First Time Backpacking Europe: May 15-June 12 2013
Jan 28th, 2013, 07:16 PM
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First Time Backpacking Europe: May 15-June 12 2013
Here is our trip plan for Europe from May 16 through June 12 2013. I will be traveling with a friend and we are both first time backpackers. We are both 21 years old and are currently in college. We have purchased the plan tickets and that is about as far as we have gone. We have a plan but that is about it.
London 4 days, Paris 4 days, Geneva 4 days, Venice 3 days, Zurich 3 days, Luxembourg 2 days, Brussels 3 days, Amsterdam 2 days
May 16: Fly into London at 12:05 pm
May 17-19: Time in London
May 20: Leave for Paris
May 21-23: Time in Paris and Versailles
May 24: Leave for Switzerland
May 25-27: Geneva or other areas
May 28: Leave for Venice
May 29-30: Time in Venice
May 31: Leave back to Switzerland
June 1-2: Zurich or other areas
June 3: Leave for Luxembourg
June 4: Time in Luxembourg
June 5: Leave for Brussels
June 6-7: Time in Brussels
June 8: Leave for Amsterdam
June 9-10: Time in Amsterdam
June 11: Extra day
June 12: Fly out at 10:25 am for Minneapolis
Note* We are not sure what the best route is but this seemed practical but not sure if we should go through Switzerland in two parts or complete it all in 7 days than go to Venice?
This is a rough idea we have planned for our trip. I understand we may have things planned that are not possible or things we are missing. PLEASE provide me with any information on what you think and what would work better. I am open to and comments or suggestions that will help this trip come together.
We have not purchased anything besides the plane ticket, thus we still need to purchase rail passes, hostels, etc. any helpful ideas or tips on what to purchase and when to purchase if not already would be grateful.
Thanks and I will be excited to hear your comments
Go Bison!
London 4 days, Paris 4 days, Geneva 4 days, Venice 3 days, Zurich 3 days, Luxembourg 2 days, Brussels 3 days, Amsterdam 2 days
May 16: Fly into London at 12:05 pm
May 17-19: Time in London
May 20: Leave for Paris
May 21-23: Time in Paris and Versailles
May 24: Leave for Switzerland
May 25-27: Geneva or other areas
May 28: Leave for Venice
May 29-30: Time in Venice
May 31: Leave back to Switzerland
June 1-2: Zurich or other areas
June 3: Leave for Luxembourg
June 4: Time in Luxembourg
June 5: Leave for Brussels
June 6-7: Time in Brussels
June 8: Leave for Amsterdam
June 9-10: Time in Amsterdam
June 11: Extra day
June 12: Fly out at 10:25 am for Minneapolis
Note* We are not sure what the best route is but this seemed practical but not sure if we should go through Switzerland in two parts or complete it all in 7 days than go to Venice?
This is a rough idea we have planned for our trip. I understand we may have things planned that are not possible or things we are missing. PLEASE provide me with any information on what you think and what would work better. I am open to and comments or suggestions that will help this trip come together.
We have not purchased anything besides the plane ticket, thus we still need to purchase rail passes, hostels, etc. any helpful ideas or tips on what to purchase and when to purchase if not already would be grateful.
Thanks and I will be excited to hear your comments
Go Bison!
Jan 29th, 2013, 02:03 AM
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It sounds fine but a few comments:
You've picked all cities - might want to swap one or two for a small town or rural location.
Most people go to Switzerland for the mountains but you've chosen two cities - is there a reason for that?
You could consider winding your way from London to Venice and then purchasing a budget flight back to Amsterdam to fly home rather than doing a circuit.
Geneva to Venice and back to Zurich are both long and expensive journeys. Unless you're really keen to see Venice, it's out on a limb in this itinerary. Acoommodation in Venice is very expensive so book early or stay somewhere nearby like Padua, Treviso or Vicenza instead.
Train tickets in France get progressively more expensive as you approach your travel date so book early if discount fares are available on your route (they're not applicable for all routes). This might not be relevant if you have a train pass.
Have a great time!
You've picked all cities - might want to swap one or two for a small town or rural location.
Most people go to Switzerland for the mountains but you've chosen two cities - is there a reason for that?
You could consider winding your way from London to Venice and then purchasing a budget flight back to Amsterdam to fly home rather than doing a circuit.
Geneva to Venice and back to Zurich are both long and expensive journeys. Unless you're really keen to see Venice, it's out on a limb in this itinerary. Acoommodation in Venice is very expensive so book early or stay somewhere nearby like Padua, Treviso or Vicenza instead.
Train tickets in France get progressively more expensive as you approach your travel date so book early if discount fares are available on your route (they're not applicable for all routes). This might not be relevant if you have a train pass.
Have a great time!
Jan 29th, 2013, 03:34 AM
#3
Zurich, I've been there for business and family and can see no other reason to go there than that. Geneva slightly better. Brussels ditto.
I'd get a travel guide out of a library and try and see what you are getting from these cities compared to say Strasbourg or Ulm or Florence or Bruges or Ghent or...
