Hey all!

I've undertaken to show my boyfriend that there is more to life (and the world) than just our hometown (Pretoria, South Africa), so we are doing a 'Eurotrip' from Sept 17 to Oct 3.

I've travelled extensively before and therefore am a bit weary of taking a Tour with guides, other people, etc. My prelim intenary is:
London 2 days (1 night)
Take overnight Eurlines bus to Brussels and 1 day in Brussels (1 night)
Train to Amsterdam (with a half day stopover in Brugge on the way)
2 days in Amsterdam (2 nights)
Take overnight Eurolines bus to Munich
4 days Munich (3 nights) (include daytrips to Neuchwanstein(?) castle and Dachau).
Overnight train to Lyon and 1 day in Lyon (1 night)
Rent a car and travel to Annecy
2/3 days en-route to Paris
2 day (2 nights in Paris)
Back to London with overnight Eurolines bus.
Another day and night in London.

Does this sound do-able?

YOu have 2.5 weeks (16 days) and I think too many places. I would plan for at least 2-3 nights in each location so I would likely limit my locations to 4 maybe 5 places.

Also, with checking in and getting to and from hotels you will lose much more time than you think. As it stands, with 2 nights in London mixed into travel days you wont really get a chance to see much at all.

I would do 5 days in each London and Paris, 3 days in Amsterdam, and pick 1 other place for your last 3 days.

I'd do something like this (there isnt much to see in Brussels from what I understand):

Sept 17 - fly into London
Sept 18 - London
Sept 19 - London
Sept 20 - London
Sept 21 - London
Sept 22 - London to Amsterdam
Sept 23 - Amsterdam
Sept 24 - Amsterdam
Sept 25 - Amsterdam
Setp 26 - Amsterdam - Bruges
Sept 27 - Bruges
Sept 28 - Bruges - Paris
Sept 29 - Paris
Sept 30 - Paris
OCt 1 - Paris
Oct 2 - Paris
Oct 3 - Paris - S. Africa

Hope this helps!

Oh and I would take the eurostar (www.eurostar.com) between London and Amsterdam and then trains between all the rest, they arent very costly and MUCH faster. The earlier you book Eurostar the cheaper it is.

Thanks - that's very helpful. The only problem is, that N wants to do Munchen for Oktoberfest. Also I want to see something new - and I've been to all the places in you itenary except London. That's why I also wanted to go to Munchen and then do some driving in France.

Ugh-if I had unlimited time and money, this would have been much, much easier

Oh - and with regards to trains.I've found the Eurostar bus much much cheaper. Example only 30 euros between Amsterdam and Munchen vs almost 70 euros for the train. I am however struggling finding info on trains. Any suggestions on good sites where I can have a look at timetables and fares?

Well you get the idea of what I am suggesting - less places, more time in each. Just substitute for the places you want to go.

I would not want to waste time on buses if it was my vacation, but its not, its yours.

I think the trains in the benelux countries are called thalys so you could search there. Or do a google search for german trains.

Happy planning!

I actually just started checking again - and a Eurail pass does seem like a great option - there are still overnight options which is something we need to do to save some money on accomodation

Eurolines overnight buses are not very comfortable. I know you are young and can probably sleep anywhere but you will not be rested enough to enjoy a days sightseeing after an overnight bus trip.
Brugge is not on the way from Brussels to Amsterdam - you have to go out of your way to go there and it will be more than a half days diversion.
You can do Brussels Amsterdam either by Thalys or intercity. the Intercity is cheaper but slower, and doesn't require reservations.
There are often special deals on long distance trains, which makes them compare very well with Eurolines.
Have a look at bahn.de - http://tinyurl.com/3ens5 for timetables and look at Thalys and Eurostar to see what deals they offer. Also look at the NS international site http://www.nshispeed.nl/en/back-to-home to see what deals they are offering.
Make sure you book accommodation in Munich early - it fills up fast for Oktoberfest.