shajm002

Hi everyone,

I am another one needing some Europe travel advice!
Myself and my husband have 21 nights so a bit longer than some posts that I have read. I am hoping to do France and Switzerland, with small stop-by’s in London, Amsterdam and if we can squeeze it in, Barcelona.

I would appreciate any advice on places that we should extend, shorten, or cut out altogether. I am open to all suggestions and really appreciate any input as this is my first trip to Europe and I don't want to waste it!

We have this planned so far:
Paris 5 nights – train to
London 2 nights – train to
Amsterdam 2 nights – train back to Paris to pick up a car and drive the rest of the trip. I feel that we will have more room to experience the country by car…
Drive to:
Geneva 1 night
Bern 2 night
Lucerne 2 nights
Zermatt 2 nights
Nice 2 nights
and this is where I get stuck as we are very time limited.
St Tropez or Marsielle or Montpellier 1 night
Barcelona (if we can fit it in) 2 nights
Bordeaux 1 night.

Would anyone have any recommendations? Should we cut out Amsterdam to give more time elsewhere?? Or both Amsterdam and London? Or Barcelone?

Help, I'm stuck! All of your help is appreciated.

Thanks

shajm002

Sorry.. . or San Sebastian!

rg12345

Just a suggestion to perhaps narrow the field so as to slow down the pace, take the time to develop a feel of the place...otherwise you will be spending a lot of time traveling from one place to another.

Perhaps spend 4-5 nights per city, ie, London, Paris, Barcelona...

It also depends on which city you fly into and fly home from to plan a travel route that is more direct, and not doubling back on distance already covered...

You will have a great time in Europe, we all do/did!! I am sure more advice will come your way to help you plan a great trip! Good luck!

shajm002

Thank you. So do you mean and then stop at the smaller places for a day and move on rather than stay there overnight?

Flying in and out of Paris.

I know the last leg will be a bit long. Thinking maybe to do a one way car hire and leave the car in Nice and train the rest...? I don't know.

Do you agree we would see more driving?

mamcalice

A couple of suggestions: Unless you have been to London, I would consider adding 2-3 days. London has so much to offer! I would eliminate several of the one-night stops and add the time to other destinations. Seems a waste to go all the way to Barcelona for only 2 nights.

Dukey1

Personally, I like cars for their ability to provide flexibility but here is what I also find a little troubling about your plan:

unless you are planning to stop off and see things between Paris and Geneva (and you do not say how much time you are devoting to this segment) I would take a TGV between the two..it is MUCH faster than driving and getting to Geneva for your "one night" earlier in the day is going to give you a lot more time to do and see things once there.

You could also take a fast train from Paris to Bern and skip Geneva entirely.

Zermatt? you cannot drive all the way into the town; you have to leave your car in the car park below as Tasche and take a train in.

Yes, you can still do it all by car; if you include Barcelona are you going to leave there for home? If you do, what about the possibility of a large car drop-off charge?

If you do what you say: France and Switzerland, then I suggest you leave it at that forgetting London, Amsterdam, and Barcelona.

Dukey1

Sorry, just re-read your posts above re flying in and out of Paris. I still think you you either cut out the non-France/Switzerland parts or devote a lot more time to some of them..HOWEVER, you do not say what your interests are and why you even want to go to some of the locations you have mentioned.

Knowing that would be helpful. Zermatt, for example, for TWO days? Why? Bordeaux? Again, why? I've been to both and they are great destinations but knowing what you plan on doing makes it easier to recommend things.

Rubicund

You have 11 stops in 21 days, IMHO way too many. You should be aware that changing location usually takes about half a day minimum, so you are spending/wasting at least 5 and a half days travelling.

Unless London is a must, I'd miss it out, do Paris as planned and then drive to Bordeaux. Don't backtrack into France once you're in Switzerland. If you must, then drive across France to Switzerland, which will take most of a day. A train may be much better. Leave Barcelona this trip as again it's a backtrack across Southern France into Spain unless you consider flying?

Forget the other destinations and fly home from Barca.

shajm002

I am trying to weigh the car drop off charge with our limited time! I don't know exactly how much to expect that charge to be though. Geneva is only on our itinerary as it will be a long drive (in 1 day) from Paris so we thought we may want to stop before Bern.

So if it were you, would you train the whole lot then? I just didn't fancy doing that with luggage.

But if we are to get a train to Bern from Paris, then we may as well train around Switzerland? It all sounds so daunting from back in Australia... I am bad with public transport! At least I know how to drive a car - even if it is on opposite sides!

So maybe we'll skip Barcelona then so it is less rushed and another night in London.

So can you train, Paris to Bern, then down to Nice? I have been looking at the websites but every route that I type in to trains, it says it in unavailable.

shajm002

Ok thank you. So it sounds like I will drop Barcelona off of the itinerary.
Reasons... scenery in Switzerland looks amazing. Just to experience some different culture and see some of those amazing buildings and chateaus that we see on TV and in books.

hetismij2

If Amsterdam is still on the list then look into getting the train and ferry from London to Amsterdam. If you get the night boat it saves you a hotel.

For lots of helpful advice on train travel in Europe (including the train ferry option) have a look at http://www.seat61.com/

shajm002

Thank you hetismij2 Will do.