Here I am, 25-years-old, planning my first trip to Europe (really, my first trip out of the United States, but let's pretend I'm not that lame) and I desperately need your help. Here's what I want to get out of my trip: to expand my worldview and understanding of different cultures, because I've spent most of my life in New York and feel very limited; also, to see things that are (expletive) magical. Also also, being Italian-American, I feel compelled to go to Italy. These are really my only requirements - all suggestions and recommendations will be taken into consideration; obviously, explanation/substantiation is incredibly helpful, as I'm just about as n00b as they come.

Let me provide a brief summary of the circumstances surrounding my trip, which will most likely take place between July and September: A) I'm telling the school at which I teach (in Brooklyn) that I won't be returning next year; B) I have $8K put away just for this trip, but this has to include all of my expenses, and C) I won't be putting a lot of effort into getting a job so that I can spend ~2 months in Europe without stressing over a return date.

Here's what I need from you: everything. I've done my research, but there's only so much you can get from a smattering of blogs. I want to hear from a chorus of seasoned travelers. What would an ideal ~2 month (or ~$8K, if you want to think of it that way) trip to Europe look like? I ask you to write as if it were to a younger inexperienced version of yourself - Where would you go? What would you see? How would you do it? I know I will continue to travel in the future, so I am NOT compelled to skim over a bunch of places just to say that I've been there - I would rather return home with a much better understanding of Europe and its countries and its cultures, and myself. Quality over quantity. The rest I put in your hands.

Of course, any useful tips/hints/tricks (from booking travel from New York to wherever, to when to buy a Rail Passes and inter-country travel, to whatever other things you can think of) are MORE than welcome. I thank you all in advance for your help.

There is no perfect 2 month itinerary. And mine - if my first trip - would be different from yours. First I would start with the UK and move east from there, since IMHO London has about 10 times as many sights as any other city in europe.

As for YOUR perfect trip you need to tell us more about your interests.

I have to see every museum, cathedral, palace and historical sight reachable. But I am not biking or hiking anywhere (although I will walk for miles in cities and also do limited easy countryside walks.

Do you want cities, towns, villages, countryside??? Lots of active - biking, hiking, etc? Architecture? Art? History? Fine dining? Lots of pubs? Clog dancing? Kite flying? (Your budget won;t cover a lot of these things.)

There are a million things for anyone going to europe for the first time - but you need to define what your interests are for us to help you.

Plan on training most places. Discount tickets bought far in advance (and usually not changeable) are often a better deal than a rail pass - depending on your itinerary.

And defiinitely do an open jaw ticket (into the first city and out of the last) to avoid wasting time and money. These are often called multi-destination flights on web sites.

$8K is rather tentative regarding expenses during what is high season throughout most of Europe. You have to choose your locations very carefully and may want to consider spending more time if less expensive locations, Greece comes to mind.

It's great that you're planning a couple of months in Europe, but as nyt says, we can't plan it for you without a lot more info, and once you come up with the info you can probably do it yourself.

I notice that your research to date seems to depend on "a smattering of blogs". It is still the case that actual old-fashioned guidebooks are a much better research tool. Try your local library, or hang out at your neighborhood Barnes and Noble with a cup of coffee and read theirs. Or, if you really object to paper, buy ebooks. I use the glossy picture books - Eyewitness, for instance - to decide where I want to go, and Lonely Planet or Rough Guide or Bradt for logistics. You might do well to start with Rough Guide's "First Time Europe" and Lonely Planet's "Europe on a Shoestring".

Note that your budget will go further in the south and east. $8,000 for two months is $133/day (assuming it doesn't include your airfare) which is a bit tight but certainly do-able - but it will go further if you stay out of Scandinavia and Switzerland! However, southern Spain and Italy will be miserably hot in July and August.

I highly recommend seat61.com for info on train travel in Europe, and skyscanner.net for cheap airfares. I usually book hotels through eurocheapo.com or booking.com, but you should also consider hostelworld and airbnb and maybe couchsurfing.

Thanks nytraveler - very helpful, especially that bit about the multi-destination flights, which I hadn't considered. As you mentioned, I don't have a big enough budget to cover many of the things you mentioned, so I'm really looking to stretch my dollar (or euro) by taking advantage of the things that are either cheap or free. I plan to travel frugally and only spend in excess where it's justified. In terms of "fine dining" and drinking, I only want to really spend when those things are an essential part of the experience. For the most part, I'd say my interests are similar to yours - museums, cathedrals, DEFINITELY palaces/castles, historical sights, and just generally being in and walking around the cities/towns/etc. - but I'm not opposed to biking and hiking. I'm certainly not going to Europe to do those things, but I'm more than open to doing them if it means seeing or experiencing something amazing. Again, I understand that our interests aren't identical, but I really do want to hear what YOUR ideal itinerary would be and why, and then I can shape that to suit my interests.

Question: with regard to booking the multi-destination flights and the train tickets: Are open-jaw tickets more expensive? A friend of mine mentioned I could purchase a sort of open-ended return ticket - is that really a thing, and is it advisable? Also, to book train tickets ahead of time, I would essentially have to have my whole itinerary mapped out ahead of time, right? These are probably silly questions, but I appreciate your answers!

"Are open-jaw tickets more expensive?" It depends on your dates and destinations. Generally the cost is around $100 more for an open-jaw. An open-end return ticket will cost you more then your budget allows for.

