I've had a rough couple of years which were topped off by the recent passing of my father, so as I near 30 I decided it's time to do something special for myself. I'm going to take a hiatus next April-May 2014 and travel through Europe. I plan on going for 35-40 days.

My plan is to spend one week in Italy, one week in Ireland, then the remaining 21 days traveling through Budapest, Salzburg, Vienna, Prague, Munich, Berlin, Paris, London and Edinburgh and possibly Luzern or some other Swiss city.

My question is, has anyone ever done a tour like this and what would be the recommendations on budgeting, places to stay, sights to see, places to eat; etc.?

Also, any recommendations on how I should do my route? I'm thinking of starting in Italy then ending in Ireland. It's the in between part I'm trying to really nail.

I appreciate anyone's suggestions and help. Thanks!

>>21 days traveling through Budapest, Salzburg, Vienna, Prague, Munich, Berlin, Paris, London and Edinburgh and possibly Luzern or some other Swiss city<<

Sorry about your loss 00 but this trip will do nothing 'special' for you. That is a HUGE amount of territory for three weeks. After deducting travel time you will have maybe 1.5 days in each city. IMO you will be crazy after all that jumping around.

The 'one week in Italy' also is concerning. That isn't enough time to 'do' Italy - though you could see Rome and Venice or Rome and Florence, w/ maybe a day trip somewhere else.

You will be spending a fortune on travel and end up mostly knowing train stations - not cities.

And budget for sightseeing -- not really an issue because in most of those cities by the time you arrive and get acclimated you will have to pack and move on.

Back to the drawing board I'm afraid.

>>loss 00 but this trip . . .<<

Don't have any idea where the '00' came from??

I think you need to get a guidebook in order to investigate what attractions these cities have to offer as well as hotel and restaurant suggestions, transportation information and the like. Researching the attractions that interest you is especially important, as doing so will help you decide how much time to spend in each city.

Your decision to spend a week each in Ireland and Italy seems sensible to me, but you have 10 other you want to visit in 21 days. For me that would be far too much.

You'd be spending far too much time checking out of one hotel, catching the train or plane to the next venue, and checking in to the new hotel. Remember that you'll lose at least half a day and probably a full day traveling to the new destination.

I've been to all these cities except Luzern and maybe Edinburgh, but I've visited most of them over the past 15 years. Most, if not all, of these places deserve more time than the 1.5 or 2 days you'll have.

My plan is to spend one week in Italy, one week in Ireland, then the remaining 21 days traveling through Budapest, Salzburg, Vienna, Prague, Munich, Berlin, Paris, London and Edinburgh and possibly Luzern or some other Swiss city.>

Are you going by train as I presume? If so and going to that many places a Eurail Global Pass of some kind may be a good deal as in all those countries but Italy and France you can still hop on any train anytime (Eurails don't pass in Britain however as the UK is not a part of the scehem).

For lots of great info on European trains I always spotlight these IMO superb sites - www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com - download the latter's free and excellent IMO online European Planning & Rail Guide for lots of suggested itineraries by rail in every country.

Its really bad to hear that ur Dad passed on. Such trips are more reaching and fun. I have done it before but through Asia and little in Europe particularly Czech Republic, Italy and Germany.
I really Think the first thing you need to do is to define which place you want to visit. Do you have a rough idea of the places you would like to visit in these countries?

9 cities in 21 days is way too much. You need to subtract 4.5 days from the 21 days for changing locations (1/2 day per change), leaving you less than 2 days in each city. Cut back on this itinerary. Your trip will be a blur of train stations and packing/unpacking.

Enough has been said about too much in your remaining time. Get a map, stick a pin in Dublin and Rome and then make a list of what you REALLY want to see in between, and see how it looks to YOU.

I would get some Michelin green guides - which are excellent for in-depth sightseeig info - includin ghow long it takes to see something.

You need to understand that Notre Dame takes 2 hours - not 15 minutes - d how long it takes to get across cities - and between them. You just have not allowed time to 1) get from one place to another and 2)actually have time to see anything.

You can also "do" Notre Dame in a half hour. It depends on how interested you are. After "doing" 2-3 churches/castles on a trip, I generally avoid all other churches/castles and begin to relax a bit.

The trip sounds definitely like a first timer Eurail trip. My take on that is as follows: He who "does" Europe with a Eurail gets to learn what all the train stations in large European cites look like. However, he never stays in any of those aforementioned big cities long enough to find out what it looks like. Trains are not good for sleeping, by the way, even if you get a sleeping accommodation.

I suppose everyone new to Europe has to do this sort of trip once, but I assure you that no one ever does it a second time as it is too exhausting.

Trains are not good for sleeping, by the way, even if you get a sleeping accommodation.>

Well that is a very subjective take - I have taken zillions of overnight trains and rarely have I found it impossible to get a good night's rest so take that statement with three grains of salt - if you are a light sleeper then you may have problems but if not you should not

I have taken plenty of trains in Europe. I have never gotten significant sleep on any of them no matter what the accommodations. The trains start, they stop, they make noise.

My point is that folks with Eurail passes think that night travel on trains is a substitute for a hotel room and they would save money that way. You might save money, but you might also be too exhausted in the morning to do any significant sightseeing.

I have done trips of about that length - this past summer I did a 33 day trip. My main piece of advice is that you have on average at least 3 nights in each city you visit (each hotel, you can do day trips). Now sometimes a one or two nighter makes sense, but that should be balanced by some 4,5 or 6 night stays.It's when you move every 2-3 days that you have the problems that have been mentioned above. There is definitely something to be said for traveling to a variety of places and getting a 'taste' but you just can't take it to an extreme. And the longer the trip the more you need some longer individual stays. If your whole trip is only ten days then 3-3-3 could work. But that gets tiring if you multiply the whole trip by three or four.

For example my 33 day trip was split like this: 4-4-5-2-3-5-6-3

Go to the train sites listed above and see how many hours the trips are between each of your destinations. Then plot it on a map and see if anything jumps out at you as a place to delete. Or are there some places that are less interesting. In your Ireland Italy weeks - how many different places were you considering. And in Ireland how were you thinking of traveling around - that country is much harder by public transportation than the others. Is Ireland really important to you or could you eliminate it?

My wife and I took the Caledonian Sleeper this last May and, while we (or at least I) woke up at times in the night, we arrived in Edinburgh refreshed and ready to eat breakfast and explore. I recall that there was only one stop on the way. It seemed to me it took close to eight hours, while the ordinary express takes closer to four.

However, while it was an adventure, the sleeper was not significantly less expensive (if at all) than taking an ordinary train and getting the apartment for an extra night would have been.