17 days in Europe...Itinerary too ambitious??

No, I don't think your plan is overly ambitious. The timing is more relaxed than what many students might envision and the flight options make it doable. While I like to plan some smaller towns in the mix, you may find time for a side trip from some of the home bases.

On the surface six cities in seventeen days does not look too ambitious. Having said that, however, you are going to lose part of Day 1 due to arrival, jet lag, and just getting acclimated. You will also lose most of day seventeen getting to London. Now you are down to fifteen days. It is a good plan in that you do not have any one night stops -- but you do have several two night stops. In between Days one and seventeen you will move five times. The main problem with itineraries is that it almost always takes longer to get from place to place than anticipated even when things go as planned. I suspect you are probably going to lose at least one half to three quarters of a day for each move. Others will disagree, I'm sure, but in my opinion it is a doable (but tiring) plan but perhaps not the most practical. I really don't mean to be Debbie Downer, but perhaps you should pick out you four "must see" places and concentrate on them.

It's doable although little bit all over the map. I myself usually concentrate on certain region so distances are not so big and I can do them by train. I consider going by train also sightseeing, not so by plane. Plane is fast but all that hassle before and after - getting from the airport adds a lot of time. Sometimes more than the flight itself.

I would not deviate to Munich in order to just see Neuschwanstein which will involve a daytrip from Munich. So you won't even be seeing Munich since your first and last mornings there are travel days.

Barcelona to Granada would be about 8 hours on the train, so I think you'll need to fly that leg. So now you've got four flights (including the transatlantic one) within the first nine days. That's really, really going to cut into your sightseeing time. And I find the whole business of making sure I get to the airport on time rather stressful. Since you've been to Europe before, I assume you're aware that the budget airlines have very restrictive luggage size and weight limits. Are you guys going to be able to avoid excess-baggage fees and still have what you need for your summer program?

I like all the places you're going (though I've never bothered with Neuschwanstein), so I have no cuts to suggest from the standpoint of touristic interest, just the obvious geographical comment that you have two trips there--one to the Iberian Peninsula and one to central Europe. You could easily fill all your time in either of those areas without repeating places one of your group has been.

So I'd add some time in Barcelona (especially) and pick up some other interesting places in Spain and Portugal. You could bushwhack your way across northern Spain (probably nicer temperatures there in June) and down into Portugal without seeing an airport until you head to London. Burgos, Leon and Santiago de Compostela are all lovely and lively cities.

Alternatively, you could drop Iberia and include Budapest (which everyone absolutely seems to love) and maybe some smaller towns.

P.S.: Don't ask me what my age-20 European itinerary was like. You'll have fun if you stick with what you have, but I honestly think you'll have more fun if you don't have so many long travel legs to deal with.

Re: Rail passes. I'm doubtful that one would pay off for you. For one thing, as currently constituted, your trip requires a lot of flights. If you get the itinerary pinned down soon, you'll be able to score some decent rail fares (non-refundable/non-changeable, so be absolutely sure of your timing). Depending on how the itinerary takes shape, you may end up with a bus leg or two. So I doubt that there's going to be enough rail travel there to justify a pass.

It is very reasonable and sane. Your pace will allow you to soak in the culture better! Enjoy!

Thank you everyone for the helpful responses! Although focusing on one geographical area would make logical sense, flying in to Barcelona is where we are finding the best ticket, and we really wanted to see destinations on both the Iberian peninsula and in Central Europe!

Choose one of Granada or Lisbon.
Add an extra night to Barcelona
Consider a stop in Salzburg between Munich and Vienna.

Looks good to me. However, as much as I like Barcelona, I prefer the Madrid area to Barcelona. Also, from Madrid you can do day trips to Toledo and Segovia. Also, you didn't include Seville in Spain. Why not do Munich, Vienna and Prague on another trip and include Madrid and Seville?

