Where next?
 

I hope this question is not too open-ended, but I have no where else to turn :)

I have been reading Fodors Forums for quite a while for tips and suggestions in planning our previous vacations and they have been very helpful. Over the last ten years, my wife and I have planned many European trips and we have been to France, Rome and northern Italy, Spain, Holland and Denmark, northern Germany, the UK and Greece.

We are just starting to think about next summer's vacation and have narrowed our choices to four destinations:

1. Croatia/Slovenia
2. Estonia/Lithuania/Latvia/Poland/St. Petersburg
3. Southern Italy (including Naples and Sicily)
4. Southern Germany (including Munich)/Czech Republic/Switzerland)

I know they are all so different but maybe some of you have taken two or more of these trips and can offer your advice and thoughts. We are both in our early 30's (no children, yet) and really do adore the European way of life, from the small villages to the larger cities, the food, the art, the architecture, beach days (if available), people watching and ancient and medieval history.

Thanking you in advance.

Andrew

The "European way of life?" Oh puhleeze. It's not Disneyland here.

Such a warm & friendly welcome for a new and first time poster on Fodor's.
:-(

Well, that is not what I thought the first response would be.

The reason Europe gets so many visitors every year is exactly because of Europe's way of life, how Europeans value their history and various cultures and learn to incorporate them into their modern, daily lives. I am not sure where you are from, but if I offended you, I apologize.

StCirq now lives in France she moved there from the USA (if that helps as an explanation or to soften the rude reply).

I don’t see how moving to France from the US justifies that kind of response. I moved to Paris from the US at the beginning of this year and life is very different. I think if you can’t answer questions more helpfully maybe you need to take a break. It does get old after tens of thousands of responses.

To answer the question I would probably choose number 2 then number 1 for things sufficiently different than the places you have been. But only you know what really calls to you.

How much time do you have? Personally, I had difficulty cramming #1 into a very fast-paced month, can’t imagine how you would narrow # 2 down to anything less than a month, wouldn’t try #3 with less than 3.5 or 4 weeks, and – depending on your interests – think you might be able to see some of the highlights of #4 in less than 3 weeks if that’s what you have.

The amount of time is an important variable. For instance, my top pick from that list would be Sicily (and just Sicily) but you really need three weeks.

I agree with everyone who has said that the length of your trip is very important. How many nights do you have? And does this include travel days or not?

And what month? June, July, or August? July and August will be very crowded, Especially #1 and anywhere in Italy. We visited Czech Republic twice, once in October and once in August. I didn't find the crowds to be as bad as I thought they would be in August but that was in 2009, and summer crowds could have changed drastically since then. The Charles Bridge and Old Town are always the most crowded.. And the temperatures were comfortable for sightseeing, 70's and 80's. If you only have around 10 days, for example, I think Prague and some smaller cities outside of Prague (such as Cesky Krumlov, Karlovy Vary, Telc, etc) would make a nice vacation and you aren't wasting too much time moving around. We did this route one year easily by car. June would be the least crowded of all the summer months. I hope this helps.

Geez, St.Cirq. Your responses are becoming as predictable as the other poster who copies and pastes train schedules. I agree with Belinda, why clog up the thread if you can not offer something useful? Perhaps you do need a break; there are lots of us here who like to help others plan their holiday; we might even be able to help you. :)

GoYourOwnWay, I'll offer commentary on a favorite topic of mine, eating, for whatever usefulness it offers.

1. Croatia/Slovenia. We have Slovenian friends with a summer house on Krk (Croatia); the seafood and the wines (both countries) are luscious.
2. Estonia/Lithuania/Latvia/Poland/St. Petersburg. The cuisines of my Eastern European heritage. Not terribly bold (pierogi, pirozhky); generally predictable though some of the foods can be heavy. Cold summer soups (Cucumber, Borscht) are refreshing. We can consume summer compote by the liters in our house.
3. Southern Italy (including Naples and Sicily). We haven't explored these parts of Italy, but it's Italy. Everything will be delicious.
4. Southern Germany (including Munich)/Czech Republic/Switzerland). The cuisines of our adopted home country (Austria), more or less. To be honest, the sausages and potatoes get old after awhile, especially in the summer. Thankfully the seasonal menus will offer lighter options. Grilled whole fish in Bavaria and CZ are quite good any time of the year.

I can not offer a destination preference because we have traveled to various destinations within 3 of your proposed itineraries, but in bits and pieces during our time here.

