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Europe Itinerary (Amendment)

After some further information from fellow travelers and more travel guide reading, I've amended my Europe itinerary, can you all give some input into my amended itinerary? Thank you.

15 years ago, February 13th 2009 No: 1 Msg: #63058 Delete Edit

xiaoman
Xiaoman Zheng

N Posts: 4

By the way, as I've live in UK for more than 6 months on the day I start travel, therefore I can only buy InterRail Pass and not Eurail Pass. The pass is expensive. But then, if I do travel all the time by train and ferry, I guess I can't avoid buying it. Right?

Here goes my amended Europe itinerary:

London (Eurostar)

↓ (Benelux - 14 days)
Brussels (pass by /morning train)
↓
Bruges (day trip /over night /morning train)
↓
Ghent (day trip /over night /morning train)
↓
Antwerp (2days /2nights /morning train)
↓
Brussels (3days /3nights /morning train)
↓
Luxemborg (2days /2nights /morning train)
↓
Amsterdam (3days /3nights /morning train)
↓
Den Haag (day trip /over night /morning train)
↓
Rotterdam (day trip /over night /morning train)

↓ (Germany - 10 days)
Frankfurt (day trip /over night /morning train)
↓
Schiltach - Black Forest (day trip /over night /morning train)
↓
Berlin (3days /3nights /morning train)
↓
Dresden (2days /2nights /morning train)
↓
Munchen (3days /3nights /morning train)

↓ (Switzerland - 7 days)
Zurich (3days /3nights /morning train)
↓
Luzern (day trip /over night /morning train)
↓
Bern (2days /2nights /morning train)
↓
Geneva (day trip /over night /morning train)

↓ (Italy - 18 days)
Milano (4days /4nights /morning train)
↓
Verona (2days /2nights /morning train)
↓
Venezia (3days /3nights /morning train)
↓
Firenze (3days /4nights /morning train) ↔ Pisa (day trip)
↓
Roma (4days /4nights /morning train)
↓
Bari (day trip /night ferry)

↓ (Greece - 18 days)
Pratas (pass by /morning train)
↓
Athinai (4nights /3days /morning ferry)
↓
Crete (2days /2nights /morning ferry)
↓
Santorini (3days /3nights /morning ferry)
↓
Myconos (3days /3nights /morning ferry)
↓
Rhodes Island (3days /3 nights /morning ferry)
↓
Athinai (pass by /morning train)
↓
Thessaloniki (3days /2nights /night train)

↓ (Turkey - 4 days)
Istanbul (4days /4nights /morning flight)

↓ (Hungary - 3 days)
Budapest (3days /2nights /night train)

↓ (Poland - 9 days)
Krakow (3days /3nights /morning train)
↓
Warszawa (4days /4nights /morning train)
↓
Wroclaw (2days /2nights /morning train)

↓ (Czech Republic - 3 days)
Prague (3days /3nights /morning train)

↓ (Austria - 9 days)
Wien (3days /3nights /morning train)
↓
Melk (day trip /over night /morning train)
↓
Salzburg (3days /3nights /morning train)
↓
Innsbruck (2days /2nights /morning train)

↓ (France - 11 days)
Strasbourg (day trip /over night /morning train)
↓
Paris (3days /4nights /morning train) ↔ Versailles (day trip)
↓
Lyon (day trip /over night /morning train)
↓
Nice (2days /3nights /morning train) ↔ Monaco (day trip)
↓
Cannes (day trip)
↓
Marseille (over night /day trip /night train)

↓ (Spain - 12 days)
Barcelona (4days /4nights /morning train)
↓
Valencia (2days /2nights /morning train)
↓
Madrid (4days /4nights /morning train)
↓
Sevilla (2 days /2 nights /morning train)
↓
Madrid (pass by /morning train)

↓ (Portugal - 6 days)
Lisboa (3days /4nights /morning train) ↔ Sintra (day trip)
↓
Porto (2days /2nights /morning flight)

