alexmattocks

I'm 18, female, Canadian, and it's my first time visiting Europe. I leave late March and return late June. Any advice is appreciated but I would mostly like help with my itinerary.

London- 5 days
Amsterdam - 3 days
Prague - 5 days
Vienna - 5 days
Salzburg - 3 days
Munich - 5 days
Venice - 3 days
Rome - 5 days
Tuscany - 8 days (where should I go here other than Florence? I'm interested in small hill towns)
Cinque Terre - 3 days
Annecy - 2 days
Switzerland - 19 days (where should I go here? I want to move at a relaxed pace and was thinking of spending a week in Gimmelwald)
Alsace - 7 days (for sure Colmar and Strasbourg
Paris - 6 days
Ireland - 19 days (where should I go here?)

Are there any places in my itinerary that you think I should include or exclude? I'm tempted to try and see as many places as I can but I know that I want to move at a reasonably slow pace to really see the places I'm visiting. I've been considering adding somewhere in Bohemia or Moravia, Budapest, or somewhere in Slovenia. Also is there anywhere you think deserves more time and if so what should I give up to do so? Thanks!

greg

I would say you must like playing at the edge. You total Schengen stay adds up to 90 days. Hungary and Slovenia are also Schengen countries, so you cannot add them without exceeding 90days. I presume the Bohemia/Moravia you have in mind are around the present day Czech/Poland/Slovakia, which are also Schengen countries.

alexmattocks

Ya I don't want to add any more time obviously I just wanted an opinion to see if I should change what I already have planned

hetismij2

You don't seem to have included travel time in your planning. That will take up at least half a day, sometimes a whole day.
Do pay attention to Greg regarding the Schengen zone. Your visa is for 90 days including the day you arrive, and the day you leave the zone.
With the exception of London and Ireland all your travel is within Schengen.

Also, make sure you are insured for healthcare for your trip. You may be young and fit, but that doesn't mean you can't get ill or have an accident.

Gretchen

Long time in Switzerland. Hope you have lots of money. Long time in Ireland.

Aramis

Canadians do not require visas to visit any Schengen country. The 90 days out of 180 rule still applies, however. This is a 98 day itinerary plan with 5 days at the beginning and 19 at the end in non-Schengen countries. And 98 - 24 = 74, so Schengen is a non-issue.

I am puzzled, generally that state that OP's do not seem to have included travel time into their planning. How would one know? What makes one think that because someone posts the number of days they plan to stay in a certain location that they think they can teleport themselves to the next location. It seems to be code for saying - I don't like the pace of your vacation and wouldn't so it this way - without actually sounding critical. Would anyone stand in front of this OP and state; "Are you aware that it takes time to travel from Prague to Vienna?"

This route is ideally planned, logistically, and paced just as the OP likes it. 98 days of travel for 10 countries with only one stop under 3 days - is that something that is considered too fast paced?

isabel

Not counting London or Ireland I only see 74 days - am I adding wrong? In that case you could add some time in other places within Schengen. It seems like you could see quite a bit of Ireland in less than 19 days. If you are 18 you probably cannot rent a car (it looks like you are doing this trip solo?) so especially without being able to drive you might want less time in Ireland. Also Switzerland, while you could easily spend 19 days there, it is so expensive you might not want to. I've been to Switzerland twice and each time I felt like I was constantly watching how much everything cost, especially compared to some of the other countries you'll be in.

So you could take at least three or four days off Ireland and Switzerland and add them to other places. You have only 5 days and all in London. How about some other places in England? Slovenia is beautiful, inexpensive and geographically close to the other places you will be. Same for Budapest.

Other than that I think you have a fairly nice combination of places and decent amount of time in each.

hetismij2

If OP has not included planned travel time in the above it adds days to her Schengen time, but yes, otherwise she should be OK as far as Schengen goes, unless she adds the other areas she mentioned.
If she hasn't figured in unlisted travelling time she needs to be sure which city she is knocking time off to allow for getting to the next place.
For instance if day 6 is spent getting to Ams that means at best 2.5 days there, which in the scheme of things seems too short.

PalenQ

a week in Gimmelwald? You must like slow paces - there is nothing there but a few barns, a hotel and and hostel and lovely awesome views of the glacier-girdled Jungfru Massif.

anyway if you are going by train to all those places and in 3 months that is fine you should look into some kind of Global Eurail Youthpass - only for those under 26 - which in most countries still allows you to hop on any train anytime - except in France and Italy where you must make set reservations before boarding the train.

Great sources for planning a European rail trip IMO - www.ricksteves.com; www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com. In Switzerland you may want to look into the Swiss Youth Railpass - if staying in Gimmelwald Eurailpasses only give 25% off getting there from Interlaken but the Swiss Pass covers it in full and has many other additional benefits over a Eurailpass.

PalenQ

If I were going in March and staying to May I would definitely start out in the farthest south possible where the weather will be warm and move north.

start in Italy and move north!

rialtogrl

I'd subtract a day from Munich and add it to Venice. I like how you have plenty of time in most places, brava

Belinda

What an adventure you are embarking on! I predict that your plans will fly out the window sometime in the first month; that you will meet other young people and head off in a completely different direction with them, maybe changing plans multiple times over your three month journey.

My advice is read everything you can find to know what you really want to see most in Europe and be flexible! Have fun. You will be a changed person.

dulciusexasperis

Overall it look fine and at a reasonable pace.

When people write 'X days' in City, they often are including the travel time IN that X days and that is where the question is being raised.

If you write '3 days X' the question is where is the time spent travelling TO X and FROM X being counted? If either is included IN the 3 days then you will NOT spend 3 days in X.