Hope this is helpful.

knowing nothing about any of these places... my pick would be #3 (but then i'm italian by blood). i hope you'll check back and let us know how long you have to travel. and more details within the itinerary options you're considering. oh yes i have been to switzerland quite a few times so i like #4 as well.

I guess he was scared off by post #2. Can you blame him?

Hi everyone,

Thank you for all of your responses.

And no, I was not scared off :) I was only able to write two posts in the first 24 hours. It takes alot more to scare me off than a rude post from someone with nothing better to do.

We usually travel for about three weeks and we may have a few extra days next summer. As well, depending on when we are free, we may travel in June, July or August. We know that there may be more tourists in July and August, but that is not a big deal for us.

Also, we usually travel by car throughout our vacations, but we will use trains and short flights if it makes sense.

Thanks again.

My preference is also for getting a car and exploring; I prefer small towns and villages to big cities, particularly in the mid-summer. If I want to include a big city I tend to look for a small town or village with reasonable bus or train access to the city and base there; they're usually cheaper and more car-friendly.

You listed the countries you've already visited, but you haven't said where in those countries you've been. For example, France: have you been to the mountain edges - Pyrenees and Alps? Or the UK - Scotland or the North of England? The point being, a base in southern Germany or Switzerland could allow you to include parts of France - Haute Savoie or Alsace for example - or the Dolomites in northern Italy.

With three weeks you could conceivably make the trip into a twofer. Fly to Munich or Zurich and cruise around the Alps for a couple of weeks, then fly to Edinburgh and spend a week in that marvelous city and head down the stunning Northumberland coast, eventually to Durham and York. Or some similar plan could be executed involving Slovenia, Croatia and the Italian mountains, or a visit to the Baltic states combined with parts of Finland or Sweden.

I guess I'm saying think big.

Any of those would make a great trip, but I would definitely try for June--It makes a huge difference in Croatia and Italy in terms of traffic, crowds, and weather.
I have not been to the other two, and I really don't think you can wrong with three weeks (lucky you!). If I had to go in July or August I would choose one of the other more northern spots though.
Three weeks in Sicily would be my idea of heaven.

That additional information really helps!

#1 – with 3.5 to 4 weeks, you could have a very nice trip that includes a nice comgination of the things you say you like. You probably wouldn’t be able to see everything that you’d like to see, but – depending on your interests – you could see a lot! Earlier in the summer would definitely be better than later.

#2 – I don’t know enough to comment, except to say that I think you wold need to narrow your wish list down substantially to come up with a reasonable plan.

#3 – Figure 2.5 to 3 weeks for Sicily, another 1 to 1.5 weeks for Naples – all at a time of year when these places can get uncomfortably hot. Check timeanddate.com for climate data.

#4 – Again, you’d have to do some research to decide what, exactly, meets your interests (I spent a month in just Switzerland, and had to skip a LOT to make that possible), but could be a good option for your interests and the time of year.

How much to rely on a car and how much to take advantage of public transportation will depend on your final itineraries.

Hope that helps!

Your responses and all the information and advice you have taken the time to write is more than I expected and we thank you.

Can I add another two areas of France to the mix: Corsica or Languedoc? I could try and move my vacation to closer to four weeks to cobble together two or even three regions, either driving, taking a train or flying between areas

As well, here is a summary of the areas we have visited in the various countries;

France: Paris, Provence, Nice
Italy: Rome, Florence & Tuscany, Lake Como, Venice, Emilia-Romagna
Spain: Barcelona and Madrid
Germany: Berlin, Hamburg, Dresden
Greece: Athens, Peloponnese, Santorini, Rhodes, Paros
UK: London and drive through surrounding area
Holland: Amsterdam and drive through surrounding area
Denmark: Copenhagen and drive through surrounding area

Thank you for your help.

Been to both Corsica and Languedoc. I'm something of an anti-heat person, and in the summer both those areas would be too hot for me, and in Languedoc close to the coast, possibly too humid, but YMMV.

If you could make four weeks available, then a two-region itinerary might be a terrific idea. My own tastes would be (a) to follow the food, in which case I'd put Alsace or southern Italy near the top, and (b) scenery, in which case the Alps or the Scottish Highlands would be at the top. Of course there's great food and great scenery everywhere.

I will make one suggestion for you to research, given your priorities. Look at Brittany in northwestern France. Historic, gorgeous, great food, affordable... just a suggestion.

