azhawk08

Hey all,

I'll be traveling to Europe for the second time in August 2011, planning to stay between 30-45 days. I'd love to hear your suggestions for destinations. I should mention that I'm a 26 year-old female, and I'll be traveling solo (in case that makes a difference).

I've already been to London, Rome, and Paris- so no need to repeat those cities (although I'd welcome a few more days in Paris since we only spent a couple of days there last time- not enough to do it justice).

I'm flexible and open-minded, but here are just a few cities I've been considering: Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, Florence, Venice, Madrid, Barcelona... and anywhere in Switzerland. Suggestions on "best places" for Switzerland would be greatly appreciated.

I also hope, one day, to visit Athens/Santorini/Mykonos. Based on my research, I wonder if it might be best to just dedicate an entire trip to Greece in the future rather than trying to pack it in on this trip. But if you've got ideas on how to make it work, I'm all ears!

I've saved up enough money to do this, but I'm trying to cut costs where possible (hostels, flying into cheaper cities, finding efficient train passes/deals, etc.).

Thanks in advance!

Revulgo2

Check Maribelsguides for Madrid and Barcelona.
http://maribelsguides.com/mg_guides.html#madrid

PalenQ

Europe is not that big and with a month to six weeks you can visit practically any country you want - trains are a great way for a solo traveler to get around but you may want to mix in some budet airline travel - like to Greece and consider flying open jaw - fly into say London and fly back from Greece and work you want down there - via say Paris, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and if you have a railpass they are also valid on the overnight ferries from Italy to Greece - modern boards with many amenities and zillions of youths your age - kind of a party atmosphere if you want it. Look into a Eurail Global Flexipass for either 10 or 15 days of unlimited travel - calendar days midnight to midnight in dozens of European countries - over a 2-month period - use the unlimited travel days for long journeys between bases - stay in the base city then hop on the train later to go to a new base. Overnight trains connect many European cities - sleep on the train, save a night's accommodation.

Anyway for lots of great info on planning a European rail trip and passes, etc I always spotlight these really sweet sites IMO - www.budgeteuropetravel.com (check out their free online European Planning & Rail Guide for suggested rail itineraries in many countries); www.seat61.com (lots of great info on overnight trains and types of sleeping options from cheap reclining seats and couchettes to private singles and www.ricksteves.com. Go to www.whichbudget.com to see which airlines connect any two cities to scour for cheap airlines like EasyJet or RyanAir that can fly you across the Continent for an absurdly cheap price sometime.

PalenQ

August is the very worst time IMO to travel to places like Italy, Greece, Spain, Paris and tourist meccas simply because so many Europeans are traveling at that time - cities like Florence, Venice and Rome can be really mobbed with tourists - which means not being able to find inexpensive hotels and suffering mobs at museums, churches, etc. In Venice in August it is really elbow to elbow on some of the main narrow gauntlets leading to St Mark's Square for example. And in Italy the weather is really hot - avg high in Florence I guess in 90s.

But northern Europe is not nearly so crowded as many northerners fleeing their oft dismal non-existanct summers also flock south - places like the French Riviera are a total zoo IME as well as Provence - Avignon area and most of southern France.

So if you can start in northern Europe and after Sept 1 when the crowds, while not dying out, greatly decrease, then work your way south - weather will be cooler and your hotels will be cheaper because more budget ones available, etc.