planning a wirlwind europe help required!
 

I’m looking for any advice for a tour around Europe.
We are two active travellers in early 30,s that are too old (and wise) to do the cheep contki thing.
The quick rundown is we have about 3/4 weeks to cram in as much as we can.....
I’ve looked at cosmos, globus, topdeck, Trafalgar and to be truthful I’m starting to get that overwhelmed feeling....of wanting to see way too much and thinking how am I going to fit this all in...
Any advice would be soooo wonderful....
Please help...

Do it on your own.
Average 3 nites per location---more for major cities
Make the next stop a max of 4 hours travel time
Fly open jaw--into one city home from the last stop

I would start in Paris and end in Rome with 5 stops between.
Start with WHEN and HOW LONG first.

This may also help:

http://www.slowtrav.com/europe/bob_planning.htm

Thanks
When... July next year(2010)
How long... 3 weeks

Agree with Bob except where you could make a town a base for day trip travel. Not having to pack, move, unpack (repeat as needed) will give you more sightseeing time.

Do you have some "gotta see" cities on your list?

Nightingale, take Bob's advice, he knows what he is talking about. Where do YOU want to go, you must have some ideas, a place or sight that you have always wanted to see? Start with this:
Get a good map of Europe then find an online calendar and print off July 2010, use a pencil so you can easily fiddle around and erase until you get something that you like the look of. So day 1 leave home, day 2,3,4,5 Paris? etc etc. Count off 3 or 4 weeks then mark that one with arrive home, then you get to fill in the blanks. You can even use parts of the Contiki tours to give you some ideas. See what you come up with, come back and post your itinerary so the very helpful travelers here can help you refine it. Best wishes.

We have taken several trips like that - just traveling to several countries in one trip. What countries do you want to see?

One thing to remember in your planning - it will be HOT in much of Italy, Spain, parts of France, etc. A/c is not all that common and almost nonexistent at the budget end of accommodations. Not to avoid Rome, Madrid or anyplace else you want - but just keep it in mind.

3 nights minimum in a destination is a good rule of thumb. 2 nights would be OK in some really small places. For major cities like Rome, Paris, or London, you'll want more like 4 or 5 nights.

another thing to remember is that it is easy to get overloaded with culture, so you end up having no idea what you saw where.

in a trip of this length, it is a good idea to factor in some down-time in between the big cities - a bit of R&R. this could be some time in an agritourismo in italy, a few days on the beach [or both?] or some activity like windsurfing on lake garda.

IMHO that's the way to avoid the overwhelming feeling you mention. it's impossible to see it all, so don't even try - go for constructing a trip that gives you more seeing than travelling, activity as well as culture, and some longer stays in cities like Paris and/or Rome.

finally, as there are only two of you, it isn't essential to book all your accommodation ahead, though in places like Rome and Paris, it's probably a good idea.

good luck with your planning,

regard, ann

thanks everyone for the reply..... I would love to do it on my own but my partner is a bir edgey about the whole idea....looks like a planned tour is the way we are heading.....Im going to pick the one that lets us have 2-3 in each city so any ideas on good things to do im keen for advice)(london,paris,rome,)thanks again...

http://tours.ricksteves.com/tours10/

After one tour, your partner will feel confident about traveling on your own.

Hi; Once you select a tour and know the cost, go to this company for a discount. They book with most of the major companies including the ones you mentioned [except topdeck]. The discount could be 10%. You will find that most of the people will be older. But usually, there are a few younger people to 'hang' with. There is always some 'free time' in each of the cities you visit. Keep in mind that most of the people on this web site do their own independent planning. We just returned from our 30th trip to Europe, planning our own agenda as where most of our others trips. However, we have taken four group tours and will do another next year. Richard www.cheapertravel.com/ We booked thru this company a Scandinavia tour for next near [our 50th] and received a discount. They have an A+ rating with the BBB

Thanks Iris1745 Il check it out.