Please sign in to post.

5 Countries x 30 days - are we crazy?

Posted by (Sydney, NSW, AUSTRALIA) on

We'd really like to get an opinion on a few parts of our Europe plan.
Basic outline is;

We will arrive in London and depart for Paris with 24 hours.
Paris & surrounds (Versailles etc) for 3 nights/4 days.
To Dijon & Burgundy for 4 days (Hiring a car - return to Dijon)
Dijon to Venice on overnight train - 3 nights/3 days in Venice.
Venice to Rome - Hiring car & touring thru Genova/Portofino/Pisa/Tuscany etc (5 days).
Rome (2 days) and then fly to Barcelona.
Barcelona (3 days) and then (hire car or Van?) drive south thru Valencia, Malagaa to... Portugal (3-5 days) to Madrid (drop vehicle).
Fly from Madrid to Edinburgh (for 2 days)..then Train from Edinburgh to London.

The specific questions I'd like to get answered ARE:

1) The safety aspects of the overnight train to Venice (read internet scare stories of being robbed whilst sleeping) AND as a couple should we opt for a 2 person couchette? Is there such a thing as a double-bed on the Artesia overnights?

2) Will we luck into easy accomodation in both Spain & Italy if we intend to just drive and then stop - rather than booking ahead?

3) Is it safe enought for a pair of 50-ish grey nomads to hire & sleep in a van thru Spain?

4) Is it worthwhile - to see a whole bunch of English country-side - to take the 8 hour day journey from Scotland to London?

I am aware that we are cramming a large amount into 31-ish days, but we just gotta do it. This is our first time and we will obviously come back to those parts that we missed or loved a lot. Any advise (apart from "you're crazy !") would be appreciated.

Posted by
3250 posts

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!

Posted by
196 posts

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.

Posted by
2876 posts

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.

Posted by
463 posts

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!

Posted by
2724 posts

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!

This topic has been automatically closed due to a period of inactivity.