First Trip Advice

Your best tips are going to come from you doing your homework by reviewing several guidebooks covering the areas you want to visit and especially from viewing travel DVDs so you can determine what is most interesting for you. Your public library is a good source for this information. It is hard to make very broad recommendations without knowing you likes, dislikes, and budget.

I second Carol's advice.

Take a leisurely trip, Ireland - London - Paris. Even if I were 40 yrs younger & BC (Before Children), I would be overdoing it by visiting all the countries you suggested in 3 weeks.

There is a lot to see in the places Carol suggested, and a lot more too see in the other 2 countries.

My 2 cents worth.

First trip to Europe, you always want to pack in as much as possible. Contrary to previous posters, I think that you have plenty of time. Ryanair makes flying cheap and possible for your itinerary. You could land in Dublin, spend a few days getting your feet and doing day trips. It will still be cold in Ireland in May, so keep that in mind. Then fly to Paris, another five nights, day trips,from there.... And so on. You get the idea. Decide which towns and interests you really want to hit. The options are endless.

I agree with previous posters in that the more you visit Europe, the more you want to linger in one place, as opposed to moving around a lot. But you won't appreciate that until you have been there at least once.

If you insist on fitting in Italy or Switzerland, there are, more and more, budget airlines (like Ryan Air, easyJet, Vueling, etc.) that get you around within Europe fast and relatively cheaply, so you're not spending days trying to get from one place to the next. Perhaps you're already doing that between Ireland and Paris. Still, a week in Ireland and 2 weeks in Paris and other parts of France (Normandy, Champagne, Loire Valley, Provence, for example) would be a great trip. Rick Steves suggest that you assume you will return some day, so if you don't see everything this time, there's always "next time."

We were in western Ireland in June one year, and in Dingle, the full availablility of boat tours and other activities didn't start up until July 1. Still, there was lots to see and do, and we had a great time.

mmkappe take a look at the itineraries for the tours on this website. Even if you don't take a RS tour, you can get an idea of what is a reasonable pace and schedule from the itinerary.

when I was 23 I flew into London, met a friend who was doing a year abroad. we did took the train to paris (and char tre, and also the sun kings palace)..........we reanted a car for a time in England, and also took the ferry to Ireland. I'm fuzzy now on the secquence , but by focusing mostly on the cities (dublin, paris, London) we were able to see quite a bit.....which probably could be done with out renting a car. this was a 10 day trip for me. yes, look at some guide books, as others have suggested, and look at some of ricks films on this website, and decide what your priorities are for this trip.

when I was 23 I flew into London, met a friend who was doing a year abroad. we did took the train to paris (and char tre, and also the sun kings palace)..........we reanted a car for a time in England, and also took the ferry to Ireland. I'm fuzzy now on the secquence , but by focusing mostly on the cities (dublin, paris, London) we were able to see quite a bit.....which probably could be done with out renting a car. this was a 10 day trip for me. yes, look at some guide books, as others have suggested, and look at some of ricks films on this website, and decide what your priorities are for this trip.

There is nothing wrong with doing a whirlwind trip as long as you understand that it will be a 'sampler' of Europe. I highly recommend it as a first trip simply because that is what I did... Lots of countries and a brief look at many places... it allowed me to decide which places I wanted to return to and I have many times, but... if that had been my only trip I would have had no regrets whatsoever. You can slow it down on future trips. Are you opposed to renting a car for part of the trip? That allows for a more spontaneous trip ... might work well for Italy and Switzerland unless you want to see mostly big cities. Probably need to know a little more of what you want to see before you will get much advice on an itinerary. Big cities, villages, vineyards, museums, mountains....etc???

I agree that trying to see too much is the biggest downfall of many American tourists. I choose a swath of Europe for each trip, keeping the distances between stops short - so I have more time to look around and actually see something.

Three weeks, a week in Ireland, a week in and around London and a week in and around Paris - has the makings of a great and memorable trip. Adding Italy and Switzerland turns it into a whirlwind trip that is hard to enjoy or remember.

Switzerland and northern Italy could make a good part of your next trip to Europe.

Hi mm, it's your trip and you can do what you want. My first trip was a 3 week whirlwind - London, Paris, Rome, Venice and home thru Frankfurt. We saw a lot but not a lot of everything. I've done 6 more trips, slower, focusing on just 1 or 2 locations. It will take some planning and research to visit all 4 countries but you can do it. Figure out which sites you must see and check out train schedules and cheap flights within Europe. Pack light! Your first trip will be special, however it turns out.

Make sure you call the credit card companies at least 2 weeks before your trip to let them know the countries you will be
using them. Also your bank with the debit card. Just read an "emergency" thread about someone whose credit card was
blocked while traveling. Bring two credit cards if possible, and not AMEX. Visa/MasterCard.

The places you see will be yours to decide on. Agree with getting some guide books. RS Europe through the back door is a great place to start. Then go to the library or book store and look at the guide books with pictures. Pictures can really help you decide.

Mmkappe do not fly on Ryanair to Paris if you can avoid it,, Eben if tickets are 20 euros cheaper they aren't worth the hassle because Ryanair uses a horribly located airport for Paris. Its in Beauvais which is about 1.5 hours from Paris by public transport , there is no direct transport either you must bus and train it.

Use easy jet or aerlingus or basically any other airline that uses Charles de Gaulle or Orly airports.

PS I am not anti Ryanair though, we used them from London to Dublin this summer and though they were fine. Just check which airports are used for each destination , some are good and some are an hour or more away from the actual destinations!

The time of year makes a difference as well. If your goal is to enjoy the mountains in Switzerland, don't bother between late October and early December, or between late March and early June.