Advice needed for itinerary
 

Hi to you all! I am new to this site and to planning a trip to travel anywhere. I have been planning a trip to europe and need your assistance in determining the best route to visit these cities below. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Destinations Travel Time Lenght of Stay

PTY - ATL 4h
ATL - LGW 4h 30m

London - Paris 3h 6 Days
Paris - Dijon 2h 6 Days
Dijon - Bern 3h 10m 6 Days
Bern - Interlaken 1h 6 Days
Interlaken - Milan 4h 6 Days
Milan - Florence 3h 6 Days
Florence - Venice 3h 6 Days
Venice - Ljubljana 5h 20m 6 Days
Ljubljana - Vienna 6h 20m 6 Days
Vienna - Krakow 8h 6 Days
Krakow - Prague 7h 6 Days
Prague - Munich 6h 10m 6 Days
Munich - Luxembourg 6h 6 Days
Luxembourg - Brussels 3h 6 Days
Brussels - Amsterdam 2h 30m 6 Days

AMS - ATL 9h
ATL - PTY 4h

83h 90 Days TOTAL

You must like big cities. With a total of 90 days in Europe you could get very creative. What do you plan to do for 6 days in Ljubljana, Milan, Krakow, and Luxembourg? Do you have a good guide book?

Hey NextDoorBully,

That's an ambitious trip with lots of details to pull together... transfers between cities, hotels, any private tour guides you'd like to engage, etc.

My advice to you is to get a travel agent who is really experienced in European FIT (foreign independent travel). She or he may charge you a trip planning fee (this represents *many* hours of work), but I think in the end you'll find it was the best investment you could make. You are making an investment of 3 months of your life and tens of thousands of dollars, and unless you really enjoy doing all the research, coordinating, booking, and organizing this represents ... this will save you some major headaches.

I'd check out the travel agencies in your town and find someone you can sit down with, at a table with a good map, and plan this out. I'd be happy to help you out with this, but my recommendation is to go with someone local.

David

Hi N,

Lucky you.

Interesting itinerary:

Some of your stops aren't worth 6 days.
(Dijon, Bern, Milan, Munich....)

Will you be renting a car so that you can see some countryside?

Have you looked into side trips?

When will you be going?

((I))

I agree with the above. I personally would find 90 days spent only in big cities rather exhausting. However, your allotted days in each city makes me assume that you will use the city as a base for doing some daytrips. Is this correct? Because otherwise I'm not sure what one would do with 6 days in Munich, Brussels, or most of the other cities on your list. Ljubljana, for example, can be seen in a day or two, max, because its a rather small city.

90 days in Europe....I'm so envious!! Good luck planning!

Tracy

OK, see guys, there you are. Please tell me an estimate of how much days per city I need. Also, if I can change the cities to smaller towns, tell me where in the itinerary. Don´t hold back in recomending an alternate itinerary, since I am willing to make changes. I don´t prefer big cities to small towns, just so happens that I can do those cities in a line. About the sidetrips, mention them please so I can start checking them. I am cutting Venice, Luxembourg, Dijon, Bern, Milan, Brussells and Ljubljana to 2 days each. Munich and Krakow to 3 days. And, since I have 18 spare days, any additional recommendations. I want to Have a good preliminary before buying a guide. Also, Eastern Europe recommendations are welcome.

Can anybody recomend a 5 country itinerary for europe. I am checking the european rail for bordering countries, which may make my life easier. Anyone up to the challenge?

Yes, I like this kind of challenge, but I must say your initial itenary needs a lot of tweeking. First thing I would like to know is what time of the year are you going to make this trip? Do you have any specific areas of interest?

Hi N,

> I am cutting Venice, Luxembourg, Dijon, Bern, Milan, Brussells and Ljubljana to 2 days each. <

NOT VENICE!!!!

((I))

Thanks for the replies. I am planning to go from May 2 to August 1. I am as comfortable seeing museums, going to the outdoors, or partying. I have no preference. Big city today, small town tomorrow. About Venice, tell me, I´ve heard you can see it all in 1 day?

