Four friends travelling for the first time - Need advice for Euro-Trip.
Feb 6th, 2017, 03:41 PM
#1
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Four friends travelling for the first time - Need advice for Euro-Trip.
Hello!
Three of my friends and I are going on a trip to Europe over the Summer for a month (~30 days), most likely in June. We don't have very much travel experience between us so we're not really sure where to start as far as planning goes.
We plan on leaving in earlyish June and the following places are where we really want to visit:
-Ireland
-England
-Scotland
-The Netherlands
-Denmark
-Sweden
-Germany
-Greece
-Italy
-Spain
How does the lineup of countries look? That was the order that we thought made most sense, but if anybody has any advice I'd really love to hear. It would be a big help.
Thanks!
Three of my friends and I are going on a trip to Europe over the Summer for a month (~30 days), most likely in June. We don't have very much travel experience between us so we're not really sure where to start as far as planning goes.
We plan on leaving in earlyish June and the following places are where we really want to visit:
-Ireland
-England
-Scotland
-The Netherlands
-Denmark
-Sweden
-Germany
-Greece
-Italy
-Spain
How does the lineup of countries look? That was the order that we thought made most sense, but if anybody has any advice I'd really love to hear. It would be a big help.
Thanks!
Feb 6th, 2017, 03:55 PM
#2
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Ahhh...where to begin? For one month you have picked waaaay too many locations. Firstly you have picked 10 countries and not cities or areas of countries. Several of these places take entire days to get to by the time you check out of your hotel, get to your choice of travel, travel to new location and check into your new accommodations.
You would do best to pick to pick either north (England and the lot) or south (Germany and south of that) and start your planning from there.
What interests all of you? Decide on which four countries you will visit and then take it from there. Get guidebooks and decide what you would like to see in each county. You need to decide if you will be using strictly public transportation or will you e driving. This will help you narrow down what to see in each area.
Do a little bit of homework and then come back here for some additional advice from the fodorites. You will not be sorry.
You would do best to pick to pick either north (England and the lot) or south (Germany and south of that) and start your planning from there.
What interests all of you? Decide on which four countries you will visit and then take it from there. Get guidebooks and decide what you would like to see in each county. You need to decide if you will be using strictly public transportation or will you e driving. This will help you narrow down what to see in each area.
Do a little bit of homework and then come back here for some additional advice from the fodorites. You will not be sorry.
Feb 6th, 2017, 03:57 PM
#3
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10 countries in 30 days is too much.
You could cut back in a number of ways...
Budget? Then cut Sweden and Denmark.
Excessive flying around? That takes a lot of time, but it's what you'd need to do to get to Greece, and probably Spain. Keep a tighter travel circle (which will help your budget too.) If it's worth visiting, it's worth staying put for at least 4 days. In 30 days you could fly into London, then visit Amsterdam, Berlin, Munich, Venice, and Rome - then fly home from Rome. This would keep it all on the ground, and you could toss in another city or two here and there along the way if you have time (Bamberg? Salzburg? Florence?) But keep it to 7-8 cities max.
Bamberg btw is an old-world city with an incredible beer culture:
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/624
http://www.europeanbeerguide.net/bambpubs.htm
You could cut back in a number of ways...
Budget? Then cut Sweden and Denmark.
Excessive flying around? That takes a lot of time, but it's what you'd need to do to get to Greece, and probably Spain. Keep a tighter travel circle (which will help your budget too.) If it's worth visiting, it's worth staying put for at least 4 days. In 30 days you could fly into London, then visit Amsterdam, Berlin, Munich, Venice, and Rome - then fly home from Rome. This would keep it all on the ground, and you could toss in another city or two here and there along the way if you have time (Bamberg? Salzburg? Florence?) But keep it to 7-8 cities max.
Bamberg btw is an old-world city with an incredible beer culture:
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/624
http://www.europeanbeerguide.net/bambpubs.htm
Feb 6th, 2017, 05:30 PM
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Where do you start/end the trip?
What is your budget for getting from one place to another? What is budget for hotels? Total trip?
What do you and your guys want to see and do? That will influence where to do.
Think cities, not countries to be realistic.
They were trying to be funny re: Timbuktu and Estonia.
Do not add a country [though France is one I would put at top of list]; take away at least half of them.
What is your budget for getting from one place to another? What is budget for hotels? Total trip?
What do you and your guys want to see and do? That will influence where to do.
