Please Critique my rough Iten
 

Here it goes! I know the general view on this forum is to maximize time in one place however this will be our last trip to Europe and we want to see every where we haven't!
We will be leaving May 4 2012
Day 1 Leave Atl Fly to Barcelona
Day 2 tour Barcelona
Day 3 tour Barcelon take afternoon train to Madrid
Day 4 Madrid
Day 5 Madrid evening train to Seville (Unless anyone has a better place)
Day 6 Seville
Day 7 day trip from Seville to somewhere
Day 8 Fly to CPH to get on a baltic cruise
Cruise for 9 days
Day 1 After cruise Tour CPH
Day 2 fly or train to Munich
Day 3 Munich
Day 4 Day trip from Munich to Neuschwanstein and Linderholf
Day 5 Day trip to romantic road, Rothenburg, Harburg
Day 6 Day trip to Ettal Monestary and Zugspitze
Day 7 Train from munich to Slazburg tour
Day 8 Tour salzburg
day 9 Day trip from salzburg to austrian lakes and mountians
Day 10 Salzburg-Vienna tour vienna
day 11 tour vienna
Day 12 Day trip to Budapest
Day 13 Train to Prague
Day 14 day trip to terezin concentration camp
Day 15 tour Prague
Day 16 EXHAUSTED fly home.

I know this is crazy busy! I want to make sure we are getting the most for our time!

Regarding the Spain portion:

You have 6 nights and want to visit Madrid, Barcelona & Sevilla. This is crazy rushed. You'll barely be over jetlag and heading from Barcelona to Madrid. You won't see much at all in Barcelona. One full day for Madrid and Sevilla is very short. Many people would focus on ONE city (w/daytrips) for 6 nights (Barcelona OR Madrid OR perhaps Sevilla & Granada). At most I'd visit 2 of your Spain destinations but not all 3.

Overall, I don't think even organized tours, famous for "if it's Tuesday it must be Belgium" type tours, are this fast paced. I understand the desire to maximize but I'd cut it down a bit or you won't have many memories of much except moving around from place to marking sites off a checklist as you go.

Sorry to be so critical but you asked for opinions :)

If you're traveling as a family I'd definately slow it down. I thought perhaps this was geared to a very young couple with LOTS of stamina.

I did a couple of crazy trips when I was in my 20's (not quite as fast paced as this but pretty nuts) and looking back wished I had slowed it down. I barely gave myself time to sit down at a cafe and enjoy a meal.

But if you're older and/or traveling with children I'd definately cut back at the risk of being miserable.

<i>I know this is crazy busy! I want to make sure we are getting the most for our time!</i>

Well...the way to get the most of your time is to minimize the time spent on trains, buses, and checking into and out of hotels. Each of your "day trips" will spend way too much time traveling to and back.

You have planned things in such a way as to get the LEAST out of your time!

A few notes/suggestions:
Two destinations in Spain - max.
Only one full day exploring Munich? Not enough.
You have NINE destinations in Germany! ?!?
Zugspitze alone is a full day's hiking.
Pick ONE destination is Austria for your few days there: Mountains or lakes or Salzburg or Vienna. Not all.
A week in Prague is reasonable and even allows for a day trip to Terezin. The idea of only one full day touring Prague is bewildering.
Budapest is not even a "day trip" - cut it as well.

I hope you are the type who can take constructive advice and not get defensive. I suspect most people here who have visited all these places (over a series of five or more trips, not one) will all also be advising you to cut way back as well.

Best of luck and looking forward to a revised plan.

Okay thanks I will take your advise now just to decide what to cut!

IMHO your trip is most crowded at the beginning and the end. you could improve it a lot by tweaking those bits-eg by dropping Madrid you could spend 4 nights in Barcelona then fly from Barcelona to Seville and spend three nights there. [forget about the day trip, you'll have quite enough to do in Seville].

then after your cruise, you have a nice long time in Munich, but go and spoil it by cramming too much in afterwards. As Bardo says, pick either the lakes and mountains of the Salzkammergut, OR Salzburg, OR Vienna. Drop Budapest, and add at least a day to Prague.

have a great trip!

You have to consider the fact that much of the time will be traveling between places and getting settled in to hotels, etc. That will take away from the time to really experience the location. Your thought of "getting the most of your time" is not going to be achieved at this pace.

I think you really need to prioritize. Seeing everything but not remembering anything, is hardly worth it. But cutting back your itinerary so you can really have a chance to take in the places you visit, will give you a much better experience over all, even if you have to skip some destinations.

