apldap

Any advice or suggestions regarding the Eurotrip I'm planning would be much appreciated.

Day 0: Home to London
Day 1: London
Day 2: London to Nice
Day 3: Day trip to Cannes/Antibes
Day 4: Nice to Lyon
Day 5: Day trip to Grenoble
Day 6: Lyon to Berlin via Geneva
Day 7: Berlin
Day 8: Berlin
Day 9: Berlin
Day 10: Berlin to London
Day 11: London
Day 12: Day trip to Cambridge
Day 13: London
Day 14: London
Day 15: London
Day 16: Flight back home

Also, my understanding is that France has a national holiday on May 15th. This would occur while I plan to be in Nice. Does anyone know if this will affect my trip severely?

Thank you.

ira

Hi Ap,

If you flew into Berlin and then direct to London, I think that you would have a very nice visit.

France will still be there next time.

Scootoir

Hello apldap,

First I highly recommend you fly open jaws, into one city, perhaps Nice, and home from London. Or do the reverse but don't spend precious time traveling from London to Nice. This will give you another day on the ground.

Whether or not it is too much is really up to you and how you like to travel. Consider leaving out Berlin for more time in the south of France. Or, if it is your first trip to Europe, visit Paris instead of Berlin. It's all personal preference but I love Paris.

Good luck planning.

Scootoir

Oh Ira we were posting at the same time. Leave out France? That is painful to read but perhaps it will suite the OP since there was no mention of Paris (well, until I posted ;-) ).

Kathie

Much of your time with your proposed itinerary is in transit. If you'd prefer to experience some of these places you propose to pass through, you have to spend time IN these places. Are London and Berlin your priorities? If so, plan to fly into London and out of Berlin or the reverse, so you don't waste time getting from one to the other. You can certainly do a day trip or two if you wish, but plan to spend time in the places that interest you.

Your current itinerary mentions Nice, Cannes, Antibes, Lyon and Grenoble, but you don't spend time in any of these places - you just pass through. If those are places you want to see, you need to spend at least two nights (which yields just one day).

KodakMoment

The OP mentioned it's their first trip to Europe.
I'm also wondering why they picked Lyon and Nice over Paris.

StCirq

Yes, it's too much. Far too much. Do you want to see places or just pass through them to get to somewhere else? The latter is not fun or enlightening.

apldap

Thank you everyone for the input! I am thinking of focusing my time in France to either the Provence region or the Rhone-Alpes region rather than trying to visit both (I have visited Paris before; it wasn't my favourite - sorry Scootoir!). This would mean my itinerary would change to this:

Day 0: Home to London
Day 1: London
Day 2: London to Nice
Day 3: Day trip to Cannes
Day 4: Day trip to Antibes (or Monaco)
Day 5: Nice
Day 6: Nice to Berlin
Day 7: Berlin
Day 8: Berlin
Day 9: Berlin
Day 10: Berlin to London
Day 11: London
Day 12: Day trip to Cambridge
Day 13: London
Day 14: London
Day 15: London
Day 16: Flight back home

or this:

Day 0: Home to London
Day 1: London
Day 2: London to Lyon
Day 3: Lyon
Day 4: Day trip to Grenoble
Day 5: Lyon
Day 6: Lyon to Berlin via Geneva
Day 7: Berlin
Day 8: Berlin
Day 9: Berlin
Day 10: Berlin to London
Day 11: London
Day 12: Day trip to Cambridge
Day 13: London
Day 14: London
Day 15: London
Day 16: Flight back home

It is significantly cheaper for me to not fly open jawed for the dates I've chosen, so I think I will keep it that way. (I am a broke student trying to see as much as possible!)

So I guess the question now is which one to choose? Any suggestions? Again, the input is appreciated!

Scootoir

Will you be flying between London and Lyon or London and Nice? Add that cost to your round trip London airfare to see how it stacks up to an open jaw flight. Day two on both itineraries will be spent traveling to airports, waiting for flights, flying and transport to your hotel. It might be better to catch the flight to France directly after landing in London on day 1.

nytraveler

Are yo sure you're looking at multi-destination tickets instead of two one-way tickets. Open jaw (multi-destination) tickets are usually 1/2 of the round trip cost to each of the cities.

If you do that you could put all of London at the beginning, all of Berlin at the end and then consolidate the middle few days in one place on the riviera.

neckervd

So you want to visit London, Berlin and Nice, 3 big cities. Why not?
Just look for the best flights and fares.

traveller1959

Your first itinerary looks good, now.

