Need help planning 1st European trip. England, Munich, Italy
 

I'm in dire need of help! I have an rough itinerary My Father(58) and I(35) will be flying into London from Atlanta on September 11th. The entire trip will be from Sept. 11th until Sept. 25th.

Sept 11 Arrive in London
unsure where to sleep
Sept 12
London Eye
Big Ben
House of Parliament
River Trip from Westminster Bridge to Tower Pier
Eat in Tower of London
Yeoman Tour

Sept 13
Trafalgar Square
Changing of the guards
Green park toward Piccadilly
stop at Fortnum&Mason
Piccadilly Circus
St. Pauls Cathedral - Whispering Gallery

Sept 14
Rental car??
Stone Henge
*St. John the Baptist Farrington Gurney
*Holy Trinity Pailton
**Both churches are a must, the site that married 5 generations of my family
Bath

From this point I'm unsure if it would be best to fly straight to Munich or train to Paris then to Munich. The only things in France that would interest me would be Omaha Beach, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and some French Countryside.

I need to be in Munich Friday 16th and will be meeting local friends for Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th for Oktoberfest, several local sites and activities.

Monday 19th
Rent car: Day trip to Eagles nest

Tuesday
Leave Munich visit Neuschwarstein on the way to Italy, Possibly stay in the night somewhere around Venice to Tuscany ending in Rome where we will fly out. on Sunday the 25th. Nothing is planned or booked so we are very open to whatever suggestions are available.

Thanks in advance for all the help.

I sure as heck hope you mean Paulton and not Pailton. Otherwise your Sept 14 is impossible,

But you really <B>REALLY</B> need to re-plan a lot of this. For instance you can't travel from Somerset to the Normandy Beaches, on to Paris and get to Munich in 1.5 days.

If it was me and I had to visit those places in SW England and must be in Munich by the 17th . . . JUST do London/Somerset and then on to Munich.

London Sept 11-14, travel out to LHR to collect a car, visit Stonehenge and the two villages/churches on the 15th, fly to Munich either the evening of the 15th or morning of the 16th. You can fly from Bristol or LHR to Munich.

meant to add -- there are <i>issues</i> with your London plans because things are scattered all over and not grouped so they make the most sense . . . but we can help you tweak things after the big issue of the over all plan is settled.

I think you need to study the places with visiting hours and sequence the visits. For example, on Sept 13, you will probably get to St. Paul's cathedral after it has closed the door to sight seeing visitors. They also close at other hours for special services. On Sept 12, the Yeoman Tour is the same issue. The last Yeoman Tour is around 3:30pm. You would probably not make it if you plan it at the end of the day.

Beware that if you are not staying with your friend, the accommodation in Munich during the Oktoberfest is very tight and also very expensive. 9/17 is the opening day of the festival.

Have you been to Europe before? I understand that everyone has different interests but two days for London barely scratches the city. I'm not exactly sure where your churches are but a google search shows locations near Bath and Birmingham. If this is so I have no idea how you are going to accomplish this from London in one day while including Bath and Stonehenge unless you are just driving by. I would skip France and spend the 15th in London and fly to Munich on the 16th. Driving to Rome will take probably about 10+ hours the fastest route and might be expensive with drop off charges plus extra insurance for Italy. Stopping and exploring places along the route leaves you little time for Rome. Driving into Italian cities is also a challenge and one that I do not enjoy even with GPS. I would keep it simple and fly to Rome for the rest of your trip.

>>shows locations near Bath and Birmingham. <<

That is why I posted >>I sure as heck hope you mean Paulton and not Pailton. Otherwise your Sept 14 is impossible,<<

Paulton is in Somerset near Farrington Gurney -- Pialton as typed in the OP is up in the midlands. I hope it was just a typo.

Thanks for all the responses, And yes this will be our first trip outside of the US.

The London Portion was planned by Londondrum 2 day London Tour and another site i found all of the hours should line up with the dates of the trip, I made sure the dates were right but if I need to adjust please let me know where I should move things to make the most of the trip.

Yes it was a Typo, I did mean Paulton and not Pailton. Farrington Gurney and Paulton are a short distance from each other.

Since the 2 are with 30-45 min drive from Bath would you recommend staying in bath or just skip bath all together?

I read that Stonehenge realistically you wont spend more than 2-3 hours. So arrive at Stonehenge when it opened @ 9:30 to be finished by 12.

