15 Day Trip to Europe Beginning Stages
 

Planning a 15 day trip to Europe hoping to cover three cities (4 days in each plus travel time). My girlfriend and I have narrowed down our city choices to 6: Berlin, Amsterdam, Warsaw (my family heritage), Prague, Zurich, Vienna. We are not planning on going for three years, we are just starting to plan now!

Please help us pick three cities that make sense travel wise and time efficiency wise. We would appreciate any input whatsoever!!

Zurich is one of the lesser major cities in Europe in terms of tourism. Munich would make more sense.

I would probably eliminate Amsterdam, Zurich and Warsaw (unless you really want to go there for family reasons). Berlin, Prague and Vienna/Munich are more directly connected. Fly open jaw into Berlin and home from Munich/Vienna. You can train between these cities as a car is not necessary in any of them.

What time of the year are you planning on going?

I would really suggest reading up on these cities. What made you pick them to start with?

If you decide you really want to see the ones I decided against there are lots of low cost airlines in Europe so travel between these cities is very doable.

First let me congratulate you on understanding that it takes time to get from one place to another. So many people seem to forget that.

Choose the cities based on your interests rather than solely on travel time.

Berlin and Prague and in between see Potsdam and Dresden. You could add a couple of days at the end for Munich if you feel you have time.

I realize Munich isn't one of your choices but if you see Potsdam and Dresden you won't have time for Vienna.

If you have to have 3 cities from your list then my vote is for Berlin, Prague, and Vienna.

Warsaw is not as interesting as Krakow and it's mostly pretty ugly.

Zurich is primarily a business city and doesn't deserve the time.

You didn't say what month you are going and that could make a difference in terms of weather.

In terms of the most to do and see: hands down Berlin, Prague and Vienna. You can easily do them in that order and the train trips between them are not onerous.

As for Munich- Vienna has a lot more to do/see. Munich is fine but much of what you will want to do there is on the outskirts or in the countryside, meaning renting a car - and it doesn;t sound as if you had planned on that.

Thank you to all for the input. There is no doubt I probably want to include western Poland in our stop for family purposes. Would this broad itinerary be acceptable to start out planning now?

Approximately April 23 - May 8

Berlin (4 days)
Prague (3 days)
Krakow (3 Days)
Vienna (3 Days)
Travel (2 Days)

Should I narrow it down to just three cities? I really want Poland to be a stop for my family heritage. Thank you all!!!!

This is how you decide the number of cities to visit.

Read guide books and trip reports. Decide what you want to see in each city and how long it will take to see the sights.

Decide if you only want an overview of each city or if you want to explore it with some depth and if you want some late nights that will cut into your sightseeing time the next day.

After some reading and thinking you will know what cities to see and how many cities you can do in 15 days.

My choice would be Berlin, Prague, Krakow.

Thank you again, Adrienne. Have you visited any of these sites before? This is both of our first trips to Europe. I'd like to explore Berlin and Krakow (Auschwitz, etc) but Vienna and Prague are also on my list. I want to make the most of it, probably because I will not go back (well at least not until I retire in 40 years haha)

If people can list experiences in any of these places, please do not hold back. Would love to take advice from experienced visitors!!

Michelle,

First off, I picked Poland (Krakow) due to family heritage. Then, I researched maps and saw what countries and cities were within reasonable distances. So, you are saying go north to south perhaps Berlin to Prague to Krakow to Vienna?

Krakow and western Poland do not fit. Krakow is in the SE corner of Poland. If family heritage is important, you should perhaps get in touch with the locality that holds the archives of the region where your family comes from, to see what information it provides. That's what my cousin did, and was finally able to find out which of the numerous villages by the same name his family came from.

We are from a portion west of Krakow more toward Katowice. It does not fit in great, but probably a destination nevertheless. With that being said, any input for a plan around that would be great!

Are you planning on taking the train - I have done trains in Europe for years and years and it is a fantastic system - especially if going mainly to large cities as novice travelers understandably are want to do.

Anyways - some great sites to help plan a European rail trip - also consider some kind of railpass if taking trains enough - in all your countries with a railpass you can just hop on practically any train anytime - complete flexibility with a pass. Great sites - www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.seat61.com.

Wherevhave you been in Europe, Palen? We would like to visit Southern Poland (Krakow) and most likely Vienna and Munich...is that reasonable within 15 days?

What draws you to the other cities besides Krakow? I agree that Zurich is really not of a great interest.
I am guessing you have a real interest in the holocaust, and from that point of view, Munich would be near Dachau and it is a very interesting city.
Amsterdam is a LOT of fun, and has a lot to do with museums. I might choose that over Vienna.
Just curious why you wouldn't include Paris as a part of a sort of once in a lifetime until retirement trip? ;o)

Gretchen,

Good points! Yes, the Holocaust and historical stuff are big on our list! Is there an easy travel route from Krakow to Munich to Amsterdam? Krakow to Munich can be an overnight train ride however is Munich to Amsterdam worth it?

