Hi there,
I will be arriving in Frankfurt in the morning on May 9 and departing from Rome on June 7th. I think I am trying to cram a bit much into my trip, it's hard to accept I can't see it all. I am planning on spending a week WWOOFing in Italy and I have it planned for May 24th through May 31st on the island of Ischia in southern Italy. I may try to push that back a day so I will have more time in the alps. I would like to see your advice, which I know you will tell me to stay longer in each place, but I would really like it if you could be specific where I should spend more, and possible places to cut out (or even what I can't miss)... I am going with two of my friends, all 20 years old, low budget. I plan on counchsurfing and eating cheap to keep the expenses from getting out of hand (and couchsurfing sounds incredible!!). I have a eurail pass flexi that includes all of these countries and 11 days.

May 9: get straight on train to Brussels
May 10: Brussels
May 11: Head out in morning for Brugge (spend only the night)
May 12: Go to Amsterdam in the afternoon
May 13: Amsterdam (My birthday!)
May 14: either overnight the 13th or leave morning of the 14th for Berlin
May 15: Berlin
May 16: Leave for Prague in morning
May 17: Prague
May 18: Head to Vienna in morning
May 19: Vienna
May 20: Go to Munich in the morning
May 21: Munich
May 22: See the Neuschwanstein Castle, spend the night in Oberammergau
May 23: See either Kitzbuhel, Lienz, or Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Hopefully get an overnight that gets me to Naples (close to Ischia)
May 24-31: WWOOF
June 1-June 7th: not sure at this point, I have spent time with my family in italy many years ago.. Was thinking about florence and venice. Maybe stopping in amalfi when I'm so close. Suggestions? I must depart from Rome.

At this point I am thinking about cutting Brussels. Also, I feel like I am seeing too many big cities, I would like to have a balance between the big cities and smaller cities. I think we want to see more natural beauty as well, meaning more time in the alps??

Also, I've heard Heidelberg is great... Not sure I can fit it in, and it is the wrong direction.

Go a lot have been a bunch just got back

eurocheapo.com

backpackeurope.com

ricksteves.com

some great sites for you.

Personally would give up the WOOFING to see more

Spend less time in big cities more day trips out

to pretty areas more myswitzerland.com.

Personally would train on cheaper regional trains

hopping on and off seat61.com probably something like

AMS Paris Geneva Interlaken stresa.org sirmione.com

venice-tourism.com florence Rome Sorrento for Ischia.

Otel.com cheap hotels hostelz.com cheap hostels.

Hop the frecciaRosa fast train back to Rome 1 hour or so

when you are done or regional train severaL HOURS more but

75% cheaper.

A good not great hotel in Rome is the Sheraton Roma

got it for $69 hotwire.com recently

they have an airport shuttle will save you a lot

like 40 euros or so over cab to FCO.

Have fun,

Have fun,

Personally I think you're trying to do too much. To me the beginning of your itinerary sounds like a race. Have you calculated all the time you'll spend on trains?

Prague deserves more time and even though Vienna wasn't one of my favorite cities, it too deserves more time. How are you getting to Neuschwanstein and Oberammergau - are you renting a car?

Your trip starts in about two week and you're just now asking what you should see? What made you choose those destinations? If you want natural beauty and history visit Berchtesgaden and Hitler's Eagles Nest.... Amalfi Coast with a day trip to Pompeii. Art - visit Florence, antiquity - Rome, especially since it's your departure city. Do a day trip to Orvieto from Rome for a taste of a smaller town.

Most (but not all) people on the forum are older and don't have your travel style and would know at this point what they wanted to see and where they wanted to go. For what my two cents are worth I think you need to do more research.

Heidelburg has a nice castle otherwise not that great

not worth backtracking for for me.

pleny of other castle options similar opinion of Munich

Alps far prettier matterhornhostel.com especially wonderful

also gstaad.ch

for $60 recently stayed at hoteldelfino.com booked on Otel.com

was awesome value great views over Capri Ischia saved a

tonne Amalfi crowded more touristy hard to get to expensive

ok for a short visit but underwhelming and chock a block

when I was there last week

It looks like you've already bought the train pass but on a budget it's better to go to fewer destinations rather than moving around a lot. I don't see an 11 day pass on Eurail but you've probably paid $500+ for each pass. Do you know that these passes do not include seat reservations and most high-speed trains require seat reservations - you can buy them at the train station. This will require more money.