I'd also drop into thorntree to see if they have any advice
I'd get a travel guide out of a library and try and see what you are getting from these cities compared to say Strasbourg or Ulm or Florence or Bruges or Ghent or...
I'd also drop into thorntree to see if they have any advice
Jan 29th, 2013, 04:33 AM
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Go to Antwerp instead of Brussels?
Or maybe Gent - which has a large student population.
I would think Luxembourg is pretty boring to 21-year old backpackers. Add those days to Antwerp/Gent (Brugge for a daytrip). Or add to your time in The Netherlands.
Or maybe Gent - which has a large student population.
I would think Luxembourg is pretty boring to 21-year old backpackers. Add those days to Antwerp/Gent (Brugge for a daytrip). Or add to your time in The Netherlands.
Jan 29th, 2013, 04:44 AM
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Kudos for building in travel time from one place to another. Most people think they can be magically transported or that it takes no time to get anywhere!!!
Luxembourg to Brussels is about 3 hours so you have 2.5 days in Brussels. Suggest visiting Bruges or another town in Belgium.
Add more time to Paris - you only have 2 days there is you're visiting Versailles one day.
I would omit Switzerland and see if you can get a cheap flight from Paris to Venice and then return north via Nice, visit some towns on the Cote d'Azur using Nice as a base, and take the night train to Brussels.
Luxembourg to Brussels is about 3 hours so you have 2.5 days in Brussels. Suggest visiting Bruges or another town in Belgium.
Add more time to Paris - you only have 2 days there is you're visiting Versailles one day.
I would omit Switzerland and see if you can get a cheap flight from Paris to Venice and then return north via Nice, visit some towns on the Cote d'Azur using Nice as a base, and take the night train to Brussels.
Jan 29th, 2013, 06:32 AM
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You guys will have a great trip! My sister and I did something similar when she was 21 and I was 27. We didn't do many hostels, as I was a little old for shared rooms, but we did a lot of apartments and small inns/b&bs with shared bathrooms. It was an amazing experience and you will enjoy it, regardless of where you go. I'll just give you a few suggestions to consider. I haven't been to Europe in years, so I don't want to give detailed advice that might be out of date. Also, we had a totally different route than you are planning. We did Rome, Florence, Venice, Vienna, Salzburg, Munich, Lucerne, and Paris, with day trips to Pisa, Interlaken, Versailles, and Normandy. I'm currently planning a trip with my husband to Switzerland, so have done some research on Zurich and Geneva, although I haven't been to either. Our blog with lots of pictures is still up, at http://www.1month2sisters4countries.blogspot.com/. It is in reverse chronological order, which is confusing, but I don't remember the password to change it.
Given the above, my opinions on your plan are as follows:
I would take a day or two from Geneva and add to Paris. There is so much to do in Paris, its hard to even describe.
I agree with the poster who said the cities in Switzerland don't make as much sense, especially considering that all of your destinations are cities. If you want to go to Switzerland, I would limit it to one location, and make it more rural. We went to Lucerne with a day trip to Interlaken, which was amazing. Lucerne was very relaxing and beautiful. We took a cruise around the lake, with breathtaking scenery. Interlaken definitely has a younger, more active feel. We went white water rafting and had a blast. I think doing something similar to this in Switzerland in the middle of your trip (to break up all of the cities), would be smart.
Another thing to keep in mind is that Switzerland is super expensive. Do a few searches on hotels in Switzerland vs. hotels in a couple of your other cities, just to get an idea. Six years ago, we washed loads of laundry in most places for about $2 - $3. In Lucerne, the cheapest we could find was $15! It wasn't even a full load. We didn't eat much there. lol
I think we ate a lot of apples and cheese from grocery stores, and that's about it. We walked into a McDonalds to use their Internet, and value meals were over 10 Euro. Again, this is six or seven years ago.
Also, be sure to have lodging for your two or maybe three locations before you leave. After that, feel free to plan as you go. We generally booked inns about a week before we arrived in a city. This allowed us to add Munich into our plans, which we weren't planning on doing at the beginning.
Sorry I can't be more helpful specifically, but hopefully these comments will help you with your plans. I hope you have a GREAT time!
Given the above, my opinions on your plan are as follows:
I would take a day or two from Geneva and add to Paris. There is so much to do in Paris, its hard to even describe.
I agree with the poster who said the cities in Switzerland don't make as much sense, especially considering that all of your destinations are cities. If you want to go to Switzerland, I would limit it to one location, and make it more rural. We went to Lucerne with a day trip to Interlaken, which was amazing. Lucerne was very relaxing and beautiful. We took a cruise around the lake, with breathtaking scenery. Interlaken definitely has a younger, more active feel. We went white water rafting and had a blast. I think doing something similar to this in Switzerland in the middle of your trip (to break up all of the cities), would be smart.
