5 Week European Backpacking Itinerary

Good that you have planned nights. It is a good way to view your trip.

My initial thought is that you have short-changed Venice and Florence, and probably Munich. I am not sure Amsterdam and Geneva are worth the effort for 2 nights each. Especially Geneva as it is kind of off your path. You can add those 4 nights elsewhere, like Venice, Florence, Innsbruck and Munich.

pw,

It's great that you're getting such an early start on planning your trip. That will provide lots of time to work out the fine details.

A few thoughts and comments......

• Given your first three destinations, it would have been more efficient to fly inbound to Venice. However, if Milan is cheaper, that will work too.
• The trip to Florence is going to be longer than 2 hours. You'll first need to get from the airport to Milano Centrale, which will take about an hour. By the time you disembark from the plane and get through Passport control, get to Milan, wait for your next train and actually get to Florence, I suspect it's going to be at least 4 hours.
• One IMPORTANT point to note is that Rail Passes do not cover the compulsory reservation fees for the "premium" trains in Italy, such as the high speed Freccia or InterCity. You'll have to pay separately out-of-pocket for those. Reservations are specific to train, date and departure time. DO NOT be caught without valid reservations for the train you're on, or you may be fined on the spot (fines start at about €50 PP)!
• Passholder reservations are limited on the TGV high speed trains in France. If the quota is sold out for a specific train, your Pass won't be of any use.
• Note that you'll need to know the specific name for your destination rail station in each location, since most cities have more than one. Your destination in Venice will be Venezia Santa Lucia.
• I agree with Laurel that a bit more time in Florence especially would be good. Keep in mind that you'll be jet lagged for the first few days so won't be up to full "touring speed".
• Rather than waste a night in Innsbruck, you might consider pressing on to Munich. The shortest travel time is ~6H:31M, and the route is through the scenic Brenner Pass. If you depart at 07:50, you'll arrive in Munich at 14:21 (one change at Verona Porta Nuova).
• IMO, Munich also needs at least one more night.
• For the trip from Munich to Prague, you can use either train or bus (the time via bus is about the same). You'll probably want to arrive at Praha hl.n station.
• Berlin day trips - what are your interests??? I'd suggest having a look at the RS Germany guidebook. If you're interested in history, Original Berlin Walks has some great walking (and other) tours.
• For your visit to Paris, you might consider buying the Paris Museum Pass, as it will minimize your time waiting in queues (check their website for details). You can book a time for the Eiffel Tower online.
• Geneva would not be my first choice of places to see in Switzerland, so you might consider skipping that or pick another location such as Lucerne or the Berner Oberland (which is big favourite of many here). Note that Switzerland is VERY expensive, so budget accordingly! BTW, there are some good Hostels in the Berner Oberland, such as the famous Mountain Hostel (there's also one in Lauterbrunnen, as I recall).
• How are you planning on getting from Switzerland to Barcelona? That will be a long journey by train, so you might consider using a budget airline on that route. If you skip Geneva, you could use an EasyJet flight from Paris / CDG (currently priced about €52.98 PP, flight time ~1H:45M). If you make a stop in Switzerland, you could use a flight from Basel-Mulhouse Airport.
• If you travel via AVE from Barcelona to Madrid, there will also be reservations for that.
• Once you've finalized your Itinerary, I'd suggest pre-booking accommodations as Europe can be busy at that time of year.

One other point - be vigilant for pickpockets in all the places you're visiting, especially Prague - wear a Money Belt!

Good luck with your planning!

I agree with Ken that Geneva to Barcelona would better be travelled by plane.

"be vigilant for pickpockets in all places you're visiting, especially Prague - wear a Money Belt!"
Yes, be very vigilant, because Prague is still nothing comparing to Rome or Barcelona.

Thank you all for the helpful information!

Ken,

• I will make sure to keep all of your notes as reference when packing for my trip, such great advice. I have heard of the reservations and I'm prepared to pay for those, hopefully they don't add up too much and I will definitely make sure to avoid the fines.
• It seems smartest to skip Geneva altogether and fly directly from Paris to Barcelona. The flight is cheap and that will give us 10 train trips which matches perfectly with our Rail Pass.
• The extra days we gain from skipping Geneva I have added to Florence (more time to adjust for jet lag), Munich (per multiple recommendations), and one extra to Amsterdam because the trip from Berlin is quite long and would eat into much of one of our touring days
• A history tour in Berlin sounds very interesting, I will research the best options available for that

Could we take a scenic route from Venice to Innsbruck or Innsbruck to Munich? Innsbruck had been recommended to us by friends so we wanted to stop and see what it had to offer.

