Need Help Planning 37 Days Backpacking
 

Hi, so ill be leaving July 14th and coming home August 19th from Budapest. Trying to fill out the days. Only thing I want to do is see Bayern Munich play. Ideally it will be August 9th but schedules won't come out for another week. But I'd like to have an idea or a rough draft of what I'm doing.. Here's my first idea.

Budapest 2 days
Belgrade 3 days
Lviv 3 days - Sofia, Bucharest, or Odessa all fit in this spot. Not sure which is really the best. Somewhere in Croatia or even Riga I can fit in somewhere before I fly to Italy.
Krakow - 3 days
Bratislava - 2 days
Vienna - 1 day
Naples /Amalfi Coast - 3 days
Rome - 4 days
Florence - 3 days
Munich - 4 days
French Riviera - 6 days
Budapest - 2 days

Nothing is set in stone except for Budapest and things can quickly change trip wise. But I like this so far.

I did Western Europe earlier 7 cities in 21 days here's what I liked and didn't like

I Liked - Paris Barcelona and Berlin
It was okay - Amsterdam London and Prague
Wouldn't go back - Brussels


I'm interested in the beach, girls, anything medieval, old cathedrals, good beer and a decent nightlife. Barcelona was my favorite party scene. Low cost would be ideal but I understand going to Munich, France and Italy won't be that cheap.

Anyways. I'm mid 20s single guy if that helps thanks in advance!

I highly recommend that you post this on the Thorntree message board as the audience there is more backpackers than on this forum...

Thanks. I'll do that.

Are you going by train? If so you are traveling so many places by train you may want to look into some kind of railpass and if you are under 26 then you can get the bargain Eurail Youthpasses that are valid in all your countries - anyway some great rail planning sites: www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com - download the latter's free and superb IMO European Planning & Rail Guide for lots of suggested rail itineraries, maps, etc. In countries on your list except Italy and France a pass lets you hop on any train anytime with few exceptions.

Take overnight trains, which roll between zillions of European cities to save time and the cost of a night in a hotel or hostel.

I'm 26 unfortunately. Looked at the price of a Eurail pass and it just doesn't weigh up to what I Need. A mix of train bus and plane it will be though.

You could look at the Eastern Europe Pass for trains in Austria, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Czech Republic - lots cheaper than a Eurailpass and you can hop on any train anytime.

I am not sure how you are moving around between those first several cities (or why you selected them)... But I might spend a bit of time reconstructing that part of the trip. (Some cities just are not easily or well connected by any means).

I might go Budapest to Zagreb (not Belgrad... And certainly not for 3 days). This is a 6 hour train ride. I would not go to Sofia... If you want to stay in this general neck of the woods, I might head farther to Sarajevo .... Thru Mostar to the coast of Croatia... If you do not have this kind of time, I would go tollublijana direct from zagreb - a short ride - then to bratislava.

Given your age and interests, I would spend two nights in Bratislava... And day trip Vienna on your full day (catch the blaguss bus from Novy most).

At this point, you could train to krakow... ESP. If you can get a cheap krakow to Naples flight.

I think this improves the quality of the cities you are seeing... And all these legs are doable via train or bus.

The back half of your trip is a bit logistically challenged... Make sure you know how (and even if) you can make these connections.

I spent 2 or 3 hours yesterday trying to figure out how to get back from the Slovenia coast to my home in Budapest.... All options, any price... Not easy.

Good luck!

Not sure why you are nixing Belgrade. Looked quite a party place to me.

Honestly, only because I looked at what he liked... And I have never seen a list which included:Paris, Barcelona, Berlin, Belgrad (appears the choices span beyond partying).

Not sure how Paris became a little face... (As I too love Paris!)