26 Days and 7 countries

I think you should pick up a European-wide travel book (Rick Steves writes good ones) to see feasible itineraries. Twenty-six days seems like a lot at first glance, but that's less than 4 full days in each country, and that doesn't account for travel time in-between (and perhaps even your flight time to get there and back). My initial thoughts are that you'll realize how aggressive this is once you start sequencing your cities and looking at distances/travel time between them. The more compact the geography you pick (adjacent countries, regions, or close-by cities), the more you'll minimize travel time, cost, and fatigue. Most large European cities (let alone countries) deserve more than 4 days each, but it's really dependent on how you mix up large-urban and small-rural sites. I suppose it's possible, but you have to be happy with the pace and result. Start with a book, then sketch out a rough itinerary based on actual days...you'll get good feedback here if you already have fine-tuned your ideas somewhat.

"I have absolutely no idea where I will go in Germany, as of yet. The romantic Rhine seems beautiful to do. Checking out small villages along the Rhine seems pleasant."

It's the 800-1,000-year-old castles there that are the biggest draw.
Marksburg (just south of Koblenz in Braubach) is tops and Braubach itself is very handsome.
Other castles
Castle Hostel in Bacharach

It's also an excellent place for walking and hiking. Oberwesel (near Bacharach) is a nice old town with a defensive wall around it that you can explore on foot. The Rhine Castle Trail is pretty spectacular as well. Try the walk between Oberwesel and St. Goar.

Before the Rhine Valley, make a stop in Cologne. It has a tremendous cathedral and some good museums.
After the Rhine valley, on your way to Switzerland, you might have a look at Speyer.

Thank you, Agnes. I know the trip is rather ambitious. It's loosely based on the Europe in 21 Days trip designed by Rick Steves. I figure I can get each of these in with 5 extra days on my trip. Have you travelled to Europe before? Do you have more specific advice that could guide my itinerary design?

Thank you, Russ! Checking it out now. These places look amazing.

Let me suggest you start with Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, which you might find at your library or you can buy it through this website or at bookstores. It tells you a lot about trip planning, transportation, destinations, packing, and much more. You might also look at RS or other guidebooks (I like Lonely Planet) for the countries you're interested in visiting.

It's hard to help much more at this stage, especially without knowing when you expect to make this trip or what kind of budget you'll have. Your first step, open-jaw flying, was a smart one. Seven countries in 26 days means 3-4 days per country, not much time to appreciate any of them (well, Belgium maybe). You'll see many train stations and ariports, spend time and money going from place to place, changing accommodations, handling luggage. This is time and money you could spend enjoying where you are instead of moving so often. Is there some reason you think you might not return to Europe in the future? You might want to save some of these destinations for future trips.

A couple of observations about destinations: England has many attractions besides London and Stonehenge, but where your friend lives might be the best focus for your sightseeing. Lucky to have someplace to stay in England as it's very expensive (so is Switzerland BTW). Amsterdam is "loose" about marijuana and prostitution, but also has world-class museums, fascinating neighborhoods, beautiful canals, and other attractions perhaps best appreciated with all one's senses intact. The Alps can be wonderful (though expensive) at the right season with the right weather, otherwise perhaps not such a good idea.

I hope you have fun planning this trip -- for many of us the planning is a big part of the fun of travel. Come back to this forum with specific questions about specific places or routes and the people here will be valuable sources. Hope it goes well!

The thing about following an RS itinerary on your own is that each of those destinations is much more time consuming without the logistics being taken care of. You are picked up and dropped off at hotels vs. doing it all by yourself, which takes about twice as long. You really don't have to think about much of anything, whereas travel on your own can be very stressful when you are doing this first time.

That said, I have taken many whirlwind trips and have loved them.... you just have to be realistic about your itinerary. I will usually do a whirlwind trip with a car, so i can change my mind if I need a break. I also usually don't do reservations at most hotels so I can travel spontaneously.

Be sure to get ETBD and read about independent travel.

