Couple newly married
 

Hi,
We (couple)are planning a 12 day trip to Europe november 1st week. We land in Paris. We cover Paris- 3 days, then to Venice-2 days, Rome-2 days and explore Switzerland by going to zurich and lucern spend four days there. Newly wedded couple so,we don wanna miss out romantic destinations. Any recommendations on if this iternary is ok or suggestions as to how much time in each place, what to see etc? would it make sense to drive around atleast within switzerland ?will we miss out on the scenic lanscape if we do so? Please help!

You've ignored the time it takes to get from a hotel in on ec ity to your next city and hotel. It takes at least half a day if not more out of your itinerary each time. If your flight is long haul into Paris, then you need a little time to adjust to the new time zone. 12 days with 3 changes is really only nine days when you factor in the jet lag.

I'd stick with a maximum of 3 places, maybe Paris, Venice and Rome. Where do you fly out of for the return trip? It makes a lot more sense time wise if you fly home from your last stop.

<< Newly wedded couple so,we don wanna miss out romantic destinations >>

Is your goal to go to these destinations or to experience the romance of them? If the second, then you have too many places. I've never thought of Lucerne and Zurich as romantic.

Do you have hotel and train/flight reservations? Your trip is in 2 weeks. If you do have reservations I can't make the number of days add up when you factor in travel time between destinations. If you don't have reservations you'd better start booking right away.

Since you're only going to cities you won't need a car. You can take trains and planes.

<< would it make sense to drive around atleast within switzerland >>

You don't have time to drive around Switzerland unless you drop a couple of other destinations.

We had just planned for the trip... havent booked the tickets and rooms...i can manage tat with my travel agent as he had jus blocked tentatively... any suggestions on wat destinations to drop and wat can be added....

I would drop Rome and go to the Interlaken area in Switzerland instead of the cities. The whole point of going to Switzerland is to see the mountains.

Make sure the travel agent puts you in a hotel that is central and not on the outskirts of the cities.

With only 12 days I would not go to more than 3 places - Paris, Rome, Venice. Fly into Rome and fly home from Paris.

I would drop either Italy or Switzerland. You don't have enough time for both. And if you choose to go to Switzerland, do as thursdaysd suggests and go to Interlaken. The cities are not exceptionally interesting or scenic.

Good luck with the reservations. Make sure your travel agent books hotels in the city center of the places you will visit. Many agents use suburban hotels but you don't have enough time to be traveling in and out of cities every day.

Switz will not be very scenic in Nov - it's really the worst time of year to go. Many hotels, restaurants and other facilities (boat trips, cable cars etc) are already stopped or on very limited schedules - or in their seasonal closure for refurbishment for the upcoming ski season.

You have way too many places - so I would bag Switz for cities - where chilly, rainy weather and early dark doesn't matter as much. In so few days stick to at most 3 places (3 hotels) or all your time will be just getting from one place to another.

You have to drop something, so I'd start with Switzerland. There is absolutely nothing romantic about Zürich and Lucerne, it's a frightfully expensive country, and November is not a pleasant time to visit.

Paris, Venice and Rome would be better.

we hav tweeked our itinerary ths way... any changes

03 Nights Venice ( 8nov -11nov 13 )

02 Nights Rome ( 11nov -13nov 13 )

03 Nights Interlaken ( 13nov -16nov 13

03 Nights Paris ( 16nov -19nov 13 )

Ø Half Day to Murano, Burano & Torcello in Venice on SIC basis

Ø Skip the Line: PROMO- Ancient Rome Half Day Tour of the Colosseum,
Roman Forum and Palatine Hill

Ø Skip the Line Vatican Museums,Sistine Chapel,Raphael's Rooms PM (14:15) 3hours

Ø Full Day Tour to Mt. Jungfrau Joch

Ø Full Day Tour to Mt. Titlis with Ice Flyer

Ø Visit to the Ballengerg museum

Ø Paris City Tour and Cruise. By Coach. On SIC basis

Ø *Illuminations of Paris. By Minibus 20:00 *

Ø *Disneyland** Resort Paris - 1 Day Pass - By Coach*

Ø Lido and champagne - 1st show

Ø

*04 Star Hotels to be used :*

Venice -Royal San Marco Hotel 4* or similar

Rome -Bettoja Hotel Mediterraneo 4* or similar

Interlaken - Interlaken 4* or similar No A/C

Paris - Timhotel Opera Gare Saint Lazare Paris

You still don't have enough time in locations and won't be able to do the things you list. Two days (hotel nights) in Rome equals one sightseeing day. Three days in other cities only gives you two actual sightseeing days. With your limited amount of time and destinations so far apart, you need to drop at least one location and limit your stay to only three hotels.

