Nzo

The goal of this trip is to maximize the number of cities and countries we can visit as we are not sure when we will be able to plan a second trip. We want to see as much cities as possible without sacrificing our experience or tiring out.


Here is what my itinerary looks like.

7 destinations in about 29 days.

Flying from - - LAX to London, UK (4 nights)
Flying from -- London to Majorca, SPA (3 nights) *wedding ceremony here*
Flying from -- Majorca to Madrid, SPA (3 nights)
Flying from -- Madrid to Athens, GRE (4 nights)
Flying from -- Athens to Rome, ITA (4 nights)
Train from -- Rome to Venice, ITA (3 nights)
Flying from -- Venice to Paris, FRA (4 nights)
Flying home from Paris to San Diego, CA

Any feed back or input would be great... especially if you have some romantic hotel recommendations

Robert2533

You might want to consider working with someone in LA who can help... So far, what you've provided makes no sense.

annhig

hi Nzo - I can't say that i understand what Robert has posted, but welcome to Fodors! you will certainly find plenty of advice here, some of it contradictory! It's up to you to decide what is helpful, and what isn't.

your itinerary so far is doable, though many might say that it's over-ambitious. You have to remember that every time you move you will lose at least 1/2 a day; you have a lot of flights which may involve midday departures [or even later] possibly using up a whole day to get from one place to another.

also, in concentrating on cities, and very big cities at that, you are missing out on spending some relaxing time in the countryside, which might help to recharge your batteries for the next big city. Museums, galleries and major sites can become very jumbled if that's all you are doing.

However you don't say what time of year you're travelling - essential information if we are to give you the best possible help.

adrienne

IMHO anyone who states that they want to see as many cities as possible has already sacrificed the experience. Your itinerary looks fine since you only want to visit a lot of cities, not relax and immerse yourself in those cities.

A vacation that is all cities and airports is not very relaxing to me and you don't give yourself any time for day trips outside the cities.

I would rethink the London to Majorca since the flight may take most of the day and leave you little spare time before the wedding.

goldenautumn

I don't see any need to add countryside stays. Every city you name has relaxing quarters to stay in. Cities are more than museums and art galleries, especially the cities you have chosen.

I agree that without knowing what time of year you are traveling it is hard to know if your trip has problems. For instance, the trip you've outlined would be a lot less enjoyable to me in August then in April.

Would you be interested in substituting Berlin or Vienna for Madrid?

You can fly from Mallorca to either Berlin or Vienna, and then you would get to experience something quite different from your other cities. Berlin is harder to get a grip on in just 3 days, so I would take a night from Athens and give it to Berlin if you like the idea of going to Berlin.

To make a trip like yours work, you need to pack extremely lightly so you can move through airports comfortably, and you should budget for having a laundry done during one of your stays. (I'd pick Athens because it will be cheapest if you do it there, so pick a hotel that does laundry).

goldenautumn

Also, I meant to add before I hit the submit button is that if either of you tire easily, this kind of trip requires a lot of energy. If you have never traveled to Europe before, you might find arriving in new cities every three days with their different languages and transportation systems more stressful than you realize.

If you are generally energetic but low-drama, flexible people, then a road warrior trip like this works if you put in the research about what you most want to see in each of the cities. If your personalities head more in the direction of liking soothing, travel, "wander and get lost", no fixed targets and priorities, prefer the unplanned -- then better to head to just a few places and rent an apartment with a terrace.

sofarsogood

This is more like a Rolling Stones tour schedule than a honeymoon.

If you cut back on all these flights, think of the money you'd save so you could come back next for your anniversary.

Travel less, experience more

Cathinjoetown

I would give Madrid a miss this trip but not in order to add anything else.

Further to what annig said, look carefully at your flight options--schedules, time to get to the airport, time required to be at the airport before your flight, checked luggage or not, etc.

Cutting out one city would make the trip much more relaxing. But, if the fast pace is not an issue, nothing wrong with your plan as is.

Regarding hotels, what is your budget? I have always wanted to stay at La Residencia in Deya on Majorca but possibly you already have something booked there for the wedding? For Paris, if you like charm, my choices would be L'Abbaye or the Relais St. Germain, but there are many good choices. The two Paris hotels are now probably around $400. a night.

Heimdall

Congratulations on your forthcoming marriage! Hmm...don't know why you are flying to Majorca for the wedding, but only want to spend 3 nights there...okay I suppose, if there are no issues with preparations, marriage license, etc.

You have a rushed itinerary, and will be spending much of it in airport terminals, but if that's what you want, go for it. Have a wonderful trip!

Nzo

Thanks for the feedback. The trip is scheduled June - July.

Moving Majorca isn't an option as the wedding ceremony will be there. We're only spending 3 nights there because we really want to experience other places that "feel" more like Europe. From what research I gathered, Majorca is very similar to Los Cabos, Mexico which we go to twice a year. So we don't want to feel bored too quickly in something that feels familiar. Considering how easily we get bored of Los Cabos now.

