mishy92

Hi!
My husband and I are planning our first trip to Europe. This is the first time I'm not using a travel agency for foreign travel and instead I'm planning/booking everything myself. I've already started booking hotels and stuff but now I'm a little nervous that I won't be able to do everything I planned. Could you please review my planned itinerary and tell me if it seems doable? There are so many things to see and places to go that I had a really difficult time picking just a couple stops. Note: we are pretty adventurous, start our days early even on vacation, and don't mind a little rushing around to see more. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Day 1: Land in Paris at 1pm. Spend 4 nights in Paris, with a possible day trip to London.
Day 6: Overnight train to Milan. Train to Varenna, Lake Como. Stay for 3 nights
Day 9: Train to Milan then to Venice. Stay for 1 night.
Day 10: Train to Florence. Stay for 3 nights. Possible day trip to Cinque Terre.
Day 13: Train to Naples, ferry to Capri. Stay 2 nights
Day 15: Ferry to Naples, train to Rome. Stay 3 nights.
Day 18: Fly out of Rome to the US at 8pm

So should I cut out the day trips? Or is this doable? Has anyone done something similar (6 places in 17 nights)? The only hotels I have left to book are Paris and Lake Como. I'm looking for reassurance I guess

Thanks!
-M

RonZ

Varenna to Venice by train takes around 4 hours, plus an hour on either end, by the time you leave one hotel and walk out of the next. So one night leaves only part of a afternoon. Look up train times to the other stops, italian city names:

http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en

Whathello

I have done worse.
Just make a list of the destinations and check the times needed to go there wait in train stations or airports etc plus time to reach hotels to check in check out etc. it will give the available time for visit.
Then you can see if the stop is worth it.

sandralist

It's never really the numbers, but what you plan to do in each destination vs what there is to see, and what kind of trip you want. For instance, for me personally, talking myself into doing a "day trip" to London or Venice would be idiotic, since there is so much in London I would want to see. On the other hand, 2 nights in Capri would be far more than I needed. But for other people, a day in London or Venice before traipsing elsewhere would glamorous travel, and fun lark. And 2 nights in Capri, magic.

But two things for you to consider:

a) when you plan quick hits and 1-night stands, how will you feel if the weather goes against you and you are totally rained out in a destination where the whole idea was to be outdoors all the time?

b) your itinerary contains more than a few travel days involving time consuming hassles changing conveyance carrying luggage and hoofing it to a hotel. Either pack very very light, or think about if you really want to face multiple travel days with complicated logistics, especially if you are traveling in hot months and you don't like heat.

Robert2533

> planning our first trip to Europe<

What happens on Day 5?

Venice is just a quick stop for the night between Milan and Florence. Why bother?

Dayle

I would start by researching the travel time needed between your destinations. Then list the things you want to see and do in each destination. Will you be able to do what you plan in the real.time you have? Remember 3 nights gives you just 2 full sightseeing days.

Skip the daytrips. You barely have time for a few of the highlights of the major cities.

I would also skip Capri. Too far to go for too short a visit.

Add those 2 nights to Venice or else skip Venice too.

Only you can decide if the time and cost of tje travel is worth the time you will have to enjoy at.each destinatiom so do more research so uou can make good decisions.

nola77382

We did this kind of trip when we first started going to Europe in 1998. Our family of five adults drove all over Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands, Italy, and France. We saw a lot in our yearly 2.5 week trips. It was tiring, though. After 5 trips like this, we started to spend more time in one location to explore that location in depth. We planned it all ourselves using guidebooks, magazines and eventually the internet. Rick Steves was helpful to get us started; now I prefer the Michelin Green Guides or the Blue Guide for specific cities.

I don't regret our whirlwind tours because saw so many places we knew we would re-visit when we had more time. Only advice would be to avoid one-night stands because you really don't see anything those days.

bilboburgler

Well it is your first time to Europe, so may be ok. For me it has one too many stops. I might ditch Venice or Capri or Milan.

When are you going, early August would be the toughest?

No problem with day trips, but you can end doing long ones. From Florence look as a day out in Lucca as a better use of a long day.

