First time traveler to Europe

As a first time traveler, I would begin by visiting England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, one or several of these. It is Europe but the bonus is that they speak English. That way you can get used to how public transport works - trains, metro systems, buses - and get a sense of the practicalities of travel before you dive into a country where they don't speak English. Spend time in London, Dublin or Edinburgh to get a feel for a big European city, and then do day trips out of town. Spend a week or so and just get used to it.
After that, move on to a place where English is not the language but where they are used to tourists and there is a good infrastructure for them. I personally would recommend Paris as a first time traveler. It's very easy to navigate and it is a great introduction to the continent. Spend a week or so there, taking day trips like you did in England, and then see how you feel about going and trying some other destinations.
Everybody has to have a first time when they just dive in to the deep end of the pool! If you go with an attitude of adventure and openness to new things, you'll be fine and you'll have a wonderful time!

You might want to read Rick's Europe Through the Back Door or watch some of his videos to get an idea of places you would like to see. But if you can't make up your mind and are open to anything, what I would do is see what cities are cheapest to fly to from where you live or what cities you could get to with a direct flight. I would also consider the weather at the time of year you plan to go. For example, I hate hot weather, so I would avoid all of southern Europe in the summer. That should at least narrow your list. Then do some reading about the places that remain. You'll find culture and attractions pretty much anywhere, usually more so in the larger cities. You can have a good time anywhere, so throw darts at a map if you have to.

Boy, you are going to get some many opinions that it will drown you. Personally I would say do it in layers. Layer one (your first trip) London, Paris, Rome for an introduction to Europe. Then on future trips look for regions that interest you like Spain/Portugal or Czech Rep/Austria/Hungary or Romania/Bulgaria/Turkey. Also depends on your budget. The UK can be sort of expensive while Romania is very, very , very cheap.

For more ideas I would Google for lists. Here is one, but there are a number of these lists. All those people can't be all wrong: http://www.cntraveler.com/readers-choice-awards/europe/best-cities-europe_slideshow_1-Budapest_9

laura,

There are an almost unlimited number of possibilities. It would help to have some idea on what sparked the desire to visit Europe 20 years ago (ie: something you saw on TV or ?). It would also help to have further information on the specifics of the trip such as:

• When will this be taking place?
• What is the duration?
• What type of budget are you working with?
• Where are you travelling from (your location is not listed in your profile)?
• Will you be able to make subsequent trips over the next few years?
• Which countries / cultures interest you the most?
• Are you more of a "blitz traveller" or do you prefer to spend some time and enjoy each place at a more relaxed pace?

As this is your first trip to Europe, I'd also recommend reading Europe Through The Back Door as it will provide a lot of good information on "how" to travel well in Europe, and it may give you some ideas on places you might want to visit. It's more of a "pre-travel" Guidebook, rather than one that you'd pack along. You should be able to find a copy at your local Library or larger Book stores (if you plan on buying a copy). Once you've narrowed down which places you'll be visiting, you can use the country or city-specific Guidebooks to work out hotels, transportation, sightseeing and other details.

Good luck with your planning!

I also agree about starting in London and its suburbs. Then take Eurostar to Paris and fly home from there.

Both countries have enough culture, art and history to overwhelm you, and enough attractions to take as much time as you'll have to spend there.

It also depends on how long you have. A week? London and Paris (OR one of those and day trips from it into the countryside). Two weeks? London, Paris, and Rome - in that order. London is a great starting point (no language barrier, less cultural barrier, and lots of great sites), then Paris is a little more different, then with that experience, Rome will be fine (it's a little more chaotic and such). Those 3 would give you a wonderful overview of the very top sites. Those 3 are the most popular, almost cliche for a good reason. With more time you could still structure around those 3, but add in other places as time allows.

Go to a library or bookstore and just look at books about everywhere you would consider and see if anything stirs you. You could fall in love with something like…Prague or Seville or Crete (not places one would automatically suggest for a first timer, but there's no reason why not if you fall in love with the idea!).

