https://www.sleeper.scot/

Book early for Caledonian Sleeper trains discounted fares- get a private compartment at all costs however.

Jamikins, thank you for that itinerary sample. One question... On travel days, where does one sleep? Still need a hotel, right?

Massimo & Janisj, your continued information is so appreciated! I really need to adjust my thinking, I guess, because I figured if I had to spend $100 a night on a hotel, that would be splurging (as I said... Cheap!)So if $135 in London is very inexpensive, I'm in for a huge shock. However, we can still use AirBnB everywhere but Paris, right?

As for my budget for the entire trip, I'm kind of up in the air on that still, as I don't have enough info. My rough estimate has definitely gone UP after reading these posts, haha. My daughter has researched and thinks we can get TO London for under $400 apiece and FROM Munich for $800-850. If that's true, then minimum $2200 per person for just lodging and flights. The rest is so hard to estimate yet.

On travel days you stay in the city you are travelling to that day.

>>we can still use AirBnB everywhere but Paris, right? <<

Pretty much yes. Do be careful w/ airbnb. Some owners (not just on airbnb BTW) play fast and loose when describing the place and especially the location. Maybe when you find a potential property post a question here on Fodors so we can tell you if it is a good location and any re flags you might have missed.

I've seen listings that show photos of Big Ben (the very center of London) making one think the flat is nearby, when it is far actually away in west London, or pretty far south of the river in not such a great neighborhood.

So - yes you can find good bargains on airbnb/etc. But if a place is <u>really</u> cheap there is likely a reason.

I believe that for your wish list thus far, Paris is the only city where short term rental apartments are not allowed. Berlin would also be a problem if you end up adding it. Amsterdam has restrictions on owners, but they have less impact on renters -- but still be careful there and ask lots of questions. The situation is fluid, so more cities could adopt bans between now & next year.

The situation in Paris and Berlin affects not just AirBnb but all short term apartment rentals

I just did a check to see if Paris offers university rooms in summer like London does, and google does come up with a few leads

https://en.parisinfo.com/where-to-sl...ity-residences

http://www.universityrooms.com/en/ci...SAAEgLyovD_BwE

I know nothing more about this and you'd need to do more research, but you are planning so far in advance they might work out for you.

So, given my daughter's outline and Jamikins' suggestion, as well as some tweaking by me, here is a very first draft. It seems heavy in the Netherlands and even Scottland, but tell mem what you folks think. Also, she (Alyssa, my daughter) put in flights instead of trains early on. Your thoughts?

Day 1 - Flight from North America PHX=>Calgary=>London $322 (Westjet 13hrs)
Day 2 – Land in London, get to hotel,Family Victorian House with parking $157 ($35) (Belvedere) leftover time to explore
Day 3 – London
Day 4 – London
Day 5 – London
Day 6 – Travel London to Scotland
*June 12th London=>Glasgow $50 Flight on British Airways
Double room in West End tenement $277 ($49)
Day 7 – Scotland
Day 8 – Scotland
Day 9 – Scotland
Day 10 – Scottland
Day 11 – Travel to Paris, June 17th Glasgow=>Paris $86 Flight on AirFrance (GoEuro)
Need lodging
Day 12 – Paris
Day 13 – Paris
Day 14 – Paris
Day 15 – June 21 travel to Rotterdam
21st-24th Near Rotterdam= 16 min to Rotterdam/Free parking $159 ($47)
Day 16 – Rotterdam
Day 17 – Rotterdam
Day 18 – Rotterdam
Day 19 – Travel to Utrecht June 24th
24th-28nd Near Utrecht= Guest apartment in country village $169 ($36)
Day 20 – Utrecht
Day 21 – Utrecht
Day 22 – Utrecht
Day 23 – June 28th travel to Vienna
Beautiful big apartment in the center $142 ($42)
Day 24 – Vienna
Day 25 – Vienna
Day 26 – July 2 Travel Vienna to Dachau
Mantra guesthouse $169 ($30)
Day 29 – Dachau
Day 27 – July 4 travel to Munich
Need a place to sleep
Day 28 – Munich
Day 30 – Munich
Day 31 – July 8, travel Munich to Phoenix Munich=>Reykjavik=>Seattle=>Phoenix $609 (IcelandAir)

Amazing!

Rotterdam & Utrecht are so close, I think one will do, so you don't need so many days there, which you could add to Vienna & Munich.

I would not pick either Rotterdam or Utrecht. Delft, perhaps, if you are avoiding the Amsterdam area.

What are the numbers in parentheses?

