Massive Itinerary
 

Hi there,

I have been working on my 14 week Itinerary for Europe and UK 2016. I am after any feedback and advice that you can offer. I still have just over a year to plan this trip and a starting early in order to save and research as much as possible.
The first part of the trip will be traveling with a friend who has family in Italy. From the 23rd of May I will be traveling solo. I will be staying with another friend in Edinburgh, (& Loch Ness Trip) she may join me in Ireland. My husband will meet me in Frankfurt on 24th June and continue the rest of the trip with me.
I know this is a VERY full schedule. Trust me I can handle it. I know you will tell me to drop one of the Greek Islands and probably Brussels. But it may be one of those things I need to learn myself... anyway constructive criticism is appreciated. This will be my first (and last for a long time!) trip in Europe.

Saturday 16th April Fly NZ-AUS-Abu Dhabi
Sunday 17th April Arrive Abu Dhabi
Monday 18th April Abu Dhabi (Fly out Late)
Tuesday 19th April Milan
Wednesday 20th April Milan
Thursday 21st April Train to Lake Como
Friday 22nd April Lake Como
Saturday 23rd April Train to Bolonga (6hrs)
Sunday 24th April Train Bolonga to Venice (2hrs)
Monday 25th April Venice
Tuesday 26th April 1pm train to Florence (3hrs)
Wednesday 27th April Florence
Thursday 28th April Florence
Friday 29th April Early train to Lucca (2hrs)
Saturday 30th April Lucca – Day trip to Pisa (1hr)
Sunday 1st May Lucca – Trip to Cinque Terre
Monday 2nd May Early train to Rome (3 hrs)
Tuesday 3rd May Rome
Wednesday 4th May Rome
Thursday 5th May Rome
Friday 6th May Early train to Naples (3hrs)
Saturday 7th May Naples
Sunday 8th May Early Ferry to Isle of Capri (1 hour)
Monday 9th May Capri
Tuesday 10th May Capri
Wednesday 11th May Ferry to Amafi
Thursday 12th May Amafi
Friday 13th May Bus to Salerno Sation (1 hour) Train to Taranto (3hrs) then to Brindisi (1hr)
Saturday 14th May Overnight Ferry Brindisi to Patras
Sunday 15th May Ferry Arrives Patras 1pm
Monday 16th May Train to Athens (4 hours)
Tuesday 17th May Athens
Wednesday 18th May Ferry Athens to Mykonos (7am)
Thursday 19th May Mykonos
Friday 20th May Ferry to Santorini (3pm)
Saturday 21st May Santorini
Sunday 22nd May Ferry Santorini to Athens (3:30pm)
Monday 23rd May Athens to Montenegro
Tuesday 24th May Montenegro
Wednesday 25th May Bus to Dubrovnik
Thursday 26th May Dubrovnik
Friday 27th May Dubrovnik
Saturday 28th May Bus to Split
Sunday 29th May Split
Monday 30th May Split to Plitvice Lakes National Park
Tuesday 31st May Plitvice to Zagreb
Wednesday 1st June Zagreb to Edinbrugh
Thursday 2nd June Edinbrugh
Friday 3rd June Edingbrugh
Saturday 4th June Train to Loch Ness (5 hrs)
Sunday 5th June Train home Loch Ness (5hrs)
Monday 6th June Edinbrugh
Tuesday 7th June Fly to Dublin
Wednesday 8th June Dublin
Thursday 9h June Dublin
Friday 10th June Train to Cork (3.5 hours)
Saturday 11th June Cork
Sunday 12th June Fly to London
Monday 13h June London
Tuesday 14st June London
Wednesday 15h June London
Thursday 16th June Early Train to Brussels (2.5hrs)
Friday 17th June Brussels
Saturday 18th June Early Train/Bus to Bruges (1 hour)
Sunday 19th June Brugge
Monday 20th June Train to Amsterdam (3.5hrs)
Tuesday 21st June Amsterdam
Wednesday 22nd June Amsterdam
Thursday 23rd June Train To Frankfurt (5 hours)
Friday 24th June Frankfurt
Saturday 25th June Frankfurt
Sunday 26th June Train to Munich (3.5 hours)
Monday 27th June Munich
Tuesday 28th June Train to Zurich (3.5hr)
Wednesday 29th June Zurich
Thursday 30th June Zurich
Friday 1st July Train to Lucerne (1 hour)
Saturday 2nd July Lucerne
Sunday 3rd July Lucerne
Monday 4th July Train to Bern (1 hour)
Tuesday 5th July Bern Night Train to Salzburg
Wednesday 6th July Salzburg
Thursday 7th July Salzburg
Friday 8th July Salzburg
Saturday 9th July Train to Vienna (2.5 hours)
Sunday 10th July Vienna
Monday 11th July Train/Bus to Budapest (3.5 hours)
Tuesday 12th July Budapest
Wednesday 13th July Budapest
Thursday 14th July Bus/Fly to Krakow
Friday 15th July Krakow
Saturday 16th July Krakow (Night Train to Prauge)
Sunday 17th July Prauge
Monday 18th July Prauge
Tuesday 19th July Prauge (to paris overnight train)
Wednesday 20th July Paris
Thursday 21st July Paris
Friday 22nd July Paris (Fly out PM)
Saturday 24th July Travel back to NZ
Sunday 25th July Arrive back in NZ