I am sure you will have lots of itinerary changes and questions as you go along, and there is a wealth of knowledge to be found here...

Hi Austin, and congratulations on planning your first ever trip to Europe!

I'm leaving next month on my ninth trip to Europe, and my fourth as a solo, independent traveler.

Every time I go to Europe I make a mistake, or about ten mistakes. It's unavoidable. It takes me longer than I would like, as a solo traveler, to figure out where to catch the bus or train, to buy my tickets, to find my hotel or B&B. I leave something behind. I lose something. I got pickpocketed once in spite of all the precautions I routinely take. "Routinely" is the key word there, because when traveling solo in Europe, nothing is ever routine. You have to figure out everything in advance, and then figure it out again while you're doing it. Even things like where to get lunch or dinner -- you walk around for a while and check out the various options. Everything is more difficult and takes longer when you're on your own.

So a 21-day Rick Steves tour is not comparable with a 26-day solo tour. On the RS tour, you don't have to worry about finding your hotel, buying your train ticket, figuring out which bus to take, or any other logistics. It will take you longer to get everywhere on your own than it will with the group tour, even if you use faster modes of transportation and make fewer stops in between. If you fly somewhere, you have to take a train or bus to get to the airport, you have to get there early, and when you land you have to figure out how to get from the airport to the city and then to wherever you're staying.

With all that, I would never trade the experience of traveling solo for taking a group tour. I love traveling independently. I just have learned not to try to bite off more than I can chew, and to allow more time for everything that I think. I have never seen or done everything I hoped to. But I've cherished every experience.

Give yourself time to cherish your experiences on this trip. Don't rush from place to place. Less is more!

You asked for "any thoughts," and for better or worse, these are mine. I'm happy to try to offer more specific suggestions if you would like.

Cheers!

Austin, your plan sounds good! Next step is to make a calendar as Rick suggests in his Europe Thru the Back Door book. Map out the 26 days, keeping in mind that moving to a new place can use up much of a day. Filling in the days on the calendar will help you set priorities. (Oh, I can take a day from here and add it to there. Oh, I can skip place x which will allow me to go to place y instead. ). Research how you will get from place to place and how long it will take. London to Paris is easy, but other places you will have different choices - train? rental car? Enjoy your trip!

Thank you. Yeah, nothing is set in stone other than where I'm arriving (London) and where I'm departing from (Rome). And the window of time mid-August into early September. All else is still open for discussion. I've taken plenty of road trips across the U.S. and even though Europe is not the U.S. I'm sure some aspects planning and organizing are similar. The task to do so doesn't alarm me. It is exciting, as you've said Dick. I know more time would give me more time to appreciate where I'll be and I'm open to the idea of trimming my itinerary. I've basically posted this to get some feedback that would guide me in the right direction. I think traveling to all these places even in the short window of time would be exciting! From what I've heard and read it's not too difficult to travel from one country to the next. And, honestly, some of the distances I've observed between one country and the next take less time than some of my interstate travels. So, London to Paris to Amsterdam to Cologne to Interlaken to Milan to Cinique Terre and Rome doesn't seem too much to accomplish. But, if there are other thoughts about what I could accomplish if I cut one or two of those places then I am open to any suggestions.

Thank you for your insight Lane and Bob. Based on your experiences would you eliminate any of those locations from the trip? Priority for me is Switzerland, London, and Rome. I'm nature enthusiast. Hiking, all things outdoors for me. Tourist attractions such as the Louvre and Big Ben etc. entice me for their historical aspects, but I'd much rather see a beautiful forest or mountains. The castles in Germany seem like they would be well worth the experience.

Hi,

No idea where to go in Germany, "as of yet?" Two suggestions right off the bat...Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich, or Berlin and Dresden including a day trip to Potsdam, and if you're into German cultural history, day trip in Weimar.