If you never gone but plan on repeat trips. Follow a lot of the above suggestions. First, hit your library and get travel DVDs, find the Rick Steves progam on public TV, check out guide, etc., until you a feel for what interests you the most.

England - London, York, is always good for an introduction. You learn how to use a subway system, deal with foreign currency, jet lag, bus and rail systems, B&Bs, hotels, etc. It is easy because they speak a form of English we can generally understand. For the first around, two, maybe three weeks would be enough. If you wanted a bit more, you could hit Paris for a little more for foreign experience. Some people hit Rome as their first city. It can be pretty intense and overwhelming. Under plan your activities. Some plan to hit four or five stops in one day but are disappointed if it is only three. We plan to hit two and if we fit in three, it is great day. Always have the attitude, "I will see that the next time." Things will never go as fast you think they can. In my opinion, the biggest problems with first time travelers is that they want to see everything, plan too much, and generally have too much travel involved between cities. Our style is to see an area well with min travel between different locations.

Hello laurajbarnes. I recommend : go to Germany, and Salzburg in Austria. Going to a country in which the language is English (Great Britain) is not important. At the places in Germany that tourists from America go to, nearly all of the German people who you would meet can talk in the English language, fluently. Public transportation, in railroad trains, is excellent in Germany. Hotels are good in Germany. And German people are Great ! My first trip to Europe was to Germany and Austria. That was my most enjoyable trip to Europe. I bought the German Rail pass (five day), it was a good value for me. And there are other affordable options for railroad travel in Germany. I am surprised that other people did not recommend Germany, here. If you want to know my suggestion of a travel route in Germany, send a Private Message to me. And I recommend : read the travel guide book on GERMANY written by Rick Steves. Reading a book that was published recently is not necessary, to help you decide if you want to go to Germany.

Sign up for RS Best of Europe 21 day tour. I took that tour on my first trip to Europe and was certainly glad I did as it really gives you an overview of many places for quick stops that you would have a very hard time trying to copy. I remember being told that that tour would not be stopping in any one place long enough to get to establish any extensive familiarity but with the expectation that you will return some day which I have done for 11 of the past 12 years and leave again for Europe next Friday. Even if you do not plan on returning to Europe, this would give you a wide view of Europe and might even convince you to return. I would second the post made by Ken who asks for LOTS more information from you so that we volunteers on this web site can give you more accurate responses.
Happy travels.

Actually I sort of like @Charlie's suggestion; I didn't consider that my first trip to Europe in the 70's was on a tour and it helped build the confidence to be successful on my own in future trips. Good training. I suggested London, Paris and Rome because that's the basis of so much education we got in school as kids. In a way they are familiar which is also a good first step. if you have less time there is a Best of Europe in 14 days. Either way I would arrive a few days early in London to add that to the trip before going to Paris on the train for the start of the tour.

The others will notice that I didn't even mention my favorite country. I think to be fair its the journey that is important, not the destination. I think either one of Ricks or someone else's general tours (Ricks will be better) or a self directed tour from London to Paris to Rome with intermediate stops depending on the season and your time.

I would suggest you just jump right in and see whatever country/area that interest you the most. There is almost always someone who speaks English most anywhere you go if you really need help.... otherwise you just make the same mistakes most of us have made and figure it out as you go along. If you really want to do a tour to get your feet wet then I would suggest a possible city tour of Paris where they will meet you at the airport, etc. and you will have some people to hang out with and a guide to help teach you some of the pertinent info... then take your extra time to take off on your own... possibly provence or maybe London if that interest you.

I also have to agree that Germany is a fairly easy country to travel in and it is beautiful and one of my favorite places. Also agree adding Salzburg might make a really nice trip. Have a wonderful time whatever you choose.