Another thing to keep in mind is that Switzerland is super expensive. Do a few searches on hotels in Switzerland vs. hotels in a couple of your other cities, just to get an idea. Six years ago, we washed loads of laundry in most places for about $2 - $3. In Lucerne, the cheapest we could find was $15! It wasn't even a full load. We didn't eat much there. lol
I think we ate a lot of apples and cheese from grocery stores, and that's about it. We walked into a McDonalds to use their Internet, and value meals were over 10 Euro. Again, this is six or seven years ago. Also, be sure to have lodging for your two or maybe three locations before you leave. After that, feel free to plan as you go. We generally booked inns about a week before we arrived in a city. This allowed us to add Munich into our plans, which we weren't planning on doing at the beginning.
Sorry I can't be more helpful specifically, but hopefully these comments will help you with your plans. I hope you have a GREAT time!
Jan 29th, 2013, 05:27 PM
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Dreamon,
Answering your first question, we just put down major cities but plan to visit smaller or rural towns, and this will be especially true for Switzerland. We are researching areas to visit and stay but for now we just said the major cities to have an idea of where we are going or plan on going. We really want to be in the mountains and view the sites, as we are both from Minnesota and we like the outdoors.
I will look into your comment on flying to Amsterdam after Venice, thanks for the idea. We threw in Venice as a couple days because we felt we had time to stop there, but we do not necessarily need to go there. We are open to other options as well; just felt it was an option through our route.
Bilboburgler,
Sorry about the confusion, we are not planning on staying at all major cities but put them down as an idea of where we plan on going. We are hoping to stay in smaller or rural towns especially in Switzerland and back up to Amsterdam. I appreciate the suggestions and will look into them.
Tulips,
Thanks for the feedback, I will look into these ideas and edit our plan. I see some similar ideas coming through other posts as well so Antwerp, Gent and Brugge seem popular and I will consider.
Adrienne,
Appreciate the feedback and we will take inconsideration of your idea of flying to Venice and traveling back up from there. We have considered night trains but not looked to in depth on them yet, but good idea!
KatieL,
Thanks for all the info and the blog just gets me more excited about the trip. I think we are going take a few days from Switzerland and add them elsewhere, possibly Paris, London, or Amsterdam areas. As for the reason of selecting cities in Switzerland, I did this because we are unsure of where exactly we are planning on going but we know it’s in Switzerland. I have heard people mention Lucerne several times and also Interlaken thus we will look into possibly staying there for a few days. Thanks for the other tips as well.
Answering your first question, we just put down major cities but plan to visit smaller or rural towns, and this will be especially true for Switzerland. We are researching areas to visit and stay but for now we just said the major cities to have an idea of where we are going or plan on going. We really want to be in the mountains and view the sites, as we are both from Minnesota and we like the outdoors.
I will look into your comment on flying to Amsterdam after Venice, thanks for the idea. We threw in Venice as a couple days because we felt we had time to stop there, but we do not necessarily need to go there. We are open to other options as well; just felt it was an option through our route.
Bilboburgler,
Sorry about the confusion, we are not planning on staying at all major cities but put them down as an idea of where we plan on going. We are hoping to stay in smaller or rural towns especially in Switzerland and back up to Amsterdam. I appreciate the suggestions and will look into them.
Tulips,
Thanks for the feedback, I will look into these ideas and edit our plan. I see some similar ideas coming through other posts as well so Antwerp, Gent and Brugge seem popular and I will consider.
Adrienne,
Appreciate the feedback and we will take inconsideration of your idea of flying to Venice and traveling back up from there. We have considered night trains but not looked to in depth on them yet, but good idea!
KatieL,
Thanks for all the info and the blog just gets me more excited about the trip. I think we are going take a few days from Switzerland and add them elsewhere, possibly Paris, London, or Amsterdam areas. As for the reason of selecting cities in Switzerland, I did this because we are unsure of where exactly we are planning on going but we know it’s in Switzerland. I have heard people mention Lucerne several times and also Interlaken thus we will look into possibly staying there for a few days. Thanks for the other tips as well.
Jan 29th, 2013, 07:08 PM
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Look into AirBnB for private in-home stays in Switzerland that can be similar in price to hostels but offer more privacy, unless of course the hostel social aspect is what you want for all nights. Interlaken is a young active outdoorsy city with easy access to the mountain towns but usually cheaper. And we found a washer and dryer in a youth stay building (more like a motel than a hostel) that cost about 2 francs for a load. Not bad.
Jan 30th, 2013, 05:35 PM
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Toucan,
Thanks for the info I will look into the AirBnB as it may provide a better experience of what Switzerland is like. I have looked at Interlaken and I am quite sure we will be going there from all the good things I hear about it.
Thanks for the info I will look into the AirBnB as it may provide a better experience of what Switzerland is like. I have looked at Interlaken and I am quite sure we will be going there from all the good things I hear about it.
Jan 30th, 2013, 06:22 PM
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Luxembourg City is worth a couple of days, I'd say, but not more. The City Hostel on the rue de Fort Olisy is reasonable, clean, comfortable and quite lively (I stayed there September of last year). There's a city walking tour given in English several times a day, starting at the tourist office at the place Guillaume II (?) - IIRC it was about 10E pp. It's well worth it. If you're hosteling (a good way to go, you'll meet a lot of interesting people) pick up a Hosteling International card - it entitles you to a discount at any HI place in Europe; there are a lot of them, and IME they're uniformly good.
