SIX Weeks In Europe- Help with Itinerary
 

Hello Fodor's Forum Community,
As you may notice by my page, I have recently completed a 3 week trip to Italy :). It was incredible btw... Now here is the catch: For reasons that involve a lot of explaining and are surprisingly complicated, I now have SIX WHOLE WEEKS IN EUROPE! Am I lucky or what? So, I have composed a relatively rough itinerary (only the flight from the US to London and then to Amsterdam have been booked). I will be traveling solo and am interested in history but also want to have a good time and go out to some good clubs and bars (I'm 23). Here it is-
Amsterdam- 3 nights
Berlin- 4 nights
Dresden- 2 nights
Prague- 3 nights
Budapest- 3 nights
Vienna- 3 nights
Salzburg- 2 nights
Munich- 3 nights
Interlaken- 4 nights
to geneva and fly to Athens
Istanbul- 4 nights
Ephesus- 3 nights
Greek Island Hopping- 10 nights
Athens- 4 nights

Opinions?

Check the math. I see 48 days here with no time for getting from place to place.

There are 7 days per week and you're traveling for 6 weeks. That equals 42 days.

You're going to have to stay longer or cut out a few things. Don't forget to account for travel time from place to place.

If doing all that by train and you are only 23 then by all means investigate the 21-day Global Eurail Youthpass which will cover nearly all your travels except for when you get to Greece and turkey - then just wing it via cheap buses and boats. You can easily relocated on trains by taking overnight trains - saving the cost of a hostel or hotel to boot. No doubt some kind of Eurail Youthpass will be a boon to you. And check out these fantastic IMo sites for oodles of great stuff on European trains and passes - www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and for schedules use the Wunderbar German Railways web site - www.bahn.de - rail schedules for months in advance all in English.

Your time in each city is about right and you have good directional logistics. There are 48 nights listed here, as noted, so is the list correct or is the 6 weeks, actually 7?

I won't suggest that you think that you can tele-transport yourself from place to place and have not considered that it takes time to travel just because you listed the nights you wish to spend in each, especially since your itinerary is in "order", but there are a few long trips involved that you will need to consider as it will impact the time available in the destination city. Use the German Rail site, www.bahn.com for research on rail times, and routes. There could be some overnight train options that would open the timetable up a bit for you.


I have a few comments beside your individual itinerary entries

Amsterdam- 3 nights
Berlin- 4 nights (6 .5 hours driving time from Berlin, 6 by train)
Dresden- 2 nights
Prague- 3 nights
Budapest- 3 nights (5 hours driving time from Prague, 7 by train)
Vienna- 3 nights
Salzburg- 2 nights
Munich- 3 nights
Interlaken- 4 nights (5 hours driving time from Munich, 7 by train)
to geneva and fly to Athens (do you mean Istanbul?)
Istanbul- 4 nights
Ephesus- 3 nights
Greek Island Hopping- 10 nights
Athens- 4 nights

I would stay longer in Berlin, but I do not know what to recommend you to reduce!
I suppose that from Geneva you fly to Istanbul, not to Athens, isn't?

Enjoy !

I think for the average tourist 4 nights in Berlin would be enough, after having been to Berlin about a dozen times.

Thank you so much for your replies!
Yes you are right on both points, it is a seven week trip, not six.
Also, that was just a typo, I will be flying from Geneva to Istanbul (not Athens).
A couple of questions:
Is Dresden worth the time? I was primarily fascinated in the Frauenkirche, but would you suggest a train straight from Berlin to Prague or is Dresden a good variation from the relatively large cities/capitals I am visiting?

Check out some ruin pubs in Budapest: http://ruinpubs.com/
Szimpla Kert seems to be the most popular, it was quite packed when we checked it out. Corvintento is on top of a building, which was pretty cool but was too cold for us (we were there in October) but inside is a full-on club. If you go to Corvintento, don't forget to try the langos at the stand below the club (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A1ngos). Sounds funny, tastes great esp. with the beer munchies :) We went to quite a few other ruin pubs, but forget the names and where.