I must admit that I'm not a fan of trips that include two geographically distant areas, because I find the differences between locations that are near one another absolutely fascinating and I think it's easier to notice those differences if on the same trip. For example, the influences of disparate historic realms in Croatia are evident in different architectural styles, not to mention current traditions and cuisines. The Venetian / Ottoman influences evident in Dubrovnik are incredibly different than the Roman / Slavic influences of the area in and around Split which are incredibly different than the Italian influences of Istria which are incredibly different than the Austro-Hungarian influences of northeast Croatia, etc.

Just something to consider....

Karen I believe Prague has gotten far more crowded since 2009. We went in 2015 in late September and it was still quite crowded even then.

Still, I am a believer that if you only have a certain time of year to travel, better to go then than never.

I would do your Prague, Munich, Switzerland trip. Summer seems like the time for hiking in the Alps. Not sure how you plan to get to Munich but there is a university my friend once attended in Passau. The pictures looked amazing. Stop there if you can.

Italy I would save for an April/May or Sept/Oct trip.

​​​​​​You also could opt to pair Czech Republic and Poland, or add a third country--Romania or Austria.

I don't see Corsica as a next-tier destination especially compared to everything else on your list.


​​​

Yes, very rude indeed and good to call it out as a new poster should not be treated this way.

I'm baffled at this response because wasn't it this American poster who used to try to make money giving "cultural tours" aimed at showing and teaching other Americans the "authentic European way of life"? Using "authentic" French food markets as stops on a tour? Helping helpless Americans buy cheese from French people?

Anyway, the OP said nothing wrong and did not deserve this treatment. An apology should be forthcoming IMO.

5Alive, I'm not surprised that Prague has become even more crowded since we were last there. And I agree it is better to visit a place even when it is crowded than to never visit it at all.

The first time we visited Prague we also went to Poland, so I agree that is a nice combination, too. We took the train from Prague to Krakow. Very easy to do.

With about four weeks any of those combinations can work. Obviously you can always spend more time just about anywhere, but it would not be rushed. For example, here are some of the time frames I've used in those locations.


I spent about a week in Slovenia (Ljubljana, Lake Bled and Piran) and just over that in Croatia (Dubrovnik - day trips to Mostar and Kotor), Korcula and Split (day trip to Trojir). I'm currently planning a second trip to the northern half of Croatia. So with 4 weeks you could easily cover the highlights and then some of those two countries.


I spent 4 days in Tallinn, 3 each in Riga and Vilnius and thought that was good but didn't get out into the countryside much except one day trip to a castle. On another trip I had about five days in Krakow which felt about right. I think they limit you to 4 days in St Petersburg without getting a visa so many people do just that. A month or even three weeks would allow you to do the highlights that I did plus quite a bit more.


I did Sicily in 11 days and feel I got to see most of what I wanted, included some little know inland villages. I can certainly see how you could be happy with two weeks. Then if you had an additional two weeks that is a decent amount of time for Naples/Pompeii/Amalfi Coast. If you wanted to include another whole region (say Puglia) you might be rushing it.


I think that is also a great amount of time for Southern Germany, Czech republic and Switzerland. Would you see ALL of each of those - no. But you'd get a good sample in three to four weeks.


So ALL of your combinations are very doable in your time frame.


I travel to Europe every July. My understanding is that August is significantly different from July (and even more so than June). Many European companies close for vacation for the month of August so it's a little worse than in the US when you are mostly dealing with school vacation times which stretch to almost three months. Especially coastal areas (where Europeans as well as international travelers go) is more crowded in August. I usually start my trips the last week in June and run through all of July and even in that time frame I see things getting more crowed as August approaches. And the past couple of years have been significantly more crowded than even 5 or 10 years ago.


I always decide where to go based on photos. Here are mine (and they include all the places on your list (expect St Petersburg). https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/

I have posted part of my trip report on Prague and Austria (not done with Vienna). We had about 3 days each for Prague, Vienna and the Salzkammergut (Austria lakes district), plus travel time. Not enough time ( of course!) but we did enjoy it tremendously. Next trip we’re going to try to take everyone’s advice and stay in a smaller geographical area.

Isabel, your photos are stunning and should help anyone deciding where they want to go.

isabel... just WOW!!! how have i missed this? thank you so much for posting your portfolio. now THAT'S how to plan a trip!!! sincerely suze

Hi everyone,

I am very thankful to all of you as I never expected this type of response and help, especially after the first response I received :(

There is only one problem. I am now more confused than before. With other destinations mentioned, I am now exploring those areas as well. I am going to bundle two, or maybe even three, different areas, as we really would like to do something different this time around and get a sense of different cultures in one trip, For example, exploring Brittany, Slovenia and Croatia seems to us like a very interesting and diverse trip.

