22 Days in Europe

P.S. We already bought our tickets for London. They were cheap, so we went for it. That is why the first few days are kind of funky.

P.P.S. We are both students, so our funds are quite limited. Any other suggestions for us?

Matt,
It will be a hectic trip but it looks like you've done a good job planning! You'll have a great time!

I think you are trying to do too much. If you do generally (what looks like at first glance) 2 nights in each place, you will spend too much time packing and unpacking and too much of your vacation in transit. Plus for 22 days sleeping in 9 or 10 locations will take it’s toll. I would cut down. For example, pick Florence OR Siena, not both. Stay in London, skip Bath. A few years ago I skipped Venice to stay longer in Florence (5 days instead of 3) and have never regretted it.

Your itinerary sounds too much like what a package tour drags you on. If you are independent, why do what they do? Decide if you want notches on your belt or a chance to really experience these places. If you can’t slow down, you will not remember any of this.

Forgot to ask: where did you get the cheap flight to London? I’m booking now for my daughter and a friend and can’t find anything cheaper than 1 thousand (non-stop from Chicago).

Statravel.com. Studentuniverse.com also cheap tickets for students.

Matt, it sounds to me like you've done your homework, and the trip sounds great. My only comment is that I think you'll find there's really not much to see/do in Interlaken for a day, and you'll wish you had just stayed in Gimmelwald another day. In your figuring travel expenses did you include the extra cost for transportation in the Berner Oberland?

Sounds to me like you'll have a blast!

The only thing that I might do differently is to spend the first night in London. That gives you a cushion if your flight from the States is delayed (I'm assuming that you are purchasing a separate ticket fron London to Venice). Do 1 night in London at the beginning and 3 nights at the end or split it 2 and 2.

If you have already purchased that ticket to Venice, you will probably be fine.

Sounds so fun Matt (and a great price, too)! I'd consider the last poster's suggestion of spending an extra day in Gimmelwald instead of the day in Interlaken. I'd also think about nixing the day trip to the D-Day Beaches in favor of spending the full day in Paris--1.5 days in the city doesn't seem like enough! And, hey, I'm planning on being in Gimmelwald the exact same days--maybe see you there!

I updated the itinerary. I switched Gimmelwald for Interlaken (it seems like it is going to take a little too much time to get to Gimmelwald and Interlaken looks like it would have some nice nature hikes) and got rid of Cinque Terre all together. How does this look?

May 18: Flight out of Denver at 8:05 AM.
May 19: Arrive at Heathrow Airport at 7:40 AM. London.
May 20: London.
May 21: Train from London to Paris at 8:23 AM. Arrive in Paris at 11:47 AM.
May 22: Paris.
May 23: Paris.
May 24: Paris.
May 25: Train from Paris to Interlaken at 7:58 AM. Arrive at Interlaken at 1:57 PM.
May 26: Interlaken.
May 27: Interlaken.
May 28: Train from Interlaken to Venice at 1:01 PM. Arrive in Venice at 7:28 PM.
May 29: Venice.
May 30: Venice.
May 31: Venice.
June 1: Train from Venice to Florence at 8:54 AM. Arrive in Florence at 11:23 AM.
June 2: Florence.
June 3: Florence.
June 4: Train from Florence to Rome at 8:24 AM. Arrive in Rome at 10:00 AM.
June 5: Rome.
June 6: Rome.
June 7: Rome.
June 8: Flight from Rome to London at 7:30 AM. Arrive in London at 9:10 AM.
June 9: London
June 10: Flight out of Heathrow at 8:30 AM.

I like the way you've rearranged by flying from London to Paris. My gut reaction is that I'm disappointed that you're deleting Cinque Terre. What about skipping Switzerland? There's excellent hiking in the Cinque Terre. Just a thought.

How would we go about getting from Paris to Monterosso? The reason that I picked Interlaken over Cinque Terre is because it seems like it is easy to get from Paris-Interlaken and from Interlaken-Venice. If it would be easier than I think to get to Cinque Terre, I would definitely consider changing the itinerary.

Matt,
Here's one option to check out--Night train from Paris to Milan. Then Milan to La Spezia and from there train to one of the villages in the Cinque Terre.

Matt, you do realize most people are giving you their preferences for what they like.

Your original trip was fine. I don't understand why everyone was saying it was too much...Venice (3 nights), Florence (3 nights), Rome (4 nights), CT (2 nights), Gimmelwald (2 nights), Interlaken (1 night), Paris (3 nights), London (4 nights).

My suggestions would be: combine Switzerland to one place, skip the day trip to D-Day beaches, take the day trip to Bath, keep the day trip to Siena if you feel like it.

What I might also do is switch Florence and Rome--go to Rome first and then Florence. Less backtracking.

If you do want to drop something, my vote would be for the Cinque Terre. Since you're both students, I have a feeling you'll be making future trips to Europe at some point.

All of the above was for your original itinerary. If you are going with the new Itinerary, let me point out you have one less day in London. Figure on not doing a full day when you arrive thanks to our friend Mr. Jet Lag. Otherwise, the itinerary looks good.

Your new itinerary looks very manageable. I think having days in London at beginning and end gives you lots of cushion ... plus flying from Rome to London at the end is the smart choice and minimizes your travel time.

I would not switch the order of Rome and Florence. It makes perfect sense to travel Venice to Florence to Rome as each of those trips is relatively short. It also looks like you have plenty of time for day trips along the way.

Have a great time!

Hi Matt,
Frank's right--we all want to be helpful but it's up to you to decide what makes the most sense to you and your girlfriend for this trip. It will be a wonderful adventure!

Thanks for your help everyone. I appreciate all of your suggestions. I am actually glad that we were able to cut the itinerary down to 6 cities. My girlfriend and I aren't exactly the type of people that can keep going...we like a little R and R here and there, so we are both very pleased that we will have time to do so in each city. This should be an excellent trip!