Please guide how to manage , each destination approach , travel time
 

i would like to visit Europe in july 2012 with my family includes wife and two sons age 11 and 16
please guide me for 5star hotel booking ,route , each station stay to conclude in 20 days for following countries from kuwait & back
Spain: Madrid 1N, Barcelona 2N, France: Cannes, Nice 2N, Eze, Paris 2N, Monaco: Monte Carlo, Italy: Pisa 1N, Rome 1N, Florence 1N, Venice, Padova 1N, Vatican: Vatican City, Austria: Wattens, Innsbruck 1N, Liechtenstein: Vaduz, Switzerland: Schaffhausen, Zurich, Lucerne 3N, Engelberg, Lauterbrunnen, Jungfraujoch, Interlaken, Germany: Titisee, Cologne 1N, Netherlands (Holland): Den Hague, Amsterdam 1N, Belgium: Brussels 1N, England: London 3N, Windsor, Oxford.

WAY too many destinations. Travel time, packing and unpacking each day will leave you with NO time to really see or appreciate anything. You really need to narrow down your itinerary to a maximum of 4-5 destinations and even that is stretching it.

OK -- if you are <i>serious</i> . . . you have <B>33 destinations</B> and just 20 days. Now, I know you don't plan on sleeping in a few of those places -- but your list is <u>totally impossible</u>. Even by hiring a private executive jet and then a limo in each city, you could not visit all those places in 20 days.

back to the drawing board for you . . . You need to completely re-focus on at most 5 or 6 cities.Or take a guided tour -- but even the craziest tour wouldn't cover that much ground in 20 days.

This is one of the best yet! Surely the most appropriate advice is go see a travel agent.

A travel agent is an excellent idea for you. The agent will be able to plan an itinerary with five-star hotels.

The trip report would be a great read though

Oh my, I'm afraid you will spend your entire trip either on a plane, train, or in a car! With 20 days, I would recommend you see only 3 countries at the most (and personally, I would only choose 1 or 2).

Best of luck!!

Is this a joke? Maybe you can help me out. I've got a week (7 nights) and want to see Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, India, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and all of North Africa.

well, Paris does at least get 2 nights, and London 3.

I'd need a month's holiday to recover from a trip like that!

if you're serious, AJU, you need a complete rethink. and a map.

In France you are going from Cannes to Paris and back to Monte Carlo, and in Italy from Pisa to Rome to Florence to the Vatican [with several places in between] - or is this just a list of random places you've heard about but don't know what's there? [though you do give Luzern 3 nights which suggests that you have a reason for going there at least].

you have 20 days [including travel days?] that's 19 nights, and actually 18 days doing/seeing things. every time you move you can reckon on losing 1/2 day, so if you visit 6 places in your 18 days, you're down to 15 days. that's not long to see Europe.

AND you have two kids in tow, and if they are anything like most teenage boys I have met, they will want to be doing and seeing, not sitting in a car or train all the time.

IMHO you will all get the most out of this trip if you concentrate on 3-4 places, and make them different types of places. At least one should have an opportunity for the boys to do some sport - eg swimming or windsurfing. you could do much worse than concentrate on Italy - Fly into Venice, then go to Riva on lake Garda [windsurfing heaven] down to Rome for the colosseum etc. and then fly to Paris before going home.

now that would be a trip to remember! [for all the right reasons].

Hi, welcome to Fodors. I think you are asking about
Spain: Madrid 1N, Barcelona 2N,
France: Cannes, Nice 2N, Eze, Paris 2N,
Monaco: Monte Carlo,
Italy: Pisa 1N, Rome 1N, Florence 1N, Venice, Padova 1N, Vatican: Vatican City,
Austria: Wattens, Innsbruck 1N,
Liechtenstein: Vaduz,
Switzerland: Schaffhausen, Zurich, Lucerne 3N, Engelberg, Lauterbrunnen, Jungfraujoch, Interlaken,
Germany: Titisee, Cologne 1N,
Netherlands (Holland): Den Hague, Amsterdam 1N,
Belgium: Brussels 1N,
England: London 3N, Windsor, Oxford.

What does "each station stay" mean, are you traveling by train?
What does "each destination approach" mean?

