Help with solo 2 week Europe trip
 

Help! I'm so overwhelmed! I've never been outside North America and I just quit my job. So, I've decided to go to Europe for 2 weeks (I might stretch it to 2.5 but not sure). The good news is, I have a ton of Delta air miles, so my flight will be free. The bad news is that I can't nail down an itinerary. The only place that I know I want to go for sure is Paris. Other countries / places that appeal to me are Italy, Portugal (because I thought it would be fun to have some beach time, and I've heard the food is great and it's overall really good value for your money), Amsterdam, Brussels, and London.

About me ... I love big cities (I live in NYC) but I also love a really small town / village. I love food and think it'd be fun to take a cooking class or visit a vineyard (especially since I've read it's harvest season for the grapes), I love the beach which is why Portugal made the list, but I also know I could go to the South of France. I appreciate museums and things, but would much rather just wander and explore small little local things.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I would like to reserve my flight soon .... don't really need to figure out all the details yet, just need to figure out which airport I should use as my base. Thanks!

countrymeetscity,

So it sounds like you are going right away. Better check first to see if you can even get a ticket using FF miles. That will be your first big hurdle.

After that, the rest will be easy.

With 2 weeks or 2.5, don't even think about more than 3-4 destinations, preferably close together.

Start with Delta---they may determine your feasible options.

Once you set dates then come back for specific help.

PS - I also hope you have a passport already.

My choice would be:

Fly to London
London - 4 nights
Train to Paris
Paris - 4nights
Train to Bruges
Bruges - 2 nights
Train to Antwerp
Antwerp - 2 nights
Train to Amsterdam
Amsterdam - 3 or 4 nights
Fly home from Amsterdam

Hi everyone ... the good news is that I can get round trip to either London or Paris for 60K delta points plus about $150 in fees. And yes, I have a passport!!!

My recommendation

Rome 4 days
Florence 4 days (set aside 1 day for excursion to Siena & Pisa)
Venice 3 days
Milan 3 days (set aside 1 day for excursion to Verona & Padua)

Have you checked out what open jaw flights are available?

Hi Joannyc, it's much less miles to fly in and out of the same airport.

I just can't decide if I should forgo doing Italy on this trip. I want to have a mix of big city and small towns, so that's why I thought a combo of London, Paris, Amsterdam, Belgium would be good. But, will I be missing out on Italy, especially in October? Seems like no one is really saying Portugal is a "must do" ... maybe it's better suited for a trip of it's own, or to combine with Spain?

You need to figure out what you really want out of the trip and where you want to go or else you'll get daft itineraries that have nothing to do with where you can fly.

And seriously, why Brussels?

Portugal is on my must do list. But, I think depending on what you want to see between there and Spain, they may need to be separate trips.

I suggested Bruge and Antwerp because you mentioned your like for small towns/cities in addition to large cities. You could check out a cheap airline from Amsterdam to London, Then you fly rt to/from London.

I'd save Italy for a separate trip as it seems too far away for the time you have if you want to include other places that you have noted...unless you really want to see Italy. If so, I'd spend the entire trip there! I liked it so much better than I thought I woulld

Some of your choices may be rainy the further you get into October.

Just to throw another hat in the ring, how about Madrid and south (Andalucia)? Should be warm and sunny in October. And, there are beaches in Andalucia. Do you happen to have Marriott Rewards points? There are a couple of properties that are on the Costa del Sol.

Did you mention the October time or did someone else suggest/assume it?

I love Portugal, and it is amazingly cheap, but your chances of getting quality beach time in October are not optimal. The problem with dreaming of small towns in Italy is that you generally need a car to get to them unless you stick to a few train lines.

But if you are looking for Italian warmth and wine without a car, some possibilities would include going from Paris to the Veneto region of Italy, and booking yourself into Vicenza, and from there visiting Verona, Venice and Padova. If you can stand a slightly bigger city, Verona's historic center doesn't have the feel of an urban capital and is a great place for a solo traveler. You can probably find some rural excursions without renting a car, and find cooking classes (I would opt for one in Padova). Train connections are good around there.

Another possibility is Paris to Parma, a real gem of pocket-sized art city, with fantastic food, plus plenty of style and cultural interest. Great train connections to Modena, Bologna, and buses to lovely small towns and castles.

Finally, the train line that runs between Florence and the sea has Lucca to offer, plus the much smaller town of Pistoia, and you can bop around there without a car, including getting over to the seaside if the weather is pretty. I have heard you can have a staggeringly good lunch at Lorenzo in Forte dei Marmi, and easy day trip from anywhere along that train line. You can also find buses from places like Lucca into small towns in the nearby hills, or hop the train to Pietrasanta for a very pleasant small Tuscan town off the tourist radar, with good pumpkins and mushrooms in Autumn.

Thanks for the help everyone. I think that Paris and Italy are going to be the best because of the weather. I think I've narrowed the "musts" to Paris and Italy ... with Zurich and London as places I would like to include. Does this sound do-able?

Flying in/out of the same airport is going to be best for my airmiles. So, I can fly roundtrip into Paris, London, or surprisingly, Nice for 60-75K points.

If I flew into say London, I am fine with having to buy a Rome to London for example to catch my departing flight out of London.

So questions:

1) Is Paris, Italy, Zurich, and London do-able?
2) What airport do you think I should fly into / out of?

Thank you so much, this is very helpful!!!

If you have 2 weeks, that is a very rushed trip consisting entirely of big cities.

If you fly into Nice, you can get a flight to Rome easily. But which 2 weeks in October is this trip? There is a huge difference in weather on the Riviera between the first two weeks and the last two weeks.

Why Zurich? I wouldn't think it was great for October, but maybe I'm imagining it is colder than it really is. I would think it is chilly and drizzly.

Have you been to London before? It is the size of Los Angeles, its attractions spread all over the place. It is hard to spend just a few days there and not feel swamped.

How about Paris and Rome with some attractive day trips?

Or Nice and Rome with some attractive day trips?