Am I on the right track??

[viciousmissfit]

I'm going for two months. I kind of just. . .picked cities that were along the eurrail lines. If anyone has ANY suggestions please respond!

I need some help on how many days to spend in certain cities. I'm also not sure how to work France into my trip. Should i go there first and then backtrack through Germany, or go to Germany first and then to France, and then zig across the continent to hit up the Czech (that's the way I have it planned now)?

I also am trying to find a way to work Greece in, but it's so far down. I will be so sad if I don't go to Greece, but my travel friend is flying out of Madrid, Spain on the 15th and I'm staying until the 29th.


Ireland:
Flying into Dublin
Belfast

Scotland:
Glasgow
Edinburgh
UK:
Birmingham
Bristol *

Belgium:
Brussels
Antwerp
Amsterdam

Germany:
Hamburg
Berlin
Munich

France:
Paris
Versailles
Orleans
St Tropez?
Bordeaux

Switzerland:
Geneva
Zurich

Austria:
Summerau

Hungary:
Budapest

Italy:
Rome
Pompeii
Venice

Spain:
Barcelona
Valencia
Jaen /Baeza

Portugal:
???

[joe7f]

I would added Brugge, Belgium to the list (even if it is to the exclusion of Brussels), Florence (or somewhere else in Tuscany such as Sienna, Umbria, Lucca), Andalucia, and London.

Now if you have seen any of those just ignore me

Looks like a good (packed) trip! As far as the order, I would do it like you see below

--Joey

PS Just fyi, I did Pompeii as a day trip from Rome (not even getting that early of a start).

[florencia9699]

If you do decide to do a city in the north of Italy, Verona for me was an amazing surprise... I really loooved that place, and it was fantastic to relax there after carzy Rome... I fell in love with Verona!

[Elizabeth]

I think your itenerary is pretty packed! If I were you I would research these places more in depth and make some cuts. Check out your local library. The AV section will probably have a good collection of Rick Steves and other travel related videos and/or DVDs.

You have 60 days (2 months) and 25 destinations on your list, = 2.4 days in each city. Assume the .4 accounts for travel time. Thats only 2 days in each city! I had 4 days in Paris and Berlin and that was not enough, for example.

To work in Greece I recommend from Budapest taking the train to Belgrade, stay there for a few nights, then heading to Greece thru Macedonia. These are not Eurail countries (Serbia and Macedonia) so the tickets from Hungarian border to Greek border should cost you ~$50. Once you are thru with Greece you can hop the ferry to Italy.

[MeTurk]

If I was you I'd avoid Dublin altogether, fly into shannon (it should be the same price as Dublin) stay in galway do a day trip to the aran Islands, then over to Belfast (although Belfast won't be as easy to get to from the west of Ireland, you might have to go to Donegal first using public transport). You'll get to see the picture postcard version of Ireland that way and it's cheaper over here in the west.

Originally Posted by Lizz

I think your itenerary is pretty packed!

I'd agree but then I'm not into the journey I like staying in a place for a while.

[lost in texas]

Looks like a good time. I agree on adding another stop in in Italy, if you have time to spend a couple of days in the Cinque Terre, I would absolutely recommend that. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, and was a highlight of my trip.

I would definitely cut some cities of the list too. There are some places (like Brussels) where you really wouldn't need more than a day, but in others, like Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin-- even three days may seem a little short. Transit time, even if you take night trains, is probably going to eat more of your days then you realize. Even on relatively short rides, by the time you get to your destination, find the hostel, and all that-- the better part of your day is already gone.

As far as Greece goes, I would save it for another trip unless you have several days to spend-- preferably on one of the islands. Athens is tied with Tangier, Morocco, for my least favorite place of all time. And I've been to some shitty places.

Personally, I would try to budget at least three days in each place, knowing that you can spend less in certain places and make up for it elsewhere. Regardless of how you plan it, you'll have a great time.