Planning Europe Trip

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(salam)

 

Hope you're all doing great.

Brothers and sisters I'm in a phase of planning a trip to some of the places around Europe. Since this is my first time travelling, I would like you guys to join in and help me make this trip memorable.  :wub:  ^_^

Currently I'm residing in Nice,France. From here I plan to move to Italy then to Hungary>Czech>Austria>Switzerland>Germany>Sweden>Netherlands>Paris>Spain>Portugal starting from ~23ish Dec.

The Places in Bold are not finalized and based on the comments from you guys with cities,famous Places, attractions, landmarks etc I will make changes (add/remove) to my program. It would be even better if I can meet some of you guys and roam around with a guided tour of your hometown or just for a cup of coffee  :)

I will probably not be staying for more than 1 or 2 days in any country since I only have 2 weeks of vacations. It will be great if any of you might be able to host me as well, "promise I won't break your crockery or steal your Music CDs".  :P  . As for Nice,you're always welcome to plan your trip and stay at my place. 

Kindly comply asap since I need to book my tickets. Looking forward to your suggestions and hopefully meet some of you guys.  :angel:

 

(wasalam)

[Ali_Hussain]

(wasalam)

 

Wouldn't it be a better idea if you toured countries according to their geographical locations? Your itinerary seems a bit all over the place.

[Khalilallah]

It won't be much fun, travelling so much, you will just be tired from the road.

[Hasan0404]

Consult Marbles.

[-Enlightened]

lol.  The OP is just joking. 

[GreyMatter]

Sure thing, I'll come if you don't mind paying for me, my food, my shopping, and ofcourse, my cat will come too, so her food, shopping, and all as well.

 

Lets hit some soccer stadiums as well, since you know, it is YOU who will be paying.

Edited October 12, 2014 by GreyMatter

[kim.tinkerbell]

Wsalam,

Greymatters cat doesnt need to go, I will go inside,loool.

I have been to sweden so many times, I still havent visited any famous places. Their fun fair was good thou. The good thing is they have trains and you can ask people were to go. Most of the workers speak english. With germans you just have a heard time explaining things to them because they will continusely speak german with you even thou you have no idea what there saying,lol.

Anyways,have fun,do your research,take warm cloths with you,you dont want to freeze going to all those cold places.

[Username already taken]

(salam)

Great !

Just what I was expecting before posting the topic here, you guys never disappoint  :lol:

 

(wasalam)

 

Wouldn't it be a better idea if you toured countries according to their geographical locations? Your itinerary seems a bit all over the place.

No my friend, did you check the geographical locations of the countries I listed? For me I guess it's fine.

 

 

It won't be much fun, travelling so much, you will just be tired from the road.

Agree, but then again you don't get to travel everyday  ;)

 

 

Sure thing, I'll come if you don't mind paying for me, my food, my shopping, and ofcourse, my cat will come too, so her food, shopping, and all as well.

 

Lets hit some soccer stadiums as well, since you know, it is YOU who will be paying.

Not a problem, bring your parents and siblings while you're at it "BUT NO CATS !!!" ;)

 

 

With germans you just have a heard time explaining things to them because they will continusely speak german with you even thou you have no idea what there saying,lol.

Trust me, they can't be worse than French  :mellow:

 

(wasalam)

[Marbles]

Currently I'm residing in Nice,France. From here I plan to move to Italy then to Hungary>Czech>Austria>Switzerland>Germany>Sweden>Netherlands>Paris>Spain>Portugal starting from ~23ish Dec.

I will probably not be staying for more than 1 or 2 days in any country since I only have 2 weeks of vacations

Your current itinerary is unrealistic given you have only two weeks.

Keeping a map in front while planning a multi-city trip comes handy. Identify a cluster of cities/countries you want to visit and create a geographically doable itinerary that fits the time available to you.

Let's say you want to have a taste of Central/Eastern Europe. Considering you have two weeks, you can do the following:

Prague (Czech R.) --> Vienna (Austria) --> Bratislava (Slovakia) --> Budapest (Hungary).