Is the order of cities set in stone? I would suggest the you start in Lisbon and move in the direction of Prague as close as possible to a straight line.

Thanks for the great responses everyone, it's definitely given us a lot to think about in regards to perhaps focusing our plans in one area.

One of my friends has already visited Madrid and Toledo and doesn't want to go there again, which is (sadly) why we have left it out of our plan.

The start of our trip has to be in Barcelona, but otherwise nothing has yet been set in stone. From Barcelona to Granada we were planning to take a night train to avoid having to take another flight.

I actually really like the idea of visiting Salzburg as well, especially because we would love to visit Hallstatt. However I think in order to do this we probably have to leave out a destination somewhere else.

Hi Laila. Spend as much time as you can in Barcelona. It's a great city and if you run out of things you want to see, there are excellent day trips. The Alhambra is worth the trip to Granada. I haven't been to Lisbon. Munich underwhelmed me. Neuschwanstein is famous because everyone wants to see the castle Disney used for Snow White (or was it Cinderella?). It's a long way to go and the inside isn't anything like a fairy tale castle. That and Hallstatt are best seen as picture postcards . . . . even in early June, there will be hordes of people (that's when I was at both). If you want a German city, I thought Frankfurt was more interesting (often overlooked) and Berlin is fascinating.

Since you've all been to Paris, you may want to skip Vienna (designed to rival Paris) and head for places that are very different. Prague is great. So is Budapest.

Re-check your info on the Barcelona-Granada trains. I don't see any indication of a real night train. I see two itineraries that are 15-17 hours long, each with a 6- or 7-hour layover and neither with couchettes. This will not gain you any time, because the next day will be totally miserable.

Aside from the unseen-by-me Neuschwanstein, I agree with Chani's comments.

There is no night train to Granada. You will be best to fly, which is why I would say to choose Lisbon, and leave Andalusia for another time.

June 1 - Barcelona
June 2 - Barcleona
June 3 - Barcelona
June 4 - Barcelona
June 5 - Barcelona to Lisbon (flight)
June 6 - Lisbon
June 7 - Lisbon
June 8 - Lisbon to Munich (flight)
June 9 - Munich
June 10 - Munich (we want to visit Neuschwanstein castle)
June 11 - Munich - Vienna
June 12 - Vienna
June 13 - Vienna
June 14 - Vienna - Prague
June 15 - Prague
June 16 - Prague
June 17 - Prague to London (flight)

Wow thank you everyone again for the very helpful responses!!

Budapest seems gorgeous, but I've heard it's similar to Prague and that we should choose one or the other (correct me if I'm wrong, please!).

And thanks for the information about the night trains. A friend told us there was one between Barcelona and Granada but I guess that is not the case! Granada is a little out of the way but I've grown up hearing so much about it that I really would love to see it if possible. Lisbon, on the other hand, we really just put on the list because it was a different country and inexpensive. If we are going to leave out anything, it might be that.

Thanks again for all the help!

Prague and Budapest are completely different. I would visit both, Budapest being my preferred one.

"Budapest seems gorgeous, but I've heard it's similar to Prague and that we should choose one or the other (correct me if I'm wrong, please!). "

You have indeed heard wrong - quite wrong. I always say that while Budapest, Prague, and Vienna are spoken of as triplets, they are as different as apples, oranges, and bananas.

I also haven't been to Neuschwanstein, but otherwise agree with Chani's comments. And I'll second her recommendation to look at Berlin - a great place for anyone, and probably more interesting for college students than Munich or Vienna.

You may want to look at the book Andy Steves’ Europe: City-Hopping on a Budget. Andy is Rick's son, a recent college grad himself, and his tips are more geared to your age and the the kind of trip you're taking. https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/andy-steves-europe-city-hopping-on-a-budget

I would not add anymore cities to your itinerary. You need to some time "relax" and not always be on the go. Part of traveling is the spontaneity that comes from not always having an agenda.

Ed