Backpacking through Europe in Winter!
 

Hello! I am relatively new to this website but I just wanted to get some opinions on my travel itinerary for my upcoming trip.

Let it be noted that I know my travel is a bit all over the place (a lot all over the place) but I wanted to be in specific places at certain times (eg Edinburgh over new years and Paris over christmas). I also know there is a bit of backtracking but this is usually because it meant the cost of internal fights would end up cheaper.

And in case it makes a difference I am a solo female backpacker (20 years old) from Australia :)

December 3: Arrive in Amsterdam (3 days)
Dec 6: Rail to Berlin (3 days)
Dec 9: Rail to Prague (3 days)
Dec 12: Rail to Budapest (3 days)
Dec 15: Fly to Madrid (4 days)
Dec 19: Rail to Barcelona (3 days)
Dec 22: Rail to Paris (5 days/4 nights)
Dec 26: Rail to Edinburgh (overnight train)
Dec 27: Planned tour from Edinburgh to Isle of Skye
Dec 30: Edinburgh (6 days) ((I know this is a lot but I LOVED Edinburgh on my last trip))
Jan 4: London (3 days)
Jan 7: Reykjavik (6 days)
Jan 13: Florence (3 days)
Jan 16: Rome (4 days)
Jan 20: Venice (4 days)
Jan 24: Fly Home!


Thoughts anyone??

<i> Dec 22: Rail to Paris (5 days/4 nights)
Dec 26: Rail to Edinburgh (overnight train)
Dec 27: Planned tour from Edinburgh to Isle of Skye </i>

No trains on the 26th
Sunrise on the 27th is 9:00am, sunset 3:30pm so even if you ignore the possible disruption due to weather you aren't going to see a lot
Much of Scotland is closed on the 1st January

You are also bouncing all over Europe like a lop on heat

alanRow, I am aware that Scotland is closed on Jan 1 (and Jan 2 more often than not) but after NYE the rest will be necessary!
And my tour from the 27th happens every year with few complaints so I am willing to take my chances

I don't get it.

Why wouldn't Italy be between Hungary and Spain??

How are you getting from Reykjavik to Florence??

How are you going to get to Edinburgh?

Seems like a pretty random schedule and an awful lot of traveling.

Jean, I am not doing Italy until later because as I wrote above, I want to do certain places at certain times and Italy wouldnt fit in with those dates no matter how I moved them around. Also, it was cheaper to fly home from italy than most other places on my list. And I will be flying from either Reykjavik directly to florence, or landing in munich and catching a train- whichever works out cheaper.

And alanRow, I emailed the Eurail website and they told me that there would be trains running? Even if that is not the case I will catch an internal flight.

>> . . . Dec 15: Fly to Madrid (4 days)
Dec 19: Rail to Barcelona (3 days)
Dec 22: Rail to Paris (5 days/4 nights)
Dec 26: Rail to Edinburgh (overnight train) . . . << etc

All your times are off. You actually fly to Madrid 3.5 days; rail to Barcelona 2.5 days; rail to Paris 3 days; and so on . . . 3 nights somewhere = 2 to 2.5 days.

You'll have to fly if you want to get to Edinburgh over the 26th.

Are you sure there are tours to Skye on Dec 27th??

That is a very risky time of year for that sort of trip... One big snow storm and your whole itinerary will be out the window. W/ the very short days and probably nasty weather that is too much running around IMO.

Yes I am sure they run, I have already booked it with the tour company (whom I know are reputable because I have done tours with them before)
And many of my trains will be overnight trains (or really early morning trains) to maximise my time spent in each place- eg if I arrive into paris early morning on the 22nd and fly out at night on the 26th then I will have almost 5 full days.

Only about 5 hours of daylight daily in Iceland at that time.

Also, in each case, you're counting your travel day as a day IN your destination city. But when you check journey times, you'll find in most circumstances that you lose a half day or more (see Berlin-Prague, Barcelona-Paris, Reykjavik-Florence) getting from the hotel in one city to the hotel in the next city. So, you only have 2 full days in Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Budapest, etc.

That no problem- the darkness doesnt stop me from exploring! Also there is a high chance of seeing the northern lights that time of year so theres that
And I have researched travel timetables pretty extensively so that I will be arriving into each place relatively early in the morning, so it would be close to a full day

I am curious...if this is booked and ou are happy with it what can anybody add to your trip?

OK, then. I'm out.

I have booked the end and start points and a few bits and pieces, I was just curious if anyone would have any opinions on how long I should stay in each place as some things are movable.
Eg, is three days enough in berlin, amsterdam and prague or should I lose a day in any place to add it to another city?
For example I am wondering if 3 days is enough in Berlin?

In hindsight perhaps I should have lead with that in my original post.

Since you're going to Edinburgh over Hogmanay, I assume you also know how expensive rooms are then and have already booked them. We were in Inverness with friends during Hogmanay last year and it was a lot of fun. Skye won't be a problem because of the bridge but it's good you didn't plan on visiting any of the other islands.

Re the days in each city--depends on what you want to see. I personally wouldn't spend 3 days in Amsterdam but that is only my preference talking. Sounds like a whirlwind trip but it also sounds like you put some thought into it.

My one suggestion is to give extra time for laundry and drying of clothes that are damp but don't need to be washed. Once you leave Spain, cold/damp/rainy/snowy will be your weather options.

And you might want to check out some of the backpacking sites to see what they have to say.

I personally think a trip to Skye in late December is among the very last things I'd want to do. I LOVE Skye, but w/ the very short days, and likely cold to frigid weather, the probable rain (on the island) and snow (enroute), wind etc. - unless you are VERY lucky it could be totally miserable. And even if it is just 'cool' you probably won't see much of anything.

(Even in summer many visitors need 3 or 4 visits before they get clear/decent weather)

Well my comment would be your itinerary is literally "all over the map" if you wanted to go in a logical order without spending a lot of time backtracking... to be up in Amsterdam, then down in Spain, then back up to London, then back down to Italy, makes no sense to me.

But you seem to have your reasons.

London to Reykjavik and then on to Florence all in 9 days! Certainly makes sense to me...

Flying from Budapest to Madrid might get expensive unless you don't mind being in transit from 9 to 20 hours. There are no direct flights to either Madrid or Barcelona. You may be better off taking a train to Barcelona before heading to Madrid, but anyway you look at it, it's going to be a long day.