London, you want to make it a very long day and get your tickets soon, suggest an early supper in London, then catch the train back. Note that there is normally a time difference between the two cities (1 hour, not the 40 years that one could offer as a joke ;-) )

russ_in_LA

Everyone has different travel styles. It's a bit too much moving around for me, but might suit you fine. Keep in mind that trains often run late, and there can be missed connections, strikes, etc. Be sure to use the trenitalia website that RonZ suggested and leave yourself plenty of time for connections. Have an alternate train selected for when things get cancelled.

In answer to your question about day trips, yes, cut out all of them, unless you have more than 3 full days (4 nights) in a given city. Even then, I would limit day trips to something you can substantially see in one day (i.e., Versailles from Paris, as opposed to London).

In your place, here is what I might do, limiting myself only to the destinations you mentioned, and trying to change as little as possible:

Paris - 4 nights
Overnight Train - 1 night
Varenna - 2 nights
Venice - 2 nights
Florence - 4 nights (you could do Cinque Terre if you really wanted to, but it's nearly a 6 hour round trip. Siena is a worthwhile day trip from Florence)
Rome - 4 nights.

If Capri is an absolute must-see, then take 1 night off Florence (so no Cinque Terre) and spend 1 night in Capri. I think Capri is the outlier on this itinerary, but you could conceivably see a substantial portion of it with a one night stay.

Ultimately, if you change nothing except for eliminating your day trips and moving one night to Venice from Varenna, it will already be a much more enjoyable trip, IMO. Have fun!

ssander

If I had 17 nights, I would only do three or four cities: Paris, Venice, Rome, and maybe a couple of nights in Florence with a day-trip out of Paris and Rome.

Paris 6 nights
Venice 4 nights
Florence 2 nights
Rome 5 nights

A day-trip to the CT from Florence involves nearly 3 hours by train to Riomaggiore...so I guess you could do it having lunch, a walk around the town, and dinner, before returning...but it would be six hours in transit.

Just my opinion.

ssander

Sassafrass

All personal opinion only from my own experience. My personal philosophy is to spend more time seeing and experiencing things than traveling about seeing the inside of train and train stations. Average the total cost of your trip into the cost per day and those days of travel are not just costing the ticket amount. They are costing much more of your trip than you think, plus time.
IMHO, you need to cut at least one stop plus trip to London.

With only three days in Paris, I would use every minute for Paris. If I wanted to see something else, it would be something like Versailles, very close by with a very short train ride. So, if you had a week in Paris, I might say differently, but IMHO, forget London this trip.

I love Venice, but would not spend that many hours getting there and have not even a whole afternoon to see anything. People who rush through Venice generally are disappointed with the experience. So cut a night from Como and add it to Venice, or cut Venice altogether.

Florence. There are so many incredible places (Siena, Lucca, etc.) to see that are close to Florence, IMHO, you should see one of those rather than spend hours getting to the CT. You could play it by ear. Plan how you would do each, then decide once you are there, how you feel.

Another personal opinion based on my own experiences and likes. I would not take all the time and effort to go to the AC area for just two nights on Capri, when there is Pompeii, Positano, Amalfi and the whole beautiful Coast to see and experience.

When are you going? If not the middle of Summer, I would probably cut Como, add one of those nights to Venice and the other two of those nights to the AC. That way, you could just fly from Paris to Venice.

Honestly, still rushed, but
Paris, 4 nts
Venice, 2 nts
Florence, 3 nts
AC, 4 nts
Rome, 3 nts.

Another option: Cut Capri, keep Como, add a night to Venice and a night in CT. At any rate, in all plans, either add a night in Venice, or skip it.

Wekiva

The trip you describe is exactly how we like to travel as far as the number of stops in the time you describe. Now...the number of day trips you're considering might be a bit steep though. Leave those as things you can determine as you move through the trip and see how you're feeling. But for hotels I think you're fine. You will be moving around a lot, but that's fine for me since I haven't been to Europe many times. Some day I'll slow down and do it differently...but not yet.

The London day trip depends on how many things you'll want to do in Paris. With 3.5 days (and first half day jetlagged) it would depend on things like if you want to do Versailles or other big time involved items. Your 3.5 days will fill up quickly just trying to see all the great stuff in Paris. I might steal a day from Lake Como and add to Paris to do London.