Hi NDB,

>About Venice, tell me, I´ve heard you can see it all in 1 day?<

That's true of just about anywhere.

You can also drink a bottle of Chateaau Cheval Blanc in 3 big gulps. :)

I would give Venice 3-4 nights - even if you don't care much for Art.

((I))

I had 2 days in Venice and could definitely have used about 2 more. I'd recommend 4 days there.

I think 2 in Ljubjlana is just about right.

You can cut Brussels down as well to maybe 3 days.

I have not been to a lot of places on your list, so I can't comment on much of your itinerary.

I would recommend looking into whichbudget.com to see if there are no frill flights between some of the cities.

I would throw in the Lake District around Milan (have not been, but I have heard it is nice) as well as a couple of days in Zurich (I have been there and liked it very much).

Budapest seems to be a very popular destination now, so you may want to think about adding that in. I have not been but am hoping to go soon.

You might also consider other places in Germany, such as Berlin. I'm sure, but you sound young from your posts, so you might find Berlin good. Spain could also be appealing - I have been to Barcelona and Madrid and enjoyed both.

Are you going alone or with other people?

Really, your 6 days per place is more of 5 days plus a travel day. I'd say you could happily spend five days in Venice.

I'd suggest you allocate the dyas you're cutting from Brussels to Bruges (with maybe one in Ghent). Similarly you could move a couple of days from Krakow to Warsaw, and from Milan to the lakes.

You suggested 6 days (inc travel) each in Bern and Interlaken - it might be worth rearranging this into a more varied trip around Switzerland, visiting Montreux, Lucerne and the mountains for a few days each.

I personally think the original irtinerary is very odd - sort of as if you just threw 15 darts at a map and set 6 days for each city you hit.

Some of those places easily warrant 2 weeks or more and some a few days or less. You are allocating the same time for London and Paris as for Bern and Luxembourg. There is nothing magical about 6 days (or actually 5.5 since there is travel time included). I'd decide which cities have more to see and spend more time there.

The places I'd personally spend more time are London, Paris, Munich (if I was using it as a base to see a lot of Bavaria).

6 days Milan, 6 days Florence, 6 days Venice seems like over kill to me. But I would not cut Venice.

Weird planning. Rome is not in your plans; any specific reason?

I would recommend starting your trip at the easternmost location and working your way back so to avoid backtracking.

Venice deserves 5 days, understood for sure. About Rome, I will include it since it isnt that far away. Budapest could go in with a flight. The Spain detour could sure be done. The 6 days was a preliminary. I was waiting for your feedback, and thanks a lot. Please feel free to add more opinions. In a few hours I will post my revised itinerary.

I am going alone backpacking on this trip.

I realize you have sort of planned your way from point to the next nearest point. Something to consider is looking at the low-fare European airlines. With airflights figured in between you could zig zag back a forth.

You might want to consider making a list of all your destinations and then looking for activities and festivals that will be going on during the time your are in Europe. that could help guide your planning.

I looks like you are trying to make sure you see everything while you are there. I think you might be happier by making a list (perhaps with advice from this board or a professional) of your top 5-6 places and plan accordingly.

The basis of me asking this question in this forum is that I have no such thing as a favorite destination. I have seen on TV and magazines a lot of places that are MUST SEE, however I know that I won´t see it all. Also, you can have a great time just about anywhere on this planet. I am OK with partying, shopping, going to museums and hiking trails.

NDB

I backpacked through Europe myself last year albeit it was only for 3 weeks and not 3 months. Like you, I had a pretty rigid itinerary and wanted to decide how long I would spend in each city before I even arrived. My best advice really is to only have the city you are flying home from set in stone. I guarantee there will be a city that you will enjoy so much and would want to stay longer. You can always go to a local internet cafe and reserve your stays and travels. My friend did a similar trip to yours but was travelling with friends. Enjoy your trip. It sounds incredible no matter where you go in Europe.