kmy33880

I am planning a trip with my roommates to Europe. It our first time traveling to Europe and we are all 20 years old. Our plan looks like this.

starting may 10th
dublin 2 days
London 3 days
Amsterdam 1 day
Paris 3 days
Barcelona 3 days.

We are looking to take night buses and stay in hostels to keep it cheap so any input is great. We are looking for some fun bars or clubs but as well as great sights to see anything we cant miss.

Thanks!

nukesafe

Don't know about night buses, but I would think some of the places you will be visiting will be too close together to provide much sleep on a night bus; with the exception of the Paris Barcelona leg. I would suggest that you might get more relevant responses by going to the Thorntree on Lonely Planet. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/index.jspa Folks on that Forum travel the way you guys do.

suze

That's a *LOT* to cover by bus with only 12 days to see 5 cities! Is there a reason you aren't using trains? Or even budget flights?

I agree with checking Thorn Tree, there's many more budget/hostel/younger posters there (than here).

historytraveler

Obviously you can't take a bus from Dublin to London or from London to Amsterdam. The TGV (fast train) from Paris to Barcelona takes about nine hours. Lord only knows how long it'd take by bus. Amsterdam to Paris is the only connection on your itinerary where taking a night bus is even possible. Consider trains as an alternative especially with such an ambitious itinerary and so little time.

nytraveler

I don;t want to be negative but you are trying to see too many places in too little time - the classic mistake of the first timer to europe. I think you would enjoy the trip a lot more if you limited yousefl to 2 cities with a day trip from each - or at most 3 cities close together.

I know you're young and have a lot of energy - but changing places so many times also costs a lot more than staying in fewer - and you lost a lot of time in transit.

Suggest you check out some of the student guides - and consider how little time you're giving yourself in each place for either major sights or nightlife.

I would go for actually learning a little about europe - at least a couple of cities versus the constant sitting on a bus. (My step-daughter and some friends did a similar trip last summer - but by train - and they had 5 weeks - and still missed things they wanted to see.)

leuk2

Ten days, first trip, I'd do London and Paris, or Paris and Barcelona. I'd recommend the trains.

evvlabs

Skip Amsterdam. You are trying to do too much.

Aduchamp1

Since you are young I would choose two, three at most and enjoy them since you will return to Europe.

I too know little inter-country night buses. Europe relies more on their trains than on buses, which is why I suppose seasoned travelers know so little.

suze

hey I like Amsterdam! I'd skip Dublin and Barcelona as they are the least central to the others. And do Amsterdam, London & Paris. In 12 days that would make a great (but still fast paced) trip.

bardo1

I would agree with the posts above (likely all postings to follow) - this is simply too much.

An ideal 10 day first trip to Europe would be London and Paris (5 and 5). If you want to be realy ambitious, then London/Amsterdam/Paris (4/2/4).

isabel

First thing - go to easyjet.com and check prices, routes and times. You will likely find it cheaper than even a bus (if you book far enough in advance, and are willing to go early or late in the day). It flies between all the cities you are looking at.

I agree that even for a first "taste of Europe' trip I would drop at least one, preferably two, cities. I'd drop Dublin, it's the least interesting (by far) and most out of the way.

klondike

Agree that you are being a bit ambitious. With what you have in the time you have, you're going to spend a disproportionate amount of time on the bus.

IMO, don't cut out Amsterdam; it is well worth more than a day or why bother? It's a great city for all ages, but especially the young. Everyone speaks English, if you aren't bilingual ; I would rather cut out Dublin or Barcelona, assuming you are flying into London, or else cut out London if you are flying into Dublin...but that's based on personal preferences, not a fan of London. Maybe not what you wanted to hear, but that's what I'd do.

With so little time, you may have missed out on the early bird train prlomo's, which would be a better option than the bus (faster and as cheap or cheaper). I'd check out the train options right away. French is voyages-SNCF.com.

kmy33880

thanks for all the input!
I think we are going to condense to london paris and barecelona!

suze

much better ;-)