A better way to count is in both days and nights. So 3 days/4 nights in X means you will indeed spend 3 full days in X and allows for the travel day between X and the next place you will visit.

Counting becomes more important the more time you have. Saying you will visit 10 places for 3 days each in 30 days really means you will visit them for 2-2.5 days each and will lose 4.5 to 9 days to moving. In travel, less is always more. Move less, see/do more.

You get the most out of your time by spending it IN places, not BETWEEN places.

alexmattocks

Thank you so much for the advice everyone! I have taken into consideration travel time, I just assumed people would realize that as I didn't know how else to list my itinerary. Take one day off of each place for a better idea of how long I'll be in each

Hetismij2 - thank you for the concern I will make sure not to exceed the 90 days and I will make sure to have plenty of insurance. Also I agree that Amsterdam deserves more time I'll try and squeeze it in.

Aramis - thanks for putting the schengen rule in a way I can easily understand it! Also nice to hear my itinerary is at a good pace

Isabel - I've always had a bit of an obsession with Ireland and Switzerland and that's why I gave myself so much time in each. If Switzerland is so expensive as I keep hearing then you're probably right that i should use some of the time elsewhere, maybe I'll be able to make room for both Budapest and Slovenia! Yes I am travelling solo and I would love to spend some more time in England but my rail pass doesn't include it so I thought it best to stick to Ireland and save England for another visit. Nice to here I have a decent itinerary otherwise, thanks for the great advice!

PalenQ - I have already purchased the global 3 month pass. Honestly the only reason I thought of spending so much time in Gimmelwald is because the pictures looked beautiful when I googled it haha I really just wanted to take a long break somewhere in Switzerland to do some hiking and relaxing. Can you suggest any other places in Switzerland I should visit? Also I see what you're saying about starting south and moving north but being Canadian I'm not too concerned about the weather in March when I'm in the big cities. I would really like to have nice weather in Switzerland and France though and that's why I've worked it out that I'm visiting them in later months.

rialtogrl - thanks! I will do just that and spend more time in Venice

Belinda - You're probably right, I'm sure I'm over planning everything but it's just because I'm nervous with it being my first time and want to make sure I'm not completely lost when I get over there haha I will make sure to be open-minded and flexible with my plans because I know othe best experiences are usually the unexpected ones

One last question, are there any off the beaten path destinations near the places I'm already visiting that I should consider? Maybe for a day trip? I'd like to see more than just big cities and add in some small towns.

PalenQ

Gimmelwald itself is in the middle of nowhere and it could be a base as there is a thrilling aerial cable car down to the Lauterbrunnen Valley at Stechelberg and a postal bus waiting to take you the few miles to Lauterbrunnen - a hopping town for younger folk - I would advise staying in Grindelwald, a real town with real stores, pubs, night life and loads of folks your age - check out the Nature Friends' House there I stayed in once long ago when younger or Youth Hostel - Grindelwald would make a great base and a Eurailpass would get you 25% off trains from Interlaken to Grindelwald, only a 20-minute ride.

To get to Gimmelwald you'll get no discount I think except 25% off to Lauterbrunnen and perhaps on the expensive gondola to Gimmelwald but to do that every day would add up.

In Grindelwald you need not move much but can walk to glaciers or take some mountain trains or lifts to higher areas.

I have stayed in Gimmelwald and believe me there is nothing there at night but sky and stars and a local hotel/restaurant - for someone your age Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald or Interlaken - yes Interlaken has many youth hotels - Balmer's Herberge is famous and a meeting place for folks your age from all over the world - depends what you are looking for.

http://www.balmers.com/

Balmers also organizes many expeditions like Alpine rafting and paragliding, etc. I also stayed there once long ago. Your Eurailpass will take you 100% to Interlaken and give you 25% off on trains above that.

dwdvagamundo

There are delightful small cities and towns around every city you're going to. Don't know your interests so it's hard to advise.

Concur with less time in Switzerland and Ireland and more in England and Italy.

Prague is in the former Bohemia, BTW.

On the whole, I think you've a got a pretty good itinerary for a first trip given your amount of time. Many posters on this forum want to do all that in two weeks or so.

alexmattocks

I didn't know that my rail pass didn't cover all trains in Switzerland, should I purchase some kind of Swiss pass on top of my eurail pass or is that a waste of money?

I'll definitely look into staying in Grindelwald or somewhere other than Gimmelwald it sounds like I would get bored there quickly.

I'll also cut a week out of Switzerland and spend it exploring more of Italy.

suze

If I had the luxury of 3 months, I wouldn't do any stops that are only 2 or 3 days. After you subtract that time traveling place to place, that leaves you more like 1-1/2 days.

Planning is a very personal thing, but if this was my trip, I'd cross off a few places I had the least interest in, and add more time to the others.

If you don't even know where you want to go, I'm curious why so much time in both Switzerland and Ireland?

alexmattocks

I see your point suze, I guess I just need to remind myself that this isn't the only time I'll go to Europe. I'll see if I can bring myself to give up some places, at least Annecy.

My problem with Ireland and Switzerland is not that I don't know where I want to go it's that I want to go everywhere and I'm having a hard time narrowing it down, I wanted to see what other people's favourites were. It's the landscapes of both Ireland and Switzerland that attracts me and I want to give them both enough time but I'm having to reconsider Switzerland because it's so expensive.

suze

Well my favorite place in Switzerland is Vevey/Montreux right on Lac Leman about an hour outside Geneva. I had a friend who lives there so visit often. But it's the only place in Switzerland I've been so can't really compare. It is definitely one of your more expensive destinations, so might want to somewhat limit your time there, just from a cost perspective.

That's another thing about moving around so much (your original plan) it costs more than if you stay in places a longer time, and spend less on moving around so much.