summerxdream

Hi Everyone,

I am currently planning a 3 month solo trip to Europe and was hoping for some advice regarding my itinerary. I will be traveling from March -> June and will be flying in & out of Milan.

Are there also specific guide books that you all would recommend for these specific locations? I bought Europe Through the Back Door and the Lonely Planet Europe guide so far.


Start:
MILAN (3) 
->LUGANO (1)
->VENICE (2)

MUNICH (3)

VIENNA (4)
->Salzburg(2)

BUDAPEST (3-4)

BERLIN (6) 
->POTSDAM (1)

COPENHAGEN (4) 
-> HELSIGNOR (1)
-> ROSKILDE (1)

AMSTERDAM (4)
-> HAARLEM (1)

BRUSSELS (4)
-> ANTWERP (2)
-> BRUGGES (2)

PARIS (7)
-> LYON/SURROUNDING (7)
-> NICE/SURROUNDING (7)

ROME (7)
->FLORENCE (3)
->PIZA(1)
->CINQUE TERRE(3)

total: 76/86 days (10 for buffer).

I will be traveling via train. Thoughts??

PalenQ

Well if doing that much train travel some kind of railpass is a no-brainer IME - for help planning the rail part and understanding the fantastic European rail system I always spotlight these IMO fine sites - www.seat61.com; www.budgeeuropetraavel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

You may want to mix in a few flights to cover long portions although overnight trains can cover lots of ground whilst you sleep and save you the cost of a night in a hotel - like taking an overnight train between Copenhagen and Amsterdam or Berlin and Copenhagen, etc.

adrienne

If you're on a budget then the Let's Go series is great. It's also a great guide book even if you have lots of money. Rough Guide is also good. I would not get general European guides as they need to omit so much and only cover generalities. Get country guides and, in some cases, city guides. No need to buy all these; get them from the library and take notes or download to your phone/ipad, etc. At the top of the screen is the word "destinations" that covers lots of places. You can copy the text to a Word document and take it with you (or access as you go).

I'm not a Rick Steves fan but I have to admit that he does have some good information on line (downloadable). However his guide books only focus on what Rick likes and leave out a tremendous amount that I find is of interest.

You're starting with the more northern part in March. You should reverse your itinerary so you'll miss Rome during the hot weather.

If you have time at the end of the trip add a few days to see some of the small towns on Lake Como such as Bellagio, Varenna, etc - the mid lake towns. There is an easy train from Milan to Varenna and then ferries will get you around the lake to experience the other towns.

Dresden is an option on the way to Berlin.

You might want to re-think 4 days in Brussels unless you can find interesting things to do for the 4 days; perhaps add Gent.

Add Prague between Berlin and Vienna.

Add Siena as a day trip from Florence.

suze

I think it looks like a great trip, well thought out. I wouldn't load up on buying guidebooks. They are very heavy to actually travel with, so I'd research at home in advance. Maybe get a few others from the library to read thru. Or supplement with specific city guides (the Let's Go Amsterdam was really great for a 1st time).

Also know within major cities it's easy enough to pick up free information and maps upon arrival at the train station, tourist bureau, hotel lobbies, etc.

PalenQ

I will be traveling via train. Thoughts??>

Well see if you can do an open jaw plane ticket say flying into Milan and returning from say Paris so you need not backtrack to Italy by train. Often can be had with little extra air fare.

winnick

I second Adrienne's suggestion about adding Ghent and reducing your days in Brussels.

Also, about adding Prague, one of my favorite cities as well as Sienna. Also, I like Lucca better than Pisa.

We check out travel books from library and make copies of pages, then use as reference on our travels.

The trip looks great - I'm envious!
Have a wonderful time.

PalenQ

TTT

summerxdream

Thanks for all of the suggestions everyone! Regarding guidebooks: I have a kindle and I noticed a lot are available in digital form. Thoughts on that?

adrienne

If you walk around with a Kindle I'd be careful it's not stolen. Don't lay it down on a restaurant/cafe table or on a church pew.

Can you easily bookmark and find again everything you'd want?

PalenQ

especially in Paris be careful of putting your Kindle or any good smart phone on a table in say a McDonalds - several recent postings here about young kid thieves working in tandem to distract attention while one is pilfering your goods - happened just recently to a good friend of mine in a McDondals!

Be wary of anyone coming up to you asking questions, showing you something, etc.