First trip to Europe
 

Hi everyone,

My sister and I will be touring europe this July and August for 3 weeks. My sister will be joining me for the first half of the trip and for the second half, I will be traveling solo.
This will probably be my first and last trip to Europe due to work and money constraints. Hence i really want to make this a memorable trip, where all the crucial places are included and some scenic side excursions. My sister and I are adrenaline junkies, I love nature and she loves architecture and attending festivals. We are planning on a budget trip.

Currently we will be starting from Amsterdam (2days), Berlin (1and a half day), Innsbruck (1day), Venice (2days), Florence and Rome (3 days) after that my sister will head back and I will continue on for another ten days approximately.

I would really appreciate any suggestions regarding my itinerary and also ideas on my solo travel from Rome back to London. I was thinking maybe to nice and Paris? I'm not sure. Also, it would be great help if you could offer me tips regarding traveling on a budget as well as what luggage to bring. What would be the necessary precautions that I should take as a female traveling alone?

I would skip Innsbruck - a ski town. Be careful in Italy. Skip Nice and spend the time in Paris.

Get Eurrail passes and try to plan accordingly so no backtracking.

As far as traveling on a budget it's best to reserve plane and train transport ahead of time. Trains in France and to/from Germany have the least expensive fares 90 days before travel. Same for lodging. You may be hard pressed to find budget lodging in Nice at this late date so you should book right away.

The more you travel around the more your trip will cost because of transportation costs. Also the more you travel around the less time you'll have for architecture, sightseeing, festivals, etc.

Luggage - small suitcase - 19" or 21" maximum plus a small carry on.

Precautions for traveling solo are the same you would take at home. Don't walk in lonely areas late at night; take a taxi to your hotel if you're out late. The most crime in European cities is from pickpockets. Never leave your purse hanging from the back of a restaurant chair; don't leave tablet or iphone on a table (or put it down anywhere). Pickpockets are most prevalent in crowded areas such as markets, train stations, etc.

I've been researching a trip to Berlin and can definitely say that 1.5 days won't be enough. Why Innsbruck rather than Salzburg (music festival) or Vienna? You have a fairly aggressive itinerary in which you'll spend quite a bit of time getting from one place to another. Have you looked at how long it will take you to get places? You don't want the memorable part of your trip to be train stations and airports. In addition to flight or train time you need to allow time to get to and from airports and train stations.

Trains:
Amsterdam to Berlin - 7 hours
Berlin to Innsbruck - 8 hours
Innsbruck to Venice - 5.5 hours

I would fly from Rome to Nice and then to Paris.

If you love Nice, the backcountry there is gorgeous. It's the foothills of the Alpes Maritimes, with beautiful hilltop villages. Local bus services connect the hills to the coast, and there's the train service from Nice to Marseille that runs mostly along the coast, stopping at Cagnes, Antibes, Cannes etc. All easily done on a day trip. Above Cagnes there's St Paul and Vence. As for staying in Nice, try Cagnes. But bear in mind that Paris empties in August, and the inhabitants end up around Nice, so expect crowds and accommodation hard to come by.

Eurail passes may not be the best or most economical mode of travel by far. They are expensive unless used exactly correctly for your itinerary. Explore point to point ticket prices, and probably 2nd class at that.

Also, you can look into cheap airline flights on carriers such as Ryan Air or Easyjet. Don't forget that travel between places really eats up a lot of time. Your initial itinerary really does not look reasonable as you have 6 places listed in only 9 1/2 days. You plan on going this July??? Where are you flying in and out of? What are your sister's priorities? I would choose two places, possibly three at the most, to visit and enjoy them while you are with your sister and then decide what other locations are your priorities.

wow! thank you so much for the really informative replies.
after reading your suggestions, we decided to skip innsbruck and concentrate on vienna. however the most part of the trip still remains. and yes i am aware of the travel times but we have chosen our train timings perfectly so that we dont loose out much time in the cities.

Gretchen: we have already purchased the eurail pass after researching point to point tickets. due to the high exchange rate of euros to my malaysian currency, buying the pass turned out to be more economical.

KTtravel: i will be flying into london on july 24th and meet up with my sister who is studying in london. we start our travel to europe on 29th of july. and i will be flying out from london somewhere in mid august.

our issue currently is to book hostels. ive tried looking for couchsurfers but only a handful replied. most of them didnt bother or are too busy. any suggestions for good places to stay in thos eplaces i mentioned above? is there a forum/group available where i will be able to find solo travellers who wud want to travel with me after my sister has left?

<< is there a forum/group available where i will be able to find solo travellers who wud want to travel with me after my sister has left? >>

If you stay in hostels you'll meet other people traveling solo and may be able to hook up with some of them for at least a day or two.

Take a look at the Lonely Planet Thorntree forum where there are lots of young people and backpackers.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/index.jspa

Thanks Adrienne! :)

For lots of great info on European trains and passes et al I always spotlight these IMO fantastic sites - (download their free online European Planing & Rail Guide - with a wealth of info to plan a rail trip (http://www.budgeteuropetravel.comhtt...com/id2.html); www.ricksteves.com and www.seat61.com (good info on discounted tickets that many see as an alternate to railpasses - these however must be booked in stone weeks if not months in advance as they are sold in limited numbers and typically cannot be changed nor refunded - you are traveling enough so that a railpass should IMO be a good deal for you.

Rome back to London how about via Switzerland - spend a few days in the wonderful Jungfrau Region around Interlaken - about half way by train to Paris - the hop the Eurostar (a k a Chunnel trains to many Americans) to London.

I second PalenQ's suggestion of the Jungfrau Region of Switzerland,or spend a couple of days in Germany for the opportunity to tour a castle or two. I'm glad you are skipping Innsbruck in favor of Vienna. Much better choice IMHO.

I would nt worry any more about Italy than anywhere else. It's quite safe, except for the usual cautions about pickpockets, etc.

Look online for convent and monastery stays. They are clean, inexpensive, simple, and safe. But they do have a curfew.

Oh, I'm so glad you decided to go to Vienna! I recommend adding more time to Berlin. And, to me, there is no place like Paris! :) Pack light. One piece of carry-on luggage and one small bag is all you should need. I stayed in this hostel in Berlin in a private room with my teenage daughter in 2009: http://www.eastseven.de/

If you like architecture and cheap traveling, go to Prague (Czech Republic), Viena (Austria), Budapest (Hungary) or Krakow (Poland) - very beautiful and cheap cities :) I liked Prague more than Berlin.
I don't know if EuroTrail is valid in Czech and Poland, if not, you can try Ecolines buses - they go in all Europe.

You can try this trip planner - very easy to plan a trip in the city :) http://plnnr.com/wizard/ - they included the most beutiful cities ;)