Four of us travelling to Europe in first week of June. Want to include Paris, Rome, Amalfi Coast and travel to Valencia also. We have about 2 weeks to do this. Very keen to spend time on sunny beaches. We really need help organising itinerary from London to these places. There will definitely be 4 of us (1 couple late 40's 1 couple mid 20's) for the first week then at least 2 for the rest so we need accommodation and economical ideas for travel. We are from the NZ, never been to Europe or UK before. Want to spend time wisely and see lots all without bankrupting ourselves if possible! but need to know how much we are likely to need, eg Euros per day. Very grateful for any advice from other NZ'ers, Aussies and/or anybody else who has done this.

I presume you would be spending time in London since you say its your first time in Europe.You'll need at min of 3 days in London to start with.There are various guidede tours of the city.Check this site:
http://www.londontown.com/London/Ope...ours_in_London
and http://www.londonpass.com/moreValue.asp

There are walking tours,bus tours etc.
you need to decide what and how much you'll want to see.What intrests you is important.A good guide book will be of great help.If you are'nt flying into Paris from London you try the chunnel train.The site for this is:
http://www.eurostar.com/dynamic/index.jsp

The same with Paris,you need the same amount of time if not more for the city.This site would give you some info:http://www.discover-paris.info/sightseeing.htm
A day pass for the city can take you to various destinations in Paris.

You could look at the Eurail Flixi pass for 10 days travel within and anywhere in Europe.
From Paris, Nice & Montecarlo are good beach destinations,enroute to Italy.

Spain is a great destination for beaches.You have to be specific about places you plan to visit,only then can you expect feedbacks from experienced Fodorites.

Even assuming the 2 weeks is exclusive of London I think this is a very ambitious itinerary. I know the temptation when you travel so far is to see as much as possible (I am Australian). To try to see 3 different - and such large countries by European standards - as France, Italy and Spain will involve a lot of travelling. I would advise you to consider eliminating Spain as it is so far from the others, not because it is not a wonderful place. Unless you have a compelling reason to see the Amalfi coast perhaps give that a miss too. What about just London, Paris and Rome - or do you not want just cities? Getting between those will be simpler -but of course cities are more expensive. I guess the question is what sort of holiday you want and what places you must see. Of the places you mention London is way the most expensive - for everything. In terms of accommodation an apartment will usually be cheaper but often a minimum of a week.

Hi sps,

>>Want to spend time wisely and see lots all without bankrupting ourselves if possible!

>Very keen to spend time on sunny beaches.

You are travelling halfway around the world to spend time on a beach? They don't have beaches in NZ?

You have a very aggressive plan.

You could easily spend 2 weeks in: Paris and Rome
Venice, Florence and Rome
Rome and the AC

However, you could
take the Eurostar from London to Paris 4 nights
Fly www.myair.com to Venice - 3 nights
Fly www.alpieagles to Naples - 3 nights
See the AC
Fly to Valenicia on Alpieagles - 3 nights
Fly home.

Tells us how you journey works out.




you can find flights from France and Italy to Valencia at www.whichbudget.com

ira's itinerary is definitely doable (though still rushed) But it totally eliminates any time in London.

Could you <i>possibly</i> mean you are flying in/out of London, spending some time in London/the UK, and are taking 2 weeks out of the middle of your trip for this excursion on the continent??

If so, ira's plan works fine.

How long is your entire trip?

Lots to think about and try to organise thanks to your responses. Yes we do have fab beaches here - so will hopefully eliminate from husbands mindset. Our whole trip is four weeks. Arriving London 24/5 staying with family, starting Europe on 27/5 for approx 10 days. Then back to London. Will go up North England to visit relative. Will fit in visit to Liverpool also and Dublin. I thought 10-12 days in seeing the european destinations five in London five travelling north and 3 in Ireland. As you say, coming from this side of the world and being first time for me I want to see everything. Husband not so interested in the England part of trip but dead keen to get to Valencia! So lots to decide on and plan and book! Thanks for replies look forward to any more feedback.

In my humble opinion, I would suggest a much better and cheaper option for your husband to visit beaches is a trip to Australia or the South Pacific islands. Somehow European beaches just don't measure up.

sps

I am very sympathetic to the urge to see everything, especially given that many people must work hard to acquire both the money and the time to take trips.

BUT: Trip planning is a good time to remember that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. This is why a &quot;Rome to London&quot; itinerary is efficient - it is virtually a straight line path. Or even a &quot;Madrid to London&quot;(or vice versa) itinerary, even with a detour from Madrid to Valencia, and/or with a detour from London to Dublin.

But England south to France, southeast to Italy, west to Spain, back up north to England with detour to Ireland - this is a much more complex 'shape' of trip, especially since your points of interest are so widely separated in space.

So - if you're looking for efficiency, i.e. economical use of both time and money, you will have to think out of the box a bit, and also consult with the other members of your 'committee' (your husband and the other couple) so as to make some hard choices. Note that even with revision, you don't exactly have a cheap itinerary in mind. You can move around, sure, but it adds to the cost.

You could try flying direct from Oz to Rome, working your way over to Valencia in a kind of curve. You could follow this with a flight from Madrid to London, where you do the family visit thing and whatever else you have time for, and then fly back to Oz from London. In other words, book your ticket OZ-Rome-London-Oz ,with a one-way flight Madrid-London, possibly on a discount carrier.

I wish you luck, you have a challenging trip to plan here.

..see more by doing less as suggested. The one place I would definitely NOT go is Valencia..certainly not on my first trip list (maybe not even on my third or forth).

I would not recommend the beaches of Europe when you have nicer places much closer to you including those in New Zealand, Australia and the Cook islands.
I am also unclear as to the desire to see Valencia of all places in Europe. Consider Paris, Rome and perhaps one other destination. Venice would be my choice but Amalfi/Pompeii/Capri would also be ok or Florence/Tuscany.