I am undertaking a major task. Have talked my husband and 19 year old daughter to take a "bonding" trip and backpack Europe. Since I have not been there I have been reading up and trying to plan this trip for them. Husband would like to spend time at just a few places but daughter would like to hit just the highlights and move on. I figure it is better to keep the teenager happy and not the husband. Can anyone help with ideas on this schedule. I know it is a lot.

Day 1 - arrive Athens around 11am

Day 2 and 3 - Athens

Day 4 - take morning ferry to Mykonas

Day 5 - Mykonas

Day 6 - Return to Athens for 4pm flight to Prague

Day 7, 8, & 9 - Prague

Day 10 - Train to Germany

Day 11, 12, 13 & 14 - Rent car and tour Germany

Day 15 - Train to Belgium

Day 16, 17, 18 - Tour Belgium

Day 19 - Train to Paris

Day 20, 21 & 22 - Paris

Day 23 - Train to Portugal

Day 24, 25 & 26 - Lisbon area

Day 27 - train to Spain

Day 28, 29, 30 & 31 - Tour Spain

This has only 31 days and they can stay up to 6 weeks so I can add days where they are needed. The only problem is that they have to be in Lisbon around day 25/26.

I would love for them to do some rafting/canoeing or somthing adventureous too. Any thoughts on where the best place to do this would be?

I know this is a huge undertaking. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Hello flit, please do not take this the wrong way but my thinking is that your husband and your 19 year old daughter should be perfectly capable of planning and organizing their own trip.

I would stay out of it personally.

If they plan the intineray and something doesn't please them..well they are the ones that planned it, yes?
And I would think together that they should be able to work out their differences regarding their travel style much better then you could. And may I gently say IMO it really doesn't matter what you would love for them to do, that should be their decisions.

Best regards and hope your husband your daughter have a beautiful trip.

I

True, but, they are wanting it to be a total surprise. They are both fans of The Amazing Race so they are wanting to find out where they are going one step at a time.

When they get to Lisbon, have it set up so they go out to dinner with the LDC (Lisbon Dining Club). If you go to the Portugal site you can read up on it. It will be a highlight of their trip. Also, just across the Tagus river in Lisbon, I believe they can go kayaking/canoeing with the dolphins. Matt from England can give you more info- we were going to go out with the dolphins but ran out of time. Sounds like a real "amazing" trip that neither one will ever forget. Good luck on your planning.

Thanks namaka. I will check it out.

If they will take a daytrip to Delphia on their last day in Athens, good, but if it's just another day in Athens, I say, add it to Mykonos and let them have 3 nights there. I love Athens, but the first night they get there, they can have a nice dinner in the Plaka, then spend the next full day seeing the Acropolis, Agora, Archaeological Museum, and Syntagma Square. Sounds like a lot, but I think it can be done, or do some the next morning and head out in the afternoon to Mykonos. Choose a centrally-located hotel near the Plaka, maybe the Electra Palace.

They really need 3 nights in Mykonos to make the trip there worthwhile. Just make sure they have a hotel reservation - it's hugely poplular in the summer. One day for the beach and another to take the day trip to Delos, weather-permitting. Your daughter will like the nightlife there, too.

Extend the time in Spain and enjoy Andalucia - Sevilla, Cordoba, Granada.

Try to strike a balance between big cities and small towns. For instance, in Belgium, see the Grand Place in Brussels, but also check out charming Bruges - an easy daytrip. Go to Munich, but take a side trip to Salzburg or the Salt Mines (a fun change of pace from museums and monuments). In Spain, see the great museums in Madrid, but take a day trip to Toledo or Segovia.

In terms of finding a balance for their travel styles, when they have a few days or so in one area, spend it in one hotel and do day trips; that way, she gets the variety, and he gets to feel like they're not constantly moving. Consider staying in the smaller towns from time to time and taking the day trip to the bigger city - ex. stay in Bruges, and take the daytrip to Brussels.

For their sanity, they might want to split up, from time to time, at least for part of a day, or a whole day. It's difficult for to travel together without a break from time to time. Cellphones would help them keep in touch.

It sounds like a fun idea to be surprised, but I would want at least some input; I assume they've given you a hit list of "must-sees" to include.

Have fun planning...don't you want to go now? Ha Ha, you should take your own trip at the same time.

Thanks, MECindylou. I can change the Athens, Mykonos. I had read that probably two nights would be enough in Athens but wasn't sure. Maybe I will just add an extra day there. After Lisbon they are totally flexible, so can spend as much time as needed in Spain. Did you notice any other places that I may need to change the amount of days? Other than Paris she was pretty open with where to go. She traveled two years ago with a choir group and went to Austria, Switzerland and Italy so just trying to mix in other countries. Husband just wants Germany. Thanks again for your suggestions.

Hi f,

>Day 23 - Train to Portugal

Have you looked up the schedule for Paris to Lisbon at www.bahn.de?

ira, wow, I had not checked that. Do you have any suggestions? Could they take a day and drive thru France and pick up a train in Spain maybe??

