lifeisanadventure

This is our iten as of now it is open for change. I know it is super busy but this will prob be our last time in europe as we want to explore asia etc.

May 3 leave USA
May 4 Arrive Madrid
May 5th Madrid
May 6th Madrid
May 7th Madrid/Barcelona
May 8th Barcelona
May 9th Barcelona
May 10th Barcelona/ Amsterdam
May 11 Amsterdam
May 12 Amsterdam
May 13 Amsterdam/ Berlin
May 14 Berlin
May 15 Berlin
May 16 Berlin/ CPH Board Baltic Cruise
May 25 disembark in CPH
May 26 CPH
May 27 CPH
May 28 cph/fly home

What does everyone think?

adrienne

Looks ok to me. It's faster than I usually travel but you have 2 solid days in each city. If you can cover the sights you want to see in that time then there's no problem.

easytraveler

You threw me for awhile by naming cities and then switching to an airline code for your final city. Is Copenhagen your final European city?

How are you planning to get around to the other cities? Fly? Train? Drive? How people advise you will depend quite on a bit on how you are going to negotiate your way between and among the various cities.

lifeisanadventure

Hello easytraveler! Yes copenhagen is our final city! Sorry for the confusion! We were going to take a train from madrid to barcelona. THen fly from barcelona to amsterdam. We havent decided on a train or flight between amsterdam and berlin. Most likely fly. And tehn fly from berlin to copenhagen since we are getting on a cruise!

adrienne: I will have a very detailed iten for each day planned out!

annhig

you threw me by posting about your "iten".

once I got past that I was able to agree that it's "super-busy" - and IMO super-daft too. I'm sure you know the "rule" that it takes half a day, at least, out of your trip every time you move - and you're moving 5 times in 3 weeks. that may not seem like much to you now, but when you are here, you will just be longing for a day or two when you can relax and do nothing.

personally, I would scrub Amsterdam, and distribute the extra days between Barcelona and Berlin.

I know you've said that you may not be coming back to Europe again, but what's the point of racing around like maniacs and not seeing what you've come so far to seem just to cram in another city?

and please, it's Itinerary.

suze

That trip would be a nightmare for me, acutally it woudln't because I wouldn't do it (lol) but that doesn't mean it won't be a great trip for you. Pace of travel is an extremely personal choice. Have you traveled at this pace before? Did you enjoy it? If yes, you'll be fine.

StCirq

I had no idea what "iten" was and almost didn't open the thread - I thought it was "item," but that didn't make sense either. Now I get it - it's a misspelled abbreviation of a misspelled word - so, OK, now that we got past that weirdness, if you're comfortable ping-ponging all over Europe, do it. I wouldn't ever, but I never go to Europe with the back story that I'll never be back again - quite the opposite. Just do know that your time is going to be really, really short in every destination, and at some point you'll probably lose track of where you are and what you've seen.

Sassafrass

Have you been to Spain before? Curious only because, though they are interesting cities, neither Madrid nor Barcelona have the charm of other, smaller cities/towns like Seville, Toledo, Segovia, etc.

nytraveler

It's not something I would ever do - but if you're satisfied with just 2 days in each place it works.

Have you been to any of these places before - or is everything new?

Also - you have just city centers - no time for any trips out into the countryside. (I don;t object to that I prefer city vacations - but usually leave time for day trips from major cities.)

lifeisanadventure

No we have never been to any of these places! I'm thinking seriously about cutting out Amsterdam. Should I evenly divide those days between Barcelona and Berlin?

easytraveler

Sorry to be peppering you with additional questions: but why those particular cities?

IMHO, they're not exactly the most charming, most romantic, most... Do you have relatives in some of those cities?

Have you been to Europe before? If so, where? For me, the attractiveness of Europe lies in the countryside, although I do like the mid-sized cities like Munich and Vienna.

Unlike the others, your "iten" didn't bother me. I realize in this two-thumb digital age, lots of words and sentences get abbreviated.

However, like the others, my impression is that you will be seeing a lot of the interiors of airports, planes, train stations and trains. That's not much time to enjoy each country.

Perhaps, you could give us some more information as to why you chose those particular cities over others, what your likes and dislikes are (e.g. love/hate museums), how many people will be traveling, what your approximate budget will be - we really could give you more specific information, rather than taking stabs in the dark.

Jean

I'm a city girl, so I love seeing cities on vacation, but even I think this itinerary is too city-heavy. And at the same time, for city destinations, I don't think you're giving yourself enough time anywhere.

Do you realize that if you fly everywhere except Madrid-Barcelona you'll be passing through airports 10 times in 26 days? Even if you drop Amsterdam, it's 8 times. Why not have a nice tour of Spain, fly to Copenhagen for the cruise, and then fly home?

Dukey1

I'm not the least bit surprised about any of the answers above and i certainly disagree that there is some sort of "rule" about how many days you just <B>have</B> to be in any place and how long it just <B>has</B> to take you to get from one place to another.

And I'll tell you why in this particular case of the usual "it cannot be done because I wouldn't ever do it" responses: there is not one instance of you telling us exactly what you plan on trying to <B>see and do</B> in any of these cities except get on a cruise!

Look, you can go anywhere you want to in Europe whether it is so-called "ping-ponging" or not.

lifeisanadventure

We chose these cities because we have never been to them! We have been most other places in europe. Is there enough to do in spain to spend 12 days there? We also really want to see Berlin. As for what we are doing in these cities I havent gotten around to planning what we will do

suze

I only visit cities, I don't see anything wrong with that part. Since I never rent cars and am often solo that works best for me. And I like Amsterdam so wouldn't cut it. I'm sure there's "enough to do" in Spain to easily fill 12 days, how could there not be?, if that's where you want to go instead.

Sassafrass

12 days in Spain: here are just a few things to start:
Madrid - Prado, palace, park, other museums
Toledo - History, architecture, art, magnificent cathedral
Segovia - Roman aquaduct, church, plaza, castle
Seville - Cathedral, old town, great food, lots of charm
Cordoba - Mosque, interesting city
Granada - Alhambra - major sight seeing experience
Barcelona - Architecture - Gaudi and others

I've been to Spain four times and still have many things I want to see there.

easytraveler

Most of the cities you've chosen are good for young people with lots of night life and other activities. So, if you're young and you can chase around Europe (how many of us gray-haired ones haven't done whirlwind trips like this when we still had all our teeth?), go for it!

Enjoy!

suze

I don't think it necessarily has anything to do with age, it's just personal choice. I've always liked a more "slow travel" approach, even in my 20's.