12 days europe
 

Hi , I'm planing my first solo backpacking trip in Europe this October . What I want to see is Aurora and I also want to go to Paris and Jungfrauch . I will arrive and depart from Amsterdam , my trip will be twelve day . Please help me to make the right itinerary , if it possible I would like to add Rome and other east/west Europe city . Anyway I'm not in to the guy who like to enjoy one place too long , so it would be good to be in a lot of place . I also love overnight bus/train .my budget is around 2000 usd . Thank you

Have no idea what you mean by Aurora. A place? Or Aurora borealis?

Also you seem to want to do about 6 places in 12 days, which really doesn;t make much sense - you would spend the bulk of your time/money in just getting from one place to another.

Europe no longer has many night trains and when they do they are not cheap. Of course you can travel between many cities at night, but it often involved sitting up all night and changing trains 2 or 3 times in the middle of the night.

Also do you have 12 nights on the ground - or does this include the day you arrive and the day you depart - in which case you really have only 10.5 days on the ground?

Does your $2000 include airfare from the US? If so, how much of the budget will that take (since we have no idea where you are coming from). It seems you will be going to/fro Amsterdam (a bad choice unless you also want to see Amsterdam and you waste a whole days getting back there to return home - an open jaw ticket into your first city and out of your last would have saved you a whole day).

I mean aurora borealis , It's not included the airfare ticket . I'm from asian anyway. I wish I could but if you have a better option , I'm gonna consider what's your thought . It's f

What about over night bus ? Is it reccomended ? My trip is full twelve days .

Of course seeing the Aurora Borealis isn't included in any arifare. No one can even guarantee you'll see it.

Which overnight bus? In general, that is the lowest-common-denominator of travel, only for those who can survive with no sleep and want to cover a whole lot of ground without seeing much of anything. Plus, overnight buses simply don't go everywhere you want to go.

Is your US$2000 for everything? Airfare, accommodations, food, sight-seeing, etc.? Not enough unless you camp or sleep on benches, IMO.

You don't have enought time in 12 days to see all those places, and flying into and out of Amsterdam instead of open-jaw ticket makes no sense since you seem to want to flit around the whoel Continent.

Read a few guidebooks, pick 2-3 places at most to travel to, and buy open-jaw tickets.

A common mistake among first time travelers is to try to do too much in the time you have. You will barely get there and get oriented when it's time to move on. When the trip is over you can say you've been there but the truth is you haven't really experienced any of the places you went. It sounds like your mind is made up but please give this some thought.

Iceland is in your title and I assume that's where you expect to see the aurora borealis. The auroroa borealis is not something you can see on just any given day. Nobody can predict when or where it will appear so if you are going to Iceland just for that, you might want to scratch Iceland off your list. Furthermore Iceland is a very expensive place to visit and you are on a limited budget. Since Iceland is not connected to the European continent you will have to fly from Iceland into Europe which will take even more of your time and money. You also mentioned the Jungfrau which is fabulous but Switzerland is also a very expensive place to visit.

I wish I could make more recommendations but this trip is just not doable given your time constraints. If you trim down your itinerary we might be able to offer more help.

I also love overnight bus/train>

when I was your age I did that a lot - and loved it - for lots of great info on the European rail system check www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.seat61.com.

>>My trip is full twelve days .<<

OK -- you first need to understand what that means:

You spend all of one day flying to Amsterdam, one day traveling back to Amsterdam before flying home, and one full day flying home. So three entire days of your twelve is just getting from/to home.

Now you are down to nine days. You want to see places that are half a day and sometimes a full day apart.

You can get the occasional over night train but there are not as many of those as there used to be because day time trains are now very fast and there are low budget airlines so there is not much reason to run overnight trains. Over night buses are an option but 9 straight nights of little sleep sitting on buses will likely ruin your trip.

So -- in most cases you will be traveling during the day - and eat up even more of your precious time in Europe.

So -- w/ just 12 days pick THREE places only - and that will be still very fast paced.