Really? Two days here, one day there. Why even bother.

Well, I'd say you have too much city and too little country side. Like 3 swiss cities, but no time in the Berner Oberland which is the best part of Switzerland. Also, the best of Ireland is outside the cities.

I also think in a trip this long, I would pick somewhere to stop for a week and settle down. Take a break, do some laundry. I don't think I could sightsee every day for 14 weeks. But if I only have 2 days in Paris, I have to fill them up.

But you said you can handle this pace, so it's your trip. Maybe build in some flexibility in case you do get worn out?

Forget Ireland Dublin and Cork are the 2 main Cities you might as well do Manchester and Liverpool whilst in the UK. Ireland is not about cities its about getting out of the brickwork and meeting the people.

As china-cat said, it's your trip, but I have to agree with her. With that amount of time, I would definitely include more down time and try to balance the city travel with some smaller regions.

I'm curious what kind of advice/criticisms you want, as I suspect most people would immediately say that this is much too busy a trip. I've been to some but not all of the places on your list, and I don't quite understand why you're traveling the way you are -- it feels like a list that has to be ticked off rather than a thought out plan of travel. I wouldn't be able to absorb the experience of travel after a while with so many places.

Personally, I prefer to stay in one region and know it better. I would choose a few countries in this time period that interest me, find a base in each area and travel locally. Even a week at a time would give you so much more opportunity to absorb a place and still see a wide number of areas.

Only my opinion, of course.

Way too ambitious. Wont be able to catch your breath much less see anything. You have 45 different stopping points (if my math is correct) in 98 days and that is not including overnight flight days lost. Your transportation costs alone are going to be astronomical with all that moving around, not counting the packing and unpacking at every stop. Unless this is a once in a lifetime trip, would reconsider my priorities and cut down that which you can forego until a return trip.

You do say that this is a first and last (for a long time trip), but at the end of this forced march across Europe, I'd be amazed if you can remember enough of it to identify which memory was in which place.

No-one doubts that you feel that you can handle this schedule, but by its end, you'll be exhausted. It feels like you got a map out and stuck pins in it. I appreciate that you're probably wanting to see as much as possible, but honestly, less is more on one of these trips and you're doing an enormous amount of back tracking across the continent.

You really need to reconsider the numbers of places that you're visiting, cut it down and travel at a more leisurely pace.

I'd take a day out of Dubrovnik and cancel Loch Ness (which is basically a loch (and not the prettiest) and a newspaper article, blown into the biggest load of tosh.

Zurich is a bit of a waste of time, nice cathedral, that's it and so three days, unless you are visiting your banker makes no sense. Blow the time in the Swiss countryside.

Rest of it looks ok, though I might also drop Ireland (as an outlier), not vital and you will enjoy this.

