5 Countries x 30 days - are we crazy?

Hi Jock,

It's a very intense schedule. I think that you'd have a better time if you consider dividing this trip into three:

1. London, France, Italy for this trip.

2. Spain and Portugal save for another time.

3. Scotland, Ireland, English villages save for another time.

There is so much to see in France and Italy--you'll miss a lot if you go with the plan you've described. If you haven't already purchased your airline ticket, I'd consider flying into Paris. Twenty-four hours in London won't be much fun--especially if you're doing it on the day you arrive.

You're so fortunate you have 30 days to travel!! Enjoy!

You're not crazy, just excited like I was the first time I went to Europe (London only for two weeks and I didn't see all I wanted----still haven't after 6 subsequent trips w/ 3-7 days in London on the way somewhere else). I agree w/ Sharon, though, that you're going to be spending a lot of time getting from place to place and would recommend you scale back; her suggested trips are good. London has so much to see & do, so only flying in and out there seems a waste of time. If you don't want to spend time there, fly in/out somewhere else and think about open jaws flights from your other cities.Have a wonderful trip wherever you decide to go.

We've traveled all over and we've run into Aussies everywhere we've been. I've come to the following conclusions: 1) all Aussies are wild and crazy; 2) that's why they're so much fun. I think they all share your philosophy: "we just gotta do it."

Have a great trip.

when my husband and i first started planning our trip, it looked a lot like yours (but even 'crazier'--we basically were trying to do the rick steves '2 month whirlwind tour' in a month!), and i still wish we could do it--so if you can, go for it. if you change your mind, the three sections described above make a lot of sense--we decided to do england, france and spain (london, paris, and barcelona with side trips) for this year's trip. we have a rome/istanbul/prague trip in the works for next year. after lots of advice on this board, we decided we'd rather spend our time in locations than en route--but again, that's a preference. if you do decide to do this trip--have a wonderful time and be sure to report back!

Hi, Jock. I like to cram a lot into my trips, but I like to keep them in a relatively small geographic area to minimize time spent traveling from place to place. It adds too much stress to the trip for me, and it takes up time I would rather spend doing something or seeing something. So this isn't my kind of trip, but it might work for you.

Regarding your specific questions, I can only answer question #4. I think by the time to get to this point in your trip -- around day 27 or so -- you will be pretty darned tired and will not be up for a long drive. If you really want to enjoy the countryside, you'll have to make stops and/or get off the main highways. So it is likely to take longer than you expect. I'd take the train and relax. Plus it will give you a few more hours in London, which I think you are short changing with this itinerary. I hate to advise you to skip Edinburgh because it happens to be my favorite city in the world, but you might consider it to give yourself more time to see London. Then you could do the rest of Great Britain and Ireland on another trip.

Whatever you decide, I hope you have a great trip!