Do you have a preffered list of hotels, 5 star is pretty meaningless in Europe

bilbo - i don't think that the OP's 1st language is english, so we shouldn't criticise him for that.

after all, he has bigger problems if he thinks he's going to see all of this in 20 days.

I took your list to mean - as 2 examples:

>><i>Lucerne 3N, Engelberg, Lauterbrunnen, Jungfraujoch, Interlaken,</i><<

Three nights in Lucerne to use as a base for seeing Engelberg, Lauterbrunnen, Jungfraujoch and Interlaken

and

>><i>London 3N, Windsor, Oxford</i><<

Three nights in London to base for Oxford and Windsor.

Not that you'd sleep in all 33 destinations.

And I don't <i>think</i> you meant traveling in that specific order of things since you asked for help with the route.

But even w/ that your proposed plan is totally impossible.

Hey AJU,

Most politely and respectfully - you are nuts.

In 20 days you would be very rushed to visit France, Switzerland and Germany.

((I))

Perhaps a flux capacitor would help...but I'm not sure you can buy one that runs on 220 V power. :-)

SS

Sure, your itinerary is no problem at all. Many of us have done the exact same trip. Not only is it possible, but it is also very inexpensive to do it this way, as you seldom need to get a hotel room. I wouldn't waste time eating or bathing either.

Oh man, two weeks in a row and I just cannot keep from being "snarky"

:-)

dave

annehig, not "getting at" OP just don't understand what he means, looking for any advice. Jansij has given me a bit more understanding, I think the OP needs a pro-travel agent.

yes, i think that jj has interpreted the OP somewhat better than we did, bilbo.

i don't know about a travel agent, I think he'll probably need to lie down in a darkened room after he reads this!

daveesl - i don't think you're being snarky, just realistic.

OK, Really decide what you want to see in the three or four places you most want to see.

For example: Rome. Do you want to see the Vatican, Sistine Chapel, Colosseum, Pantheon, Trevi fountain, etc.? Figure out how much time that will take.

Put your three or four most important places together and map out travel times. It is generally best to focus on countries or cites that are closer together or easily reached by train, cheap flights, etc. because you actually have more sight seeing time and it will be cheaper. By really focusing, you will actually see many more things.

Renting a car in one country and dropping it off in another will be very expensive. You might want to rent a car only when you are going to be driving around in the countryside for two or three days.

Some European countries are bigger than people usually think. With 20 days, you might want to concentrate on two or three countries with only two or three bases in each country.

Stars for European hotels stand only for amenities not quality. So having an elevator and small restaurant might boost a hotel up a notch, and it might not be as good as an unrated hotel. So take advice from Fodorites who have travelled for recs, not just stars.

Are you military on leave? If so, I and a few others on the board can give you information that will be more help.

Folks, there is no way this is a real request.

Just think what his honeymoon was like.

"<i>Are you military on leave?</i>" OK -- I'll bite, what on earth suggests that might even be a possibility?

Maybe the eight U.S. military bases in Kuwait?

AJU,

The only way to do it is a coach tour. (I'm not recommending this, just giving you an example)

http://www.globalcoachtours.com/t-th...pean-1776.aspx

"<i>Maybe the eight U.S. military bases in Kuwait?</i>"

If you read the OP it would seem pretty obvious English isn't their first language and they probably aren't a military family.

And yes, I DO know about the bases - my ex and two friends were stationed there at various times.

I don't even think a coach tour would go at this pace....

Since he was coming from Kuwait and returning, I thought there was at least a slight possibility he was meeting up with his family for leave. There are quite a few people in our military who do not speak English as their first language.
I thought he was simply trying to make his request short. Hope he comes back.

Thanks for reply ,regards

The troll DID return.

Sure gave us a lot of feedback-huh ;)

perhaps we upset him!

If this is not a troll - and I assume it is - there is no way all of these places can be seen in 20 days - unless you hire a private plane and look at most of them from the air. Just the trains or flights between places will take longer than the time you have.

In 20 days it makes sense to stop in 4 different places (not 4 countries - but 4 cities). From some you may be able to take 1 day trip. this is still moving at a fast pace.''Decide which places you really HAVE to see and come back and tell us what they are. We can then help you put them in order and make recos on top-scale hotels if that is what you want ( but assume that you want either 2 rooms or a 2 bedroom suite - hotels will be more than $1000 per night).