Hi Austin,

This trip is doable but would be very rushed and you probably won't have enough time to see everything you want in each city/region. If your priorities are Switzerland, London and Rome and you want to focus on nature/outdoors then you might want to consider adapting your plans a little. Also, you don't say if your 26 days include travel days to and from Europe. What about something like this as a starting point:

London & Stonehenge - 4 nights / 3 days
Travel to Paris - 1 day
Paris & Versailles - 4 nights / 3 days
Travel to Amsterdam - 1 day
Amsterdam & Belgium - 4 nights / 3 days
Travel to Rhine - 1 day
Germany - Rhine - 3 nights / 2 days
Travel to Interlaken - 1 day
Interlaken - 4 nights / 3 days
Travel to Cinque Terre - 1 day
Cinque Terre - 3 nights / 2 days
Travel to Rome - 1 day
Rome - 5 nights / 4 days

If I were planning this trip, with the priorities you mention, I would probably drop Amsterdam and Belgium and build extra time into Switzerland, the Rhine and Cinque Terre. Both London and Paris deserve more time as well but you aren't going to be able to do everything with the time you have and the number of destinations you want to see.

Have fun planning!

Hey Chris! Been working on my itinerary this evening. I trimmed it down. I've cut out France altogether. So, this is the way it reads.

London 4 Nights/ 5 Days
Travel on 5th day
Amsterdam 4 Nights/ 5 Days
Travel on 5th
Cologne/Bacharach Germany 4 Nights/ 5 Days
Travel on 5th
Interlaken Switzerland 4 Nights/ 5 Days
Travel on 5th
Cinique Terre 4 Nights/ 5 Days
Travel on 5th
Rome 4 Nights/ 5 Days

This seems a bit more manageable. The time on trains is relatively short in the first half of the trip. Germany to Switzerland to Italy will be longer train rides 4hrs plus. But, I'm confident in this schedule. May trim out one of the towns in Germany and just do straight 4 in one town. Now I have to decide on sites I want to see in each place : ) I love this!

While the travel distances seem small for some reason it always takes so much longer....
I have done many road trips in the US, and lots in Europe, and I have to say that while some things are the same, there are lots of noticeable differences. For one thing, in the US, I can just call Choice or Holiday Inn or Marriott and get a ton of info on hotels near where I am.... not so easy in Europe. In the US there are always so many hotels along the freeway, again. not as many in Europe... more in the towns. There are food. hotel, and gas signs at our exits, but you are more likely to see a sign for the next Castle that is coming up:)
I definitely do not want to discourage you, but as someone who has traveled a lot, and most times without a lot of reservations, just be aware that everything is new and different and can be a challenge.

At least now you will only have 2 currencies to deal with:) Gone are the days of the ziplock bags filled with money!
You will have an amazing time, and you do have to learn your travel style and make your own mistakes!

Thank you for the insight and the support Terry. I think I got my itinerary to a much more manageable place.

This works well without Germany.

Fly into London (4nts)
Fly to Amsterdam (3nts)
Train to Gent/Bruges (2nts)
Train to Paris (4nts)
Train to Laussane (1nt)
Train to Interlaken (3nts)
Train to Milan/Como (2nts)
Train to Venice (2nts)
Train to Florence/Cinque Terre (2nts)
Train to Rome (3nts)

I like your revised itinerary. You may find Interlaken won't need as much time as you have allotted, but that's good, you can always find a daytrip or squeeze in a night somewhere to make a long distance trip two shorter ones.

Now that you are ready for putting together what you want to see in/near each place, don't be surprised if your itinerary changes a little more!

Impressive job of shaping your itinerary Austin!

One tool that I use in itinerary planning is Rome2Rio. It's a good tool to use to check out distances and transportation options. Once you get your itinerary (mostly) set, it's not too early to book hotels. I like Booking.com for flexibility in booking and canceling if plans change.

"I'm confident in this schedule. May trim out one of the towns in Germany and just do straight 4 in one town."

From Amsterdam you can reach the Rhine villages in one day AND include a stopover in Cologne of several hours to see whatever interests you there. There's an automated luggage storage system at Cologne's main station that swallows your bag and coughs it back out to you when you're ready to move on south to the castles.