If you spend 3 days in each city, you have 12 days in total. Many travellers take a day trip to Bratislava from Vienna and stay in Vienna for longer, since that city has a lot to offer.

From or around your city of residence, you'll need to find a flight to Prague and then another flight out of Budapest.

Alternatively, if you want to start travelling by train, considering you live in Nice, you can go first to Milan, on to Venice, on to Vienna (there's a direct Venice-Vienna night train), and on to Budapest. 3 days in every city would be 12 days in total. From Budapest you'll need a flight back home.

Avoid backtracking as much as you can for it's a waste of time and money.

Do take into account travel times. The day you're travelling in and out of a city, you will, at best, only have half a day to do something. So in practice you'll be spending 2.5 days in every city if you pack 4 cities in 2 weeks. Which is as fast as you can go. Anything faster and you'll be spending your 2 weeks on train/bus, and will not be able to experience anything.

Mode of travel: Train travel remains the best option in Europe, as you depart and arrive in city centres, which saves intermediate travel to and from airports to city, which wastes a lot of time.

A note of caution: If I were you I would never go traveling during Christmas/New Year holidays, and in the middle of winter season. It's the worst time of year to travel in Europe. Most transport in cities is off, fewer trains run, before and after it is always fully booked (and expensive), and tourist attractions will be closed on Christmas, Boxing and New Year Days. If you must travel in winters, go after New Year has passed, by mid-January.

Take a look at this for perspective on the two itineraries I suggested

Edited October 14, 2014 by Marbles

[Marbles]

This website contains detailed information on train routes in all European countries and beyond.

 

http://www.seat61.com/

 

And the following website, although of German railways, lists train schedules for all of Europe

 

http://www.bahn.com/i/view/GBR/en/

Edited October 14, 2014 by Marbles

[Wahdat]

Prague (Czech R.) --> Vienna (Austria) --> Bratislava (Slovakia) --> Budapest (Hungary).

If you spend 3 days in each city, you have 12 days in total. Many travellers take a day trip to Bratislava from Vienna and stay in Vienna for longer, since that city has a lot to offer.

From or around your city of residence, you'll need to find a flight to Prague and then another flight out of Budapest.

 

Prague and Vienna are worth the 3 or 4 days. Once in Vienna one of those day trips by boat to Bratislava would suffice and Budapest is Vienna light...so couple of days at most there. Vienna is very nice as in not only it has lots of beautiful places to visit but getting around costs very little. You can buy a 2 way ticket for 2.20 Euros thats good for all public transportation and pretty much takes you all over. 

 

But if it was me I would have just rented a chalet up in the Alps for two weeks and relaxed before coming down to the crazy world. 

[Marbles]

Prague and Vienna are worth the 3 or 4 days.

 

Definitely; you can't do justice to Prague and Vienna in just 2 days. Likewise, some first time travellers spend 2 or 3 days in Rome and move on. I can't understand this. Rome at the least deserves a full week. But since people want to traverse so many places in so little time, sometimes it become 'tick the landmark' and move on sort of travelling, which I am against. 

 

I was greatly impressed with public transport system in Vienna. I have never seen such efficient, flawless, smooth urban transport that costs only a cowrie worth of your money.

[mina]

When i travel, i almost don't plan anything and stay where i like it and where i think is a lot to see...at least in the middle east i travel like this...

[Username already taken]

(salam)

Finally a great advice. I will surely be following the itinerary you suggested here, never thought about Slovakia (just googled the images and they are awesome). So, I 'll probably just apply for UK  in these vacations considering most of the tourist attractions will be closed. 

If possible kindly guide me about rest of the missing countries I asked about aswell. but all in all... a great plan marbles  ^_^

 

Prague and Vienna are worth the 3 or 4 days. Once in Vienna one of those day trips by boat to Bratislava would suffice and Budapest is Vienna light...so couple of days at most there. Vienna is very nice as in not only it has lots of beautiful places to visit but getting around costs very little. You can buy a 2 way ticket for 2.20 Euros thats good for all public transportation and pretty much takes you all over. 

