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