Hi All,

A friend and I are in the initial stages of planning 5 weeks of backpacking in Europe. We are use to travelling using overland tour groups and enjoy the fast pace nature of them. This time we want to go it alone but still cover a lot of distance in our short time. So far we have:

1. Amsterdam (3 nights)
2. Bruges (1 night)
3. Paris (4 nights) Where we will spend Christmas
4. London (4 nights)
5. Edinburgh (3 nights) Hogmanay festival for New Years
6. Munich (2 nights)
7. Salzburg (1 night)
8. Vienna (2 nights)
9. Budapest (2 nights)
10. Zagreb (3 nights)
11. Ljubljana (2 nights)
12. Venice (2 nights)
13. Rome (5 nights)

Apart from the Edinburgh to Munich leg (which we plan to fly), we were hoping for peoples recommendations for bus/train travel. Are we best to get a Eurail pass?

We are both young and enjoy a good night out and meeting people. We also love adventure sports and want to see the keystone attractions in these destinations. Do people have any suggestions for our itinerary? Any recommendations of day tours/ combined passes? Any suggestions for youth accommodation?

Thanks in advance. We look forward to hearing peoples hits and misses!

Ashleigh

Suggested mode ot transportation listing each city is beside it.

1. Amsterdam (3 nights) - train
2. Brugge (1 night) - train
3. Paris (4 nights) train
4. London (4 nights) train
5. Edinburgh (3 nights) fly
6. Munich (2 nights) train
7. Salzburg (1 night)train
8. Vienna (2 nights) train
9. Budapest (2 nights) bus (3:45 road time) (fastest train is 6 hours)
10. Zagreb (3 nights) fly
11. Ljubljana (2 nights) bus (2:35 road time) (fastest train is 5:40 hours)
12. Venice (2 nights) train
13. Rome (5 nights) train

Well you have certainly done your best to recreate a tour. The potential issue is that without a guide and a driver everything will take longer and that you are traveling in midwinter - when the potential for bad weather might be the cause of travel delays.

Also not sure what adventure sports there are this time of year - except for winter sports in the mountains.

Obviously hostels are a very economic choice of lodgings. Not sure if a rail pass works - I think you actually need to lay the trip out and see if it makes financial sense.

Just a comment, you will lose half of your first day in Paris to travel from Bruges, and then everything will be closed on Christmas. So you will really only have two days for the city. That's not much for one of the most sight-dense cities in Europe.

I'm not sure I fully understand nytraveler's attempt at sarcasm, but if the suggestion is to get off-the-beaten track in winter, I don't recommend it. Sticking to the cities with good transport connections is the most sensible approach.

Most people do not spend more time in the cities you are going to than you are planning to do. Yes, if they are older, very affluent people they will crawl around Europe and rent cars or have drivers transport them everywhere, but your journey is more typical, even for middle-aged people, and most travelers have a blast doing it. Your 5 days in Rome is longer than most people do, while your 2 days in Vienna might be a bit shorter, but up to you if you want to cut destinations to make more time for these places. Not everybody enjoys more time in Venice or Vienna or London blah blah.

In addition to thinking hard about closures around Christmas and what you want to see and do in Paris, bear in mind that London also has a lot of closures on Dec 25/26.

Have a great trip!

Adventure sports? I'm not sure what that means when you've listed all cities.

I don't think you've factored in your travel time. You need to look at how long it will take you to travel between each place. It's very different using a tour company that delivers you door-to-door than getting to and from bus/train stations (or airports) on your own. Getting your bearings in each city, finding your lodging, etc.