alexballingall

Hey I would love to hear some opinions on my itinerary for my trip in may. 20 years old, going with two friends. Male. 35 days total. Open to any day trip suggestions, alternatives, opinions etc.

London - 4
Amsterdam - 4
prague -3
munich - 3
Interlaken -4
venice -2
rome - 3
Ibiza - 5
Barcelona - 4
paris -2

The numbers are for the nights in each city
*Im sure some may wonder why 5 nights in Ibiza. The first night we get there its the opening of Space Night club and the last night its my friends 20th birthday. Two important nights we wanted to be in Ibiza for.

Thanks

Rubicund

You have a total of 34 nights listed but I'm unsure that you have factored in the time it takes to move from one place to another. You need to at least write off the morning that you leave one place to move on, as you check out, go to the airport/station, travel, get into the city from the airport, check in.

You have nine different cities and that will take a minimum of 4 1/2 days out of your time. IMO you need to cut down the stops you make or you won't see anywhere except in a blur and will get home needing a holiday.

You are underweight on Venice and Paris also IMO, but only you can decide where is discardable and where isn't.

Lastly, are you flying home from Paris or do you need to get back to London?

bvlenci

I don't know anything about your interests, but for most people devoting more time to Amsterdam than to Paris or Rome seems very odd. I consider four nights to be the minimum for Rome, unless you've been there before. The same could be said for Paris. However, your interests may be entirely different from mine.

Consider that the number of days you have to spend in each city is one less than the number of nights. This is how you account for travel time. When the distance is short, you'll also get an afternoon in the destination city as a bonus.

janisj

You will have a bit less time in each place than you think.

Yes, You've listed 34 'days' - but do you mean nights?

If you are actually talking 'days', what you'll have is more like:

London - 3.5 days - at least one or two jet lagged.
Amsterdam - 3.5
prague -2
munich - 2.5
Interlaken -3.5
venice -1 plus a skosh
rome - 2.5
Ibiza - 4
Barcelona - 3.5
paris -1.5 or less

alexballingall

Hey guys sorry I left out some crucial information.
we are taking a night train from Amsterdam to prague so really its more 4 days than than nights. Also we have been to rome before hence the short stay but we also wanted to go back badly. Venice is just a quick stop for us on purpose. And Paris is only short because we fly out of there but don't have the budget or interest to add more days to it.

dfourh

With an itinerary this bold you gotta get out a BIG sheet of paper, and divide it up into boxes that show all your days. Then enter where you will overnight at the bottom of each charted box; next fill in the travel schedules/time between each place when you are transitioning.

What remains, is the free time you will have in each place. If the free time each place seems too ridiculously short to actually DO anything, then start dropping destinations out of the equation. If it seems like you WILL have enough time each place (after travel times and sleeping) then go with it.

janisj

>>but don't have the budget or interest to add more days to it<<

One of the reasons you don't have the budget for it . . . is because you are spending hundreds of extra $$$$$/€€€€€/£££££ traveling from place to place.

Not saying you must spend more time in Paris -- only saying that IF you are indeed on a limited budget - you are spending a whole lotta cash on transport for not much time in individual locations.

mamcalice

Paris is a lot more interesting and no more expensive than many of your other stops. Knowing a bit about your interests - museums, partying, beaches, hiking, etc., would help us comment more construtively.

alexballingall

As we are 20 years old and this is our first trip away from our parents, partying is in the forefront of our mind. That being said i love culture and am an avid photographer so i love museums, old cobble stone pathways, beautiful parks and architecture etc. My two travel partners dont really share my love of the culture in europe yet i have made a point of telling them this is why you go to europe, to take it all in.

Quick side note question, would it be an absolute crime to skip venice in order to add San Sebastián?

I appreciate all these notes guys keep them coming

ira

Hi a,

I once did a trip like this when I was about 23.

All I can remember was being in a railway station with a group of people around me wondering whether I was sick, drunk or stoned.

I was exhausted.

Take lots of video so that you can see what you did on this expedition.

Masterphil

Did this back in my 20s.

Lots of overnight trains with our Eurailpass saved some money on hotels.

