I know this is ambitious, but I have also been thinking it through for quite some time. I'm a good traveler, but I also know my limits. I am a teacher, so I will have two months off in the summer for this trip. I need your honest, wise, and experienced opinions.

I live in PHX, sooo

-Fly from PHX to Lisbon.
*Spend a couple days there, then head to Porto, Portugal
-One night in Porto, then take the train (again) to Santiago de Compostela.
*A day in Santiago before heading (via bus) to Santander.
-Santander for a day and then head to Bilbao (via bus)
*A day in Bilbao, then head to Bordeaux, France
-From there head to Munich, Germany
*Approx. 5 days in Munich (visit to Salzburg)
-From Munich, head to Vienna, Austria
*About a week in Vienna with day trips to Prague & Budapest
-Head to Krakow, Poland (2 days there with a visit to Auschwitz on one)
*Train to Warsaw, stay there for the day and then take the night train to Berlin
-A couple days in Berlin before heading to Amsterdam
*Approx. 3-4 days in Amsterdam before heading to Brussels
-From Brussels to Paris
*About 5 days in Paris and then cross the English Channel to London
-About a week in London with a visit to Liverpool
*Fly to Dublin, spend about 6 days in Ireland
-Fly back to Portugal to make it a roundtrip back to PHX

Sounds like too much just typing it out, but I think it makes sense. I have a budget of about $7500 for the trip, with $4000 of that going to flights, trains, and busses.

I want to a get a global Eurail pass (2 months) and budget another $500 for supplemental charges.

-Laurie

No city is worth less than 3 full days, I would readjust to see fewer cities and then see more of where I end up.

First off - if you can get an openjaw ticket to fly into Lisbon and out of Dublin (or wherever works best) then that will give you another day to play with, rather than flying back to where you started.

A few other notes:
How are you planning to get from Bordeaux to Munich - fly I hope? Even Bilbao to Bordeaux is a hike by train, so to Munich by train will not only involve changes but around 11 hours of travel time. Even overnight trains will involve changes - never fun overnight.

Vienna - a day trip to Prague or Budapest from Vienna won't happen. Maybe a day trip to Bratislava, but not to Prague. A day trip won't even scratch the surface of either city, an it takes around 4.5hrs one way to Prague, 2.5hrs one way to Budapest. You should spend around 2-3 full days in Vienna, then 3 days in Prague and 2 days in Budapest.

London - you can do a few day trips from here (Stonehenge, Bath, Windsor, Oxford, etc), but I wouldn't do Liverpool in a day, rather give it an overnight so you can sample the city by day and night (it's fun). From there you can fly to Dublin (with Ryanair, unfortunately, but at least it will be cheaper - don't take too much luggage!)

Getting around - there are legs of your journey which are best served by train, and others which would be better to fly, so don't buy a pass until you've worked what type you need, how many days and what routes you'll fly instead.

One thing I notice is you are hitting a lot of major cities. Consider seeing some of the smaller towns in each country which would then obviously cut down on the countries you go to. Take Austria, other amazing options are Salzburg, the Alps, Hallstatt area, and a daytrip to Melk.

I count 10 countries. With only 2 months, really try to go to a max of one country per week, so 8 countries maximum (you are hitting some very large countries like France/Germany/Poland). That will allow you to see more than just their main cities. Personally, if I had to choose, I would cut Poland and Ireland.

I also think your budget might be a little low. Considering $1000 for flights there (probably low) and a bit over $1100 for a youth 2 month railpass (assuming you classify as youth), that is just $90 per day or 60 euro which I think even staying in hostels will be a little tight. That also doesn't include any flights within Europe.

After researching the rail passes, I think I would get the Eastern Rail Pass and also the Select Pass which would be 5 countries, 10 days, within 2 months. I haven't looked into flights within Europe, but I will check out Ryanair. I have been looking at a site called Viator for the daytrips and I think some of them are doable in a day as there are some cities I do not want to spend the night in. For me, it wouldn't be the worst thing to see a city and leave feeling I want to see more. I would just have to plan another trip there in the future : ). I really do appreciate the input, guys! Also, some of the first few cities in Spain are really only going to be for a day, like Santiago. I have been to Madrid and Barcelona before, but I definitely want to go back there, too. I am 23, so this will not be my last trip, hopefully!

As I read your iternary my first thought was "Bordeaux to Munich"-how are you traveling-you are missing some beautiful cultural places if on a train.Second thought was "day trips from Prague and/or Budapest=too much travel time. Also have you checked out the regional European airlines-for instance "Air Berlin" Ryan air as mentioned above-they are great fares-good luck in doing some second thinking. Sandra

At 23 I would think that Prague and Budapest would be more fun than Vienna.

Bordeaux to Munich is most likely going to be by train. It is 11 hours! I hope I can catch some of the countryside in passing. However, I am planning to go to the south of France and Italy for my honeymoon, which is going to be another trip entirely.

Is there a particular reason why you are going to Bordeaux?

Going through Bordeaux, really. I don't plan on spending much time there. Why?

Because it's a long way from Bilbao to Munich - why not fly? Here's a good website for discount airlines in Europe - http://www.euroflights.info/