I've read through many of these posts, but not finding quite what I need. We had a great travel agent in Maine, but I can't find a decent one here in Colorado. So, here are my questions:

My husband and I are planning our first trip to Europe in September - for 3 weeks. We're having a real tough time figuring out where to go. We know we want Switzerland and Italy...and we're maybe thinking Austria. We're not planning on doing all of Italy - mostly the northern regions.

We're also planning on getting a Eurorail pass - any suggestions on iteneraries? We're very active people, who love the outdoors and hiking. We do want to see some of the stuff we have to see on our first trip to Europe, but some things off the beaten path would be great too.

Thanks in advance for your help!

My first advice - - do NOT assume that you should buy a "rail pass". Train travel is such a good bargain in Italy that you are likely to spend considerably more on the rail pass than the ordinary ("point-to-point&quot tickets would cost. Once you have even a tentative itinerary, plug in on www.railsaver.com - - and make sure you click on "only if it saves me money.

Austria would make an excellent complement to northern Italy and Switzerland - - and it's a good deal more affordable than Switzerland.

When you post your next (series of) question(s), be sure and put the name of specific destination in your message header.

And... since it's your first post here, ever (how did I know that?)... here's one more thing: click on your own name - - the easiest/straightforward way to find all of your previous posts - - a crucial tip that Fodors fails to inform new registrants when they send you that e-mail welcoming you or joining in on Travel Talk).

Best wishes,

Rex

Thanks rex...Posting a second set of questions may take awhile. We're very overwhelmed right now. Meeting with two people this week - friends - who will be sharing their experiences to help us plan.

Hi, welcome
I'll add a few suggestions/questions for your follow-up postings as well.

You've chosed 3 countries that in combination are not that common for a first trip to Europe. You must already have things in mind that you want to see and do--what are those?

Before you book your air fare, think about an open-jaw ticket; that allows you to fly into one city and fly home from another, eliminating the need to backtrack.

What kind of experiences are you looking for besides outdoors and hiking?
Do you enjoy fine dining? Do you want to visit art museums? Historical sites?
How much are you planning to spend, either on the whole trip, or at least per night on lodgings?

Also, are you aware that there are tour groups that offer walking/hiking tours?
You are based in a town or city, and each day you take organized hikes in the area. Then a day or two later you move on to another town or city.

Best of luck with your planning.

Thanks! Can I say we want to do all of the above? Yes - we like dining, but do plan on keeping a budget. We figured $10,000 or so....but we just threw that out. We will want to see some historical features...especially with this being our first trip. We haven't been intereted in a tour, because we thought it might be too restricting. We're only planning on hiking a little. We figured we'd have too much to see...Plus, I'm not packing my backpacking boots, just day hikers.

As far as the location...For our first trip, we really want to see Italy...so we planned around that. We figure that will take most of our time, so we're not venturing too far from there. We've heard how beautiful both Switzerland and Austria were, so that is why we've been drawn there. But - we are still in the very, very early stages of planning.

Get a couple of guide books and start reading to get an idea of what you might want to see and do from a more "objective" point of view. After all, what we suggest is purely personal, which I think is more relevant in refining your options.

Ha! I got lucky at the library yesterday - 10 different books, all current with 2005 information. I will be narrowing these down - just wanted to review them before I purchased some. AAA is sending me some maps too. I want your personal opinions...When we went to New Zealand, the suggestions offered by people were invaluable.

I really do appreciate you input! (All of you.)

If you don't have a reason to go to Austria other than you've heard it's pretty, I would cut it from this trip. It will take up a lot of time going up there and then back over to Switzerland. There is pretty scenery in Switzerland and the Alps area, and since your main goal is Italy, I assume you'll want to see a lot there. If this is your first trip, no point in cutting off things you really want to do and could do well for this trip just to go to Austria and back. So you could spend two weeks in Italy and a week in Switzerland. I am assuming you'll want to see Rome and Venice and Florence, plus other things in the north of Italy.

Perfect. This is where we are struggling...not within a country, but if we should be seeing more or less.

I do have this great book by Fodors that has some suggested itineraries per country...but not countries, if that makes any sense.

First: the railpass "issue": they are good for some things and not so good for others.

They get cheaper to use the more you use them but unless you plan on using them quite frequently, you are probably better off with point-to-point tickets.

However, passes will do a few things for you: eliminate the need to buy tickets although they will not get you a seat reservation (which you may never need). Passes are the ultimate in convenience especially if you don't WANT to figure out the ticket machines or wait in the lines. BUT, you need to decide if that "convenience" is worth the price you'll pay.

Guidebooks...I think you'll soon find that there is a lot of repetition and what is good for one thing may not be so great for another. It will help if you can decide in general the places/locations you are most interested in.

CONSULT A MAP!!!! Please, especially if you are geographically challenged"..there is nothing worse, or more pathetic, than someone posting questions like, "Can I get from Florence to Sicily on a day trip..and be back at the hotel by 4PM?" Having a general idea of where the places you are wanting to go are in location to one another can answer a lot of questions.

Austria vs. Switzerland and the "beauty factor." I agree, they are both beautiful...but this can depend on what types of things/places you want to see. The highest Alps, for example are in Switzerland and France...but that doesn't mean the ones in Austria and Italy aren't just as spectacular.

We need to know more from you now...

Hmmm ! So many good options.
I would pick no more than 7 destinations in that time, make the next one no more than 4 hours travel time, and start in Zurich[Luzern] and end in Vienna. There, you take it from here and give us your mandatories.

Hi d2,

For a first trip to Europe, I suggest one week in Paris, one week in Rome and one week split between Florence and Venice (4/3) in that order.

Have a good visit.

question to ira - - was this message meant for some other post? d2r says nothing about wanting to go to France, and mentions wanting to concentrate on Northern Italy and its Alpine neighbor(s)...

All good suggestions. I thought we had narrowed it down yesterday to arrive in zurich, and fly out of vienna - making our way to Italy in between. But - the prices of flights if we go to Paris instead, and fly out of Rome, are unbeatable!

Flights to Paris (and London for that matter) tend to be cheaper, but if your goals are Italy and Switzerland, I think you'd prefer to fly into one of those countries and out of the other if possible.