We went London (2 nights) flew to Paris (4 nights) overnight to Nice (3 nights) overnight train to Rome (4 nights changed to 3) 1 night in Florence; 1 night in Venice; overnight train to Luzern (2 nights) train to Munich (3 nights) Salzburg 1 night train to Koln (1 night) Rhine cruise to Frankfurt (1 night) fly home. It was a blast and 30 years later still memorable!!!

alexballingall

Masterphil and Ira you guys get it!! Love the sound of your trip Masterphil!!! any other suggestions for me?

ekc

If I were 20 and on my first trip, I would skip Venice and hit San Sebastian before or after Barcelona.

Have a blast and take tons of pictures/videos, as you likely won't remember a ton.

With all that moving around, be sure to pack as light as possible, as you will be hauling your suitcase on/off lots of trains!

Masterphil

Interlaken...I would stay in Grindelwald. We hiked all over the place and then finished the days with cheese fondue, big beers and lots of schnapps! One of my favorite places on earth.

alexballingall

Grindlewald or gimmelwald? I've heard good things about both

uncle_bush

both are correct.

look here for Gimmelwald http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimmelwald


and here for Grindelwald
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grindelwald

pyetookh

I know London and Prague very well. Prague may be the cheapest place you visit on your list if you stay away of obvious tourist traps. If you watch your belongings in crowded places where Romanian thieves operates it is also very safe place. Czech beer (lager) is the best on the planet and is very cheap. Also food is lovely. Don't eat common fried meal but give a try to their goulash with dumplings and similar things. You may struggle a bit to find English speaking peaople outside Prague. But youngish people in Prague should help.

alexballingall

Thanks for the advice pyetookh!!
Ok i need some advice. We really want to add San Sebastián to our trip but are having difficulty removing a place. We could slot it in somewhere by removing some days from one location. What places would you say I am safe to remove a day. We would need three days at the least for San Sebastián. I was thinking one from interlaken, munich and London. Would I be able to see munich well enough in two days? We are only really going there for the beer halls haha.

Another option could be removing venice. The reason we chose venice is because its a place we likely will return to in the future with girlfriends, wives or family etc. Also we are 20 year old men and it seems like the place is made for couples. But at the same time i am an avid photographer and i know some of the best photos from my trip will come from venice because its just an amazing location. Could anyone offer some insight on this. We are confused with what to do.

alexballingall

My worry with venice is that on a college students budget we dont have the money to truely enjoy it. It seems like a place that could be equally enjoyed with your family, your girlfriend, or your buddies while somewhere like San Sebastián or ibiza etc really needs to be done with your best friends. Am i correct in saying this. Ive read in a lot of places that you have to plan like your going to come back one day but im having a very difficult time in cutting venice from my trip because it is such an iconic european destination. I guess i just need someone else to say it

Masterphil

Take off one night in Venice (you get the idea after 1 day - it's cool to see it), take another off Munich (you'll find great beer in other places, and take one off Grindelwald (the train station is right in Grindelwald, you can access Eiger, Jungfrau, etc. from there (truly beautiful place!).

Czech beer is awesome (Kozel Black was my favorite! They also have a fried cheese with tartar sauce (yes..tartar sauce) It was really good stuff!!! My wife couldn't get enough of it.

We changed on the fly all the time. We didn't particularly like Rome, so we left after 3 nights, we initially planned for 4.

If you do not change Munich, I would take a day trip to Salzburg. (About a 1 hour train ride) Salzburg is awesome and they have the Augustinerbrau Monastery which has incredible Marzen beer. Another one of my favorites. The trip south of Salzburg to the salt mine is a real kick. My buddies and I still talk about the salt mine. My wife and I went back there years later. You wear these ridiculous outfits, drive on a bench-like train into the mountain, go down 3 long slides and drink great beer when it is all over!

When you get to Prague, make sure you walk up the hill (on palace side of river) to the monastery which overlooks Prague. Great view, outdoor drinking with Kozel black!!!

My wife and I are going to Europe in Sept. You are getting me to rethink my trip to Scandinavia.

Personally, I would cut off a day in Amsterdam (I didn't like Amsterdam) but being a 20 year old, you will probably find enjoyment there.

Have a great time and remember, most friendly looking people over there are probably trying to rip you off.