Some (many) of you folks should be ashamed of yourselves. bilboburger, Sassafras, janisj, nytraveler, and zeppole being are the most obvious exceptions.

I believe this post is from a non-English speaker who has likely never been to Europe before. What they have done is to provide a wish list all the places they want to see, and where they either think they should, or want to, spend their nights.

The condescension and snide remarks are disgusting. You sound like a bunch of bullies snickering and laughing at someone while pointing at them. In other words, a wonderful display of middle school maturity.

I'm not saying I have any practical answers to assist the OP in fulfilling this decidedly aggressive wish list of sights in 20 days, but perhaps something other than mocking is on order. I think we all know that not all of these places can be seen in 20 days without a private jet and chauffeur. Who knows, maybe the OP has one - I am certainly available as a tour guide and logistics planner if so.

AJU - Can you provide more information on how you wish to do this. Fly into one city and depart from another (Madrid - London, perhaps?).

- Are these just places you would like to fit in if they can be managed at the pace that you like to travel? Are you comfortable with 8 1N stops that may be preceded and followed by long days of travel, including flights one either side?

- Do you plan to fly at all between these destinations or do you intend to take the train and or/drive some of the route portions?

- If you decide that the routing will be too difficult, are there regions that you would be willing to take off the list?

Aramus, thank you for a thoughtful response.

I believe that a tour might be the best option for this poster. Fodorites are not typically package tour people, but an upscale tour could take the difficult connections off your planning plate and will help with luggage and accommodations.

Welcome to Fodors. Good luck with your trip plans.

aramis - i reread what I wrote and see nothing snide in it at all.

were I going to Kuwait, i would be grateful if someone [or in this case, someones] took the time to make some practical suggestions to stop me making a very expensive mistake.

Ignore aramis: Has taken it upon him/herself to blast anyone who ever posts an honest reply to an impossible itinerary. Has been on a bit of a crusade for the last couple of months.

No one snickered or bullied. I bent over backward to explain how some were misinterpreting what the OP posted and that they didn't intend to stay in all of those places. What on earth is rude or bullying about saying they have to go back to the drawing board?

>><blue>OK -- if you are serious . . . you have 33 destinations and just 20 days. Now, I know you don't plan on sleeping in a few of those places -- but your list is totally impossible. Even by hiring a private executive jet and then a limo in each city, you could not visit all those places in 20 days.

back to the drawing board for you . . . You need to completely re-focus on at most 5 or 6 cities.Or take a guided tour -- but even the craziest tour wouldn't cover that much ground in 20 days.</blue><< Not rude

>><blue>I took your list to mean - as 2 examples:

>>Lucerne 3N, Engelberg, Lauterbrunnen, Jungfraujoch, Interlaken,<<

Three nights in Lucerne to use as a base for seeing Engelberg, Lauterbrunnen, Jungfraujoch and Interlaken

and

>>London 3N, Windsor, Oxford<<

Three nights in London to base for Oxford and Windsor.

Not that you'd sleep in all 33 destinations.

And I don't think you meant traveling in that specific order of things since you asked for help with the route.

But even w/ that your proposed plan is totally impossible.</blue><< Not rude

I personally think aramis just looks for posts by certain members so HE can be snide and rude.

Yup, aramis is the self-appointed Fodors do-gooder these days.Even more obnoxious than folks who want to see 33 cities in 22 days. Holier than Thou and all that. Really rude and obnoxious - way more than the folks that just talk tough about how a trip can't happen the way someone wants it to. Way more.

janisj - you were noted as an exception. It would help if you read before responding.

annhig - "perhaps we upset him" is snide, and so is supporting what daveesl wrote.

St. Cirq - If you keep trying maybe you will convince yourself.

AJU, some serious advice for you.

I can understand how you want to see so many places – Europe is like that. Packed full of fascinating things to see.

First, try to establish what it is that you want to see. Art galleries? Churches? Roman Ruins? Historical sights?? The field is almost endless, and many travellers have some idea of what they are looking for. You can’t see everything.

A map is good, as well as several guide books.