For a 15 day trip, which city along with Krakow and Munich would be smart to visit financially, time wise, and ease?

You should go to bahn.de - the best site for european rail travel. (although they can only sell you tickets for trips beginning in Germany, they have the most complete info on trains all over the continent>0

When considering where to go and order I would take into account train schedules and connections - not just where things seem to be on a map.

We really enjoyed Prague. Lots to do. A very beautiful city. Fun to just stroll around, up and down the river and through the alleyways. Up to the castle and Petrin Park. One of my favorites so far in Europe. And we have been to a lot of cities.

Your choice of the four cities is good, although maybe they could be re-arranged, in order to have the most efficient route (an alternative could be Berlin, Krakow, Vienna, Prague). Zurich is really not worth it and Amsterdam is too far away compared to the other cities you chose.

We find that 4 days for Berlin is a little bit too much (there's not that much to do, unless you start taking day trips outside: e.g. Potsdam).

Vienna is by far the most beautiful of them all. We have also been to Munich, Berlin, Potsdam, Amsterdam - you can find photos by using the search function on our blog http://in-luxembourg.blogspot.com. As for things to do, as usual:

- stroll around the old city centers in Prague, Vienna, Krakow;
- visit museums in all of them (with a particularity in Berlin for the history of the divided city and the separating wall);
- get to experience a little bit of the night life (which is usually great in all the large cities);
- if time allows, take a day trip to something of interest nearby (read brochures offered at hotels' reception or at tourist information offices in the centers of big cities).

Have fun

Another question...with food, flights, and hostels what is the ballpark price range?

I've been to Prague and Krakow. I just love Krakow. Last fall I was there for 5 days (the previous year I spent 3 days in Krakow).

Airfare can very so much, depending on where you are starting from so it's very hard to say. Also you're traveling in 3 years so no one can help with that right now.

Food is inexpensive in Krakow, a bit more expensive in Prague but if you stay away from the main square you can find inexpensive meals - perhaps $10 to $15 each for dinner. Many Poles eat their main meal at mid day and then have sandwiches in the evening. The only thing I thought was expensive in Poland is wine. If you drink beer you can do that cheaply. Krakow is a university town so there will be inexpensive eateries.

Germany and the Netherlands will have higher food prices. I went directly from Krakow/Warsaw to Frankfurt and noticed the rise in meal prices. But again, do not choose places solely because of prices

You can find inexpensive pensions/hotels in both cities. The place I stayed in Prague would be slightly more money than a hostel for both of you. I've done 2 trip reports for Prague and Krakow that might help you.

To give you an idea, excluding airfare I spent about $1,500 for 2 weeks in Poland. That included hotels, meals, train tickets (1st class), sightseeing, private guide 2 days, drinks in the square at night, and what I felt was expensive wine, considering how little other things cost. I would budget for $5,000 for both of you plus airfare.

Krakow is so much more than Auschwitz (which I didn't visit).

The Let's Go guide book series is mandatory for budget travelers. They give lots of helpful information on eating and sleeping inexpensively.

Here are links to my trip reports. You can pull out the info you want on Prague and Krakow.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-report.cfm?57

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-report.cfm?95

Have fun planning and don't forget to come back afterwards and let us know what cities you chose and how you liked them.

Do you mean hostels or hotels? What price range do you usually spend on hotels at home? If you mean hostels others here can help you more.

Regarding flights: what time of the year are you going? Where are you flying from? Flights this summer LAX-Rome were approx $1500 RT PP.

Food is a little easier to narrow down: If you are on a budget then plan to picnic for lunch and occasionally for dinner. On our trip in 2009 for 97 days we spent just over $5000 for two of us on food. We did stay in apts. You should probably plan on $100 a day for two and this is still budget.

Don't forget to still add in admission costs, souvenirs and train costs. This can add up also.

Thank you to everyone again! We are flying out to Boston and probably going around late April.

I did mean hostels. I believe our sleeping will be mostly in hostels and overnight train rides. We are planning on setting aside about 2.5 days strictly for travel which leaves us 12.5 days for vacation.

Having read all your comments above I would recommend the following itinerary for someone your age.

Prague (4 days)
Krakow (4 days)
Budapest (4 days)
Vienna (3 days)

Amsterdam is too far away in my opinion and will add significant cost to your trip. Berlin and Zurich are modern and are geared to older travelers, such as myself. In fact, Zurich is one of the most boring places I have ever visited.

The cities above will give you a great feel for Eastern Europe...albeit the people there refer to it as Central Europe...plus they all cater to younger travelers. They are also steeped in history that has been significantly impacted by the Holocaust in which you seem very interested.

The first day in each city will be a travel day so you will be arriving late afternoon...except for Vienna which is only 3 hours from Budapest. Therefore, you will have three full days to explore each which is enough time for Prague but not the others.