Isabel, your pictures are fantastic. Thank you.

For example, exploring Brittany, Slovenia and Croatia seems to us like a very interesting and diverse trip.

I say, do that :-) It was #1 on your list when you first posted, and seems to have stood the test of time with all the conversation on this thread so far.

have you been reading other people's threads too? like this one...

https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...erary-1657088/

You guys are such an inspiration. I've always wanted to travel my whole life but it seems I'm getting old and this may never happen. In these parts of the world, things work a lot differently. I'm glad I can experience a bit of your adventures through the forums

chasisboi, it is NEVER too late or one can NEVER be too old to travel if one's health is decent.Just book a flight to any destination in Europe and explore. Just do it.

As well, suze, would you change Slovenia for the Dordogne area of France, so we would fly into Paris, drive through Brittany and Dordogne then fly into Croatia and concentrate on Croatia only before returning home?

Thanks.

I have no idea about any of these countries. I just know about planning trips. And trying to make it fit your dreams... And have been following your thinking. I'm only repeating what YOU have said more than once :-)

Goyourownway--

Suze is right on. What is calling to you?

Once you choose your destinations, then you need to get more analytical about your day-to-day timeline, and hotel reservations etc. Watching some Rick Steves DVDs from the library or on Youtube can be of help if you still feel undecided. Or picking up some travel guides at the library or bookstore.

And also--check out the Destinations Tab on this site.

If that's what most appeals, by all means, go for it! But FWIW, I think you will find it extremely challenging to fit those 3 areas into a single trip of a month or less. I would urge you to think through your itinerary in some detail before finalizing anything.

As already noted, Croatia and Slovenia provide a great deal of diversity, and fitting those two countries into a single trip of a month or so will still mean skipping a lot. I know -- I've done it. Brittany would be different, but Brittany is quite different than other parts of France, so one can have a delightfully diverse experience of a month or so there -- I know, I've done it, and managed only a small portion of western France in that time.

We have decided to include Croatia and France in our trip and leave Slovenia for another time. You are right, kja, there would be too much to see in both Slovenia and Croatia in just a few weeks.

Which brings me to my next question. In about 12 days, which area should we visit, Dordogne or Brittany?

Thank you once again.

I would check the flights between France and Croatia before settling on that--you could lose a terrible chunk of time.

There are nonstop flights between Paris and both Zagreb and Dubrovnik.

Regarding traveling from France to Croatia, it depends on where the OP will be in France when they are ready to go to Croatia. We are going to Croatia in April after first spending 2 weeks with our daughter who lives in southern France. So we will fly from Marseille. There are no non-stop flights from Marseille to Dubrovnik. It will take us between 6 & 7 hours to get to Dubrovnik from Marseille.

We have been to the dordogne and we love it!!! There are many, many interesting and diverse caves, castles, gardens, lovely towns to explore, etc. We were there for 6 days and obviously did not see everything so 12 days is a good chunk of time to explore the area. I haven't been to Brittany yet.

However, I apologize for confusing the matter more, but I wonder if it would make more sense to visit Croatia and Slovenia instead of France, since Croatia and Slovenia border each other. It might be easier logistically, and you wouldn't lose time traveling from France to Croatia. I personally think Croatia and Slovenia pair better together. We haven't been there yet but I am in the process of planning our trip for April 2019. But of course if you have your heart set on France and Croatia, that is what you should do. Although you have already been to France . . . . I hope I am not making this more difficult for you.

FYI: Of the month I spent in Croatia+, only 4 or 5 nights were in Slovenia.

The Dordogne and Brittany are very different places, so I don't see how any of us could tell you which to see. It really depends on what you want to see and experience. I'd think you would want 7 to 12 days for either, depending on whether you explore areas just outside these regions or not.

Although it does make sense to see Slovenia and Croatia, we think it would be very interesting and diverse to see a part of France we have not seen (either Brittany or Dordogne) and then visit Croatia, which offers something different culturally, and is on the Adriatic with many beautiful islands so we can have a few days at the beach as well. Thanks KarenWoo for your advice ( and you didn't confuse me :) )

Dordogne and Brittany both look so nice, and since we enjoy just about everything about travelling in Europe, we do not know which to choose for our 12 days in France (we are leaning towards Dordogne, but that can change tomorrow :)