For three weeks, it would be smart to limit yourselves to no more than five or six hotels at most. It takes half a day to move from place to place, and longer if you are flying. The plan that you have proposed shows that you are staying in 13 different hotels, and the time taken to move from place to place will eat up almost all your time.

Plan on flying into one city, flying home from another. It’s a good idea also to include your wife and sons in the planning, have them do some of the research and work out what they want to see.

THIS PACKAGE FROM TRAVEL AGENT:
PL COMMENTS ON IT WILL IT WORTH ?

E1 - ALL OF EUROPE
22 Days 21 Hotel Nights

Visit 12 Countries and 31 Major Cities
Spain: Madrid 1N, Barcelona 2N, France: Cannes, Nice 2N, Eze, Paris 2N, Monaco: Monte Carlo, Italy: Pisa 1N, Rome 1N, Florence 1N, Venice, Padova 1N, Vatican: Vatican City, Austria: Wattens, Innsbruck 1N, Liechtenstein: Vaduz, Switzerland: Schaffhausen, Zurich, Lucerne 3N, Engelberg, Lauterbrunnen, Jungfraujoch, Interlaken, Germany: Titisee, Cologne 1N, Netherlands (Holland): Den Hague, Amsterdam 1N, Belgium: Brussels 1N, England: London 3N, Windsor, Oxford.

DETAILS AS FOLLOWS
Spain
Day 01 : Madrid
Arrive in Madrid. City orientation tour includes Royal Palace from outside,Plaza de Espana, Cervantes Statue and Cibeles Fountain.

Day 02 : Madrid - Barcelona
Arrive in Barcelona. Free time at Barcelona beach front.

Day 03 : Barcelona
City orientation tour includes Olympic stadium, Theater Platz, colorful La Ramblas, Statue of Christopher Columbus, Tibidabo Hill and a Cable Car Ride followed by visit to Gaudi's Sagrada Familia Cathedral. Enjoy the Flamenco show - a wonderful Spanish dance performance.
France
Day 04 : Barcelona - Cannes - Nice
Enjoy orientation city tour of Cannes. Arrive in Nice in the evening.
Monaco, France
Day 05 : Nice - Monte Carlo - Eze - Nice
City orientation tour of Nice includes Town Hall and Waterfront area. Proceed to Monte Carlo. Enroute visit the perfume factory. Visit the Palace of Prince Rainier - Princess Grace from inside and world's oldest SBM Casino from inside in Monte Carlo.
Italy
Day 06 : Nice - Pisa
Arrive in Pisa. City orientation tour includes Square of Miracles, Baptistry, Cathedral and Leaning tower of Pisa.

Day 07 : Pisa - Rome
Arrive in Rome. City orientation tour includes Tiber river, Roman Forum, Trevi Fountain, Circus Maximus, Piazza Venezia. Visit Colosseum from inside and enjoy the Time Elevator Ride.
Vatican, Italy
Day 08 : Rome - Vatican - Florence
Vatican city includes Vatican Museum, Michelangelo's Frescoes, the Last Judgement, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica and Michelangelo's famous Pieta. Arrive in Florence. City orientation tour includes Piazzale Michelangelo Point and Statue of David.

Day 09 : Florence - Venice - Padova
Arrive in Venice. City orientation tour includes Bridge of Sighs, Doge's Palace, Bell Tower, St. Mark's Square, Basilica followed by visit to Glass blowing factory from inside. Enjoy Vaporetto water bus ride to Venice Island and the romantic Gondola ride in the famous canals of Venice. Arrive in Padova in the evening.
Austria
Day 10 : Padova - Wattens - Innsbruck
Visit Swarovski Crystal World and Museum at Wattens. Walking city orientation tour of Innsbruck includes Inns River, Golden Roof and Maria Theresien Strasse.
Liechtenstein, Switzerland
Day 11 : Innsbruck - Vaduz - Zurich - Lucerne
Drive through Vaduz - the capital of the principality of Liechtenstein. Enjoy the surroundings of Vaduz by Tram. Visit Rhine Falls at Schaffhausen (Neuhausen) enjoy Boat ride to the falls. Photo stop at Zurich Lake. Arrive in Lucerne.