I think I'd add time to maybe another greek island or extend the Split into Split/Brac/Hvar/Trogir up the coast from Dubrovnik.

Just check the transport Venice to Split I think, if it is easy, I might change the sequence a bit in this area

Skip Frankfurt and add those days to Amsterdam.

'I know this is a VERY full schedule. Trust me I can handle it.'

Looks perfect to me. I might have done it when I was young, wouldn't now. Actually I did somehting similar in the US, visiting 10 cities in 30 days - I LOVED it.
I suppose you are young. I hope you're alone - doing this with someone would become difficult to handke. Enjoy, don't bother if people say it is like ticking places - it is your trip. Ponder the argument about one week to decompress and wash - very sound advice.
Definitely keep Brussels, most beautiful place in Europe - thus in the world. I live 20 kms from there...

Holy Moley!

I did a trip with a somewhat similarly paced itinerary in 2004. The differences were that I was traveling for ten months, and that I was considerably older than the OP. (You can see my itinerary at http://wilhelmswords.com/rtw2004/index.html ).

I did not find that places all merged into each other. I can still clearly distinguish Warsaw from Krakow, for instance. However, I did have slower paced sections within the overall trip. These days I still tend to travel "fast" when I'm visiting new areas, but "slow" when I am revisiting places I enjoyed on a previous trip.

The OP is traveling from New Zealand and I understand the urge to see as much as possible. Let's stop telling her how to travel and consider where it might make sense to drop places in order to allow some down time. I entirely agree, for instance, that if you're going to Switzerland you should head for the countryside and not the cities. I haven't been to Ireland, but again, that sounds more like a place to spend time in the countryside. And some cities definitely need more time than others - London, Paris, Rome, all need at least four, better five days, and I would not shortchange Venice, Vienna or Budapest.

Seg:
If you're intent on doing a 14 week marathon this way..ehaustion is no small problem, Seg. Literally and dangerously, it can sicken you. Have you considered doing three trips of five weeks each over the next three, four or five years years or even two trips of seven weeks each over the next number of years? I would guess that the traveling money used in your gerrymandering backtracking would cover the exra NZ to Europe flights or more.

Makes more sense and much more enjoyable and comfortable..and in the long run, sharply memorable....IMHO.

Stu - not sure why you think this trip has anything to do with gerrymandering! In any case, New Zealand is a long, long way from Europe, I can understand the urge to spend long enough to make up for the flights, it's what I do myself. And it may well be that the OP will be starting a job, or perhaps a baby, after this trip and will not have the opportunity to travel for five or seven weeks again for a long time.

I do agree with scheduling slower paced sections - apart from resting, on a trip this long you need time for resupply and reorganizing.

>>I know this is a VERY full schedule. Trust me I can handle it. I know you will tell me to drop one of the Greek Islands and probably Brussels. But it may be one of those things I need to learn myself… <<

I suspect you may be reluctant to take actual constructive criticism . . . You say you can handle it -- I could 'handle' it too but would never ever take a trip like this. You will (quite literally) be spending almost as much time on trains and in train stations as actually being/seeing some of your destinations. When will you do Laundry? When will you take a breath and sit down in a cafe?

At very minimum cut 1/4 of the destinations (which are up to you) and have time to enjoy the places that remain. It would still be fast paced. Me personally, I would cut maybe 1/3 but 1/4 is a good start.

It isn't that 3 days someplace isn't 'enough' but that 3.5 months of constant 2 and 3 night stops will be VERY tiring and you will always be 'on the clock' having to pack up and move on at a set schedule. I'd think more something like a few 6 or 7 day stops (maybe renting apartments) interspersed w/ a few 2 or 3 day-ers in between.

