travel_nana

I know this is early, but am starting to plan a trip to Europe in 2012 with hubby. Want to see as much as possible that we haven't seen already! Just starting to get info together, this is a little of what we think so far! Will fly into London (best possiblity of free miles ticket). Thinking either the end of Aug to start or beginning of Sept and go till late Oct or whatever! Really don't think we can see as much as hubby wants to see in 2 months, so will need to stay more time. IMO. Well this is what we have in mind. England, Scotland, Wales, Paris France, Spain Madrid, Barcelona, Italy: Rome, Amafi Coast, Venice, Tuscany. Prague, Budapest, Croatia, Greece and Islands, Denmark? Does anyone have any idea if this can be done and how long? Want to go by train, small airlines, ferries. Our personal stats are: retired in 60's semi-athletic (walking, hiking) interests are castles, ancient sites, rural villages. Not really sit on the beach people love to keep moving and seeing! Do amature photography! Maybe a little shopping! Will have to keep our spending light, because have to learn to travel light! Any suggestions on amount of time in places, places to stay or if this is possible at all! Any comments would be appreciated!
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StCirq

Of course it can be done. People do it all the time. You just need to invest in a load of maps and guidebooks and PLAN it, according to what appeals to you most and your budget. At present, your question is really too broad for anyone to nail down any specifics for you. You've got loads of time to pull it together, so just do it.

travel_nana

Thanks I know I have a lot of time and research to do! I'll be back!

Michael

I suspect that to visit rural areas you will need to use a car, at least in France. So you may decide to divide your trip into car travel and other travel. Greece might be by other modes of travel. The rest of continental Europe might be by car travel. You will be there long enough that a lease/buy back plan from Renault or Peugeot might be worthwhile.

http://www.renaultusa.com/SelectRe.asp

http://www.autofrance.net/Rates.aspx

travel_nana

We have done a lot of car travel in the past, wanted to try rail, air, and some car! Have been researching and the train doesn't seem any cheaper then air between countries! What would you suggest? We have a lot of Hilton & Marriott points for big city stays and airmiles on Delta & American! We also have timeshares that if possible would love to be able to fit in (areas outside big cities). Hubby loves to research, so just need some ideas on time frames in different places! Retired and time is on our side!!! hey!

ellenem

One simple way to begin: you have named 16 locations, some of them entire countries, some of them particular cities.

If you have two months, that means 3.75 days in each location.

If you have three months, that means 5.6 days in each location.

This does not account for the travel time between these locations, at least a half day wasted each time, so perhaps 7 days just connecting the dots. Which means . . .

two months means 3.31 days in each location

three months means 5.18 days in each location

Start adjusting based on your interest in each area.

travel_nana

Great way of doing it, but have to figure which places need more time then others. Your calculations are great! Figured UK will be about 2 wks by itself (between England, Scotland, Wales)! Do you think we would need more then that? Lots of Castles and photo ops!

travel_nana

Do you think we are trying to see too many parts of Europe at the same time?

adrienne

I think you're trying to do way too much in 2 or 3 months. For traveling that long you'll need some down time. You can't keep up the same pace that you would if you were traveling for 2 or 3 weeks as everything will blur together.

If you're starting in London the Greek islands may not be at their best in October when you get there. Croatia didn't thrill me - there is better scenery elsewhere (Italy, Scotland, etc.) and the cities are very small (more like large towns) and not a lot of sightseeing.

Think about if Budapest, Prague, Barcelona, and Madris are the only places you want to see in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Spain (for example) or would your focus be better placed if you went to fewer countries and saw something more than one major city. I spent a couple of weeks in the Czech Republic last year and loved the small towns. The driving was easy and everything was quite inexpensive. I was supposed to spend a few days in Prague and then the rest of the time in Poland but I kept reading and reading about the Czech Republic and ended up spending most of the time there and I wished I had 2 more weeks to explore.

I would like to do a 3 month trip in a few years and keep wondering where I would go with that amount of time. It sounds like a huge block of time but I know that I won't be able to do more than 2 or 3 countries and see everything I want to see.

It takes time to focus on hobbies such as photography and you'll want to wander the small streets and won't want to cut short your stay. Allow yourself enough time to soak up the atmosphere of each place and to go at a moderate pace.

A note about castles - choose wisely. I think I've seen enough castles to last a lifetime. Some are much better than others and there are many I wished I hadn't spent the time to see as they were of little interest once I got there. Guide books sometimes make everything sound wonderful when they're simply the best at that location but not the best for that type of sight (hope this makes sense).

I would allocate a minimum of 5 days each in Rome, Paris, and London; 2 to 3 days in Venice; a couple of weeks in Tuscany; months in England; a few weeks in Scotland.

ellenem

"Figured UK will be about 2 wks by itself (between England, Scotland, Wales)!"

According for my numbers for a three-month trip, you would get 15.5 days there.

Since you asked, if I had the luxury of so much time, I would definitely opt for longer stays in some place to really experience the culture of a place rather than just photograph it and move on. My list of locations would also be shorter since I know after a while all the places would indeed blur together.

