ryan_w

I am traveling around the world starting in October for my 21st birthday. This is my first trip overseas and it would be great if you all could give me some ideas. Info on weather and transport would also be great. My itinery is as follows -

Oct 3 - 5 Sydney, Australia
Oct 5 - 7 Bangkok, Thailand
Oct 7 - 10 Frankfurt, Germany
Oct 10 - 14 Paris, France
Oct 14 - 17 Chambery, France
Oct 17 - 20 Washington DC, USA
Oct 20 - Nov 7 New York City, USA
Nov 7 - 14 Vancouver, Canada
Nov 14 - 21 Oahu, Hawaii, USA
Nov 21 - 22 Sydney, Australia
Nov 22 - 24 Melbourne, Australia
Nov 25 - Home to Brisbane, Australia

I have all my Accomodation worked out and paid for, I will be staying at HI hostels in most Cities or at other hostels close to the cite center.

Jocelyn_P

Are you planning on staying IN Frankfurt the whole time? There's not much for tourists to see there. You can drive down towards Munich and the Romantic Road for some more interesting sights.

Sounds like quite trip! Have a great time.

RufusTFirefly

Other ideas for your Frankfurt stop: Bamberg, Wuerzburg, and/or the Rhein.

Bamberg is my favorite small city in Germany--it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A Pope and an Emporer are both buried there. The city was never bombed in WWII, so the Altstadt is intact and beautiful.

Russ

I agree on getting out of Frankfurt. Your best bet for a first-time visit, with just a few days, would probably be the Rhine - it's very close to Frankfurt, and transportation by train (and by boat) is ample and efficient. Both banks of the Rhine have trains going up and downstream each day, and nearly every little village has a station and a dock. In this region, there are large cities (like Cologne and Mainz), ancient cities (like Trier), authentic castles from the Middle Ages offering tours (Marksburg in Braubach, Reichsburg in Cochem and Burg Eltz just outside Cochem), and quaint villages (Bacharach, Boppard, St. Goar.) The weather is usually great in October.

Good HI hostels in the area: Mainz (very modern, more like a hotel, overlooking the Rhine on the south end of town; long walk, a bit pricierthan most.) Bacharach Castle hostel (very popular, often noisy school groups on hand, hugely steep hike up to hostel.) St. Goar (very cheap, easy to get to from station, beautiful view of Rhine.) Trier (not central for daytripping in the area, but okay if you plan to stay over in Trier itself. Right on the Mosel riverbank.)

Enjoy your trip.

strass

In terms of weather, Washington DC and NYC will be crisp and cool--likely in the high 50s? You'll need sweaters and light jackets.

In terms of transport, NYC and DC both have excellent public transport systems (subways and buses). I noticed that you've slated 18 days for NYC. You can easily take Amtrak to visit Boston, Philadelphia, or parts of New England with that much time.

Vincent

THREE days in Chambéry in October? Goodness gracious, what are you going to do in this charmless little mountain town in a season where there is neither snow nor summer sun in the Alps ? Even if you plan a trip to neighbouring ski resorts, you'll only see rocks and empty... well, everything, from hotels to ski lifts. No, please, try to get yourself out of this predicament!