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?

Not everyone is a slow traveler, I get that. It'll have to be a tightly run operation to keep 5 people on time and in line (and hopefully you won't have a mutiny on your hands on the way to Zurich). If you all make it to San Gimignano, then you definitely have a calling as an EF Tour Guide!

Your poor family. Seems like you just want notches on your travel belt to brag about instead of really visiting and touring places.

Thank you Lexma. I appreciate your thoughtful comment. We won't be spending hardly any time at museums, more just seeing the major sites and enjoying each other's company. I agree it will be very strenuous, most times we will be able to leave early mornings and catch another hour of sleep on a train.

I wish my family had been more outspoken on things they wanted to see, but they weren't. I decided to give them a taste of Europe so that for our next trip we can decide where we want to go back to or skip.

our schedule actually isn't too jam-packed.>>

oh yes it is. so far as I can work out, out of 14 days, only 3 of them do not actually involve arriving or leaving.

I hope you're all still talking to each other by the end of the trip!

Not to mention all the packing and unpacking...I like to stay in one place long enough to unpack and put things in drawers and closets etc. Hate digging through suitcases.

Owww!

What was ok for you may not be ok for your parents. Have you asked them what they think of this itinerary?

Every time you change city you will lose at least half a day, maybe more. It's not only the travel time on the train but also the packing/unpacking, getting to train station, getting to the new hotel, checking in/out etc.

Are you using train passes or buying point-to-point tickets? I certainly hope you already have the tickets, with seat reservations if using passes, otherwise you may have a big problem. Getting five seats together may be impossible to arrange this late. You mentioned having some flexibility. Does that mean you have refundable/changeable tickets? Or that you haven't made seat reservations for your train passes?

Do you already have hotels arranged? Are they close enough to the train stations to easily find and walk to? Or do you plan to take a taxi from the stations to the hotels? It may be difficult to get a taxi large enough for five people with bags, so that would mean two taxis.

A lot of interesting sites close "early". If you get into a town in the afternoon it may be too late to get into the places you or your family wants to see, especially if you have to drop off bags at a hotel first.

And why so many days in Lucerne? Is there something special you want to see there?

Please post a trip report!

It sounds like hell to me, but if it works for you and your family, let us know.

With the Lounge closed to new registrants, crazy is going to spill out into the available forums.

That makes me sad for you and your family. Is there some kind of prize for quantity over quality?

If your primary goal is to "hit" these places, why not try for 14 cities in 14 days. You could do Lisbon, Madrid, Barcelona, Lucerne, Rome, Florence, Venice, Salzburg, Vienna and Munich, and still have at least 4 hours each for Berlin and Amsterdam.

That looks exactly like our very first trip to Europe in '77. My mother & sister bailed out on day 5 - in Lucerne. My wife & I remembered very little about the trip. We returned in 79 to re-visit the exact same places we "passed through" too quickly in '77.

Now we usually spend 2 weeks in just one place.

Live & learn.

Stu Dudley

Ahhh the stubborn arrogance of youth. Enjoy!
I will be in Munich the same day you are and will look for the 'blur' leading 4 other stragglers desperately trying to keep up. :)

Oh, the arrogance of youth! Did your parents really agree to this?

Thanks for all your help.

You have all helped me realize how strenuous this trip will be on all of us. The more I looked at your comments, the more depressed I got. I am going to try to loosen up our schedule by eliminating a few day trips and staying longer in places that I don't have a hotel booked for the next night. I think my eyes were bigger than my stomach, but I'm going to make the best of it and worry more about being with my family than seeing everything.

I don't have time to monitor this thread because I have a lot of planning to do! I'll try to post a trip report afterwards... Auf wiedersehen!

You should add Tokyo and Rio.

i thought i was into fast paced travel but your itinerary put my 2012 Griswald European sampler to shame. The Griswalds saw the Louvre 15 minutes before it closed. You might be able to do the same thing. Bring racing shoes and as much redbull as your carryons can manage. (you'll need em!)

in all seriousness your plan is very ambitious. I'm a little bit like you in that i would prefer to see more places than spend more time in the same place. Gimme a week in Europe and i can see 2 places. Gimme 10 days and i can see 3 etc..this style does have it's limits however (and more disadvantages than advantages) My wife was totally on board with this before we left but after we zipped from London to Brussels she got blisters on her feet and began to get more and more tired. This worsened as i continued to whip her to Paris, then Portugal, then Spain. There were times where she was completely irritable and i had nobody to blame but myself. Don't be that guy

<<I am going to try to loosen up our schedule by eliminating a few day trips and staying longer in places that I don't have a hotel booked for the next night. I think my eyes were bigger than my stomach, but I'm going to make the best of it and worry more about being with my family than seeing everything.>>

Bravo! And enjoy!

" I think my eyes were bigger than my stomach" Quite so, especially since it appears you haven't given much though to where you will be having breakfast, lunch or dinner. You'll have to have reservations if you wan to have a sit down meal together as a family where ever you happen to be. Remember, dining hours change as you head south toward the Med.

Going by train or car? If by train check out a railpass for that much constant travel - great sites for rail info - www.ricksteves.com; www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

And do not forget to put Belgium into an open Tuesday slot!

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You have all helped me realize how strenuous this trip will be on all of us. The more I looked at your comments, the more depressed I got. I am going to try to loosen up our schedule by eliminating a few day trips and staying longer in places that I don't have a hotel booked for the next night. I think my eyes were bigger than my stomach, but I'm going to make the best of it and worry more about being with my family than seeing everything.
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Nice to see some self-reflection here. Good luck in your further planning.

An easy way to simplify the itinerary would be to ditch the Switzerland portion and be satisfied with the Bavarian, Austrian, and Italian Alps. Then you are working on a much tighter axis from Munich down towards Rome, with stops in Innsbruck or Salzburg possible, or even Bolzano, then Venice and Rome. You might have to purge some of Tuscany from the route as well. In any case, you eliminate a time consuming trip into the Swiss Alps and back out again, but can still see a bit of everything (Munich/Bavaria, Alps, Italy). Saving yourself several hours of train travel might just give you enough of a breather still to squeeze a lot in. You're not too far from a reasonable itinerary, good luck in your travels.

hi EuroFred,

well done for looking past our sometimes sarky remarks and absorbing at least some of what was really well-meant advice.