It almost looks like a laundry list where you have allotted nearly the same amount of time to widely different places. 3 days in London and 3 days in Salzburg? There are 1000 X more things to see/do in London than in/near Salzburg

A couple of minor details -- ditch the train trips to Loch Ness and back. First of all there is no train to Loch Ness. There are trains to Inverness but you'd be spending a night in Inverness simply t spend an hour or two looking at one of the less attractive Lochs in Scotland. If you want to get to the Highlands/Loch Ness . . . then take a day tour w/ Rabbies https://www.rabbies.com/one_day_tour..._ed.asp?lng=en

You are going to Ireland but only visiting Dublin )OK but not nearly as special as some of the other cities on you itinerary) and Cork (why?). Again -- do a small group tour. Stay maybe 2 nights in Dublin and maybe another Rabbies https://www.rabbies.com/tour_ireland.asp But there are other good companies you could check out.

OOPs - that should say >>(Dublin is OK but not nearly as special as some of the other cities on your itinerary)<<

Gretchen - same question to you for even replying.

I could never plan, day by day, a 14 week itinerary. I might have an idea of where I wanted to go and a rough outline but things change.

You meet people you might want to hang out with; you discover places where you want to spend more time; certain places you want to leave ASAP.

So, plan your first week; after that just play it by ear, organising maybe 4 to 5 days in advance.

My take (for what it is worth.)

Why are you taking a 6 hour train to Bologna and leaving the next day? I would spend at least the next full day in Bologna before heading to Venice.

I haven't been to Cinque Terre but, from what I have read, I think it deserves more time than a day trip from Lucca.

I would skip Naples.

Have you considered flying from Rome to Athens? You're spending a lot of time getting to Athens and then only staying one day?

I agree with skipping Loch Ness -- it was not as interesting to visit as I had hoped.

I would allow more time for the Irish countryside unless you decide to skip Ireland altogether.

I would skip both Frankfurt and Munich. Oops, I see you are meeting your husband in Frankfurt. He is not skippable! In that case, I would skip Munich.

I would skip Zurich and instead visit the Lauterbrunnen Valley for a few days -- one of my favorite places.

I would definitely add a few more days to Paris.

I think you need more bases (with day trips) and a LOT LESS moving every day or two.

For example, you have about 25 nights in Italy - and want to see pretty much most of it. Right now you have ELEVEN different hotels/cities. You can see almost everything on your list with four bases. I would skip Milan (nice city but not a highlight of Italy - if you have something you really want to see - like the Duomo, then stash your bags in the train station and see that, but don't overnight. I personally would switch Lake Garda for Lake Como.

And I would make my first base Verona. 5 or 6 nights. From there you can see Lake Garda, Bologna, and Venice ( and of course Verona as well - great city). Venice is only an hour by frequent train. Some will say you will miss out on the 'magic' of Venice early in the morning or evening. But if you are as energetic as you think then take the first train - they go from about 5am till midnight.

Second base - Florence - 5 or 6 nights. You can easily do a combined day trip to Lucca and Pisa. I've done it, lots of people do it. You can also do a day trip to the CT (either public transportation or a tour).

Third base - Rome - 5 or 6 nights

Fourth base - Sorrento -6 nights do day trips to Capri, Amalfi, Positano, Napoli.

Then FLY to Greece. You have three days wasted just traveling there, not seeing anything, certainly not relaxing. You can fly from Naples to Mykonos on easyjet. Then ferry to Santorini and then back to Athens. You'll have several days to add to each place, you could even add in Naxos or Paros with the time you've saved. (And probably way cheaper than the way you have it planned.) And now instead of 6 or 7 different places in 11 days you have 3 and still see everything you want.

Croatia looks reasonably OK

Agree with the above about Scotland. Skip Loch Ness. Whole time in Edinburgh - do a day trip to Sterling or somewhere if you want to see a nice lake.

I'd skip Ireland and add the time to London and do day trips to places like Oxford, Bath, etc.

In Belgium, spend all four nights in one place, not Brussels - do that as a day trip if you must. Brugge, Ghent and Antwerp are all much nicer. They are all only about an hour from each other, no need to change hotels.

If you can pick up a day here and there with this tighter itinerary, adding a night to Amsterdam would be good - lots of great day trip options from there.

Why do you want to go to Frankfurt?