Try this:

Day 1-4 = BCN
Day 4-8 = to Madrid, see Madrid (day trip Toledo)
Day 8 = bugger off for the cruise
[Cruise]
Day 1-3 = Copenhagen and some down time
Day 3-7 = Munich stuff
Day 7-11 = Salzburg area
Day 11-16 = Prague, etc. (Terezin, Karlstejn, etc.)

Skip Vienna and Budapest or skip Salzburg and go to Vienna. You can't daytrip to Budapest from Vienna unless you want to spend as much time in transit as in Budapest, and Budapest is worth more than that.

That's 33 days of go with a little less gogogogogogogo than your itinerary but still time to see things. You're not Australian - it's not that hard to get from Atlanta to Europe so you don't need to see everything in one trip.

I have to say that Taylort771 has an interesting list of posting under the belt since July. May seems to be a very busy month, Europe, Asia, Oahu...

I noticed a couple of purely logistical hiccups things with your original itinerary;

you had yourself flying from Seville to CPH - that would be some tough and/or expensive connections.

Copenhagen to Munich by train would take the better part of a whole day - fly it.

Budapest as a day trip is a bridge too far.

Apart from that I would suggest a few tweaks that will get you just about everywhere you want to go (except Budapest) but save you from being carried back on to the plane in Prague.

I hate to limit Seville as only a day trip here (just got back a few weeks ago) but you really should afford Barcelona and Madrid 3 nights each especially considering jet lag, your need to get to CPH, and the fact that Seville CAN be done as a decent day trip from Madrid on the high speed AVE train.

Here is my suggestion, next to your original, with the differences described The "Yup"s are, of course "Yes"s.

Day 1 Yup Leave Atl Fly to Barcelona
Day 2 Yup tour Barcelona
Day 3 Barcelona tour Barcelon take afternoon train to Madrid
Day 4 Barcelona to Madrid train Madrid
Day 5 Madrid Madrid evening train to Seville
Day 6 Madrid Seville
Day 7 Seville day trip from Madrid day trip from Seville to somewhere
Day 8 Yup Fly to CPH to get on a baltic cruise

Cruise for 9 days

Day 1 Yup After cruise Tour CPH
Day 2 Fly Munich fly or train to Munich
Day 3 Yup Munich
Day 4 Yup Day trip from Munich to Neuschwanstein and
Day 5 Munich Day trip to romantic road, Rothenburg,
Day 6 Rothenburg day trip Day trip to Ettal Monestary and Zugspitze
Day 7 Yup Train from munich to Slazburg tour
Day 8 Yup Tour salzburg
day 9 Yup Day trip from salzburg to austrian lakes
Day 10 Yup Salzburg-Vienna tour vienna
day 11 Yup tour vienna
Day 12 Vienna Day trip to Budapest
Day 13 Yup Train to Prague
Day 14 Yup day trip to terezin concentration camp
Day 15 Yup tour Prague
Day 16 YUP EXHAUSTED fly home.

Thanks all

I know ideas/plans change . . . But I am a bit confused about this whole thing. How can you fly into Spain May 4 to start a month long trip when you are flying Atlanta to Hawaii on May 9??

Janis: it's like the Flashman papers, the timing doesn't have to make sense, it just is.

We were trying to decide on where to go for a spring trip. We have chosen europe... I dont see the problem here?

We have chosen europe... I dont see the problem here?>>

Taylor - I only frequent the europe board and the lounge [Ok, and africa sometimes] but some fodorites are regulars on more boards than that, and if you have posted multiple threads covering the same time-frame, they are bound to wonder if you are just "shaking our tree".

So, it's great that you've chosen europe, and you've had some terrific advice here to help you plan - so you should have a great trip.

<<We were trying to decide on where to go for a spring trip. We have chosen europe... I dont see the problem here?>>

Then that settles it, no conflict.

Still think you should pare down some of the destinations as I indicated before - there has to be some down time when you're post-cruise, esp. because you'll have been traveling 2.5 weeks by then and likely getting somewhat tired.

Oh I see... No thats not what settled it we have been thinking about it for several weeks and this is also what our grandsons preferred. We will cut it down some just have to decide where!
Thanks again

Oh - Taylor 771, no problem. As Annhig says many of us see and/or answer threads on several different boards.

On both this thread and the HI one you said things like "<i>We are flying Atlanta to HI on May 9</i>" and "<i>We will be leaving May 4 2012</i>". Instead of something like >>Our family is thinking of . . .<< or >>We are trying to decide . . .<<

Not at all a criticism . . . Just trying to explain why we had some doubts.

You'll have a great time :)

No problem, but it just seems to me that I'm reading something written by a teenager, not his/her parents, someone more used to texting friends, not writing a business proposal. Just an observation...