This trip will be much different!
We are open to flying into a different destination than we depart from--we are traveling with just a back pack each.
A DISCLAIMER before I begin--Yes, I know I cannot do everything mentioned, I know that it takes a decent amount of time to travel from place to place, and this is simply a WISH LIST. I am not asking for assistance fitting all the below items into 3 weeks.
Our MUST DO's:
Matterhorn
Paris
Prague
Munich
Our Optional's:
Amsterdam
Belgium--
Berlin
Copenhagen
Iceland/Norway (we have always wanted to go here--anyone have experience fitting this into a Europe trip? Is it possible?)
A general itinerary would be amazing!
Also, is it worth it to spend the $1000 on the Global Eurorail pass for the 2 of us?
Any help is so very appreciated!
My boyfriend and I are going to Europe for 3 weeks (End of Sept thru mid October--dates are flexible but must be limited to around 21-25 days including travel time from Florida)
We have not booked flights yet and it will be his first time traveling Internationally--I went to England, Paris, and Edinburgh when I was 19 and spent 6 weeks over there but was not able to really take advantage of traveling as I was by myself supporting a family member. This trip will be much different!
We are open to flying into a different destination than we depart from--we are traveling with just a back pack each.
A DISCLAIMER before I begin--Yes, I know I cannot do everything mentioned, I know that it takes a decent amount of time to travel from place to place, and this is simply a WISH LIST. I am not asking for assistance fitting all the below items into 3 weeks.
Our MUST DO's:
Matterhorn
Paris
Prague
Munich
Our Optional's:
Amsterdam
Belgium--
Berlin
Copenhagen
Iceland/Norway (we have always wanted to go here--anyone have experience fitting this into a Europe trip? Is it possible?)
A general itinerary would be amazing!
Also, is it worth it to spend the $1000 on the Global Eurorail pass for the 2 of us?
Any help is so very appreciated!
Aug 2nd, 2014, 09:59 AM
#2
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 57,890
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
First, it's impossible to know if a rail pass makes sense until you have your itinerary set.
Second, it would help to have an idea of your budget and your major interests.
A couple of the places you have picked out (Switz and Norway) are VERY expensive - assume prices are twice those in the US.
Other areas - Germany, Czech Republic are more modestly prices - perhaps equal to the US - and other areas might be 25% or so more than in the US.
If your budget is fairly generous then Switz and Norway are doable - but if your budget is very tight they could well be an issue.
Second, it would help to have an idea of your budget and your major interests.
A couple of the places you have picked out (Switz and Norway) are VERY expensive - assume prices are twice those in the US.
Other areas - Germany, Czech Republic are more modestly prices - perhaps equal to the US - and other areas might be 25% or so more than in the US.
If your budget is fairly generous then Switz and Norway are doable - but if your budget is very tight they could well be an issue.
Aug 2nd, 2014, 10:42 AM
#3
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 3,523
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
You should definitely plan to fly into your first city and home from your last, to save the time and expense of backtracking to your first airport to go home.
Figure an average of three days per place, more for Paris. With 25 days, that gives you a maximum of 6 stops. Figure you will lose half a day or more each time you change locations. Then I'd pick what works gracefully. A couple that might work:
Amsterdam-Belgium-Paris-Switzerland-Munich-Prague (or opposite direction)
Berlin-Prague-Munich-Switzerland-Paris-Amsterdam (or opposite)
I wouldn't try to do more than that.
Figure an average of three days per place, more for Paris. With 25 days, that gives you a maximum of 6 stops. Figure you will lose half a day or more each time you change locations. Then I'd pick what works gracefully. A couple that might work:
Amsterdam-Belgium-Paris-Switzerland-Munich-Prague (or opposite direction)
Berlin-Prague-Munich-Switzerland-Paris-Amsterdam (or opposite)
I wouldn't try to do more than that.
Aug 5th, 2014, 12:16 PM
#8
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 7,561
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
<<Figure an average of three days per place, more for Paris.>>
Never liked this logic. Cities are not equal. You need to determine your interests and what you want to see and then mold the itinerary to that.
And less is more - the fewer stops the more you'll see at each and you're likely young enough to go back.
PS - Switzerland and Scandinavia are very expensive. Czech Republic is inexpensive. Paris is pretty much you get what you pay for but there are some boutique hotels a bit out of the way (e.g., 2e or 3e) that may be good values. There was a thread here a while ago regarding such boutiques and you can probably dig it up in the search bar.
Never liked this logic. Cities are not equal. You need to determine your interests and what you want to see and then mold the itinerary to that.
And less is more - the fewer stops the more you'll see at each and you're likely young enough to go back.
PS - Switzerland and Scandinavia are very expensive. Czech Republic is inexpensive. Paris is pretty much you get what you pay for but there are some boutique hotels a bit out of the way (e.g., 2e or 3e) that may be good values. There was a thread here a while ago regarding such boutiques and you can probably dig it up in the search bar.
