"A ten day itinerary calls for a max of four destinations" (????)I absolutely disagree with this. My position is, maybe, different from yours; I'm European, so perhaps it's easier for me to plan my travels to others parts of Europe. But I definitely recommend to devote 5-7 days to any of the big cities (Rome, London, Paris, Viena....) If you finish with them beforewards (which I doubt) you can always visit the surrounding areas, which are generally beautifual and fully interesting. Anything shorter will only offer you the "surface"- not the real city. Last year, I spent 8 days in London... and it was not enough!

I forgot this in the last post: <BR>Iberia? Iberia is the name of an airline. Who could possibly wish to spend holidays there? I guess you mean Spain and Portugal, NOT Iberia. Please, remember it. I live in Spain, some of my friends in Portugal, but NONE OF US live in Iberia.

I have received much valuable advice on this forum, including the above but disagree on one point the experts seem to make over and over. That is the amount of time spent in each place. As Elvira said, if you are on your own there is the stress involved in finding hotels, etc that does not occur on a tour. I agree with that and would never try to do the 10 countries in 14 days that some tours do. However, there is nothing wrong with someone who has not done a lot of traveling wanting to see the "surface" of a city or area. My first time in Paris was two days (3 nights). Was it enough? No, but it was sooooooo much better than not having gone at all, I enjoyed it tremendously and it helped me know what I wanted to do the next time. There is nothing wrong with a trip that introuduces you to many different places, it's different from a trip where you "get to know the locals", etc. and feel you "have covered" a place. But it is not wrong. Just please bear in mind when you give advice that some people can only afford one trip every several years. Yes they may go back again, but it might not be for many years, and help them sample as much as is realistic.

Of course, Iberia is a geographic designation, not a country nor an airline. Should I have said " Iberian peninsula" ?

I agree with Bob--what is wrong with that term--makes good sense to me.

Amen !

ttt

Here is an old classic that may help some in their planning.

I realize this was an old post of Mr. Navigator, but someone has seen fit to resurrect it. So I will give in and reply.<BR><BR>I think Bob Brown summed it up well - one needs to have cultivated a love for exploration, a love for the process of finding the answer, as well as a love for the answer itself.<BR><BR>Why don't people just 'pick up a book'? Maybe because for many people, such a thing is associated with only tense and stressful situations, like cramming for an exam, or tedious ones, such as when someone forced on them a book that was poorly written. Either way, somewhere along the line some people didn't develop any confidence in using books or other written material. <BR><BR>Furthermore, asking a question is as much an art as supplying an answer. Remember the famous line in Douglas Adams' &quot;The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy&quot; - the answer to the riddle of the universe was: 42.<BR><BR>Forty-two? Asks one of the characters. What's that supposed to tell us? Comes the reply: What was the question? : - )<BR><BR>(Actually, 42 is the year-to-date of February 11th, which coincidentally was the day before I submitted this post. )

By request, topping this oldie !

thanks for reposting this. I'm planning my second trip to Europe (Bavaria) and it's much more complicated than my first (to Paris for 2 weeks). I've had moments of feeling overwhelmed, despite Bavaria Bens great site and all the info here. <BR>Marge