With 7 days in Switzerland I'd pick two bases - Lucerne for 2-3 nights (easy day trip to Zurich is you really need to) and the rest in Interlaken. Everyone will tell you to stay up in the mountains, but from a base in Interlaken you can day trip to Bern, spend a day on the lake (very pretty, lots of cute towns), and a couple days up in the mountains - and pick the best weather days for those trips as it's a waste of time if totally cloudy.

I would drop one of the remaining towns between there and Paris. I'd drop Saltzburg. And while I loved Krakow, look into the logistics of getting there - it's not easy. Might not be worth it for this trip.

Add at least 2 days to Paris so you have 4 minimum.

Traveling for 14 weeks, I'd suggest you might want to build in a few times where you stopped and stay put for more than 1-2 days. I understand you want to cover a lot of ground at an extremely fast pace, but to basically move every day for 98 days in a row, and spend so much time on trains (busses, planes, whatever) just doesn't sound fun to me.

I second Isabel's great suggestions -- a well thought out plan. Checking in and out of hotels can take a good portion of the day as rooms are sometimes not ready, taxis can get quite lost trying to find them, etc. You may find you need to take a day or so to relax and slow the pace which you can do if your lodging is centrally located. Or, there may be a festival or special event that you decide you prefer to enjoy rather than taking a day trip. You will have more flexibility.

I have not been to Krakow or Budapest but Vienna and Prague were not as memorable for me as some of your other locations.

to the VERY fortunate OP: "Way too ambitious. Wont be able to catch your breath much less see anything."

be grateful you aren't hampered by such foolish notions. GO FOR IT!!!!

I think you need to re-check some of the train information, night trains in particular.

Bern to Salzburg overnight can involve multiple changes which means you won't sleep. Or fewer changes, but you arrive at 3:00a.

Prague to Paris overnight is probably 15 hours with at least one change having a long delay. Why not just fly?

The train ride from Lake Como (hopefully, you intend from Varenna-Esino) to Bologna is not 6 hours. It's under 3 hours. But it's backtracking a bit to go from Lake Como to Bologna to Venice to Florence, as you'll be passing through Bologna on the way to Florence.

There is no train from the Cinque Terre that can get you to Rome in 3 hours. Almost all trains from Rome to Naples take 2 hours or less.

For all train rides, calculate additional time at both ends for travel between lodging and train stations. Check frequently for strike announcements affecting various transit.

Gee, this is the revised itinerary. Looks like seg49 already got loads of suggestions last month:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-in-europe.cfm

You say you have a year to plan this trip. Why don't you start taking each destination, one at a time, and look at what you really want to see there. Some of your choices are a mystery to me. For example, spending the same amount of time in Dubrovnik as in Paris.

Thanks so much for all of the responses. I am definitely open to feedback and appreciate it! I forgot to mention that I will be backpacking staying in hostels and staying with friends for the majority of the trip. When my husband meets up with me we will allow extra money to stay in hotels (yes I know Switzerland and Austria will be expensive).

The reason we are flying into Milan as this will be the best deal we can get flying from NZ through my friends work.

The reason for the massive 14 week trip is I can only take one extended period of leave every 3 years. And I will most likely have children in the next few years, so won't have an opportunity to go backpacking again (at least whileI'm young!). NZ holidays are in Europe's winter too, so can't go then! It also takes over 24 hours and Thousands of dollars to get from NZ to UK/Europe.

I know the trip is really fast paced but I thought it was an improvement on the original Contiki trip I looked at doing which is many more Countries in about half the time.