When you put together your itinerary did you calculate how much time you'll be spending at train stations and on trains and getting to and from train stations? For example, Berlin to Prague and Prague to Vienna is about 5 or 6 hours each.

Why go to both Amsterdam and Brugge on a short trip. Each city offers different things but they look similar - tall, narrow houses and canals. Choose one.

I would choose either Berlin or Prague - not both - not enough time.

What are the reasons you've chosen these places? Once you determine that, you will be able to figure out which ones to omit from this over crowded itinerary.

If you had chosen fewer destinations and hadn't bought the train pass (instead purchased point-to-point tickets in advance) you would have had enough money to eat well and stay in hostels or pensions rather than couch surfing.

You'll pass by it all and not see anything. In my opinion, you are going to waste what could be a wonderful experience of actually being IN Europe and enjoying a different culture.
YOu seem to have a "thing" for castles which is fun and fine. I suggest you write down 5 (to start with) cities/areas between Brussels and Rome (and personally I would cut out Belgium as you are starting to say) and connect those "dots" with at least 3 days in each place. Why why on earth would you arrive in Berlin on one day and leave the next. Or any other city for that matter.
Why dont YOU be specific on what you want to see (not us). I have NO idea what wwwo-- is. I hope it is in Paris since you seem to have left France out of the picture.

WOOFing - World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. So I rather doubt it's happening in Paris. LOL

Cut out Brussels. It's a large, concrete, steel, and glass political center.

Don't hop from the German to Austrian to Italian Alps in 2 days. Pick one spot and stay there for a few days and do some hiking up in the mtns.

Garmisch is a great place for the Alps. I don't like Innsbruck as much, but it is convenient for a hopping of point to Italy.

You are correct that you have an imbalance between big cities (Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Munich) and small cities or even towns/villages.

Both Vienna and Munich are forgettable. Nice cities, but if you're only buzzing through I think you'd do better to cut them and add the extra day to both Berlin and Prague. Maybe stop in Dresden since it's 1/2 way between the 2.

Have you checked train schedules? I also think you're spending too much time on trains, but if you want to cover the distances you're planning it's hard to avoid.

I like to use www.bahn.de for train schedules all over Europe. I believe the only trains on your itinerary that will require a seat reservation are in Italy.

You don't need much time for Brussels, Bruges, and A'dam, but the whole Berlin-Prague-Vienna-Munich sequence is a blur. You really need 3 nights in Prague and maybe 4 in each of the others. These are also very pricey cities. YOU write, "I feel like I am seeing too many big cities, I would like to have a balance between the big cities and smaller cities. I think we want to see more natural beauty as well...", and you are right. So cut off this time-eating eastern loop with Berlin, Prague, and Vienna and take a more direct route to Munich. See some real Rheinland castles (the 1,000-year-old ones, not the 19th-century knock-off Neuschwanstein) between A'dam and Munich like Marksburg, Burg Eltz, or Reichsburg:

www.marksburg.de
www.burg-eltz.de
www.burg-cochem.de

There are 2 castle-hostels in the area too:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rayer/2491324795/
http://www.jugendherberge.de/en/host...h.jsp?IDJH=390

Other smaller places on the way to Munich that require less time and are worth looking into:

Heidelberg, Rothenburg, Bamberg, Würzburg, Nuremberg

Forgot to mention the cool falconry show at Reichsburg Castle (Cochem):

http://www.falknerei-reichsburg-cochem.de/fotobuch.htm

Hi J,

I once did the whirlwind tour that you are planning.

My only memory is of a group of people gathered around me trying to decide if I was sick, drunk or doped up.

It is doable, but you aren't going to get much sleep.

I'm not going to suggest the obvious, that you fly into Basel or Zurich and visit Switzerland and Italy down to Rome before going to Naples.

Enjoy your journey.

My suggestions;


May 9: get straight on train to Brugge
May 10: Brugge
May 11: Amsterdam
May 12: Amsterdam
May 13: Amsterdam (My birthday!)
May 14: Berlin
May 15: Berlin
May 16: Berlin
May 17: Prague
May 18: Prague
May 19: Prague
May 20: Munich
May 21: Munich
May 22: Munich
May 23: Overnight to Naples
May 24-31: WWOOF
June 1-June 7th: Your call

And here is why. Brussels is not a high spot, and given a choice between 1 jet lagged day/night in Brussels followed by one night in Brugge, or 2 nights in Brugge, Brugge wins hands down. A calmer way to get your feet underneath you.