↓ (Ireland - 6 days)
Dublin (2days /2nights /morning train)
↓
Kilkenny (day trip /over night /morning train)
↓
Cork (day trip /over night /morning train)
↓
Killarny (day trip /over night /morning train)
↓
Galway (day trip /over night /morning train)
↓
Dublin (pass by /morning train)

↓ (Northern Ireland - 2 days)
Belfast (2days /2nights /morning train)

↓ (Scotland - 4 days)
Glasgow (2days /2nights /morning train)
↓
Edinburgh (2days /2nights /morning train)

↓ (England - 4 days)
York (2days /2nights /morning train)
↓
Manchester (day trip /over night /morning train)
↓
Liverpool (day trip /afternoon train)
↓
London (HOME)

So, all together, I'll be traveling for 140 days - 130 days in non-UK country and 10 days in UK. Is that too long? Any advice?

Thank you. Cheers! ;-D Reply to this

15 years ago, February 13th 2009 No: 2 Msg: #63059 Delete Edit

JonathanCampion
Jonathan Campion

B Posts: 972

It sounds like an absolutely awesome trip! You've obviously thought a lot about which places to spend the most time in and where to just pass through.

J. Reply to this

15 years ago, February 13th 2009 No: 3 Msg: #63061 Delete Edit

deleted_49612
deleted_49612

D Posts: 24.6K

Hello Xiaoman 😊

I moved this to the Europe forum.

Mel Reply to this

15 years ago, February 15th 2009 No: 4 Msg: #63138 Delete Edit

The Travel Camel
Shane Dallas

B Posts: 7,300

Wow, what a superb trip! To echo Jonathon's thoughts, you have obviously given a lot of thought to this trip. I was fortunate to spend 10 months travelling through Europe many years ago - following most of the places you have here - and it wasn't enough time! So 140 days is certainly not going to be too long a time given your itinerary.

Just a few suggestions:
Switzerland - are you going to the central/southern parts of that country at all? The Bernese Oberland is the best part of the country, and the towns there - such as Interlarken and Zermatt - are surrounded by such wonderful scenery as the Matterhorn, Eiger and Jungfrau. If you cannot get to Zermatt, at least base yourself in Interlarken or maybe in the nearby villages of Grindewald or Lauterbrunnen.

Turkey - dare it for me to say about not going to Istanbul, but it is the one destination here that seems out of place with the others. After a visit to Istanbul, every other city on your itinerary will seem overly subdued by comparison. Turkey has a totally different and more intense vibe to the other countries and you really need to spend weeks there, rather than limiting yourself to Istanbul. Perhaps a later trip?

Portugal - Sintra day trip - I did this and wish I spent an evening there (make sure you do not visit on a weekend). Also try to add in the Convent of Mafra - it is well worth a visit.

Spain - you absolutely must add Granada into your trip to see the Alhambra. I missed it on my first trip to Spain in 1992 and only saw it in 2008 when I finally visited the country again. I cannot believe that it was not on my itinerary during the earlier trip. Try to add it in after Sevilla.

France - try to spend an extra day in Paris - it is equal to Rome in terms of time you need there.

I like the inclusion of many of the "essential" stops - such as Paris, Madrid, Berlin, Wien, Roma, and Prague. The itinerary also follows a nice progression with little backtracking. It is very well planned.

Re the Eurail Pass - I was in Europe for a long time and I organised for my parents to send me a Eurail Pass from my home country (Australia) so that I could use it in the 2nd half of my travels (otherwise the pass would not have been valid due to its expiry). Is this possible for you?

Reply to this

15 years ago, February 19th 2009 No: 5 Msg: #63512 Delete Edit

greek gal
Inga

B Posts: 277

Hi, as a inhabitant of Greece I have some comments on your Greek tour.
Athinai (4nights /3days /morning ferry)
↓
Crete (2days /2nights /morning ferry)
↓
Santorini (3days /3nights /morning ferry)
↓
Myconos (3days /3nights /morning ferry)
↓
Rhodes Island (3days /3 nights /morning ferry)
↓
Athinai (pass by /morning train)
↓
Thessaloniki (3days /2nights /night train)