Day 12 : Lucerne - Mt Titlis - Lucerne
Visit Engelberg - Mt. Titlis. Experience 'Rotair Titlis' - World's 1st Revolving cable car ride to Mt. Titlis and visit Ice Grotto, thrilling Ice Flyer ride (subject to operation) and Snow sliding. Lucerne city orientation tour includes Lion Monument and Kappelbrucke Wooden Bridge. Free time for shopping. Enjoy Lake Lucerne dinner cruise with Swiss Folklore music.

Day 13 : Lucerne - Jungfraujoch - Lucerne
Visit Jungfraujoch - top of Europe, en-route visit Trummelbach Glacial Waterfalls. Take a Cogwheel train from Lauterbrunnen to Europe's highest railway station Jungfraujoch via Kleine Scheidegg station. Visit Ice Palace with Ice sculptures and Sphinx Terrace. Enjoy orientation tour of Interlaken city.
Germany
Day 14 : Lucerne - Titisee - Cologne
Travel through the Black forest region, visit Cuckoo clock factory at Drubba, Titisee. Arrive in Cologne in the evening, take a photo stop at Cologne Cathedral.
Netherlands (Holland)
Day 15 : Cologne - Amsterdam
Proceed to Den Hague, visit the beautiful Keukenhof - Tulip Gardens (From 22nd March to 20th May). Photo stop at Holland's famous Windmill. Visit Cheese and Clog shoe factory. Enjoy Amsterdam city tour by Canal Cruise.
Belgium
Day 16 : Amsterdam - Brussels
Proceed to Brussels. Visit "Mini Europe" to see the miniatures of all the important monuments of Europe. Enjoy a photo stop at Atomium followed by a walking city orientation tour of the Grand Place, Town Hall, Guild Houses, Serclaes Monument and Manneken Pis Statue of a little boy.
France
Day 17 : Brussels - Paris
Arrive in Paris. City orientation tour includes Champs Elysees, Place de la Concorde and L'Arc De Triomphe. Enjoy the fascinating and colorful Paradis Latin Cabaret Show in the evening.

Day 18 : Paris
Experience the excitement at Disneyland. Enjoy various rides and shows like Lion King, It's a Small World and Space Mountain. Meet your favorite cartoon characters like Mickey, Minnie and Donald. Enjoy the Seine river cruise.
England
Day 19 : Paris - London
Visit the Eiffel Tower - top level to enjoy a panoramic view of Paris. Cross the English channel by Eurostar / Euro tunnel from Paris to London. Arrive in London. Enjoy the London Eye ride.

Day 20 : London
City orientation tour includes Tower Bridge, 'Changing the Guard' ceremony at Buckingham Palace (subject to operation), Piccadilly Circus, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, River Thames, Trafalgar Square, Houses of Parliament, Hyde Park. Visit Tower of London Museum to see the Koh-i-noor Diamond and photograph yourself with world famous personalities at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. Free time for shopping at Oxford street.

Day 21 : London - Windsor - Oxford - London
Visit the Windsor Castle - the weekend home of the Royal family (subject to operation), followed by a visit to the University of Oxford and Brasenose College.

Day 22 : Departure from London
Board the flight for your home town. Tour Concludes.


Meals on Tour :
Day 1 : Dinner
Day 2 - 21 : Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 22 : Breakfast

Extra Topping :
Tea / Coffee during Madrid to Barcelona journey.
Ice Cream at Barcelona - Theatre Platz.
Tea / Coffee during Barcelona to Cannes journey.
Ice cream at Pisa.
Tea / Coffee at Trevi Fountain, Rome.
Italian Gelato Ice cream at Venice Island
Tea / Coffee at Swarovski Crystal Museum.
Tea / Coffee at Rhine falls.
Movenpick Ice Cream at Mt. Titlis.
Tea / Coffee during Lucerne city tour.
Tea / Hot chocolate / Coffee at Jungfrau.
Tea / Coffee during Lucerne to Cologne journey.
Ice cream at Grand Place, Brussels.
Soft Drink at Disneyland.
Tea / Coffee at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum.
Tea / Coffee at Windsor Castle.

Our Speciality :
Caring Tour Manager throughout the tour.
Headphone services at Colosseum & Vatican Museum.
Lunch Coupons at Disneyland .