Vienna is a bit of an outlier to the itinerary and it will cost you a lot of time to get back towards Bavaria on Italy. I love it, but I probably wouldn't have, so much, at 20.

That opens things up a little and let's you stay 3 days (remember that most of one of those will be traveling between cities) in the other major centres. That extra time will allow you to take a day trip to a smaller place, or stop off on your journey between cities.

I am suggesting the extra day (4) in Munich because it would be very difficult to get from Oberammergau, Kitzbuehl, Linz, or Cortina, to Naples on a night train. There is a 21:20 train from Munich that arrives in Naples at 10:00, with a 06:18 change in Florence. it is a 13.5 hour journey from Munich, much longer from small towns in the Alps, with many more changes. An overnight train is really something you need to do departing from a major city.

From Munich you can see Oberammergau, or Neuschwanstein, etc. on day trips, as well as many other smaller places if you wish. Munic IS a city I enjoyed immensely when I was 20 .

If you really want to experience a smaller place, consider dropping a night from two of your major cities and find a place between any two of them to park yourself.

Bravo Aramis! I like that itinerary a lot.

Thank you all for your input. I understand that it is too much too fast, that is why I asked for your help... I am in school and have had little time to truly research each city, and when I have tried it is hard because every guidebook I look at just sings praise to every city. How can you make a decision. Any suggestions for the best way to research?

Aramis: Thank you so much! This post was extremely helpful! I think I will model my trip from this. Yet I hope to spend some time in the alps... I will look at train schedules. Also, you mentioned day trips: are there any day trips, or places in between my major destinations that stand out?

You are looking at 7 or more countries - not cities - but countries - in 4 weeks.

If you really want to see anything pick 4 places (city or country area near a lot to see/do - and spend a week in each. This will give you a chance to actually see something of the places you are staying and nearby cities or country areas/sights (you can easily do day train or bus trips).

Which they should be I have not clue - since I don;t know your interests. You need to define why you are going there or the trip will be very unsatisfying.

My first trip to europe - at 19 with my boyfriend we did 4 countries in 5 weeks - but we did one base in each - except France (Paris and Nice) with day trips from most. And I still felt that we were too rushed and missed things I wanted to see (esp in Paris).

If you really want to spend some time in the Alps, basing yourself in Bolzano, or Bressanone, is your best bet from a rail connection to Naples perspective. You can take an overnight train to Naples, from Bolzano, with minimal trouble (depending on how you view a 21:39 departure, a 1:00 am connection in Bologna and an 09:28 arrival in Naples). Interestingly, there is also an 06:32 train that gets you to Naples bu 13:10 - only 06:38 hours travel. Bolzano would give you access to Cortina, and the Dolomites and it is about a 4 hour train ride from Munich

Staying there for a couple of days would mean something else has to give. One of the Munich nights makes sense since the 3 nights/4 days there was meant to give you the chance for an mountain day trip anyway. If you grab a night from somewhere, you can have 2 in the mountains. Where you want to take the second one from is up to you. On a purely practical basis, the Berlin - Prague leg of your trip is the shortest (04:40, non-stop), and Prague may have the "least desirable" day trip options, so arriving early from Berlin and dropping your stay to 2 nights has some merit.

As for day trips from each city;

Amsterdam-Delft and Leiden (you could hit almost anywhere in the country)
Berlin-Potsdam, Bautzen and Goerlitz are nice. Dresden is obvious but larger.
Munich (keeping north because of Bolzano)-Salzburg, Nurnberg, Bamberg (beer?)

The job of a guidebook is to make you excited about each city - you may be buying the book because you are dying to go somewhere. If it criticizes the place, you won't buy it. And, more importantly, every place does have it's merits, depending on your tastes and interests.

The most horrible task facing us as travelers is to plan where to go. It is often a grinding process of exclusion. Read more, talk to your friends and then determine how the things you are learning about places fits into your aims for the trip. Then you go, have a blast and, if like most of us in here, you immediately start slotting the places the you couldn't get to into your "next time" list.

A common mistake for most young first-time travelers to Europe (and one that I made) is to try to see too much all at once. You end up spreading yourself too thin and not really enjoying any one place. Another insight I realize in retrospect is that a trip is a much richer experience if you connect with locals. It seems you'll be doing some of that, since you mentioned staying with local hosts. To connect with hosts, you might also want to try a site called Tripping (https://www.tripping.com). Have a great trip!