I've been to Venice 3 times, once as a day trip and twice while sending one night. It is DEFINITELY worth doing w/ only 1 night. Don't listen to those who say 1 night isn't worth it. Just be sure you've got a fair amount of time on both days to spend there.

janisj

you get off to a rocky start:

>>Day 1: Land in Paris at 1pm. Spend 4 nights in Paris, with a possible day trip to London.<<

W/ a 1PM arrival you likely won't be checked in to your hotel til nearly 4PM and probably jet lagged. So you only have 3 useable days in Paris but want to use one of them to 'see' London'. Just stick to Paris - you'll barely scratch the surface in 3 days.

The 3 nights at Lake Como will net you 2 days an a bit.

One night in Venice will give you just a few hours in the city.

The rest gets a tiny bit better - but still pretty rushed.

For me - I'd add time to Paris (and skip London), either add time to Venice or skip it, and add maybe a day to Rome (as it is you only have 2 full and 2 half days there). I'd skip Lake Como and Capri. But maybe Lake Como and Naples/Capri are your musts and you don't care some much re Venice or Florence. Those decisions are up to you - but yes, I think you do need to pare down.

PalenQ

re trains - night trains are not for everyone - light sleepers especially as there is always a modicum of noise from inside and outside the compartment and if in a shared compartment with strangers - a couchette - loud snorers and impolite folks up late, etc.

That said I've taken hundreds literally of night trains and never had a problem except once on a train whose AC broke down and it was just too hot to get to sleep. Yet night trains can save daytime travel time and the cost of a night in a hotel - Paris to Como is a long long trip by day on a train - for lots on European trains and night trains check these informative sources: www.seat61.com - great info on discounted tickets in Italy and Paris to Milan; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

mishy92

Thank you all for the helpful responses!

I should have clarified- I've already been to London a couple times (though my husband hasn't). The only reason we want to go there is for the harry potter studio tour I may decide to skip that this trip but I'm so torn.

I'll definitely save Cinque Terre for another time and visit Siena or Lucca instead.

I don't have a lot planned for Venice, just wanted to see the canals so a few hours would probably suffice.

BTW Day 5 is our last day in Paris then we will spend that night traveling. Milan is only a stopover for train change from Paris to Lake Como.

I wanted to see either Amalfi Coast or Capri. Bus from Naples to AC was gonna take about the same amount of time as ferry to Capri so I picked the island because it looks so gorgeous, and Anacapri might be less crowded than AC.

Our travel dates are July 11th-28th.
I did look at trains for all my travel routes on http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en. Do I have to book the train passes in advance?? Or should I book them a week/couple days before?

janisj

>> is for the harry potter studio tour<<

Really difficult as a day trip from Paris. It is an hour+ outside of London.

suze

I think it could work if you cut the "day trips" in places you will only be for 3 days.

I love Venice but would not go all the way there just for "a few hours" to look at a canal!

RonZ

Re Venice, the fastest trains to and From Florence take 1:53, so a day trip is possible, although not something I'd recommend. Of course a better arrangement might to be to fly there from Paris on Easyjet, as overnight trains get very sketchy reviews.

TrendGirl2

I SUGGEST "Skipping the CT" & Save that for a possible future trip. In my opinion, you have so many destinations that are more fantastic to enjoy and explore.

You will have a wonderful time, as all of the destinations have been some of my favorites........but I spent more time in each destination.

My least favorite (although I was glad I did see it) was Cinque Terre.

another comment:
Spending a few hours in Venice does not seem worth it to me, as Venice is always crowded & you would not be experiencing enough of the sights in Venice. Venice deserves more then 3 hours. The evenings are magical in Venice.....just saying!!!!!!
TrendGirl2

TrendGirl2

neckervd

It's feasible. I suppose you know that you will have to leave your sleeping car before 6am Western European Summer Time. If you want to avoid that, remain in the train up to Venice ar 9.35 and visit Varenna (better Peschiera or Desenzano on Lake Garda) on your way to Florence:
Day 6: Venice ar 9.35am, hotel close to the railway station
Day 7: Venice dp 17.20 - Varenna ar 21.23,
Day 9: Varenna dp 17.37 - Florence ar 20.59