For someone 23 and travelling solo, you may want to check out couchsurfing.com. Good way to meet people, locals & travellers alike.

Also, check out In Your Pocket guides, great sightseeing info as well as cheap eats and nightlife: http://www.inyourpocket.com/

Safe & happy travels!

Let's Go Europe, the guidebook, to me is the best one for anyone that age - especially if going to hostels and looking for current dope on nightlife - the book's coverage of low-cost accommodation is unparalleled - written and constantly updated by college students - invaluable. www.letsgo.com. Written by Harvard Student Agencies.

Four nights in Athens? Thinking you could cut that in half.

Your Berlin-Dresden-Prague-Budapest-Vienna-Salzburg-Munich-Interlaken stretch is a bit of a pretzel.

4 nights in Athens are just fine, not only there's a lot to see, but you can do some great day trips to Delphi or Argolis :)

@BigRuss- What do you mean by "a bit of a pretzel"?

<< is a bit of a pretzel >>

It's not a pretzel - it seems like a logical flow to me. There's no criss-crossing or backtracking.

Why are you spending 3 nights in Ephesus and 4 nights in Interlaken?

I think this is a good itinerary for a 23 year old.

It's actually more of a "wishbone" if we are going to call it names, europetraveller, but it's still the most direct and efficient way to see what you have planned. I think Russ meant that he thought you should visit some different places that suit what he would do.

I am always amazed by advice based simply on no info or limited info of the OP . I do not get why all 23 year old might have similar interests... OP does not gives away much about his traveling style, he just mentions that s/he is interested in history but also some bars and "good" clubs. I am not sure what "good" clubs means and what having a "good time" means either. When I was 23 ,I loved to spend all night on small night clubs with Greek or disco music once or twice a week while I absolutely hated large or very crowded packed clubs or rave music. I had and still have a "good time" on my trips walking around and getting a feeling of a place, have a snack on a park bench and people watch, while one of my travel mates has a "good time" been always on the move, and prefers to spend have a "good time" on malls doing some shopping rather than walk around or visit parks! His interests of history consist of the main historic outdoors places in each city, such as squares or ruins, while he wouldn't step a foot in a museum. Me I try to visit all popular sites and museums and take my time there, and I love to explore for hours less known but equally historic places, areas, museums of a city. I have pleasantly spend a couple of weeks in London when I first visited, and 10 full days in Paris,and I could have spent more without been let with no things to see, while 4 nights on each city were more than enough for my friend.
I understand what in a trip compromises have to be made, but what those will be definitely depend on the OP's needs and I do not have a clear picture on those. Advising according to our own likes/dislikes, especially without indicating what those are, does not makes much sense to me.

Why are you spending 3 nights in Ephesus and 4 nights in Interlaken?>

Interlaken for 4 nights is fantastic - so many nice excursions from that base, which is also one of the gathering points for younger folk in its many youth hostels such as the famous Balmer's Auberge - a neat place to meet other young folk from all over the world - and sweet day trips like up into the Alps to Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen and above or lake boat trips on the two lakes that bookend Interlaken or day trip to Lucerne via scenic train over the Brunig Pass or dozens of other great excursions - no 4 days in Interlaken is great - not inside the city itself but using it as a base for the Wundrous Jungfrau Region.

Agree with PalenQ on Interlaken. I've stayed there five times on weekend ski trips, taking a bus to Grindelwald or train through Wengen up to Kleine Scheidegg. From there you can take another train to the highest railway station in Europe, Jungfraujoch. You can also take a train to Murren, and up to Schilthorn, where a scene from one of the early James Bond films was shot. The scenery is stunning! While my focus was on skiing, the area is very popular with summer visitors as well. :-)

http://www.google.com/search?q=piz+g...=1600&bih=1075

Some photos to whet your appetite about the Schilthorn excursion that Heimdall talks about - spectacular and you take the Alps longest aerial cableway from Murren to get there! James Bond's On Her Majesty's Service was in part shot here, during construction of the now famous Piz Gloria revolving restaurant.