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Seeking advice for itinerary to Germany-Venice-Florence-London-Paris Trip

Seeking advice for itinerary to Germany-Venice-Florence-London-Paris Trip

Old Sep 12th, 2015, 08:34 AM
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Seeking advice for itinerary to Germany-Venice-Florence-London-Paris Trip

Hi All,

I am new to Fodors and its forum, thanks in advance for those reading and helping us along. My friends and I are planning a trip to Europe this November. And our itinerary is planned as such

1. Munich: 12- 15th Nov (3 nights)

(Not booked yet)Overnight sleeper to

2. Venice: 16-17th Nov (1 night)

(Not booked yet) ItaliaRail

3. Florence: 17-21st Nov (4 nights)
+Keen for day tour to Tuscany and Rome

(Not booked yet) Flight on RyanAir to

4.London: 21 - 22nd Nov (1 night)

(Not Booked yet) Eurostar

5. Paris: 22 - 28th Nov
+Keen to explore other cities in France, Loire Valley etc?

My questions is:
i. Should i get Europass? Based on Ricksteves' train-fare maps (https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-ti...ains/cost-maps), I calculated that Venice- Munich, Munich-Florence, Florence-Rome will cost me about USD 310 per pax, whilst just the Europass without tickets would cost be about the same if not more. But, is these fares going to vary a lot if I buy the tickets closer/on that day? Or must i buy 2-3 months before? Not sure which option will make more sense here.

ii. Recommendation for day tour operators in Europe? Or if there are other options available etc, Student Guide, Interest Groups?

iii. Feel free to share any other recommendations that you think would be helpful

Thank You fabulous people ~~
amesol is offline  
Old Sep 12th, 2015, 08:54 AM
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For high speed trains you need to book about 90 days in advance in order to get the lowest fares, but note that they are for specific trains - if you change to another you will end up paying much higher full fare. The same is true for fights from Italy to London.

However your trip won;t really work as shown since you are double counting several days. For instance you are showing the 21st as being a day in Florence, for travel from Florence to London AND a day in London. It can be one - not all 3. Frankly I see no reason to go to London since you will have only one evening and one morning there - makes no sense at all.

Better to go fewer places and actually see something.

Lay the trip out day by day - showing where you will start, any travel you will do and where you will sleep. If you do that you will find you have much less time than you seem to think. And then you can then refine the itinerary to focus on the thing that you want to see the most.
nytraveler is offline  
Old Sep 12th, 2015, 09:18 AM
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nyt is right - your plan doesn't give you any time in London (nor much in Venice for that matter)

What you have is:

1. Munich: 12- 15th Nov - 3 nights/2.5 days

2. Venice: 16th Nov - 1 night/1 day

3. Florence: 17-20th Nov - 4 nights/3.5 days (Not nearly enough for Florence/Tuscany/Rome)

4.London: 21st Nov - 1 night/half a day

5. Paris: 22 - 28th Nov

IMO you need to re-think the entire plan. Why London at all if you are just going to arrive one day and leave the next morning? It is such a massive city w/ so much to see/do and just getting used to the logistics etc. it probably isn't 'worth' including unless you can stay a few days. Otherwise a lot of hassle just to tick it off a list and not see anything.

You'll probably enjoy Venice a lot more if you stay a couple of nights (minimum).
janisj is online now  
Old Sep 12th, 2015, 10:17 AM
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"Based on Ricksteves' train-fare maps..."

These maps do NOT take into consideration advance-purchase discount fares like the "Europa Spezial" fares available from Germany to Italy.

"1. Munich: 12- 15th Nov (3 nights)"

I would restructure your trip so that you fly home from Germany instead. This would give you a chance to enjoy the Christmas markets there.

"(Not booked yet)Overnight sleeper"

Doing Germany last could eliminate the perceived need for (and extra expense of) sleeping accommodations for this trip to Venice. If just one of you doesn't get a decent night's sleep - which is often a problem - it can affect the whole group's plans.

I would fly into Italy to start the trip. I would also fly between Italy and Paris - 13-15 hours on the train is just a pain. Buy train tickets for Venice-Florence, Paris-Germany.

Venice - Florence - Paris - Germany - London

I would visit the western side of Germany (instead of Munich) after Paris - you can get there from Paris by train in about 3 hours. Then fly to London from Germany.

In Germany there are many good options... you might look into...
Freiburg (Christmas market starts Nov. 23), the Black Forest, Mainz and the Rhine Valley (Rüdesheim Market Nov. 19), Cologne (Nov. 23), or Trier (Nov. 23) and the Mosel Valley.
Fussgaenger is offline  
Old Sep 12th, 2015, 10:39 AM
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Hi amesol - welcome to Fodors. I hope that you are finding our ideas helpful.

I have to agree with the others that you are trying to cram too much into too short a time, but fortunately you have been very sensible in not booking anything yet, so it should be easy to move things round to create a great trip.

how about this? :

Nov 12 - fly into Paris. stay 6 nights.

Nov 18 - fly to Rome. stay 3 nights.

Nov 21 - train to Florence. stay 2 nights.

Nov 23 - train to Venice, stay 2 nights

Nov 25 - train to Munich - NOT a night train as the train goes through the Alps and is a great journey in its own right. According to bahn.de there is a 8.50 train from Venice that arrives in Munich at 16.30 with only one change in Verona.

Nov 28 - fly home.

of course you can play around with this, but it gives you everything you wanted, save London, which you were only going to for one night anyway and Munich at the end for the Christmas markets.
annhig is offline  
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