Think cities, not countries to be realistic.
They were trying to be funny re: Timbuktu and Estonia.
Do not add a country [though France is one I would put at top of list]; take away at least half of them.
Feb 6th, 2017, 05:32 PM
#10
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I'm not entirely sure if your last post was serious...but they're being sarcastic.
You've got 11 countries. 30 days. That is less than 3 days per country. Go back to the drawing board.
What do you actually want to see? I mean what are your interests? Castles? Cities? Art? Food? Hiking? What's your budget? Because even if you had time for that many countries...have you looked into transit prices? That itinerary would not come cheap, and hopefully you've talked about how you're going to get around.
You've got 11 countries. 30 days. That is less than 3 days per country. Go back to the drawing board.
What do you actually want to see? I mean what are your interests? Castles? Cities? Art? Food? Hiking? What's your budget? Because even if you had time for that many countries...have you looked into transit prices? That itinerary would not come cheap, and hopefully you've talked about how you're going to get around.
Feb 6th, 2017, 05:49 PM
#12
>>we're not really sure where to start as far as planning goes.<<
Start w/ what your budget is and get some guidebooks to decide what sites/places are your 'musts'.
Then figure out which 4 or 5 countries you want to visit - maybe 7 or 8 individual cities MAX and even that would really be pushing it.
you may not mean 'exactly' 30 days but for argument's sake -- 30 days nets you 27.5 days 'on the ground'. Then you lose part of a day (sometimes a whole day) every time you move. So . . . if you pick 8 cities you will have 22 or 23 days to see/do things so less than 3 days per city.
Start w/ what your budget is and get some guidebooks to decide what sites/places are your 'musts'.
Then figure out which 4 or 5 countries you want to visit - maybe 7 or 8 individual cities MAX and even that would really be pushing it.
you may not mean 'exactly' 30 days but for argument's sake -- 30 days nets you 27.5 days 'on the ground'. Then you lose part of a day (sometimes a whole day) every time you move. So . . . if you pick 8 cities you will have 22 or 23 days to see/do things so less than 3 days per city.
Feb 6th, 2017, 06:16 PM
#13
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Thanks for the replies guys. (I was kidding in my reply btw)
We've narrowed it down to Ireland, Scotland, England, The Netherlands, Germany, and Italy so far.
We feel like Spending 15 days in between Ireland and the UK is enough for us. Then 3 days in Amsterdam. And 14 days in between Germany and Italy.
Is this sounding a little better now?
We're not including France in the trip.
As a budget we're guesstimating around $4500.
Thoughts?
Thanks again guys!!!
We've narrowed it down to Ireland, Scotland, England, The Netherlands, Germany, and Italy so far.
We feel like Spending 15 days in between Ireland and the UK is enough for us. Then 3 days in Amsterdam. And 14 days in between Germany and Italy.
Is this sounding a little better now?
We're not including France in the trip.
As a budget we're guesstimating around $4500.
Thoughts?
Thanks again guys!!!
Feb 6th, 2017, 06:27 PM
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Depends on your interests. I had 10 days in Germany and about 14 days in Italy. Not nearly enough. But I really like museums and exploring. I will say that you need at least 4-5 nights in major cities like Munich Rome. Especially Rome. The more nights there, the better!
Feb 6th, 2017, 08:44 PM
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You are going to have to be more specific. Ireland, Scotland and England are countries and 15 days is not a lot of time. You could easily spend a week just in Ireland driving around the coast with a a day or two in Dublin included. London just by itself probably requires at least 4-5 days and you will also have to factor in time to get from one place to another. If Amsterdam is all you want to see in the Netherlands 3 days is probably fine. Germany is a large country and Italy has a huge number of possible tourist destinations. You do not have as much time as you think and you will also have to consider transportation costs other than your plane ride to Europe. You can probably get away with less than $50/day per person for lodging. $10-15/day for food if you eat from food sourced at markets. Also need to factor in admission costs for things you might want to see. Recommend reading some guide books. Lets Go Europe and the Rough Guides would be helpful and Rick Steve's as well.
Feb 7th, 2017, 12:51 AM
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Too many countries to visit in just 30 days. In my opinion you should visit the countries near the Mediterranean like Italy and Greece where you get to enjoy the sun and the beaches. In this case you should keep in mind the flight cost, because it is not a good idea to travel all the Mediterranean coast by train or bus!