I'm unclear -- have you traveled in Europe before? Have you taken a trip of this length before?

travel_nana

thanks! Have travled to Europe before. Have been to Ireland, Austria, Germany, Budapest (loved so much want to go back). Sicily, Spain, Morroco. Usually 2-3 wks at a time. I know we are going to have to narrow down! Hubby wants to see mostly Greece and Islands, England, Wales, Scotland, Rome and northern Italy. Just need to figure how to get from one place to another, and what there might be in between. I agree would rather have more time in each place then go to all! Trying to make the most of the time because of airfare from U.S.

travel_nana

getting back into itinerary mode! hubby has now come up with new plans. fly into London, Paris Or Madrid and depending on which we cac get our airmiles into. If starting in England, will go from England (not stay because of olymics) go to amsterdam, to copenhagen, to stockhom, to st.Petersbury Russia! fly from there to Prague to budapest to Athens (10days) form there to Rome (morthern + naples) (2wks) back to Rome to Madrid to Paris back to London (see scotland + wales) this could all go backwards according to which city has available 1st class miles seat available. I think it can be actually be done in 3 months! Have a question about Stockholm, is it worth it? or is it better to go to Oslo Helsinki? Doing most of traveling by plane until we get to Greece and Italy. Greece will be get a tour of islands made up by travel ajent, Italy we will rent car and go on our own. I hope this makes sense to some on you! would love to hear any comments or suggestions on what to see and how long to stay in different locations. Thanks!

SloJan2

I like your second plan better. Stockholm is a gorgeous city and very worth it. Don´t forget you can do the ferry if you are traveling the Baltic countries. If you hit Northern Italy during October, you will be in time for the truffle festivals which are very worthwhile.

travel_nana

Have trip planed for Europe Aug 25, 2012 until October 29th. Have all reservations made, now just need to find out the best way to get from one place to another. When I first posted this a big part was going to Greece. Now we left Greece out and are saving that for a trip on it's own. This is the itinary. First off I have to say we are not doing open jaw due to the fact we have free first class tickets in and out of London. So here we go:
Aug. 25th depart NYC.
Aug. 26th arrive London (stay one night)using points
Aug. 27 - Aug. 31 Paris (Apartment rental)
Sept.1-3 Zurich (Marriott Hotel)using points
Sept 3-5 Milan (Hilton Hotel)using points
Sept 6-10 Rome (apartment rental)
Spet 11-18 Naples/Capri, Southern Italy (staying in one location doing day trips)(Marriott Hotel)
Sept 19-25 Florence Tuscany area (Marriott Hotel) using points
Sept 26-28 Venice (apartment rental)
Sept 29-Oct 5 Austria (timeshare)
Oct. 6-9 Budapest (Hilton Hotel) using points
Oct 10-12 Prague (Marriott Hotel) using points
Oct 13 Overnight train to Amsterdam (Marriott Hotel) using points
Oct 14-17 Amsterdam (Marriott Hotel) using points
Oct 18-21 Brussels (surrounding area)Marriott Hotel (Paying)
Oct 22-29 London (Marriott Hotel) using points
Oct 29 Depart London back to NYC

As you can see have been saving miles and hotel points a long time for this trip! Now the big question is how do we get from one place to another? We want to use trains and rent cars at times to see countryside from cities. After research it looks like a train pass would be best. When is the earliest we could buy them and which would be best. We are both seniors over 60! Any suggestions for traveling in between would be greatly appreciated. Also, we will be in London for the last week where would you suggest to go while we are there?

Michael

You'll see the countryside from the train. I would not bother with car rentals with your itinerary. From the cities, take local trains or buses to places you want to see. For example, an outing from Florence to Siena or Pisa; or an outing from Vienna to the Wachau valley and Melk Abbey. The small towns along the Zuider Zee can easily be reached by train from Amsterdam.

In Naples, I recommend http://www.venere.com/bandb/naples/bandb-medea/#reviews

travel_nana

Thats great to know! I didn't think we could see alot of the countryside going by local trains from the cities. thanks so much! We still have the question of buying a pass or doing single trips? We know we have to reserve the one overnight train. I think the pass would be better. And would you know how far in advance you can purchase the passes? Thanks for your help!

Michael

Trains between cities travel through the countryside. I have rarely used passes, but the one time we did it was even valid on the Munich S-Bahn. If you do get passes (you'll have to find out if it is worth it in terms of price and convenience), then car rentals make even less sense since the passes probably would be valid for local train rides--I am assuming that cost is a factor, and the shorter the car rental, the higher the per day cost.

travel_nana

That's what we are trying to calculate. We don't know much about train traveling. We always rented cars in Europe the only train we ever took was from Vienna to Budapest a few years ago. We'll have to keep investigating! Thanks so much for your help! Cost is a factor, but hubby will not travel any where unless it's first class. Something that I really don't mind! lol We have saved so much money already on places we are staying and free airline tickets, the train will be the most money spent except for sightseeing and food!

kybourbon

Some of your Marriott's and Hilton's won't be convenient to sites (at least in Italy). I looked at all of them a couple of years ago when I was using points.

A pass won't cover London/Paris.

From Zurich/Milan you can probably get discount tickets for about 25chf(too far in advance to know yet).

thursdaysd

If you aren't familiar with train travel in Europe, spend some time on seat61.com. You should also be aware of bahn.de, which has schedules for all of Europe. And avoid RailEurope.

If you buy a rail pass it will be first class because that's all they sell to people over 25. However, there's really nothing wrong with second class on the fast European trains.