Ideas for upcoming travel
 

My friend and I are going to travel Europe after graduating next year. There are so many wonderful places to see it’s overwhelming. I was hoping some of you experienced travelers could give us some ideas. The trip would be in early May and can last up to a month and a half, we plan on traveling cheaply and staying in hostels when possible. Rome/Vatican City and Paris are must haves. We primarily like beautiful nature, historical sites, and cozy countryside towns. Several places that have piqued our interest so far are The Ring of Kerry, the fjords in Norway, the Swiss or Bavarian Alps, The Cotswolds in England, Loire Valley, Tuscany and Umbria and many more. The problem is that this list isn’t very concrete and it is very broad and may overlap or we might have overlooked some amazing places. Any input is appreciated.

I think you have to do a bit more thinking before you can be helped much here. I suggest you get a map of Europe and the British Isles, and mark up where you want to go. Looking at the places you have noted, the fjords in Norway and the Vatican, there is a lot of travelling to be done.

The question, what are the most beautiful places, or what are your favourite places, is really subjective. Some would say the Alps, others Cinque Terre, for me, it’s Venice.

You have lots of time to read and plan, go for it. Then come back with questions like, what’s a good way to see the Cotswalds?

You and Browndier are traveling together? It will be best if you have only thread.

<<The problem is that this list isn’t very concrete and it is very broad and may overlap or we might have overlooked some amazing places>>

Yes, that is indeed the problem, and it's one that's up to you to solve.

Even with a month and a half you will only see very small slices of the enormous continent of Europe, so dig into your research and narrow down the places that most appeal to you. There are infinite resources out there to help you do this.

Trains can be cheap - if doing lots of longish train trips look at various Eurail Youthpasses for those under 28 - in many countries hop on any train anytime - lots of train info: www.ricksteves.com; BETS-European Rail Experts and www.seat61.com. Hostels - get a copy of Let's Go Europe (letsgo.com) - the 'bible for young American backpackers - written by folks your age and a great critical look at hostels and youth hotels and other cheap digs.

I don’t know who that is, sorry.

>>I don’t know who that is, sorry.<<

That is very odd. https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...-trip-1653305/

Either you are the same person or Browndier is stalking you. If your post is legit, then it may be that Browndier is a troll. Who knows?????

QUOTE=browndier;16729987]My friend and I are going to travel Europe after graduating next year. There are so many wonderful places to see it’s overwhelming. I was hoping some of you experienced travelers could give us some ideas. The trip would be in early May and can last up to a month and a half, we plan on traveling cheaply and staying in hostels when possible. Rome/Vatican City and Paris are must haves. We primarily like beautiful nature, historical sites, and cozy countryside towns. Several places that have piqued our interest so far are The Ring of Kerry, the fjords in Norway, the Swiss or Bavarian Alps, The Cotswolds in England, Loire Valley, Tuscany and Umbria and many more. The problem is that this list isn’t very concrete and it is very broad and may overlap or we might have overlooked some amazing places. Any input is appreciated.[/QUOTE]

Sassafrass' quote is from the same thread I linked in my post . . .

It is very possible Browndier is a troll since s/he tagged that thread w/ places like Andorra and Belarus and may be playing games???

When you are planning with basically no plan yet, I think printed guidebooks are the best resource. Take those places you listed and pin them out on a map. Start planning your route.

The opening posts in both threads are exactly the same. Odd.

Most likely one or the other is a troll (or possibly both). Since Browndier posted after cppsinkule, my guess is Browndier is definitely a troll. Not sure about cppsinkule.

Two brand new posters with identical questions but different names? Odd at best!

apparently Browndier has left the building...

Like I said, I don’t know that is or why they copied and pasted my question. Either way, I guess I’m looking for cities or towns that have similar qualities to the places I’ve listed. I can’t respond often because there is a 24 hour limit on new members.

Hi OP-

So exciting to travel with a friend! As others have said I would sit down with a map and start planning “must haves”. You said Paris and Rome, so that’s a good starting point. if you are on the east coast of US flights to Ireland can be fairly inexpensive, but so can flights to Spain-you could then easily move around from there. That being said, if it were me, I would cut out the outliers-save Norway for another trip it’s $$$ and far, and save Ireland/England for another trip (I think some other places are more geared towards young people).

