Europe itinerary review
 

hey all,
i am backpacking solo from 11th aug to 3rd sept ie 24 days including two days of in and out flights.
i am landing in zurich on 11th and flyout from amsterdam on 3rd. the detailed itinerary is as follows
zurich 3 days'
vienna 2 days
budapest 2 days
krakow 2 days
prague 2 days
berlin 3 days
amsterdam 3 days..
i figure i have 3-4 days with me so was wondering if i should fly in and out of rome after zurich or just spend more days in the places already mentioned. also due to some constraints i have not been able to plan the trip as thorougly as i would have liked to so any suggestions would be welcome. everything is flexible less zurich and amsterdam where i have flights from. also should i go for a europass or book the tickets as i go since i am over 26 and buying the europass seemed a bit expensive . i am not very sure which option is better. would be grateful for any suggestions.
cheers
rudra

Zurich is a modern large city - I'd head to the fantastic Jungfrau Region around Interlaken for 3-4 days - some nice youth hostels in places like Interlaken and Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen - great places to meet other travelers your age.

Maybe spend the first day in Zurich (or smaller cuter nearby Lucerne) but head for the hills.

Travel between your stops will take most of a day - not just travel time but relocating hotel to hotel and if you have figured that in then it is a bit hurried for many but fine for me as a first-time trip.

Compare ordinary train fares vs the pass such as the East European Railpass - valid in Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia - much cheaper per day than a Eurailpass. For lots of good train info check www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.seat61.com - check the latter for info on discounted tickets you can score if you book really early - like weeks in advance - but they are often train-specific and cannot be changed nor refunded so booked in stone.

Why would a "backpacker" go to Zurich? I enjoyed it more than I expected, but it is easily one of the world's most expensive cities. Come to that, Switzerland is one of the world's most expensive countries.

Forget Switzerland and take a cheap flight from Zurich to Budapest. Distribute the resulting five days between Budapest, Krakow and Prague, all of which you seriously short-changing.

Lay this out on a calendar, bearing in mind that two nights equals one day, and showing the travel time.

You do not have anything like as much time as you think.

See skyscanner. com for cheap flights, and read seat61.com for info on trains. Although you have left it very, very late to get cheap flights or cheap trains. You may need to look at buses if you are really on a backpacker budget.

Nota bene: Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree forum is probably better than Fodor's for backpackers. It's more geared toward the backpacker set.

Let's Go Europe, the guidebook, remains a 'bible'of the younger backpacking crowd - written by folks your age or younger - great critique of hostels and hotels.

Be aware that it takes staying in a place for 4 nights to get 3 days, so you don't have as much time as you think you do to explore these places. And it will use up from half a day to most of a day each time you change locations.

I think you have too many destinations for the amount of time you have. I'd cut Zurich as much as possible - if you get there early in the day get out of the city toward your next destination as soon as possible, indeed, get out of Switzerland if you want to preserve your budget.

I'd cut a couple of cities so that you can spend 3 or 4 nights in each city, giving you two to three days to get a taste for the city.

Can only agree that you are spending way too much time just getting places rather than seeing/doing things.

You have not allowed time for getting from one place to another and I think not realized that moving from one country to another you will be dealing with a different language, a different culture, a different transit system, different eating times and styles.

I'm not saying this is too difficult - its perfectly easy IF you have enough time. But if you are bouncing around from one country to another I think you will find this trip to be a long and expensive blur.

I would agree to cut back a few places and add your "extra" days to places where you just don;t have enough time based on how many things you want to see/do there.

Hey Rudra!

If you are about to come to Krakow as Backpacker I would recommend downloading a free audioguide with a map. You can save a lot for this - www.krakowcard.com/audio-guide.

There is about 40 places you can go by your self and do it alone with your phone + headphones. Old town is amazing

If you search for the best Krakow tours its for sure Auschiwtz and Salt Mines but they are bit outsiede the city and the price is not that low. 30-40€ for each tour with transport. If you would like to take just a ticket it might be about 20-30€ for each tour with public transport.

There are also some great things to do in krakow besides cost one's. Main Market, Marys Church, Mounds in Krakow, Jewish Quarter, Wawel Hill,

Nice photos and top attractions here discovercracow.com website

i realise Zurich is no town for a backpacker but have to meet my brother there so cant strike it off. plus he takes care of my expenses there ;-) ticket from zurich to budapest is around 125 pounds so can consider it as the last option if nothing else. the itenerary cover 17 days so i have a spare 5/6 for travelling . if that is not enough then which cities do you think i should strike off to save time?

Rudra,
You will feel tired during the month long backpacking, and will need atleast 1/2 to 1 day per week to just catch up on sleep, or give your body some rest, or laundry etc. if you add that you will realize you have less time than you have put on paper.
I am sure you would like to stay out late in the night at least on some nights and that would eat into a quarter of your next morning.

You have about 3.5 weeks as per calendar including the flights into europe, so pls re plan spending at least 3 days per place. If the place does not offer you enough activity for 3 days, then you can always plan day trips around that place.

Prague - I would plan 3 full days
Amsterdam - at least 3 full days
Vienna - at least 2.5 full days.

Since I haven't traveled to other places, cannot recommend on those places.

I think you have way too many destinations.

<spend more days in the places already mentioned>

That. I think you have too many places, but certainly don't need to add any more.

if that is not enough then which cities do you think i should strike off to save time?

Krakow is an outlier on your itinerary in OP - takes a day to get there and back to any of your other cities - there is however an overnight train between Krakow and Budapest.

Zurich can be a city for backpackers too

Check out

http://www.spottedbylocals.com/zuric...y/art-culture/

If on a budget Zurich is extremely expensive.

That said Zurich has its pluses that many here do not seem to have ferreted out.

Go alternative, squatter and off spaces, communal dining, shopping at Migros and Zurich need not be very expensive.