Bacharach: This seems to be Rick Steves' darling for the Rhine Valley but IMO, as a train traveler you are better off elsewhere for a 3-4 day stay where you're doing outings by train. Check out BOPPARD instead. It's about 20 minutes north of Bacharach... and it's bigger and a little more lively and has a little more to do. Boppard is closer to Koblenz (only about 15 train minutes away instead of 40) which serves as the area train hub (and has city services, shopping, possible nightlife options.) Boppard has lots of rooms, a nice town square with some nice old buildings, a nice riverfront, some remnants from ancient Rome, a chairlift to the Vierseenblick lookout and Gedeonseck. Like Bacharach, Boppard is only about 10 minutes from St. Goar (Rheinfels Castle) but it will cut close to an hour off of any trips you make to the Mosel River (Burg Eltz and nearby Cochem for example, both of which I urge you to visit.) Also, Boppard is in a good transit authority zone - the VRM - where you can buy a "3-day ticket" (€37.60) for nearly unlimited train (and bus) travel to check out the castles and towns in this area. One more thing. There are no bridges across the Rhine for these villages. Boppard has a FERRY so that you can easily visit Marksburg Castle in Braubach and explore the east bank of the Rhine by train. Bacharach doesn't.

Just a couple thoughts-

When you are counting your time, it is really 4 nights with only 3 full days of sight seeing, not 3 nights and 4 days. You lose time between locations, usually count on a minimum of 1/2 day or more. You always have one less full day than the number of nights So, in your planning take that into consideration.

Also, I would suggest you skip Interlaken and head straight for Murren and stay up IN the alps. If you are an avid hiker and nature lover give this area a good amount of time and stay right up on the mountain. It will blow your mind it is so amazing!

Happy travels!

you can learn so much if you go to one of the travel group meetings at Panera.

It'll be like Christmas and your birthday wrapped up in one...

It seems to me that you're not sure, Austin, of the traveling credentials of the folks answering your questions.

There are really a few types of people here.
Some, like yourself, post a few times, new to travel, get their answers and move on, and maybe come back afterwards to give a trip report.

Some have now traveled to Europe a bit, and have come on to share their experiences.

Some have lived in Europe, some do now, or have made many many trips and are full of experience and help to others.

I have never been a particular fan of post count, or of the little coloured badges which indicate various milestones in post count. But I will say, if somebody has one of those badges they have been around here for quite a while and have helped many people, and often have expertise in particular areas. For example, Russ and Lee on Germany and German trains. Emma on all things London and a bit Wales (there be dragons). Tim on Belgium, dog walking and western Germany. Jo on Frankfurt, Christmas markets and tours. Pam on Scotland, Zoe and Laurel on Italy, along with Roberto who personally knows the pet names of every pebble and grain of sand in central Italy (with honourary mention in the north). I just mention a very few of the regulars. It is hard to go very far wrong with a few of them helping you. And we ask each other questions too.

A true democracy (with the webmaster quietly in the background as the enforcer).

That's why the monthly meetings are so valuable. You will meet complete newbies, occasional travelers and old hands who have seen it all (or mostly.....)

I would reduce the longer travel days by making a few connecting stopovers - Cologne, Bern, Milan.

Fly into London (4nts)
Fly to Amsterdam (3nts)
Train to Cologne (1nt)
Train to Boppard (3nts)
Train to Bern (1nt)
Train to Interlaken (3nts)
Train to Milan/Como (1nts)
Train to Cinque Terre (2nts)
Train to Florence (2nts)
Train to Rome (4nts)

Sounds like you are well on your way to a great trip....
I think you will always find a ton of posts for people who are making their first trip to Europe as we are always excited for others to experience what we have... as you can tell most people here are obsessed/love European travel. I only wish I had started traveling there when I was younger... it changed my life, but I think of how much differently I would have looked at life/the world if I had traveled earlier.