swano13

Hi everyone!
Im planning a Euro trip (approx 3 months - 20Y Male) and looking for advice mainly on timing to visit countries, but tips on cities to visit/leave out would also be appreciated! I'll be starting my trip around the 20th of August, and ending it around the 20th of November. I've created a loose itinerary with dates - but I'm considering whether to reverse the order (ie start in Portugal and end in Belgium) to better suit the countries i'm visiting - that way I would be in Spain, France and Italy during better times of the year (September/early October) rather than Late October/November - I'm thinking it would be better to visit the landbound/less water-friendly countries (ie Germany, Austria etc) during the colder months. I will be starting and ending in London as I have family there that I plan to visit before and after the trip. I think that I've been generous enough with days and have factored in travel times, but again if you see any lengths that look dodgy please point them out! Thanks in advance!

London->
21/8-25/8 Belgium
Brussels
Day Trip Ghent
Day Trip Bruges
Day Trip Dinant
25/8 Antwerp

26/8-28/8 Netherlands
Amsterdam

29/8-6/9 Germany
29/8-31/8 Berlin
1/9-6/9 Munich

Czech Republic
7/9-10/9 Prague

Austria
11/9-13/9 Vienna

Croatia
14/9-15/9 Plitvice Lakes National Park
16/9- Split (Week long sail)
25/9 Dubrovnik

26/9/-22/10 Italy
2/10-5/10 Naples
26/9-1/10 Rome
6/10-9/10 Florence
10/10-15/10 Cinque Terre
16/10-18/10 Venice
19/10-22/10 Milan

23/10-5/11 France
23/10-25/10 Monaco
26/10-28/10 Marseille
29/10-30/10 Lyon
31/10-5/11 Paris

6/11-20/11 Spain
6/11-10/11 Barcelona
11/11-13/11 Valencia
14/11-20/11 Madrid

Portugal
21/11-23/11 Lisbon
->London

PalenQ

If hitting half of those places by train strongly look at some kind of Eurail Youthpass or if domicile in UK InterRail Youth Pass - 2nd class for those under 26 years old -in most countries can hop on any train anytime (Italy, Spain and France demand seat reservations before boarding on fastest trains though not on many other trains)-for lots on trains and passes check www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com. For schedules of all European trains check www.bahn.de/en -the German Railways pan-European rail schedule site that I find easiest and quickest to use.

PalenQ

26/8-28/8 Netherlands
Amsterdam>

just a day and a half for Amsterdam? Day and night - culture and party - Amsterdam rocks - add more days.

Similarly for 3 months you have quite a few 2 night stays -figure in travel to get to them and relocate it's more like one day.

Slow down a bit - you can't see all of Europe in 3 months -leave some for the future.

hetismij2

Amsterdam and the Netherlands (since it is only one city in the country, and the country is so much more than Amsterdam) deserve more days.

PalenQ

14/11-20/11 Madrid

Portugal>

can take the overnight hotel train between these -check www.renfe.com

bvlenci

I think the order of visits is fine. Italy can be very hot in August, and the places you want to visit would definitely be very crowded in those months.

Try to avoid two-night stays. As Palenq says, they really give you only one day in the city, and often it's not worth the travel time getting there and away. You're young, and you'll be back.

Be sure to check the prices before deciding that a rail pass will save you money. Three months of rail passes, even at youth prices, would be quite costly. Between advance purchase train ticket discounts and budget air fares, you might well save money choosing the cheapest option for each leg.