1st time to europe- from 0ct 3-26 2014 trip itinerary need advice!
 

I drastically cut down the number of countries and cities I would like to see. I know I might be asking to much in the amount of time I have but I would like to try see as as much as I can and make it fun. Let me know If this itinerary is possible or any advice would be helpful like recommended cities or suggestions.I will be going backpacking and staying in hostels or any cheap places I can stay at..

Thanks!

Here is my itinerary.
Germany Munich Berlin then Prague then Salzburg, Austria then Italy Florence, Pisa and lastly France Provence

In my humble opinion, too much travelling. you have 3+ weeks I'd pare it down. How are you going to get around? Drive, train, fly.

You have cut down your itinerary but the last one was 5 countries and a city so any reduction would seem drastic!

<< I would like to try see as as much as I can >>

I think you mean that you want to see as many places as you can, not as much as you can. These are two different ways to look at travel.

Have you planned any logistics such as how long it will take you to get from place to place and how long you want to stay in each place?

I would check to see which order of cities makes the most sense from your home. For instance, it may be easier (and cheaper) for you to fly into Pisa and home from Berlin or some other combination of cities to fly into and home from. You need to do some checking on this.

You can visit Pisa from Florence as they're only an hour apart on the train. No need to move hostels/hotels.

You're going to need to take a couple of flights (Salzburg to Florence and Florence to Provence).

Where in Provence and how are you going to get around. You can use public transportation if you stick to major locations but a car is usually the best way to see this area.

Since you seem to be on a budget, you should know that the more you move around and the farther apart your destinations, the more money the trip will cost you.

The final answer is yes, you can do this itinerary in 3 weeks but you'll spend money moving around. Check train pricing and see if it's affordable for you.

Couch surfing is free.

To save time & money you can combine Florence & Pisa. Pisa is really a day trip from Florence. You didn't give how many days you were spending in each place, and you're going to lose time in between destinations.

So you may want to trim a little further. You may want to start by picking either Berlin or Munich, and then chart out your trip geographically from there.

Use Google Maps & Eurail to see what route makes the most sense so you don't spend more time than absolutely necessary getting from one place to another. Remember that travel time in between places eats up sightseeing time and money.

I am a pretty slow traveler, so it would be too much for me, but I do think your itinerary is possible.

I really love Provence. However, I wonder if Provence is going to be so attractive that late in the year. It depends on what you want to see, but I was there in mid-September and leaves were already turning and evenings were chilly enough for a jacket when we ate outside. Experts like Stu and StCirq can give better advice on that. If you are more interested in towns, architecture, food and art, rather than countryside, then it might not matter to you.

Are you skipping Venice and Rome this trip? You could consider seeing more of Italy and skipping Provence.

Another option might be skipping Provence and adding a bit of Spain, either Barcelona or the Southern Coast.

Figure out how many days you need to see the sights you are interested in in each place. Calculate travel time to your next city, allowing plenty of time to get to the train station, etc. not just the train time; or all the wait time at the airport, not just flight time. That way you can add everything up and see if you need to cut something.

If those are your dates of travel, then you actually have the 5th thru the 25th to see/do things. (The 4th will be mostly arriving, checking in, acclimating a bit, jet lagged)

So 21 days for 7 places. A bit rushed but doable - that gives you an average of a bit less than 2.5 days per. Pisa only requires a day trip from Florence. Provence is the outlier and it would be better IMO to skip it and add that time to the others (or add Venice or Rome)

Have you booked your flights which would mean you're locked into first and last destinations?

Have you researched fare comparisons between traveling by train (with and without a pass) and/or plane?

As others have mentioned, some of the train travel times are quite long:

Munich-Berlin by train is 6+ hours
Berlin-Prague by train is almost 5 hours
Salzburg-Florence by train is 8+ hours (and some options connect in Venice but apparently you don't want to go/stop there)
Florence to, say, Nice is 7+ hours; to Avignon it's 10-11 hours

Finally, I think you might be surprised how early the better hostels book up. If you specifically want to stay in hostels, you should start checking availability now.

There's just 1 hostel in Salzburg, so book ahead. From Salzburg you can take trips to the Lake District(Halstatt for example).
Munich too is great, a doable day trip from Salzburg, go early, come back late. Or get a flight to Italy if you can.
You can have a look at my trip report: ashwinbahulkar.wordpress.com/my-travels-2/central-europe-austria-and-czech-republic/austria-and-prague/
I've written about costs and all. I liked the Ritchie's hostel in Prague, but ask them to give you a bed/room on the lower floors, mine was on the 5th floor, and there's no lift.