Our first trip out of North America in 2008 - and our first stop was Rome! (Our biggest city visits before that were Boston, Toronto, Montreal). What a culture shock (the driving - oh my)! But I loved it. We made some stupid errors, which we learned from, didn't have a huge issue with language and fell in love with Italy. We also visited Cinque Terre, Genoa, Bologna, Venice. I blame Rick Steves. Before watching his videos, Scotland and Greece were on my must see list (still haven't gotten there!). Then, watching the videos, I fell in love with Italy. We are returning to Rome this fall with my mom in tow. We've had 4 trips over, all to various countries, but Italy has been in the trips every time - we are actually returning to Venice for the 4th time! So go with what your heart tells you...watch some videos, go to the library and check out some guidebooks, even looking at photos on the internet...it would also depend on whether you like planning or not. Nothing makes me happier then sitting in front of the computer for an hour or more a night, looking at accoms and train schedules and things to do...if that doesn't sound like fun to you, a tour may be your thing...or at least a trip with only one or two stops.

Laura,

I think Charlie has a good suggestion of joining the Best of Europe tour. Rick is on his own tour right now and you could follow his blog of that tour. If a group tour is not what you had in mind, then take a look at his itinerary to see what he suggests. You could use that as a guide to building your own trip. The next step I would suggest is to watch Rick's shows (available on this site) to see what catches your interest. After that, get his books for those spots and start reading! I think planning is a great part of the entire traveling process.

Happy planning,

Sharon

My first trip out of the US was to the UK, fortunately it was the one place I felt I simply must see no matter what, and it was of course perfect for all the reasons others have already mentioned. I spent time in London and Edinburgh and while it's not the cheapest place to visit, it was well worth it. I also recommend Estonia, Tallinn is a lovely city with a perfectly preserved Old Town and for a capital city it's not enormous and is easily and safely navigated by public transit. Same for Helsinki.

So much depends on what you would most enjoy seeing.

I started with visiting Mexico regularly as a kid but spoke conversational local Spanish so didn't experience a language issue.

Immediately after college, I lived on Guam and traveled extensively around Asia. I still consider Asia the biggest culture change and probably not the best place to start.

I didn't start visiting Europe until I was into my 30's.

The British Isles are a good place to start. The language is essentially the same (or at least understandable). Ireland, in particular, is like visiting your favorite distant family, the ones you look forward to seeing. The weather isn't great, because it's so far north - don't go in the winter when the days are cold, wet, dark and short - or you may give up traveling.

If you are most inspired by some other aspect of European culture, however, don't worry about the language barrier. Most people survive just fine without any language skills at all.

The only place I've been in Europe so far (still many places to visit) that I'd not recommend for a first trip (other than northern Europe during the short days of winter) is Italy. I'm sure I'll get flack and many opposing views but Italy's view of customer service is significantly different than ours. If you roll with it, it can be quite entertaining. I've seen many Americans, however, on the verge of a stroke because their seemingly simple requests are ignored.

Ron in Missouri suggests Germany. IMO Germany may be the least culture shock of all, a lot of their language and almost all of their culture seems understandable to an American - even on my first trip. As Ron says, it's difficult to find someone in Germany who doesn't speak English fluently - so language isn't a problem at all. Salzburg, Austria has one of the most beautiful city centers anywhere. The view of the old center when lit up at night rivals any view I've seen in the world. I always spend a day and night in Salzburg when I'm in the area.

The suggested Best of Europe tour is designed to give first-time travelers a great overview of Western Europe without having to do too much planning. To make an independent plan, you might start with Rick's itinerary tips, drawn from the book Europe Through the Back Door. FYI, in case your trip will be next year, the "favorite places" half of that travel-skills-and-planning book will be significantly re-edited in the edition to be published in August.

I agree with Brad that Ireland is a pretty good first country. On our very first trip to Europe, just last year, we spent seven nights there to start, and found it exceptionally warm and welcoming-warm as in warm fuzzies, not temperature! We next flew into Florence, after dark; now that was a bit of culture shock.

Personally I'd skip UK for a first trip. Germany and Austria are great. Trains are easy and fast . Lots to see. I found London a snooze and everyone speaks English - what's the fun in that?

Maybe get to Prague?