I do worry about us tiring out however. We're both in our 20's so we're not lacking energy, but I want this to be a vacation and not a marathon. I would not be opposed to cutting out Madrid and spending more time elsewhere without adding more cities. From what my research shows, Madrid can be more of a night town than a day one. This true?

Regarding hotels. I say our average budget is about $250/night US. Some places, like Athens, we hope to spend less on hotels in order to afford some of the nicer hotels in Paris and Venice than run up just under $500/night.

And we're not interested in countryside.

robertino

Greece is the obvious outlier here and if you delete it, including travel time, you have a much more manageable but still busy trip.

Don't worry about trying to see everything this time. Once you start going to Europe, it becomes a priority and you will definitely be back.

You could limit your trips to Cabo to once a year and save the $ to go to Greece later.

sallytakemyhand

On my honeymoon, some time back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, I wanted to spend time with my new husband, not in a boarding lounge of an airport.

Robert2533

Shouldn't this be titled "honeymoon road trip"!

Are you actually getting married in Majorca, or is there going to be some sort of civil ceremony, a brief celebration?

Majorca is nothing like Los Cabo and Madrid is vibrant, day and night.

Nzo

All civil duties will be done prior to the trip. Majorca is more of a celebration/ceremony.

annhig

Nzo, i've never been to Los Cabo, but I googled it, and apart from its being on the coast, and spanish being spoken, I didn't see many similarities with Mallorca. that said, i don't know where you are going to be based on Mallorca - where are you staying?

Madrid seemed to me to be a city that never sleeps - you could almost go straight from boogying at a disco to the Prado, only stopping for chocolate and churros on the way. As an alternative, [or an addition] you could consider Barcelona which with its beautiful setting may have more appeal to honeymooners than Madrid.

but i agree about dropping Athens - it is the real outlier here, and the time to get there and back will really eat into your time there. personally i think that it's a shame that you dismiss the countryside altogether - you might find that half way through this trip you could do with a bit of a rest, but it's your honeymoon, not mine.

good luck, and congratulations!

progol

I also would eliminate Athens completely from the trip. While it's worthwhile in a trip to Greece, I don't find it as enjoyable a city as, say, Paris or London.

I would add those days elsewhere, perhaps staying in a smaller city outside of the major cities you listed. Siena, Italy, comes to mind as an example. Or, you can never go wrong extending your stay in Paris, to me one of the most glorious romantic cities on this planet!

Good luck - it sounds like fun!

nytraveler

It would help people advise you if you told us what your interests are. History? architecture, shopping? fine dining? sitting in a cafe watching the world go by? Seeing every major sight?

This is a very busy trip - and in many of these places you need to do a lot of walking to see the city and sights (days we aren't in the car/on the road we average 8 to 10 miles by foot - and we're old). But we know our focus is to see every museum, church, castle, gallery, etc - plus explore interesting neighborhoods - have lovely dinners and spend some time every day just sitting in a cafe. If we never see a beach that is fine with us and while I love looking at /training through Alps - I'm not k=hiking up anything.

Have you talked about how you want to spend your days and what your must sees are in each city?

Nzo

Thank you for the great feedback. I can't tell you just how much it is helping us plan our trip.

I also want to add that we have a pretty open mind as far as our interest. Some places/days we want to see some art, history, museums, architecture. However in other places (or days) we prefer to keep an open plan and just let our feet be our guide.

With that said, I've relayed all information to my fiancé, and with some research we've made some adjustments. Tell me if you think this is better.

We removed Athens to spend less time flying. Also substituted Madrid for Barcelona. We're so torn between Madrid, Barcelona, and Sevilla... but no time to visit all 3.


New Destinations (all flights):
LAX -> London (6 nights)
London -> Majorca (4 nights)
Majorca -> Barcelona (3 nights)
Barcelona -> Rome (4 nights)
Roma -> Venice (4 nights)
Venice -> Paris (5 nights)
Flying home from Paris.

6 destinations in 26 days. We're not opposed to staying longer without adding more cities if we can manage the hotel & flight fees to be below $10k. This would allow us to have a healthy budget for food, shopping & other expenses..

just27

Sounds wonderful. Congratulations to you and your fiancee. If I had anything to say, it would be to take one day away from Majorca and add it to any of the other cities ... only because you say you get quickly bored in Cabo.

janisj

That little bit of tweaking really improved your plan. It is still busy but IMO this new plan is MUCH more doable and you won't be nearly as frazzled.

If you do end up adding a few nights my choice would be to add nights in this order: 1) one night to Paris, 2) one night to Rome, 3) one night to London. Even though you are already planning 6 nights in London I like an extra night or 2 there because it is your arrival city and there will be jet lag - plus it is HUGE.

But even w/o any extra nights it looks good.