Hi all! Group of 3 - well versed travelers age 37, 33, and our mother 62
All in very good shape
I am looking for any tips or recommendations on our upcoming trip to Europe.
I am sure most will say this is too much but we are going to give it our best shot (as it is already booked)
All travel will be on the Eurail with exception of renting a car in the Dolomites to see family.

this was pulled from EXCEL
fly out Friday
arrive Barcelona 10:25am Saturday - Saturday night in barcelona 1-Jun sat
Sunday night in barcelona 2-Jun sun
leave barcelona monday 930am arrive Nice 530pm 3-Jun mon
Tuesday and Tuesday night in Nice 4-Jun tues
leave Nice Wednesday 800 am for Milan 5-Jun wed
leave Milan for Belluno 6-Jun thurs
leave Friday 600 am to venice then to Rome 7-Jun fri
rome Saturday 8-Jun sat
rome Sunday 9-Jun sun
leave Rome 730am for positano arrive around noon 10-Jun mon
Monday night and Tuesday night Positano 11-Jun tues
Wednesday and Wednesday night Positano 12-Jun wed
leave positano for naples Thursday night in Naples 13-Jun thurs
fly out of naples Friday 14-Jun fri

I know this is a lot but most is already all planned and booked
Milan/Dolomites/Belluno was added because we were able to coordinate time with family that we have never seen over there before and could not pass up - with a hopefully quick trip to Lago de Braies/Lake Misurina on our way down to Belluno
This is where we will have the vehicle, which we will pick up in Fortezza/Franzensfes on the 6th and drop off in Venice on the 7th
Other than that all travel will be through Eurail

any tips, tricks or recommendations will be much appreciated!
Grazie!

First, ask the Moderator to remove the trip report flag.

Next, you ask for feedback but say it's mostly booked, so what are looking for?
Maybe you suspect that this itinerary is pretty crazy? It is! You will spend most of your time on the train with such farflung locations, giving you:
1-1/2 jetlagged days in Barcelona
1 day in Nice
1/2 day (maybe) in Milan
1/2 day Belluno
Maybe a couple hours in Venice
2 days in Rome
2-1/2 days in Positano
1/2 day in Naples

Little time to actually see anything and I would think pretty exhausting. Sorry to be blunt, but I recommend you really rethink this itinerary.

Eurail?
Holiday?

Double ditto. This reminds me of our first trip to Europe in 1977. I remembered very little of it because we "weren't there" very long. Mostly butts in the car & train. Two years later we pretty much re-did the trip, but stayed longer at each location.

Now we stay for 2 weeks in one location before moving on. Less is more.

Stu Dudley

Welcome to Fodors. I do hope many of your pre-booked things are changeable/cancelable because this is almost impossible. Also if you mean a 'Eurail Pass' - its is seldom a good use of $$$/€€€.

What you have is:

Arrive Barcelona late AM 1-Jun / depart early AM 3 June which gives one full day in Barcelona likely with jet lag.

Arrive Nice early evening 3-Jun / depart very early AM 5 June which nets you one full day for Nice

Arrive Milan 5-Jun / depart 6 June = just part of one day in Milan

Arrive Belluno 6-Jun / depart extremely early AM 7 June = part of one day

Arrive Rome 7-Jun / Depart very early AM 10 June - so 2 days + a few evening hours in Rome

Arrive Positano mid-day 10-Jun / Depart evening 13 June = 3.5 days in Positano

Arrive Naples evening 13-Jun

Fly out of Naples Friday 14-Jun

This is a hot mess The only place you have any actual time on the ground is in Positano.

Lots of time on the train. I would fly from Barcelona to Venice. While I love Nice, it seems to be just a pit stop (as does Milan) on your way to the Dolomites. If you fly to Venice, you have more time in Venice and the Dolomites. After visiting relatives you can train directly to Rome. Good luck.

I don't see how you could have any time with the relatives -- Milan > Lago de Braies > Belluno is more than a seven hour drive.

I have to agree with everyone else. This does not strike me as an itinerary drawn up by seasoned European travelers. It’s more of a trip to experience riding trains than visiting places. I think BarbAnn’s ideas are a good start to improving your trip

Especially the 8 1/4 hour train ride from Barcelona to Nice with 2 very short (20 min) train change connections. If they miss one of the connections ?????

Then at 7:40am (after only 1 day in Nice), a 5 hr trip to Milan with a 30 min train change connection.

Then pick up a car & drive 7 hrs to Belluno that day or the next.

Then a 6:15am train departure (can everyone get up & going and to a train station that early?) from Bulluno (can a car really be returned that early in the morning?) for Rome, with a 30 min connection in Venice. 5 3/4 hour train ride.

My mom & sister would have actually mutinied 5 days earlier - which is exactly what happened on our 1977 trip mentioned above.

Stu Dudley

Thank you all for the advice, I believe I am going to try and go back to the drawing board and possibly take out the Nice stop all together. Adding to Milan/Belluno.

There is a method to the madness the trip was originally Barcelona, Nice, Rome, Positano and we have done this before and while it is alot it was still quite enjoyable.

We have a cousin in Milan and family in Belluno that we have never met that contacted us, so that is the reason for the additional travel.

I know it is not ideal but for the sake of family and learning of our Italian heritage we do not want to miss this.

I appreciate all the advice
Gracie

I agree that I think you need to figure out which places you want to prioritize and then stick to them. I love the idea of making the theme of this trip about exploring your Italian heritage, so why not just cut Barcelona and Nice and focus on Italy? Even doing that, you may want to cut more places. But here's a sample that you could do (I might not have the exact amount of days right, but you get the gist)

Venice/Belluno 4 days

Train to Rome (from Venice) – 1 day

Rome – 3 days

Train to Positano – 1 day

Positano (with day trip to Naples) – 3 days

Do you work for the rail company? I would not go on this trip if you paid me.

No reason to be in good shape to sit on trains.

Only one thing to add to what's already been said... load your Kindle with extra long books. And then some more.

When will you see your friends in Belluno? You plan to arrive there late in the evening and to leave the following morning at 6am.