Thanks for the replies Robert2533 and thursdaysd. Definitely appreciate the book suggestions - I'll be ordering those ASAP.

My departure/return dates are tentative at this point. It makes the most sense for me to go between July and September, but I'm not restricted to those months. Would I save a considerable amount by going off-peak (sorry, I don't know a better way of putting it), and when would that be? Also: my 8K budget has to include my airfare - so, that seems unfortunate haha. I suppose I'd rather take a shorter, more enjoyable trip, if it comes down to that. But when I say that I'd be perfectly comfortable going around frugally, I mean that I will happily stuff Cliff bars in my bag and call them meals.

My boys went to Amsterdam, Germany and Prague last August and were able to do so very inexpensively. They stayed in hostels, ate at food stalls mostly and were just wise with their money and in two weeks averaged $130 per day each.

The year prior my husband and I went. We found the further east we went the less expensive it was, although you don't mention eastern countries you may want to consider them
Romania and Hungary and even Poland were less expensive and would offer the cultural experience you are looking for. We did trains. We did not do a rail pass as we found that multi counties worked out less expensive doing point to point.
Quite often we would book on line in advance for cheaper fares.

Hey, live42day, welcome to the conversation! I appreciate your input. I'm TOTALLY open to hitting the eastern countries - the only country I feel really compelled to hit is Italy. Otherwise, fill up your ideal itinerary with eastern countries galore - so long as they provide that much needed cultural experience, beautiful sights and amazing experiences.

I know you have this dream of 2 months -- but you have a pretty low budget for 2 months. <u>Especially</u> if that must include your flights. Airfare could eat up $1200 or more leaving you barely $100 / €90 a day. That is a doable subsistence budget but doesn't leave much for sightseeing.

Maybe consider only going for 4 or 5 or (max) 6 weeks and maybe just to Italy or just two countries. This will REALLLLLLY stretch your budget and let you enjoy things more and not scrimp so much.

Hey janisj! I'm not opposed to shortening the trip if it would dramatically improve the overall experience. I like the idea of spending a significant amount of time in Italy (What, in your opinion, are the must-see locations there?), but I would like to see more than one country on my trip. What would your ideal second country be?

Remember, it's totally okay to post your ideal $8K itinerary - I feel like that, with adequate explanation, would be INCREDIBLY helpful. Again, thank you so much in advance.

Even in Italy you will find things get cheaper as you go south. You could consider Sicily, for instance, which is easily worth three weeks. One exception to things getting cheaper as you go east is Portugal, which is cheaper than the rest of western Europe (and one of my favorite countries). I traveled in Romania last year on $121/day (click on my name for the TR), but I could easily have got by on less as I was staying in en-suite double-for-single-use rooms, often in three or four star hotels, and used a car and driver a couple of times.

Do you know which part(s) of Italy your family comes from? It would be great if you could incorporate a stay where your family originated. Starting w/ that info would help work out an itinerary.

When I was a bit younger than you I traveled for 3 months in Europe and the Middle East. I traveled for the maximum amout of time I could spend away, and I economized on food and lodgings rather than cut days or destinations. I never cut back on days to make a trip more "affordable". I go with Cliff Bars!

That said, to me, it is great moment to come to Europe to understand Europe, and it always a great idea to me to start in Greece if you want to understand Europe. Followed by Italy (including some of Sicily). I also highly recommend Berlin, London and Paris -- dependng on your interests.

Not sure I would attempt all that in 2 months, but I might!

I can't get past a 25 y.o. walking away from a job without another one to come back to after the trip. Good luck, Leonardo!

>I can't get past a 25 y.o. walking away from a job without another one to come back to after the trip.<

I did the same thing, not once by several times over the years. Nothing wrong with going on an adventure and not waiting until you're far too old to enjoy it.

Exactly what I was going to say, Jean. He'll have a nice trip, the $8K will be blown, and then what ? Maybe he can stay with family. Maybe he works for Teach for America which NYC uses because it pays them less, or he can get on line at 65 Court St. Two mos. should be enough for a first taste of Europe. He shouldn't give up that job.

when to buy a Rail Passes>

Well before you leave as many are not sold in Europe - and being 25 - those under 26 can buy the bargain Eurail Youthpasses - about a zillion different options from one-country to two-country to 3, 4 country passes - in all but Spain, France and Italy you can still hop on just about any train anytime - full flexibility and if I were you I'd keep your schedule flexible as when I first went as a youth I met folks several times and changed by prliminary itinerary.

Anyway for a lot of stuff to plan a European rail extravaganza check out these IMO superb sites: www.budgeteuropetravel.com - download their free and superb IMO online European Planning & Rail Guide; www.seat61.com; and www.ricksteves.com. For train schedules all over Europe I always use the www.bahn.de/en or German Railways site since it is th4 easier I have seen and contains just about every little and big train in Europe.

Also get a copy of Let's Go Europe - invaluable in its coverage of youth accommodations alone - written by students for others that age - good dope on nightlife too.

I walked away from many jobs in my 20s to move elsehwhere, either to Europe or just move across the country. As Sameul Butler once wrote (sort of), helps to learn when you are young that life is more an affair of being frightened rather than hurt.

The "What Color is Your Parachute" guy (Richard Bolles) once wrote a book called "The Three Boxes of Life (And How to Get Out of Them)" suggesting that instead of dividing your life into three phases - education - working - retirement - you should take those activities in pieces throughout your life.