Hi Flit,
That's a good idea to just add a day to Mykonos and keep the 3 nights in Athens. That way, they take the pressure off to to something the first day. Like I said, they can always take a bus tour to Delphi, or have an afternoon at the beach near Athens if they do all the sightseeing they want and have some extra time.

As far as changing the amount of time in other places, I think your itinerary looks good, as long as you're not having them move around too much in each country. For instance, stay 3 nights in one city in Belgium, say Bruges; they'd have 1 full day in Bruges and 1 full day in Brussels. Paris could stand some more time, but I think they have to get to Portugal by a certain date (right?) and you don't have much extra time for Germany and Prague. Looks like 5 nights in Germany. I'm not sure what you have in mind there, but maybe 3 in Munich and then 2 somewhere on the Rhine, or along the Romantic Road. Have you looked at www.viamichelin.com? It shows driving times and mileage.

Great to hear about the choir trip; I used to be a choral director

Hi flit,

>ira, wow, I had not checked that. <

I didn't think you had.

Look for discount flights at www.whichbudget.com

Hi flit,

My initial thought was the same as LoveItaly's. They should be doing the planning.

Regarding being fans of the Amazing Race, have you noticed how the teams get extremely stressed out, fight and argue????? I don't think I would want someone planning the same "surprise" experience for me.....

For any novice Euro train travelers and for planning any kind of trip i always refer folks like you to two good resources: www.ricksteves.com has lots on trains and cheap flights you may mix in with rail travel and a comprehensive analysis of railpasses; and www.budgeteuropetravel.com, a european rail specialist - on the site request their free European Planning & Rail Guide that is the perfect primer for anyone considering rail travel like your hubby and daughter are - especially if on a budget-backpacking trip and also has packing tips, itineraries, rail maps of each country, etc. Otherwise Fodorites have proven to be collectively the finest resource i've seen! So keep asking questions.

Maybe I have missed something - you are doing all this planning and not even going on the trip?

An Amazing Race for your family sounds like a great idea. Will you be lobbing them itineraries at each stop or will they be traveling with a bunch of envelopes to open in each city?

If I were planning the trip I would allocate less/no time to Belgium (unless your husband loves Belgian beer), and more time in Paris and the surrounding area.

I'd rather see Italy than Greece, but maybe that's just me. How much of it did your daughter see on her trip? Would she like to go back? If you do end up with Greece, don't spend much time in giant, crowded, polluted Athens. See the big sites then get out of town fast.

I've heard of whitewater rafting in England, Scotland, Turkey, and Scandinavia, but not in any of the countries on your list; and Europeans aren't much for canoes. But there is some nice cycling around Prague and throughout France (the Loire Valley would be great and is relatively close to Paris); and Germany has lots of great hiking possibilities. You can hike from chalet to chalet and many trails have hike-in/hike-out beer gardens where you can stop for lunch.

Paris to Portugal by train is a long trip but it does give your family a chance to try France's high-speed TGV. Take the TGV from Gare Montparnasse at 3:50pm and arrive at the Spanish bordertown Irun at 9:23pm. Change to the Sud express for an air-conditioned sleeping car or couchette car leaving at 10pm and arriving in Lisbon 10:53am the next day. The breakfast in the restaurant car is not bad. Traveling 2nd-class/couchette will probably cost about $200 each one-way. 1st-class/private sleeping car would run $300 each. Reasonable prices considering that you save the cost of a hotel room one night.

Hi Flit,
I think giving Germany and Brussels the same amount of time is not a good idea. Brussels is worth 1.5 days at the most! I would recommend the following trip. Athens, fly to Hamburg, Germany, one of the most beautifu cities ever! From there via Bremen to the Netherlands, Brussels, then France (southern France has got great mountain afting!) back into Germany - Rhine Valley going South into avaria, Austria, Italy then Hungary and Czech Republic.

With all the low fare flights (Germanwings, Ryan Air, Air Berlin, Easy Jet) and www.bahn.de (great tip!!) this is easily done.

check out
http://www.travel--guide.org/Budapest
http://www.travel--guide.org/Rome
http://www.travel--guide.org/Venice
http://www.travel--guide.org/Paris

for accomodation and general ideas.

Or just skip Brussels IMO your time as a first-time traveler would be more enjoyable some other place.

I would add the 2 extra weeks, (makingn it 6 weeks not 31 days) but not any more stops (i.e., doing that itinerary, but with more time in each place).

I would look into either flying or using an overnight train for the longer distances, rather than spending the entire day on a day-train.

Canoeing/rafting is not my cup of tea, but I want to say that there are some rafting possiblities in the gorges of the Verdon River in the South of France, perhaps around Castellanne. Could probably fit that into your itinerary.

OK, checked the guidebook that I was thinking about (DK Eyewitness France) and the canoeing and rafting it mentioned was in the Tarn gorge, rather than the Verdon. Might be doable on the way to Spain.