Forget about the Northern Lights, You would have to go VERY far north - like near the Arctic Circle and even then you likely would not see them.

So pick which ever three cities - hopefully they are ones that do have night trains connecting them otherwise. That would help a little.

Okay , Currently I consider to make itinerary
Amsterdam 1 days ( I dont really into it , so I consider to only take a snap on some windmill ) , overnight bus to colmar about 40€
Colmar 1 1/2 days , colmar to interlaken . Train fare about 50 €
Switzerland 3 days , bern to paris overnight bus 30 €
Paris 2 days , fly to reykjavik about 60 € (promo fare)
Iceland 5 days , fly to amsterdam about 65 € (promo fare)
I'm gonna stay in hostel with average fare 20-30 € , already find cheap hostel in reykjavik . If there is something wrong , would you mind to tell me what it is ?

As you can see I only use overnight bus two time , so it's not that bad . I've experience that much worse than this , Bangkok-Phuket and Tokyo-Osaka , everything is well maintained , and I still enjoy my day trip ...

All well and good but to get the days in each place you mention the trip would have to be 17 or 18 days . . . not 12

And for some chance of seeing the Aurora in Iceland in October you would want to stay a week or more - and even then if the weather doesn't cooperate you won't see a thing.

You asked for help - we gave it, you have your own ideas . . . Have fun.

(The windmills aren't IN Amsterdam BTW)

Lots to do in Amsterdam. Stay there rather than going to Colmar.
Actually, would be better to put the time in Amsterdam at the end, since you must return there for the flight home.

You need to allow for travel time to see how little sightseeing time you really have.

Did a travel agent suggest this itinerary or book your flights? As others are trying to help you see, this is not a good plan, but may be difficult to fix if your flights are set.

Yea, let give it a try . Thanks anyway for suggestion . If you were I , what will your trip be ? I mean your itinerary in twelve day .
Anyway there is The Zaanse Schans is just 15 minutes by train from the centre amsterdam .

@sassafraas yea I already bought it two months ago , considering it is one of the cheapest fare I got from south east asia (kuala lumpur)

>>If you were I , what will your trip be ? I mean your itinerary in twelve day .<<

You do not have 12 days (assuming you mean from the time you leave home til you return). That will be 9 or 9.5 days on-the-ground in Europe.

You don't really need my plan, you need to figure out which 3 places are most important to you and visit them.

It seems that is the main reason you want to visit Iceland is to see the Aurora Borealis - Going to Iceland is not a good idea because that is a LOT of time out of your very short trip and the chances of seeing the Aurora are not very good.

<<If you were I , what will your trip be ? I mean your itinerary in twelve day .>>

You don't seem to understand that you do not have 12 days. You have 9.

My plan would never be anything like this, because I would go for a longer period of time and I would never go all the way to Iceland hoping to see the Aurora Borealis when I probably wouldn't be able to.

Forget Colmar. Forget Iceland. Pick two places at MOST besides Amsterdam.

My trip is 14 days and 12 days is an actual trip . Get it ?

But I see a lot of people get an aurora from a short trip , they just get there for two day and have a sight . If I dont get it , actually I still can enjoy the scenery .

Other than Iceland , do you have any reccomendation where to see aurora ? I heard that tromso and alta is a good choice too , but they are way more expensive than iceland . Svaalbard and hammerfest also good but they are just too far and transportation is a big problem for me if I choose them

It's a crapshoot no matter where you choose to go. Live with it and have alternative plans.

Every August, usually the first week, the shooting stars (Pleiades) are glorious here where we live. This year we had three solid nights of amazing shooting stars. Our friends 12 kms away saw nothing. That's the way it goes with natural phenomena. I would never add costs onto a trip assuming I would see anything like this.

You are likely young and fit, so I get that you can rush about. Being in lots of places is OK if travel between does not eat up all your time, but you are counting time you do not have.

Paris is great for a first visit to Europe, so keep it. I am not knowledgeable about Switzerland and that seems to be a priority for you, so others can advise you in that.