From your feedback:
- I will take out the quick trip to Loch Ness and perhaps do a day trip to Sterling/Rabbies.
- I am seriously consider ditching Ireland and adding that time to London/Paris part
- Thanks Isabel I like the idea of skipping Zurich and basing myself in two cities (Lucerne and Interlaken) and doing day trips etc. also like the idea of flying to Greece and using that traveling time to add a few more days to the Greek Islands. Although I do want to stay on Capri and not just do a day trip.
- Perhaps my husband could meet me in London instead of Frankfurt and then we could use those days to add to London/Amsterdam.
- I will definitely look at taking out some of the locations and basing myself in a few more places instead, especially in Italy and Belgium
- Thanks for the vote of confidence Dukey1, Thursdaysd, pariswat! I'm not put off by all the dream takers, Backpacking around Europe is definitely something I've always wanted to do, go and see as much as I can! I did ask for feedback so am open to all of those who say it will be too exhausting/whirlwind but as I said at least it's an improvement on a Contiki tour.
- I will look at train schedules etc in more detail closer to the time, just getting a general overview for now.
- Trip will be flexible but need to have a rough itinerary If I want to book a few cheap flights and get the appropriate rail pass etc. closer to the time.

Still open to more feedback, if you have any tips/ideas!

Cheers!

@bvlenci I have already done that and already taken out Barcelona/Madrid, Berlin, Copenhagen, Warsaw, Lithuania, and French Riviera. You should have seen my first itinerary :o!
I thought spending a bit more time in Croatia midway through would be a bit more relaxing and also it's a cheaper alternative. My husband has already seen Paris and isn't as keen on spending too much time there, I really just want to see the main sights (Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, Notre Dame de Paris..) But am definitely thinking of adding a couple of days to Paris now after hearing from others feedback.

We did a thirteen week trip in 2009 which included five, one week stays interspersed throughout the trip with the remaining time averaging about 3-4 days in each place, a couple two night stays: 23 locations in all. I felt the pace was just right. I loved those week long stays in apts. Felt like a 'vacation from our vacation'. Time to relax, do laundry, cook meals etc.

Our second trip of six weeks was done at a faster pace with many two night stays. Although we enjoyed it I really wished we had stayed longer, minimum three-four nights in each place. Having traveled both ways I much prefer the first, with longer stays interspersed amongst the short ones.

Well, I didn't even address the minute time in Paris, but even if your husband has been there, he's going back with YOU.

I'm not sure it would be possible for a person traveling solo to move themselves around as fast and furious as the pace of a Contiki tour (even if you wanted to).

Wow, that's my comment! I've always said that part of the joy of traveling is in the planning. Being lots older I can't imagine myself and wonder about you covering so much territory. Yes, you are a gutzy gal for sure. I've camped but never backpacked and you must be tough. Just about to see the movie The Wild. And I do understand that being from far away in New Zeeland and Australia it is not uncommon for someone to plan lengthy trips.

I would second isabel...less moving. Enjoyable travel is enhanced by time for soaking in the places visited. Yes, I see you have three days in some places.

You may want to re-think the order of your destinations, to create the most efficient movement from place to place. Your current itinerary has you practically circling the continent twice, which will eat up a lot of time and money. For example, you are leaving Zagreb to fly across the continent to Edinburgh, only to later swing back to Krakow, then later fly back across the continent to Paris. I assume you are on a budget, so cutting a few destinations as others have suggested, and then putting them in a logical and efficient order will maximize your budget, time, and enjoyment of the trip. Happy planning!

(use a map, plot it out, place to place as you now have it planned... see how the route looks)

anyone doing that much train travel should investigate some kind of railpass - and there are zillions from one country ones to global ones covering every country save the U K which has its own pass. Anyway for loads of great planning info on European trains check these info-laden sites: www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.seat61.com.

I think you are missing out on the most gorgeous part of Switzerland by not going to Alpine wonderlands like the fabulous Jungfrau Region around Interlaken - glacier-girdled peaks in view from hotel balconies in mellow hill towns like Wengen, Grindelwald or Murren - a myriad of toylike trains and thrilling aerial cableways going off inall directions - hiking trails from easy to advance energies - this is the Switzerland picture etched in many folks' minds but which will not be fulfilled in placdes like Zurich or Lucerne, nice as they are:

https://www.google.com/search?q=jung...=1600&bih=1075

Thanks for your replies they have been very helpful. Here is a possible revised itinerary. I feel like I need to add more time in Vienna and Krakow. What could I substitute this for? I am hoping that my husband will be able to meet me in Amsterdam instead of Frankfurt so I have taken this out. As well as advice to ditch Ireland, and some Italian locations. I found I can fly home from Prague for a similar price as paris so have changed that around to suit locations better. Advice on adding more to Switzerland is useful as this will probably be a highlight of the trip for my husband.
I realise this is still very ambitious and full on! But I love it.
Open to feedback on this. Thanks in Advance!