I regret to say I see little romantic about this trip. You have only 2 full days in Paris and are spending one of them at Disneyland?

As set up, your trip is one mad rush from one place to another. You really have too many destinations for your amount of time and haven't factored in the amount of time it takes to get from one place to another.

Well I suppose it's to late to change things now - but IMHO you are trying to go to too many cities and wasting a good part of your time in them doing things that that are really not important.

For instance, in Paris you are wasting a day in Disney (unless you have small children) and more time at the Lido (a majjor tourist trap). I don;t see where you are visiting any of the superb museums or exploring nay of the charming neighborhoods that are the essence of Paris.

Similarly you have book mountain ascensions in Switz - when it's perfectly possible you will have bad weather/clouds and not be able to go. (If the mountain tops are in the clouds you can;t see your hand in front of you face).

If it were me I wold drop Swtiz - as the most expensive and haeing the least chance of actually seeing the things that you have apparently signed up for. (When we visited Interlaken in June we had to wait 3 days before we got one with good weather so we could ascent the Jungfrau - but since we had a car we could explore many of the adorable nearby towns and lakes. If you've booked into these tours you're just stuck doing nothing.

This looks like a tour. Is it? Or just a bad travel agent?

Either way, you don't need those tours (and what on earth is "SIC"?) to enjoy those places. In fact they're likely to spoil any romance - you really want to spend your honeymoon in a group? I might keep the one in Rome for Vatican city, but definitely drop the Paris ones. Take the regular boat down the Seine in the evening to enjoy the lights.

See: http://www.bateaux-mouches.fr/en

Typical travel agent tour--get as much in as you can so you can charge for it.
Should be interesting to see if it really happened at all.

SIC basis is a term used on travel agent or tour company websites, it just means "seat in coach".

I agree something needs dropping, given it is November, maybe Switzerland. I did not find it particularly expensive myself though, that's not the reason I would drop it.

How on earth do you get to Murano, Burano & Torcello by coach? And since the public boats go to all three why would you go with a group? All that will get you is a shopping op in Murano. Not only is half day for all three islands way too rushed, with only two full days for Venice I'd spend them all in Venice itself.

If this is the itinerary suggested by your travel agent, then they know little to nothing about Italy. Please read some of the other posts about Italy, ex, Italy itinerary posted by atticusfinch, to get some ideas of how to layout your trip. You are counting days in two places. It does not happen that way. You have allowed no time for just walking and taking in the ambience of any place. Remember, days are shorter, dark earlier, jet lag first couple of days. Your plan did not include travel days to/from Europe, so do you really have 13/14 days to include travel? If not, the schedule does not work.

Day 1, depart from home
Day 2, arrive Venice, get to hotel, etc. expect some jet lag,
1/2 day of sight seeing
Day 3, Venice
Day 4, Venice
Day 5, train to Rome, get to hotel, etc.
1/2 day sight seeing in Rome
Day 6, Rome
Day 7, train to Interlaken, get to hotel, etc. late afternoon to sightsee. Remember, days are short.
Days 8 & 9, Switz
Day 10, train to Paris, late afternoon for sightseeing if lucky
Day 11, Paris
Day 12, Paris
Day 13, depart for home

You have
3 nts, 2&1/2 days, Venice
2 nts, 1&1/2 days, Rome
3 nts, 2 days, Switz
3 nts, 2 days Paris (if you actually have 13 days altogether)

If 12 days is your total, then you have only
2 nts, 1&1/2 days in Paris

Paris really needs 3 or 4 days. I suggest Versailles rather than Disney. Read up on all that is available in Paris. Paria is lovely for walking, not too much fun sitting on a bus being driven around.
Rome is the same - so much to do. Save time for some great meals. Eating on the run all the time would not be too romantic for most people.
Venice-not enough time for day trips.

You could have a great trip is you skip Switz this time.

Had no idea SIC meant Seat in coach - you have that for a lot of places with no coach (like Venice - so streets - only canals). And you can't see all 3 island in a full day -. never mind apart day.

Since you are so close to your departure date I assume you can;t change anything - but if you can get out of any of these tours I would suggest you do so.