I would fly into mainland Europe and organize my time visiting the many countries within. Given the time of year I would start in the south (Rome/Seville/Portugal) and work my way north. Being students you may also want to consider cost-if that’s the case, then maybe it eliminates Switzerland...

As I said I would start in the south and work my way north. You didn’t mention it but Poland, Serbia, Hungary, Slovenia, CR, etc are all beautiful and more affordable. I think you would also have a blast if you concentrated on Spain/France/Italy or Portugal/Spain/France/Italy (and the weather should be decent). LOTS to explore.

I have not visited England, but if that’s more to your taste then it does make sense to include Ireland and maybe Scotland.

Good of luck and keep us updated as your plans take shape!

I wasn't kidding about the paper map on the wall idea. And use map pins to start marking places you want to go (maybe even rating them as you go: #1 must do and #2 very interested #3 only if it's on the way or we have extra time).

Next up you need to pin down a budget to see if your trip works. Figure 45 days (for "a month and a half") and come up with your daily budget covering a place to sleep, basic food, local transportation, and multiply x 45 for total trip costs (besides initial air fare).

Let's Go Europe is a superb guide for younger backpackers staying in hostels as it critiques dozens of hostels in each large city - and youth hotels - and budget hotels, pensions, airbnbs, etc, besides a wealth of info on each place, again from a younger traveler's point of view - like nightlife - www.letsgo.com. Been around for a long long time and well worth the money IMO.

Another question I have is how much time needs to be allotted for something like driving the wild Atlantic Way or the Ring of Kerry. Being my first time, I have no idea how long something like this takes.

You can find answers to specific questions like that using a "Google search".

I don't know anything about Ireland, but I just put the words "how long to drive the ring of kerry" into Google and up pops this website with the answer of: "about 3 hours"
https://www.irishcarrentals.com/ringofkerry.php

Year before last my daughter and her friends did their europe trip.
They were a group of three.. and they had 11 weeks.

They had an issue as one of the girls wanted to go to Sweden and the two others didnt.. so they solved that by travelling together for first 7 weeks.... then the one girl went north to Sweden and the other two continued on..

The real issue was money and time..

They all had a long list of things they wanted to see and do.. but logistics and money came to the fore.
Sweden was WAY out of the way.. so the two girls decided they didnt want to "waste" their time going there.. ( waste to them as they were not enthused to go there.. )

You have a much shorter trip.. so I would sit down and do as others suggested and map out some routes.. you may find spending the time and money to go to far flung places wont work for you ..

Also.. since you havnt bought airline tickets look into "open jaw" or "multi destination " tickets.. fly into one end of your trip and out from your last destination.. it saves you money backtracking!! backtracking costs time and money.. so even if ticket is 100 bucks more its worth it.. or plan a circular route.

I enjoyed the Dingle Peninsula drive too or you can take tour buses - really remote and wild - featuring many ancient stone huts - there is a youth hostel right at tip if Peninsula that would make a memorable stay - so remote but when I was there long ago there was a pub nearby!

Dingle Town is great for young travelers in its hostels and active nightlife of Irish pubs with traditional Irish tunes.

You can also cavort with Fungi the Dolphin - a friendly dolpjin that allegedly swam into Dingle Bay years ago and stayed and now there is a inudstry where local fishermen take tourists out to swim and yes cavort with the friendly Dolphin.

https://www.dingle-peninsula.ie/home...e-dolphin.html

A great drive would go from Dublin to Killarney and Ring of Kerry and or Dingle Peninsula up coast to Cliffs of Moher and The Burren to Galway (lively university town) and back to Shannon Airport to Dublin Airport.

Driving is slow going on these roads so leave more time than envisioned.