Saturday 16th April Fly NZ-AUS-Abu Dhabi (PLANE)
Sunday 17th April Arrive Abu Dhabi (Abu Dhabi)
Monday 18th April (Abu Dhabi)
Fly out Late (PLANE)
Tuesday 19th April Arrive Milan. Transfers to Lake Como (Lake Como1)
Wednesday 20th April Lake Como (Lake Como2)
Thursday 21st April Lake Como (Lake Como3)
Friday 22nd April Train to Milan (Store bags at station) ( Night train Milan - Naples)
Saturday 23rd April Naples or Sorrento (Naples1)
Sunday 24th April Naples or Sorrento (Naples2)
Monday 25th April Early Ferry to Isle of Capri (1 hour) (Capri1)
Tuesday 26th April Capri (Capri2)
Wednesday 27th April Capri (Capri3)
Thursday 28th April Ferry to Naples, train to Rome(4 hours) (Rome1)
Friday 29th April Rome (Rome2)
Saturday 30th April Rome (Rome3)
Sunday 1st May Rome (Rome4)
Monday 2nd May Rome (Rome5)
Tuesday 3rd May Train to Florence (4 hours) (Florence1)
Wednesday 4th May Florence (Florence2)
Thursday 5th May Florence (Florence3)
Friday 6th May Florence (Florence4)
Saturday 7th May Day trip to Pisa then train to Venice (Venice1)
Sunday 8th May Venice (Venice2)
Monday 9th May Venice (Venice3)
Tuesday 10th May Venice (Venice4)
Wednesday 11th May Fly To Athens (Athens1)
Thursday 12th May Athens (Athens2)
Friday 13th May Athens (Athens3)
Saturday 14th May Ferry Athens to Mykonos (7am) (Mykonos1)
Sunday 15th May Mykonos (Mykonos2)
Monday 16th May Mykonos (Mykonos3)
Tuesday 17th May Ferry to Santorini (3pm) (Sanotrini1)
Wednesday 18th May Santornini (Santorini2)
Thursday 19th May Santonrini (Santorini3)
Friday 20th May Ferry Santorini to Athens (3:30pm) (Athens1?)
Saturday 21st May Athens to Montenegro (Montenegro1)
Sunday 22nd May Montenegro (Montenegro2)
Monday 23rd May Bus to Dubrovnik (Dubrovnik1)
Tuesday 24th May Dubrovnik (Dubrovnik2)
Wednesday 25th May Dubrovnik (Dubrovnik3)
Thursday 26th May Bus to Split (Split1)
Friday 27th May Split (Split2)
Saturday 28th May Split - Day-trips (Split3)
Sunday 29th May Split to Plitvice Lakes National Park (Plitvice1)
Monday 30th May Plitvice to Zagreb (Zagreb1)
Tuesday 31st May Zagreb to Edinburgh (Edinburgh1)
Wednesday 1st June Edinburgh (Edinburgh2)
Thursday 2nd June Edinburgh (Edinburgh3)
Friday 3rd June Edinburgh (Edinburgh4)
Saturday 4th June Edinburgh (Edinburgh5)
Sunday 5th June Edinburgh (Edinburgh6)
Monday 6th June Edinburgh (Edinburgh7)
Tuesday 7th June Edinburgh -(Overnight train to London)
Wednesday 8th June London London1
Thursday 9h June London London2
Friday 10th June London London 3
Saturday 11th June London London 4
Sunday 12th June London London 5
Monday 13h June Eurostar to Paris (Paris1)
Tuesday 14st June Paris (Paris2)
Wednesday 15h June Paris (Paris3)
Thursday 16th June Paris (Paris4)
Friday 17th June Bus to Brussels (4 hours) (Brussels1)
Saturday 18th June Brussels (Brussels2)
Sunday 19th June Brussels (Brussels3)
Monday 20th June Early Train/Bus to Bruges (1 hour) (Bruges1)
Tuesday 21st June Bruges (Bruges2)
Wednesday 22nd June Train to Amsterdam (3.5hrs) (Amsterdam1)
Thursday 23rd June Amsterdam (Amsterdam2)
Friday 24th June Amsterdam (Amsterdam3)
Saturday 25th June Amsterdam (Overnight train to Zurich)
Sunday 26th June Train to Bern (1 hour) (Bern1)
Monday 27th June Bern (Bern2)
Tuesday 28th June Bern Train to Interlaken pm (1 hour) (Interlaken1)
Wednesday 29th June Interlaken (Interlaken2)
Thursday 30th June Interlaken (Interlaken3)
Friday 1st July Interlaken (Interlaken4)
Saturday 2nd July Train to Lucerne (Lucerne1)
Sunday 3rd July Lucerne (Lucerne2)
Monday 4th July Lucerne (Lucerne3)
Tuesday 5th July Train to Zurich (1 hour) Evening Train Zurich to Munich (Munich1)
Wednesday 6th July Munich (Munich2)
Thursday 7th July Munich (Munich3)
Friday 8th July Munich (Munich4)
Saturday 9th July Train Munich to Salzburg (Salzburg1)
Sunday 10th July Salzburg (Salzburg2)
Monday 11th July Salzburg (Salzburg3)
Tuesday 12th July Train to Vienna (2.5 hours) ((Vienna1)
Wednesday 13th July Vienna (Vienna2)
Thursday 14th July Train/Bus to Budapest (3.5 hours) (Budapest1)
Friday 15th July Budapest (Budapest2)
Saturday 16th July Budapest (Budapest3)
Sunday 17th July Bus/Fly to Krakow (Krakow1)
Monday 18th July Krakow (Krakow2)
Tuesday 19th July Krakow (Night Train to Prague)
Wednesday 20th July Prague (Prague1)
Thursday 21st July Prague (Prague2)
Friday 22nd July Prague (Prague3/Late Flight)
Saturday 24th July Travel Back To NZ
Sunday 25th July Arrive Back In NZ

