jingshuang

Hi all, I'm from Malaysia. I am planning a Eurotrip for 2 in August 2014. Covering just London, France, Italy, and Greece. With around 2 days in each country. We are not planning to stay in flea bag hotels but it doesn't have to be 5 star. I'm all about stretching my dollars. We are young ages 24, so any tips on itinerary, money, and where to stay would be greatly appreciated!

StCirq

It's impossible to do just 2 days in each of those countries. It will take you at least a day to get from each of them to the next. What guidebooks, airplane and train sights, and internet resources have you consulted? What maps have you looked at? Do you have any idea of distances between these places?

You haven't even said WHERE you want to travel in these countries, other than London, England. Each of them is a huge country with multiple regions.

To do a trip to four distinct countries in Europe, you need about a month. Seems like you maybe have 8 days, and that's after arriving a jetlagged mess from Malaysia and losing the first two days to stupor.

Start over. Pick ONE country. Learn a little about it and then come back and ask how we can help you make the best of that experience.

StCirq

Oh, and Europe is PACKED in August - worst month of all to visit - and incredibly hot in Italy and Greece.

CatchK

I spent two weeks in Italy in August and two weeks was no where near enough!

I suggest picking one or two of those destinations and actually getting to see more there. Italy was amazing and there is so much more of it that I want to see!

Also, I found August to be very hot which did not bother me, and pre-planning EVERYTHING really helped with crowd avoidance and I did not wait in one line the entire time I was there.

jingshuang

Thanks for the replies! What about end October and we are planning to travel to Paris, London, Florence, Venice, Rome and Santorini. We have around 2 weeks for all these places.

jingshuang

Okay so I think it will be better if we spend two weeks in just France and Italy?

StCirq

End of October will be way better than August, but could be wet and chilly. And if you have two full weeks (not counting arrival and departure days), Italy and France could work if you research the best way(s) to get between them (not always the easiest country transfer).

But it's WAY better than your original plan.

jamikins

With two weeks I would pick 4 places tops to give yourself time to actually see something in those places. End of Oct is a bit late for my tastes as it could be cool and rainy. End of Sept would be much better if you can swing it.

Consider when you are planning that it will take 1/2 - full day to move between places, meaning you will lose that time in transit and not be able to see anything.

So if you have say 14 days - first and last day are pretty much lost to travel getting to Europe and day 2 could be foggy with jetlag.

If you fly into London then take the eurostar to Paris the train is 2.5 hours, but you need to pack, check out, get to the train station, go through security, wait for the train, take the train, then get to your hotel in Paris and check in. So even though the travel time itself is short (2.5 hours) you lose 1/2 a day. Getting to Santorini will probably eat up a whole day.

So out of 14 days you will have lost the first and last day to transit, and a further 2.5 - 3 days moving to the places on your list leaving you with 9ish days to see 6 places - not nearly enough time!

I would drop Santorini as logistically it will eat into the time too much. And I would pick 4 of the remaining places - fly into your first location and home from your last so you dont have to waste even MORE time backtracking to catch your flight.

Hope this makes sense - happy planning!

lanejohann

im not getting into this one...only want to clarify that getting to santorini doesnt need to take up a day
we arrived from kalambaka by coach..raced to athens airport in the late afternoon/early evening and got a flight to santorini mid evening and were picked up by the owner of the place we stayed at...settled in by 10pm and ready to go

thats all..it wasnt pleasant ..and it can be scary making those connections and i wouldnt do it again if possible..just in case some flight was late etc...but it can be done without wasting a whole day

Heimdall

Well, I don't think Italy or Greece will be any hotter in August than your equatorial temperatures in Malaysia, and it will be a lot less humid. Southern Europe will be crowded in beach resort areas, but not necessarily crowded in cities such as Paris, when so many of the residents are away on holiday.