Seriously, if Iceland is really of great interest to you for more than the Northern lights, fine. If all you care about are the Northern lights, drop it! It is not worth all the time and money for only a very, very, very small chance that you might see them when you could spend the time and money where you are sure of interesting things to see.

While not usually a first city of choice to visit in Europe, you are going to Amsterdam anyway, so no point going and coming through there and skipping it. It is really a beautiful and interesting city and there are beautiful and interesting small towns nearby. At the very least, see the Anne Frank House for a personal understanding of that part of history.

Lay out your trip so you can see what you are doing. Use exact days and flight times. Change this to please yourself. It is just a guide on how to do it. Since you are departing from Amsterdam, you need to be there the night before.
Day 1, depart Kuala Lumpur
Day 2, arrive Amsterdam, time? Train to Paris, night in Paris
Day 3, Paris
Day 4, Paris
Day 5, train to Switzerland (where?)
Day 6, Switzerland
Day 7, Switzerland
Day 8, Switzerland
Day 9, travel to Amsterdam
Day 10, Amsterdam
Day 11, day trip from Amsterdam
Day 12, fly home.

OK, see you may have a couple more days. Not enough for Iceland, but take away the day trip from Amsterdam and that gives you three days. Actually about 2 & 1/2 with travel, to choose one more place close to the others or easy to travel to/from the others. I would add a day to Paris, but you probably won't so. . .

You mentioned another city like Rome. Rome is too big for just a day. You could
Fly from Paris to Venice. Easy and good flights.
Train or fly, Venice to Switzerland.

You could instead go to a city in Germany for a day after Switzerland, one with good rail or plane connections to Amsterdam.

Whatever you do, I still advise taking the train directly to Paris on arrival in Amsterdam.

Sassafrass' itinerary suggestions are great- for time in Switzerland a Swiss Pass or Swiss Transfer Ticket or Half-Fare Card could be a good deal depending on what you do -for info - For more info check www.swisstravelsystem.com -plus the sites I mentioned in my earlier post far above.

I would spend the whole time in the Jungfrau Region around Interlaken - so many varied things to do besides seeing glaciers up close - like lake boat trips on either lake bookending Interlaken.

Is this real life?

No, it's the classic fantasy of the Asian traveler. One sees it here often.

I like Sassafrass' suggestions, the only thing that concerns me is the OP's budget is limited and Switzerland is the most expensive country he will be visiting using that plan. I suggest to the OP that he should start looking on line now for hostels. Cheap accomodations in Switzerland are hard to find.

I don't know if this is still true but when I did the Jungfrau in 2004 it was considerably cheaper to take the first train up in the early morning. The early train is also a lot less crowded.

Early Bird Special still around for Jungfraujoch - see official site.

Interlaken has cheap accommodations such as the famous Balmer's Auberge - where backpackers from round the world gather. Also ogrganizes action sports trips like rafting and para gliding - though if on a low budget well..

http://www.balmers.com/

Grindelwald has a hostel as does Lauterbrunnen I think but a neat hostel-like thing in Grindelwald is the Nature Friends' House - can do you own cooking - hikers and alpinists of all ages use it:

https://www.hotelscombined.com/Hotel...es_Friends.htm

>>but you are counting time you do not have.<<

That is for darn sure -- even if you have 14 days total -- that is STILL only 11.5 days free on the ground. Then say you decide to go 5 specific places -- that will eat up another 2 or 3 days travel time. Plus you will have to be back in Amsterdam the night before you fly home. So actual free time to sightsee -- you are down to 8 or 8.5 days. For 5 destinations . . . you get a grand total of 1.5 days per city/country.

But you seem set so . . . spend all that time and money and get your 1.5 days per city. Not fun IMO/IME and very VERY expensive to not see or do very much.

Ah - you say - 'I'll take night buses to solve the travel time". Nope. What do you do when you get into a city at a 8AM . . . and can't get into your hostel/hotel until 2 or 3 PM. You can clean up, un pack, anything so you wander around lugging your stuff half the day.