How much time do you actually have at Plitvice? I stayed for two nights and had no trouble filling a full day. You may have to wait a while for a bus when you leave, so you need to start that wait early.

Too much time in Brussels - one day is plenty.

I would give more time to Vienna and less to Salzburg (but I have been to Austria four times and haven't been to Salzburg yet).

I would forget Bern or Lucerne and add time to Budapest.

thanks thursdaysd, I might put an extra night for Plitvice as you are right by the time I get there from Split it will already be after midday. Any recommendations on places to stay there? Is it easy enough to get the buses?

Will take out some time in Belgium. There doesn't seem to be a lot of love for Salzburg? A few friends have been and all recommended it, so that's why I have it on the itinerary. Am keen to hear others thoughts? Sights I had wanted to see: Hohensalzburg Castle, Cathedral, Hellbrunn Palace, Sound of Music Bike Tour, and House of Mozart

Bern - Was looking at doing a day trip from Bern to Broc – Maison Cailler Chocolate Factory which I heard was fantastic. also seeing Gurten Mountain

Lucrene - Mount Pilatus Day tour was recommended and would also like to see the famous Kapellbrücke.

I think it looks a LOT better regarding amount of overnights in each place. You have eliminated nearly 1/3 of your destinations. It is still an adventurous trip, but in a good way. I know you will enjoy this much much more.

Now the real fun begins: figuring out what to do in each location. Read up about each location. This just adds to the anticipation of the trip.

I went to Plitvice in 2004 and stayed at the Hotel Plitvice. Back then, if you weren't driving you basically had a choice of two hotels, don't know whether there are more options now. The hotel was fine.

Also, you waited at the bus stop out on the main road and hoped one of the buses would have an empty seat and stop for you. I think I waited about half an hour or so.