Athens is of course a must, with so much of historical monuments. Don't miss the central metro stations which are museums in themselves. An excellent museum in the Museum of Cycladic Art and the National Archaelogical Museum should not be missed. And, do go out to the Sounion temple east of Athens, I think it is one of the most beautiful classical temples and the setting is fabulous (there is also a beach there).
Crete is a fantastic island, and two days is not enough. Crete has so much to offer and the distances are long, compared to the other islands. My suggestion is that you travel to Chania which is a lovely city, with a beuatiful Venetian harbour. If you like nature the Samaria gorge is a great trek (15 km, can be done in a very long day from Chania, either by taking a tour or by local bus/boat). The coast road to Heraklion is one of great beauty, takes 2.5-3 hours by bus. In Heraklion you must visit Knossos (just outside the city, local bus) which is a world class archaelogical site of the Minoan culture (1700 B.C). These are the two highlights but you can easily spend many more days as there are fantastic beaches (Palaiochora and Sougia for example south of Chania), numerous archaelogical site, idyllic mountain villages untouched by tourists, tourist resort with intensive night life (Mallia/Hersonissos) and much more. From Heraklion you can catch a boat to Santorini though be aware that in Summer the tickets sell out fast.
Santorini is beautiful, and well worth the trip, though expensive and not a lot to see. 2 days is probably enough. Mykonos is an expensive party island for the Greek jet set, in case this is not what you are after there are many other nice islands that you can reach from Santorini, Paros and Naxos are well known, and there are many more. It should be easy to get from Santorini to any of the more Northern islands so you can leave it open until you get there. Personally I don't think Rhodes have a lot to offer the independent traveller, it is geared towards charter tourism although the old city is lovely. In addition it is a long ferry trip to get there. You could include those days for Crete instead or choose a third island on the way from Santorini to Athens. Thessaloniki is a nice city and well worth the visit is (again) the Archaelogical Museum, the Byzantine churches (Rotonda is the most impressive). Halkidiki east of the city has nice beaches, and the cities Kavala and Xanthi could make good stopovers on your way to Istanbul. Thasos island you can reach from Kavala and it is said to very nice, but I have never been.
In general with your itinerary you will see a lot of Europe and the planning looks well researched. But I agree that you could spend more time in Paris. Reply to this

15 years ago, February 24th 2009 No: 6 Msg: #63970 Delete Edit

megamay
Megan

B Posts: 9

your itinerary looks great to me! my only thought would be that you have a lot of short stops - and you might want to schedule some 'down time' every month or so because it can get very tiring doing all that travel.

also, if I remember correctly, the ferry rides between the islands in greece are pretty long. I think it is almost a day to get to Crete. To cut down on ferry time, if I were you I might cut out one of the islands and use the extra time on another island as part of that 'down time'.

if you are spending a day in Versailles, I would suggest another day in Paris.

And personally, I loved Bruges, so I would add a day there just to explore.

oh and warsaw, you could scratch all together, but 4 days is definitely too much. Reply to this

15 years ago, April 4th 2009 No: 7 Msg: #68236 Delete Edit

ShanniePoo
Shannon Lindberg

N Posts: 1

Hey! This sounds like an amazing trip! I'm from the States and was wanting to do a trip pretty similar to this. If you don't mind, how much are you budgeting for this trip? I'm trying to understand better how much I should be saving financially to support a trip like this!

Any help would be awesome! Hope you have a wonderful time! Reply to this

15 years ago, April 7th 2009 No: 8 Msg: #68554 Delete Edit

herewego
Jian and Aaron

B Posts: 80

that looks like an amazing trip...you are very fortunate to have the time/money to do all this!!!

yes, i agree with all the others that down time is crucial for a trip this long....but then again, in some of the cities you will decide to stay in for the day and read a book or go to a day spa or lie on the beach all day....so in my opinion your down time will come naturally anyway.

but it does sound like a very extensive trip and if i were doing it, i would probably schedule in an entire week in a relaxing, calm seaside town about halfway through your journey so that you could recharge your batteries for the next half of your adventure. Reply to this