Arrive at the churches around 2 visiting them shouldn't take more than 3 hours and bath is only 30-45 mins away. Realistically getting to Bath around 1730-1800.

I'm absolutely open to any ideas. I realize Munich is going to be chaos and expensive, so skipping France all together is fine with me. Having local help I'm not so much worried about Munich,however, Italy we have basically have open plans after the following Tuesday after Oktoberfest until we return home. I would love to see Venice and some of towns Italy but if it is best to just fly that is an option. Honestly I have no idea what to plan from Tuesday to Sunday. Thanks for all the help!

Also where do you recommend staying in or around London? I would like to stay around 200 a night or less. But if it will be easier to spend a little extra to make the most out of our stay we can adjust our budget a bit.

I'd stay in the nite in Bath--very interesting city. Get up the next day to see the Roman Baths and then depart.

Totally in favor of skipping France on this trip.

Re Italy: As you're leaving from Munich, spending a day or two in Venice makes sense. You can easily get between the two via rail or flight or auto. Give the time you have, two days is enough for a first visit. So maybe spend one nite (Tuesday) and take a latish train or plane Wednesday to Rome. You don't have enough time to see anything else in Italy, IMO.

>>I would like to stay around 200 a night or less.<<

200 what? $, £, €, or something else?

>>The London Portion was planned by Londondrum 2 day London Tour <<

I don't care who planned it -- it doesn't make sense. I've not heard of that website but really if these are examples of their advice:

for day 1 >>It’s probably way past lunchtime by now, so have a bite to eat in the Tower of London. <<

and for day 2 >>It should be about lunchtime by now, so how about taking some Afternoon tea at the world-famous Ritz Hotel? << and >>No trip to London would be complete without a photo of yourself standing underneath the Eros fountain. << . . .


Forget that website -- it seems to be someone regurgitating descriptions from various guidebooks and travel sites.

janisj "and for day 2" I hope you realise that is another laptop I've ruined with a spray of tea.

My only advice is get to the tower before it opens and eat somewhere else. The Houses of P and Queen Elizabeth II tower are, at best a drive by. The eye, really depends on the weather. Check the BBC app on the day and choose when you go up with care.

I'd drop the changing of the g. Very dull, what might be worth watching out for is the horse guards trotting down the Mall which is far more fun and only takes a few minutes. Picadilly are you sure?

Actually, everything on day 1 is right on the river so, if you rejigged the order, isn't undoable. I'd probably start at the Tower in the morning, then cruise along the river in the afternoon, getting off at Westminister (or Embankment if using the Thames Clipper). Then after seeing Big Ben and HP, cross over Westminister Bridge and walk to the Eye in the early evening.

Day 2 - Changing of the Guard is a waste of time, so ditch it, but Green Park (or St James park), Piccadilly and Fortnums are all close together so that will work fine. You might like the Imperial War museum or Churchill War Rooms too as they are not a million miles away - sort of takes you back to Westminster again, but not a big deal imho

Can only agree that you completely recast London. Whoever gave you that advice has obviously never been there.

London is a huge city and sights are spread out over a large area and it takes some time - even by tube to get from one lace to another (which appears not to have been allowed for).

For Tower of London go there first thing - get there before it opens - since it is the most important sight and will take the longest. Get a map, check out where the other sights are and what hours they are open (check their web sites - not some people trying to sell you a fairy tale) and reorg the sights in a way that maks sense.

You do NOT have time for France - you would have to add 2 or 3 days to do/see what you want.

Do NOT drive from Germany to Italy. The rental car drop off charge will be huge and you are just going city to city so a car makes no sense. Take the train instead o it will be faster and you can relax and see some scenery.

To see the basics in Rome you need 3 full days (4 nights) - and I would spend any extra time in Venice. Not that you cannot use a car in Venice (obviously since there are no streets) and in much of Rome (much of the historic center is pedestrian only with large fines for trying to enter with a car).

I would revise your itinerary given the advice her and people can help you refine and make suggestions on lodgings - and do you want to limit this this to US$200 per night and will one double bed work for you.

Yes, you are indeed in dire need of help. You do NOT have time for France, not at all, and driving from Germany to Italy will cost you a fortune. Take the train if you must do this. Listen to the others on this thread for good advice.