Why is parking on there? You do NOT want a car in London, Paris, Vienna or Munich, or most other European cities, all of which have good public transport.

Suggest that you post links to the accommodation.

What happened to Amsterdam - my favorite city in Europe for many reasons - foremost its unique beauty- plus world-famous sights like museums and Anne Frank House -yeh day tripping in sounds OK but it sucks IMO - Amsterdam glows after dark- lots of folks walking around -great array of restaurants, etc.

If never been to Europe staying in Utrecht or Rotterdam so many days and none in Amsterdam to me is daft - I think you should reconsider not staying in Amsterdam!

4 nights in a country village -bring some good books!

Again I've been to Utrecht and Rotterdam many times and stayed in them dozens of times on business. Very nice places but little to see after a day -you may end up day tripping an hour each way to Amsterdam.

Please clarify WHERE you are staying in London??? I assume the 'Family Victorian House' is merely how the owner describes it and not the name of the place. And what does >>($35) Belvedere<< mean? I am a little nervous about this one . . .

In Glasgow -- what is the actual name of the hotel? Is it the West End B&B? or Tenement 'something'? or what . . . And are you staying there the entire time you are in Scotland?

I think you are getting ahead of yourselves. You have loads of time. Read the books suggested above, then decide where you most want to go, and what you most want to see, then come back with a suggested itinerary. Europe is not going anywhere.

Okay, sorry folks, that last post of mine was simply, mostly a copy and paste from my daughter's initial first draft. She is looking up flight costs and finding possible Airbnb locations for our different cities, and plugging them into an itinerary. It is, by no means, a done deal. Nothing has been scheduled or reserved or anything like that. And as for the parking fees, I am sure that was just part of the description. At this point we have no plans to rent a car. I have no idea the names of the different hotels or Airbnb she found, and it really doesn't matter, because they are just possible examples of places we might stay.

And I completely agree with the Rotterdam Utrecht suggestion. I think that is too many days in one area, and I'm sure we will be moving those around. I also think my daughter was simply looking for cheaper places to stay, so she found places in outlying areas, rather than Amsterdam itself, planning on commuting in and out. Do the trains even run at night? I think we can definitely stay at least a night or two in Amsterdam, and maybe a couple of nights in outlying areas.

>>I think you are getting ahead of yourselves.<<

I agree -- you aren't traveling until next summer. I would certainly not lock myself into a specific itinerary nor places to stay a year ahead of time.

Trains run until about 1am in the Netherlands, and run often

https://www.raileurope.com/europe-tr...nds/index.html

Still sending compliments to your daughter for that research. Brava.

Yes a year from now... no need of course to decide on anything -ask others who have been.

And don't get fixated on AirBnB, either. If you read "Europe Through the Back Door", and Rough Guide and Lonely Planet and maybe even Let's Go, you will find that there are loads of interesting places to stay in Europe that are not expensive, and are neither AirBnB nor American style hotels.

Plus, the fees for AirBnB are high (do not be seduced by the initial number, it is just the starting point), and the cancellation rules often very strict. Take a look at booking.com and hostelworld.com and compare. And while we are on the subject of fees, be careful with budget airlines, they will charge for everything from using a credit card on up.

Flights are not always a good deal -- you need to pay to get to and from the airports, which are often quite some distance from town, and discount airlines often charge substantial fees for luggage.

But I agree with thursdaysd and janisj -- read a good guidebook or two, do some research, and come back to us later.

Get a copy of Let's Go Europe - great coverage of hostels and budget accommodations - hostels accept all ages and many now offer private rooms and Family Rooms (shared WC however) -anyway a wealth of practical info-especially for younger folk or those on a low budget. But hostels may be great for your younguns -meet people their age from all over the world.

amazon.com for Let's Go or the few remaining large bookstores or your local library.

My tip for budget accommodation in the Netherlands is to book at Stayokay (former youth hostels). They are on booking.com and offer fantastic accommodation for a very good price. They're often in rural locations (Amsterdam has three, but book very early, as the private rooms go fast). If you want to splurge book a 6 person room for all of you or a couple of private rooms. I use Stayokay a lot: super, super friendly staff, usually a nice mix of people and buildings with a lot of history. Their breakfast buffet is renowned.

Utrecht has two Stayokays, while Rotterdam's Stayokays is in the world famous "cube houses"

https://www.stayokay.com/en

You can book directly through their site, but they reserve private rooms especially for booking.com, so sometimes it's better to book through there. Don't let the term "hostel" mislead you: they're fine budget hotels. Booking in Haarlem gets you this

https://www.stayokay.com/en/hostel/haarlem

All Stayokays also rent out bikes.