Strangely, I see no non-stop flights from Nice to Berlin (I entered a dummy date), but there is a Germanwings connection via Stuttgart leaving at 11:55 and landing at 16:35 which does not look too bad.

Let me add a few word about your Côte d'Azur part of the trip. You will have three full days (if you take the 7:15-10:20 Easyjet flight even four days) at the Côte.

The first question is, will you rent a car or rely on public transport?

Public transport will work in the region, but I strongly suggest driving a car because you have there some of the world's most breathtaking scenic coastal roads to drive - the famous "Corniches" between Nice and Monaco (the "moyenne" or middle for one way and the "grand" or superior for the other way or, if you wish, the small winding interconnecting roads for a special experience - and the even more beautiful "Corniche d'Or" (golden coastal road) between Cannes and St. Raphael.

Driving the Corniches would be easy daytrips and lead you to many worthwile other destinations, including several picturesque hilltop villages.

The second question is where to base yourself. Your itinerary looks somewhat big-city-laden, so it might be a good idea not to stay in Nice but in a smaller town. If you rely on public transport, staying in Antibes would be as good as staying in Nice.

If you have car, you have even more options. I would recommend: Antibes, Cannes, Mougins, Theoule-sur-Mer or a village in this area. However, in any case avoid Villeneuve-Loubet and Cros-de-Cagnes.

Whatever your travel preferences are, you find it at the Côte d'Azur: Scenery, villages, beaches, art museums etc.

apldap

Once again thank you all! I think I will go the Cote D'Azur route. I still couldn't find any cheaper open jaw flights, but I don't mind sacrificing one day.

Fortunately easyjet flies Nice to Berlin so it should work out nicely. And I will look into staying in Antibes rather than Nice!

This trip is looking quite solid now, thanks for all the input.

KodakMoment

<I> apldap on Apr 3, 16 at 3:03am
I have visited Paris before; it wasn't my favourite - sorry Scootoir!</I>

You've got some nerve to admit you don't like Paris, on a fiercely Francophile forum.
You are a misguided soul. One day you will ask Paris for forgiveness and wash away your sins in the Seine.

FuryFluffy

If you have visited Paris before, then why did you call this your "First Eurotrip"? Or did you just transit in Paris during several hours? I'm not surprised if it's not your favorite, the region around the airport is hardly pretty.

If you choose "Multi-destination" while searching for your flight, you will avoid back tracking to London. You'll save time, and save the cost of a back-tracking to London, which is not cheap either.

suze

I also wondered about a dislike for Paris, when this is a first trip to Europe?

apldap

"First Eurotrip" as in first time travelling the continent on my own! I have indeed spent a fair bit of time in the city; I don't think it's for everyone.

flpab

Don't feel bad. I don't like Rome. I do love Paris. Some places are not for everyone. I have never been to Berlin. Hope you enjoy.

Cindy_McGregor

I see you've justly provided enough time for Berlin. Amazing city. Worth spending there a couple of days! With all its top attractions around and the events going on, the problem will be where to start from

TravelinGert

Day 0: Home to London
Day 1: London
Day 2: London to Nice
Day 3: Day trip to Cannes/Antibes
Day 4: Nice to Lyon
Day 5: Day trip to Grenoble
Day 6: Lyon to Berlin via Geneva
Day 7: Berlin
Day 8: Berlin
Day 9: Berlin
Day 10: Berlin to London
Day 11: London
Day 12: Day trip to Cambridge
Day 13: London
Day 14: London
Day 15: London
Day 16: Flight back home

I'm always one to try to cram a lot into every trip, so I really understand your excitement. Lets see if I can help you develop a better plan for yourself.

Day 0 : Are you flying nonstop overnight from the US? If you are not flying Business class or above, expect to be seriously short on sleep. You MIGHT be pleasantly surprised that you nod off, but it won't be the quality of sleep you get when home in your bed. Pretty much expect to be dead tired and not do much on your arrival day.

Day 1: Are you flying or taking the train? If the latter, plan to be at the train station no later than 3 hours before your train leaves. Earlier would be better. We followed the two hours suggested on the website on our last Eurostar trip from London to Paris and just barely made our train after arriving 2 and a half hours in advance in the November off season. I don't believe you'll get much done other than check into your hotel and find some dinner in Nice that day, either.

Day 4 : Nice to Lyon is 4 and a half hours plus travel time to and from the train stations plus checking in and out of your hotels.

Everything from here forward looks quite good. I'd suggest you might take a day off London to give yourself more time in your whirlwind at the start of the journey.

Hope you have a great time!