We are a family of 4 adults (Children 22& 18)planning on travelling to Europe for the first time in September 2019 , planning on staying 5-6 weeks
with a side trip to Bilbao, Spain to visit family after that for a week or so. countries that we would like to visit would be Italy, Greece, Germany , Spain
and Croatia but seeing this is our 1st trip open to suggestions . interests History and Art, Football and shopping, budget A$50K which includes spending

>>budget A$50K which includes spending<<. Does that include airfare?

And do you mean Aus$? If so that is about €30,000. That could be generous, but no one can determine if a nebulous length of time and 'including spending' -- since we don't know what kind of spenders you are.

5 or 6 weeks to hit Bilbao for a week and then visiting 5 full countries is super aggressive.

Your countries are fairly far apart - you'll have fly between then and rent a car in each country and not that picking up[ a car in one country and returning it in another car can have huge fees added on. Or you can easily take public transit in each place but there are too far apart for driving.

If you wanted to do say Germany, Italy and Spain it would be easy to drive that way and finish in Bilbao. Anyway for a great lowdown on trains check www.seat61.com; BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com.

I week per country means you'll spend all your time in TRANSIT do you seriously mean this??? Pick 2 countries plus Bilbao & that will be more sane. I understand you are coming from Afar (i'm from USA, and coming to Europe is still major for us, in time AND expense). But with your list, everything will be a blur. PLEASE rethink!

Hi. I am fortunate enough to have traveled to each of countries in which you have expressed an interest. We were just a few days in Rome and I highly recommend an extended stay there. We also absolutely loved Berlin. Athens is a city that I did not particularly like, but ancient Athens is of course spectacular. I liked Madrid and if fact will be there in a couple of months. Granada, Seville, and Cordoba are all very interesting cities as well. If I had 5-6 weeks as you do I would have an Airbnb base in about four cities and immerse myself in those cities and possibly take short day trips. I would either fly or take a train in between your selected cities and maybe rent a car to drive into the country side or venture to nearby areas of interest. I have had some of my best aha moments by stumbling across fascinating places that I had no idea existed. My advice is that travel by car inevitably takes longer than you budgeted for - so plan accordingly. Have fun, learn some key words and phrases in each of the host countries language and have a great, enriching time. You will discover a few travel snobs on this site who are very quick to judge and condemn. Learn from them, but you are your own person and know better what you like than do they.

Reading your post ...well it feels like you are trying to do too much??? It is better to walk away with a sense of really experiencing a country or two instead of a bunch of cities that don't really give you a sense of the country? You say you have family in Bilbao? Have you been to Spain before? Art and history are your interests? Then look no further than Spain and Italy. The people are fantastic and really like helping you out...
Lets start with Spain-forget hotels...look into staying at Paradores. Better yet,become an Amigo de Paradores for some great rates. Short on time, then really look at Madrid,Sevile,Toledo but best of all go to Granada. Get your tickets to visit the Alhambra (go early if you are visiting during the summer months.).
Italy-well the Eternal City-Rome!! Get your tickets ahead of time for the Vatican visit and there is a dress code here...no shorts,sleeves top,etc. A really hot day?-head for the Catacombs. There is no bad meal in Italy but a good rule of thumb is to go a couple of streets away from the tourists to really get a great meal. Walk over to the Trevi Fountain and get some gelatto and just take in the scenery.In Italy a good itinerary is to fly into Venice then take the train down and visit a few cities before getting to Rome. If you go to Florence,get tickets for the Ufizzi galery and see David.Hope some of this will help. Have a great trip.

It sounds like you have up to 7 weeks including Bilboa. You can easily visit all of the countries you mention in the time frame you have. There are plenty of discount air options that can get you from place to place. It depends on your travel style (and, of course, that of your other family members); we travel easily at a fast pace with only carry-on luggage. If this is your first major travel as a family, you obviously will want to proceed with care and involve everyone in the planning. Last year, we did 6 separate trips (four in Italy) in 6 weeks including parts of three other countries the first 8 nights. In 2015, we did a blog on going to 16 countries in 30 days. Although all our trips have been successful for us, you certainly won’t cover all there is to do in a particular country in a few days or even a few weeks. But you can see and do a lot. I would start north to south in September for the best (warmest) weather: Germany, Italy, Croatia, Greece and then end up in Spain as you propose. If you are unsure, I suggest you start by splitting up your time and then make adjustments as you find things and places you might want to experience.

For example:
Germany 9 days (we went to Munich, Dachau and Fussen for castles in a few days)
Italy 9 days (we have been here many times and have done a dozen or more distinct trips) Maybe Rome/Tuscany/Venice
Croatia 9 days (maybe a coastal trip Dubrovnik, Split, Vis Island)
Greece 9 days (we have been to many of the islands which is the big attraction but not easy to get around) Maybe Athens, Santorini, Mykonos
Spain 14 days Maybe Barcelona, Granada, Madrid, Bilbao

My suggestion is to google one week itinerary for each of the countries, look at the options and then drill down with your interests.

I can easily understand your desire to see all these places, but wonder if you would have the chance to see and experience them all in the way you would like in the time you have -- and none of us can answer that! In general, I like to keep the amount of time in transit low relative to the amount of time I have to actually see and experience things, and that generally means limiting the number of destinations. But that's just me -- YMMV!

Here's what I recommend: Do some research, perhaps with some good guidebooks (which you can consult in your local library) or with internet searches (but without limiting yourself to just one week in each area!), identify the things you most want to see, and mark them on a calendar. Then pencil in your transportation, add some time on either side (for getting to/from your lodging, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting lost/oriented, etc.). Then see how things fit together. You don't need to plan out every day -- just enough to get an idea of whether your plan is working or whether some adjustments might make sense.

And of course, come back to us with questions as you narrow down your options.

I'm sure you'll have a wonderful adventure no matter what you choose!

I've done a one month trip to Europe several times and have learned that I cannot travel constantly for an extended period of time without wearing myself out. Knowing that, for trip #1 we chose a single base in the Alps for the entire month - rented an apartment and a car, and simply enjoyed a quiet life over there, mixing in some touring several days a week while still keeping our home base. For trip #2, a 1mo trip to Italy, on week 4 we booked a farmhouse apartment in Tuscany - with pool, yard for the kids, and were happy to basically have a do-nothing vacation to wrap up our vacation.

With 5-7 weeks I'm not sure how I'd do it. Maybe you could book a 1 week slow time somewhere pleasant, - a beach, mountain lake, whatever...to recharge. If you did this halfway through, would you have the mental and physical energy to go on another 3 weeks touring after that? I don't know if I would. At some point, I'd want to simply go home.... ymmv.

Come up with your own itinerary and then see how much transit is involved and if it is realistic.

I really think you need to buy an old-fashioned paper map of the continent of Europe, pin it up on a wall, and contemplate it for a week or two.

Americans travel around their country always in cars and tend to always apply that to Europe. But taking trains could be great too - consider them between large cities were cars are a hassle and in more and more cities cars are banned from city centers. Use cars where you want to get into the countryside perhaps.