Is this a bad time to travel? I realise the weather will obviously be cooler than the summer months but I read it's less busy everywhere at that time of year and most of the tourist attractions are still open in the fall. I've read good and bad about both really, just wanted to get some input from people here.

The countries we'll be going to are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Holland, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland. =)

I have a family committment (a must) in mid October which means I have to start my 2 month trip in August to be done for this family event or start my trip right after the event and finish for December.

Depends what you want to do, bearing in mind the weather will be cooler and wetter than in summer, and perhaps more importantly, the days will be shorter. Not a good time for gentle strolls in the hills, perfectly OK for indoor attractions in cities. Plenty of people take long weekend breaks to other European cities around this time.

But if you have two clear months to "do" as much of Europe as possible, the earlier period will probably have nicer weather and more chances to do a wider variety of outdoor and country things. The later period gives you more chance of seeing life the way the residents do, though that might be rather dull if this is to be the holiday of a lifetime.

Up to you.

I've been to The Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland in early October and the weather was fine in all three and so much less crowded.

- Weather better Aug/Sept, longer daylight.

- Airfares much lower in Oct/Nov. MUCH smaller crowds.

Both periods are doable - but crowds and heat in August are pretty bad in most areas.

My main concern tho' - you have listed 14 countries - which only gives you an average of about 4 days per country. Actually less since you'll have so much travel time. I'd probabaly go in Oct/Nov -- and cut out at least 5 or 6 countries.

Europe, particularly Central and Northern Europe, are lovely fall destinations. Let me take some of these geographic areas and see:

Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Sweden:

By the beginning of November, the days are severly shortened. You will notice that at around 4.30 twilight is setting in. I lived in Northern Europe for 10 years. I can tell you that historically, November is one of the worst weather months in that region of the world. Rain, greyness, gloom. There are of course beautiful days inbetween --with long shadows in the winter light. BUt there is alot of grey. Alot of wind.

Italy, Switzerland, Austria, --these countries are not all that much lighter in terms of the amount of daylight you will get. The weather is mixed and variable. I have lived in Northen Italy now for three years and I can honestly say that Oct and Nov are a mixed bag --we have had sun and temperatures in the mid to upper 60s and we have had horrible rains with flooding for days. Very unpredictable, especially November.

Spain, Portugal, Poland, Greece: I have no knowledge of the Nov. climates.

In your position, I would start the vacation in August .... in those northern countries, august is not that hot and is really lovely normally. And Italy/Switzerland/Austria/Spain/Portugal are just fabulous in Sept.

Hope it helps.

Diana

For Greece and central and southern Italy, October is wonderful, in my opinion an ideal time of year. I would guess that southern Spain would also be perfect at that time of year. I was in Sicily one year in November and had some concerns before the trip about weather, but I found the weather very pleasant on most days, with the added benefit of seeing olive harvest at that time of year. I think I was in Provence in early October (might've been late Sept.) and had mostly very pleasant weather. One thing I might not like about November, especially with the more northern destinations on your trip, is the very short hours of daylight.

It depends on what you want to do. Lesser known/traveled sights tend to shut down toward the end of October. Make a list of what you want to see and then check to see if anything closes completely for the winter. Hours are also cut for the sights that do stay open, so make sure you take that into consideration. You may not be able to as much in one day in November as you can in August.