Who thinks I can hit 5 countries and 10 cities in 14 days? It's happening.
 

Here is my itinerary for my 16 day (14 travel day) Europe trip with my family from June 15-June 30.

Here's the countries I will hit: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Vatican.

Here are the cities I will hit: Munich, Salzburg, Fussen, St. Georgen, Zurich, Lucerne,Interlaken,Venice, Florence, San Gimignano, Rome.

I was able to travel to 11 countries in 4 weeks last summer with the International Business Institute as a college student. I know how to enjoy places for a short time and move on and I am well adjusted to traveling overseas. The difference is that I am planning this trip for my parents and two sisters as well.

15-Jun Fly out of NYC
16-Jun Fly into Munich
17-Jun Salzburg
18-Jun Fussen
19-Jun St. Georgen
20-Jun Zurich/Lucerne
21-Jun Lucerne
22-Jun Lucerne
23-Jun Venice
24-Jun Venice
25-Jun Florence
26-Jun San Gimignano
27-Jun Rome
28-Jun Rome/Vatican
29-Jun Rome
30-Jun Fly Out of Rome

Everything is set and I still have some flexibility on a few days, but I wanted to see what other travelers thought of this packed schedule!

why?

So you're sending your parents and sisters on a fast paced road trip? Again, why? Did they do something to you that you and now you want to get back at them?

Sounds like torture to me, not a vacation. Just because you did it successfully has no bearing onwhether you can do it again with additional people who may not enjoy that breakneck pace. I know I wouldn't.

Why? Because it's their first time and they wanted to see a bit of everything. And we're taking trains not driving so its not a "road trip" per se...

The second half of the trip will be with just my sisters and I so we will be more flexible...

Because one <i>can</i> doesn't mean one <i>should.

This is a ridiculous waste of time/money

Sounds awful to me. Doing a similar trip by in a group, as a college student, if a completely different thing. If I was your sister on this hectic trip, I'd abandon ship!

You may be able to "hit" them - but you won;t see a hell of a lot.

And it strikes me it;s an awful lot of time and money to spend for very limited return.

Doing a similar trip in a group, as a college student, is a completely different thing.

Haha well its not for the faint of heart. I'm guessing most people on here aren't as flexible as me which is fine. I would rather see a lot than stay in places I don't enjoy for long times. I appreciate your constructive criticisms...

...you'll be written out of the Will.
"Trail of Tears".

I've already done my research to fit in the things we want to see and our schedule actually isn't too jam-packed. Haha I won't be written out of the will because my parents will spend their second week with a family friend in Germany to recover...

Hitting places isn't my idea of a voyage or even the normal goal of travel, and it certainly isn't the alternative to spending time in places you don't enjoy.

>><i>Haha well its not for the faint of heart. I'm guessing most people on here aren't as flexible as me which is fine. I would rather see a lot than stay in places I don't enjoy for long times.</i><<

you will go a LOT of places but will NOT see much. Has nothing at all to do w/ 'flexibility'. You have not allowed any time for logistics/travel.

You'll have:
1/2 a day in Munich
1/2 a day in Salzburg
1/2 a day in Fussen
1/2 a day in St. Georgen
a couple of hours in Zurich
2 days in Lucerne
1.5 days in Venice
1/2 a day in Florence
1/2 a day in San Gimignano
2.5 days in Rome

Total waste of money . . . .

That sounds miserable. Couldn't pay me to do that. Has your family seen the above count? And 2 days in Lucerne? More time there than Venice or Florence? Why on earth?

Crazy !
Tell me how to get to Fusssen from Salzburg.

I hope Lucerne is worth it :-)

Just a thought try and make the half day in San Gim at the start of the day or the end of the day avoiding the massive tourist coaches.

My mistake. Salzburg is a day trip from Munich. We'll get to Fussen from Munich using a regional train.

When I'm planning a trip for my family, it includes sitting down with them to have the following types of conversations:

- You've said you want to see (for example): London, Scotland, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam

- Be aware that will require a 5-hour train trip on day 5, plus time to get to and from the train stations. On day 8, we will be in transit from 8 am to 3 pm. And so on.

- Of your 14 days in Europe (for example), you will be spending 24 hours (just making that number up) on trains. Another 12 hours getting to and from the trains.

If they want to spend their vacation time in that way, then you're good to go.

We took a somewhat fast-paced trip last year, and that's what I did with my family. However, except for the Scotland piece, at least me and DH had all been to all of the destinations before, so I knew exactly how to get between hotel and train station, etc. Most of our stays were 3 nights. And we been to most of the locations, we didn't feel that we "had" to visit any particular sites, museums, etc. But I did provide disclaimers like: Ok, you won't have time to see the Riksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum and the Ann Frank house in Amsterdam, so just be aware of that.

So, to repeat, if your group agrees on all of the destinations and that amount of time in transit, as opposed to being at locations, then your trip is all set!

"hit" seems to be the operative word. Just because something CAN be done doesn't mean it SHOULD be done. Why are you asking us about this trip anyway when you've clearly made up your mind? Just trolling?