If you go to Auschwitz plan on that taking 8 to 9 hours. It is 1 1/2 hours outside of Krakow but well worth the visit. It is not that expensive. We paid 130 zloty for the two of us which is about 20 USD which includes the transportation and the admission for both locations.

Yes, I have visited all these places...Krakow and Budapest last month, Prague and Budapest 3 years ago and Vienna 10 years ago.

If you still want to go to Berlin I would put it at the beginning of your trip and drop Vienna.

Planning three years in advance will make it difficult to price your trip. If you were going this coming April I would estimate $1,100 for airfare and $400 (tops) for trains linking these cities. Your per diem would depend on many things but I am guessing it will range from $100 to $150, possibly less.

For information on hostels the Eurotrip forums are the best. Here is the link.

http://www.eurotrip.com/forums/europeantravel/hostels

Enjoy your planning.

Jim,

Thank you for your help! I hope I can be an experienced Euro traveler like yourself. What do you think about Munich? Would it be worth stopping in?

Munich is worth a visit even if not visiting its important museums:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7623111626965/

Thanks, Michael!

I think we may be close to narrowing down our starting itinerary....

I want to get the most out of the cities we visit, so we may do 3 cities and allow 3 days for travel.


Munich 4 days
Krakow and my family hometown 5 days
Budapest or Vienna 3 days

Not sure Budapest or Vienna yet....

Krakow to Munich can be an overnight train ride however is Munich to Amsterdam worth it? >

Munich to Amsterdam can also be an overnight train ride. Is it worth it? To many it is to some it would not - depends on individual - Amsterdam is certainly one of Europe's and the world's loveliest cities - something that IMO cannot be said about a fairly modern Munich that suffered so much damage in WW2. Check on cheap flights and if so return from from Amsterdam perhaps.

(1) I'd recommend you get more time for the trip, and do it sooner (is it optimistic thinking that your GF will still be your GF in 2015?).

(2) Adrienne and I say the same thing in these threads, she loves her some Krakow; I'd take Prague in a heartbeat - far more color and light.

(3) Have you considered going throughout Poland? It's a sizable country and the regions are not uniform - Krakow, Poznan, Lodz, Gdansk, Wroclaw are all different. Can't get more history in one small area than you can from Gdansk.

The real problem is the Poland part - Warsaw and Krakow are on the eastern side of the country and the train connections from Krakow to anywhere of major interest outside the country are S L O W.

Perhaps we should focus on two countries for longer periods of time in each?

Krakow rules!! Methinks Russ has not seen the light in Krakow - it's there, Russ! :)

There is color and there is light. Much of the beauty and serenity of Poland comes from its people who I thought were warm and welcoming and always a smile.

I like to take a smaller area and see more of it. I really enjoyed Wroclaw and Poszan but Wroclaw has more to see and do. I didn't care much for the little of Warsaw I did see - other than the Uprising Museum which I thought was fabulous.

It is true that trains from Krakow to anywhere are milk runs.

I know it's difficult to decide where to go - I still have that problem. Just pick 3 and know that whatever you decide you will have a wonderful time.

I will love Krakow....I cannot wait to visit my family's homeland for the first time.

IWhen it comes to the other 2 cities, please put your two cents in! here are the choices:

Munich
Berlin
Vienna
Prague
Budapest
Amsterdam

If deciding on Krakow, base the other visits on the ease of connection with your point of arrival in Europe (unless you use Krakow as your point of arrival) and your point of departure from Europe (I am assuming an open jaw ticket).

I vote Berlin, Munich and Prague. Hard to choose between all of those places. Consider couchsurfing while you are there.

More about couchsurfing here. It was the best thing ever!

http://travelwithashley.com/
specifically
http://travelwithashley.com/2012/08/...surfing-org-2/

Love the responses, guys...

It is a long way away but I hope it all comes together eventually...

Deciding whether to do Krakow (5 days) Munich (3 days) Amsterdam (4 days) and three days for travel or less time in more cities closer to poland and munich...

what would you do with 5 days in smallish Krakow with not that much to see really except its wondrous self as a whole - well the castle Wawa or whatever area and day trips to Salt Mines take about a half-day at tops - Auschwitz/Birkenau one day

I'd slice 2 days off Krakow and put them somewhere else IME after being there a few times.

I meant Poland as a whole...my family's town is in north east Poland so that is added as part of the trip

Do you still have connections with any of your cousins and would you be able to meet with them? With a three-year timeline and the Internet, it seems to me it would be possible to track some of them down. Unless, of course, you believe they all perished in the Holocaust--and that would merit contacting the Holocaust museum to find out what you can.

While you will be in Warsaw, try out an Off the Beaten Path in communism Van or a traditional walk in The Old Town. amazing!
http://adventurewarsaw.com
http://slowwarsaw.com