Tentatively how does this sound on time: 5 days Ireland based in Dublin, 4 days in Norway based in Bergen or Oslo, 4 days in Switzerland based in Interlaken (Looking for cheaper city nearby), 7 days in France based in Paris or nearby, 5 days in Tuscany, 5 days in Rome. These days are actual exploring days, I would leave a day for travel between each of these places.

Your original post indicates you want to travel cheaply, but the itinerary involves visiting some of the most expensive countries in Europe, and hopping around which requires expensive flights?

If $ is no object-go for it! Otherwise, I would once again strongly suggest visiting areas within some proximity, and eliminating the outliers. Travel between locations costs time and money.

If you go for Ireland then it makes sense to focus on the surrounding areas-you mentioned England in your original post. I have visited many of the areas in Ireland recommeded by the previous posters. We love it-the country is so beautiful and the people are amazing. That being said, I would have enjoyed other areas more at your age. Dublin is fun and the pubs/music are great, but it wouldn’t make my list of top European cities. Dingle is stunning, but remote. Traveling from place to place in Ireland takes a long time, so “basing” in one area and exploring is almost impossible without backtracking even day. Roads are narrow so despite the fact that it is small in area, be prepared by I spend a lot of time on the driving. Again, I *loved* it but it would not be my pick for this trip...
However, if you decide to go for Ireland I am happy to provide suggestions!

Switzerland/Italy/France would make a nice grouping, but 🇨🇭 is $$$. Once again I lean towards Spain/France/Italy. I think you would have a nice variety of places to see, vibrant culture, plenty geared towards young people, and travel between them is easy.

<<We primarily like beautiful nature, historical sites, and cozy countryside towns.>>

Your itinerary sounds fine, but way off base if what you originally posted above is what you're looking for. Except, of course, for the historical sites.

If you are driving places, I must send you to the gorges of Kakuetta in the Pyrénées. You will not find anything else like it in Europe.

However, I am just saying this as an example that you need to ask questions with considerably more focus.

Dublin is not a good base for visiting many other places in Ireland, simply too far for
Ring of Kerry, Dingle, etc.

What city would you recommend, I listed Dublin because it’s the cheapest place to fly to.

If you are on a budget your suggested itinerary makes no sense. Scandinavia and Switzerland are ridiculously expensive.

Also, you may find there are age limits for renting a car, as in you need to be at least 25.

The budget is about 6,000 per person and I’ll be 27 by then. I saw where people said 100 USD per day in Switzerland and Norway, is that accurate?

Does the 100 USD per day figure need to cover your hotel/hostel/lodging... as well as food, local transportation, entertainment?

Do you each have 100 per day? As in 200/day for two people and you'll be sharing a room?

just hostel and food, I will probably get Eurail pass. It will be 100 per person, we each are bringing about 6000 USD for the entire trip, so 12k total.

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/switzer...d-costs/360810

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/norway/...d-costs/360161

Conversion: https://www.xe.com/

Your budget is OK, but not plush. Don't go assuming that a Eurrail Pass is going to be a bargain - in most cases it's exactly the opposite (BUT you do have to be smart enough to study how to get cheap train tickets in Europe).

Stop thinking in terms of US dollars. Euros are what you are going to spend, and the exchange rate with them is what counts. Start thinking in euros. But while you're still thinking in dollars, 100 of them per day in Switzerland or Scandinavia is going to be paltry.

With a small budgt and no clear idea of what you want to do, why aren't you thinking of Central and Eastern Europe?They're beautiful, historical,and cheap.

I made the same suggestion StCirq.

OP-

If you are going to Ireland to spend time on the western coast, then fly into Shannon.

Top sights in this area are the Cliffs of Moher, Dingle/Ring of Kerry, Bunratty Castle & Folk Park (close to Shannon),

A good base for Dingle is Killarney or Dingle town itself. We stayed in Killarney, and there is a lot to do in that area. Sounds like there is a hostel on the Dingle Peninsula which would be ideal. Kenmare is a good choice for the Ring of Kerry.

if you are interested in the Blarney Stone, that is right outside of Cork, not far to the East of Killarney...

Ennis is a nice place to stay in the area of the Cliffs. As I think others have mentioned, Galway is a good size city with plenty to do.