 

But if it was me I would have just rented a chalet up in the Alps for two weeks and relaxed before coming down to the crazy world. 

I'll keep that in mind, thanks  :)

 

(wasalam)

[Marbles]

(salam)

If possible kindly guide me about rest of the missing countries I asked about aswell. but all in all... a great plan marbles  ^_^

 

Wasalam and you're welcome.

 

The same goes for other countries. You can have a multi-country trip or just visit one country and divide your time in its cities. For instance grouping Italy with other countries will be doing injustice to all that Italy has to offer. Rome, Venice, Pompeii, Pisa, Florence, Milan alone take at least 3 weeks of intense cultural/historical immersion. I also like to spend time in Tuscan countryside (without drinking its famous wine, of course)

 

My first major solo trip in Europe was in 2007. I landed in Amsterdam and from there --> Brussels --> Paris --> Madrid --> Lisbon. From there I took a flight out to home. 15 days in total. I made trips to smaller cities too, for example while based in Amsterdam I visited The Hague, while in Madrid I went to Toledo etc. So you can take shorter trips to nearby places while keeping your base in a major city as long as you can minimize the inevitable backtracking.

 

But overall, if you look at the map, those cities I mentioned above make a pretty straight and slanting line, from Amsterdam to Lisbon.

 

Lastly, to learn the latest travel related info, keep an eye on Lonely Planet forums and TripAdvisor which, in my experience, are best resources on the web.

 

Good luck and have fun.

[Wahdat]

Definitely; you can't do justice to Prague and Vienna in just 2 days. Likewise, some first time travellers spend 2 or 3 days in Rome and move on. I can't understand this. Rome at the least deserves a full week. But since people want to traverse so many places in so little time, sometimes it become 'tick the landmark' and move on sort of travelling, which I am against. 

 

I was greatly impressed with public transport system in Vienna. I have never seen such efficient, flawless, smooth urban transport that costs only a cowrie worth of your money.

 

Yesterday came down to Croatia for a week after hearing all sorts of good stuff. Today I am told by my ceo to go back to Vienna as this place is half dead- its people, city, even their tv shows. I thoroughly enjoyed Wein.

Edited October 17, 2014 by Wahdat

[Marbles]

Yesterday came down to Croatia for a week after hearing all sorts of good stuff. Today I am told by my ceo to go back to Vienna as this place is half dead- its people, city, even their tv shows. I thoroughly enjoyed Wein.

 

I was in Dubrovnik last year and thoroughly enjoyed its postcard natural beauty. A welcome change from the dusty scorching plains of the Punjab. It was too busy for my liking as all of Europe likes to descend on it in summers like locusts.

 

Didn't have time for the rest of Croatia as I had to get back to Copenhagen for a wedding. What's your itinerary?

[Wahdat]

I was in Dubrovnik last year and thoroughly enjoyed its postcard natural beauty. A welcome change from the dusty scorching plains of the Punjab. It was too busy for my liking as all of Europe likes to descend on it in summers like locusts.

 

Didn't have time for the rest of Croatia as I had to get back to Copenhagen for a wedding. What's your itinerary?

 

We are heading to Dubrovnik this week as well. Leaving to Zadar today and on thursday will go to Dubrovnik and the plan is to eventually make it to Belgrade before going back to Holland where we began. Its off season so Southern Croatia is going to be bit less crowded and also cheaper. Would have loved to have gone to Italy and visiting places along the way to Holland but am bit pressed for time and have to be back at work by the end of this month. Yesterday walked around Zagreb and felt better than the first day.

[El-Ketab]

 

Your map is incorrect.  Krim is Russian now, not Ukrainian.

[Marbles]

^ But that doesn't alter a single word of what I have said in the thread.