Just an awful plan all around.

justal - we are ALL really REALLY trying to help you but you are reluctant to take our advice. That is perfectly fine -- it is your trip after all. But every single person posting on your thread either lives in Europe or travels there frequently. We are trying to help you not make some expensive mistakes.

In the end - it is your trip - your decision.

Thanks all for help me , it's like that I should make a better itinerary .
how about spending a week in Iceland , two days in amsterdam and three days in Paris ?

Sorry about the typo - should say >>You can<B>'t</B> clean up, un pack, anything <<

>>how about spending a week in Iceland , two days in amsterdam and three days in Paris ?<<

That is MUCH better :) As long as Iceland is the main reason for the trip and is where you want to visit most.

justal, I'm so glad you are making a new plan. I haven't been to Iceland but I've heard a lot of great things about it. I've also heard Iceland is very expensive so please take a look at the price of things. If you can fit Iceland into your budget then I think your new plan is much better.

You sound like you are young so you have plenty of time to return to Europe and do the other things you mentioned on a future trip. Happy travels!!

Yea , I'm a bit scared about teror in europe especially when I'm being a solo traveler .
Hopefully , everything went well . Thanks all ..
Yea but I red that iceland cheaper than finland .

This may be obsolete, but Amsterdam to Colmar: train to Basel 8:28PM-6:29AM, in Colmar by 8:24 with 1 change.

I was in Munich earlier this month and the thought of terrorism never entered my head. Your chances of being in a terrorist attack are so slim, please do not let that deter you from seeing the world and fulfilling your dreams.

Oh no, now terrorism...

You have a lot of good advice Justal. I know nothing about Iceland and didn't like the way you were rebuffing posters, so I don't contribute.

So my advice is : make a preview of your posts before clicking on submit. It seems you are starting to get it, so you are on track - have a great trip.

Hello folks , it seems that I would skip Iceland and switch it to North norway , remembering my highlight is Aurora borealis .

So, you are going to one of the most expensive places in Europe, on a tiny budget, with no more hope of seeing the Aurora Borealis than in Iceland?

OK, do it and good luck.

<i>remembering my highlight is Aurora borealis</i>

OK. Then fly into Longyearbyen and spend your whole holiday there.

>>remembering my highlight is Aurora borealis .<<

Will you be VERY disappointed to spend a fortune in Norway (one of the most expensive countries to visit in all of Europe) and not see the Northern Lights? Because that is a very strong possibility.

You really should not build a trip around maybe, just maybe, seeing the Aurora Borealis. They don't just show up every night and you can go out and see them. They might not be showing the nights you are there . . . and even IF they are, if it is cloudy you won't see them.

You have a tight budget - most of us understand how to pinch pennies and travel cheap -- but it is much harder in Norway.

I think maybe you should just plan your trip and good luck with everything.

Good move.
No terrorism there yet.
Just a crazy guy who shot dozens of people some time ago.

Okay then my itinerary should be like this
Two days amsterdam (not yet making any itinerary here )
Three days paris (same as amsterdam)
Five days iceland (probably tour each day cost about 100 usd)

Flight should be ams-paris about 35 usd by transavia

Paris-reykjavik about 111 usd by wow air

Reykjavik-ams about 100 usd by wow air .
I also thinking about going to iceland first then go to paris .

There are hundreds of articles about the Aurora Borealis and the best places and times to see the lights. I hope you will read a lot of them, including stories of people who spend vacation after vacation trying without success. It can be a wild goose chase.

They do list the best possible places and time of year. You cannot be in a city. The lights will interfere with your vision. You need to be in the country and it must be dark, but the sky must be clear, no clouds. Sparkchaser gave you one place, Longyearbyen, but there are many and Iceland is also one of them.

You will be spending a lot of money and time, so choose a place that you will find interesting, even if you do not see the lights.

Sightseeing in Europe and chasing the Northern lights are not very compatible trips. Also, you said you do not like to be in one place long, but you will be if going for the lights.
You might book five nights and get lucky and see them the first night. What do you do with the rest of the time there? You might book five nights and never see the lights at all. How would you feel about that?