pw,

• The reservations in Italy are ~€8-10 PP per trip (depending on class of train - the Freccia trains are the highest).
• Flying directly from Paris to Barcelona sounds good. Note that budget airlines often use a "sliding scale", which means the prices increase as the flight fills. Therefore, those that purchase early get the cheapest prices. However, also important to note that the cheapest tickets are often non-refundable and non-changeable, so choose carefully! Be sure to read their Terms & Conditions carefully, especially related to luggage. If you'll be checking bags and your kit will be over the weight limit, it's cheaper to pay for the next weight tier at the time of booking, rather than at the gate. EasyJet has a strict policy on a one bag limit for carry-on - that means ONE BAG ONLY and NOT one plus a "personal item". EasyJet uses only a bag drop at most airports now, and there's no check-in at the airport. You can check-in and print your boarding pass up to 30 days in advance of the flight.
• It's great to hear that you've added time to Munich, as there's a LOT to see there. Depending on your interests, you could tip a few mugs at the famous Hofbrauhaus (be sure to note the unusual "appliance" in the washroom), visit the excellent Deutsches Museum (16 kM of exhibits), take a day trip to see Neuschwanstein Castle in Füssen, a day trip to Dachau (the first of the concentration camps), take one of the excellent walking tours offered in Munich a bike tour or for something a bit unusual try a Segway tour (I've done those in several cities in Europe, and they're a lot of fun). You can do day tours on your own or have a look at the offerings from Radius Tours.
• Regarding a stop in Innsbruck, I'll defer to the collective wisdom of the group on that point. My suggestion would be to skip it, as the trip from Venice to Munich will be long enough to begin with. Spending one night there isn't really worth the effort (IMO). By the time you get there and check into your hotel, you'll basically only have the latter part of the afternoon and the evening to sightsee. You'll have to be out of the hotel at about 10:00 the next morning and on the way to Munich, so is it really worth the stop for just a few hours?

Do we have another thread from you or one of your travel buddies about this same itinerary? Or am I confusing you with someone else?

So far, you have not specified any small towns at all, and they would give you very different experiences. See more great small towns listed by country at http://www.ricksteves.com/europe.

• On the way from Rome to Venice, you could stop at Orvieto for a hill-town experience without any detour. That makes your travel day to Venice longer, leaving you only one full day in Venice.
• Instead of Innsbruck, for instance, we would suggest Bolzano, which is smaller, has a great pre-history museum, and good bus connections higher up the mountains; or you could go ahead and take the bus up to the Castelrotto and Alpi di Siusi area and sleep there.
• Ken's suggestion of not stopping at all between Venice and Munich also makes sense, to save time, but doesn't help add a small town. The train ride via Innsbruck is quite scenic, but the city is not at the top of Rick's sightseeing priorities,
• Between Prague and Berlin, it's easy to stop at Dresden, however other, closer spots make better roundtrips out from the city.
• Agree with your decision to skip Geneva and take a direct train from Paris to Barcelona. Make the passholder seat reservation at the same time that you buy your rail pass (reservation available starting three months in advance), since this route fills up quickly.
• If Venice has been squeezed to one full day, I'd give it one of the extra nights.

Hi pw,

I 'm going to comment on the Berlin-Amsterdam leg as you listed the itinerary above. In the past I would have heartily suggested the CNL night train for you and you friends, but, unfortunately, that line has been abolished. That means any way you cut it going Berlin-Amsterdam is basically an all day affair. You time it right that route can be done with one transfer of trains.

Take Berlin to Duisburg on the ICE, (basically you're shooting across the North German plain), then Duisburg-Amsterdam on the ICE. Both departures are on the ICE with your arrival in Amsterdam after 1700. The other departures will have you changing 2-4 times as you go from Berlin to Amsterdam.

On day trips from Berlin: any specific interests? Historical (WW 2 ?) , cultural/literature? If any of you have an interest on the war, I would recommend Seelow, doable from Berlin Hbf by going east towards the Oder by train and S-Bahn, to see the memorial site and Museum on this battle. Cultural interests I suggest Potsdam, Lutherstadt Wittenberg, or Neuruppin as day trips. All easily done by using public transportation.

pw,

Regarding the Berlin / Amsterdam rail trip, it will be 6H:24M via direct train (no changes). It's a very pleasant trip and a departure at 08:36 will arrive at 15:00 (those times for Berlin Hbf to Amsterdam Central). Last time I took that route the time seemed to pass quickly.

Also, if you do decide that you'd like to use a Rail Pass, you can buy them from this website at http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains

I certainly wouldn't drop Berlin or Amsterdam, 2 of the most interesting cities on your plan. Berlin especially may be the highlight of your trip, considering your ages and the fact that it is a bargain city. You will get more for your euro here than in many cities. Amsterdam is going to be a fun city for you too.

For day trips from Berlin, head to Potsdam, in fact you could even stay here a day or two and travel into Berlin as the S-bahn only takes about 20 min. Visit Sans Soucci and the entire park and palaces that are built here. If you have an interest in history, whether it is Cold War, 3rd Reich, etc. there are lots of different tours to go on in Berlin. Have a look at http://www.insidertour.com/ and their wide variety of tours. Read up to date reviews for any tours you might want to go on, over on Trip Advisor to find the one that fits your schedule and interests. There are also alternative tours and bike tours that might be fun too. You might want to consider a trip to one of the 2 Concentration Camps located near Berlin, Sachsenhausen or Ravensbruck. Ravensbruck was mainly for women and has a very different feel to it, and the exhibits here are very moving.

I haven't been to Prague personally, but when my daughter and her boyfriend, (both 22 ) went there 2 years ago, they couldn't wait to leave. They said it was their least favorite city of all the cities they visited in Europe. Unfriendly, pricy, and super touristy.

Laura: This is the first time I've ever posted here and I don't think my friends have either, maybe someone else is planning a similar trip.

You guys have all provided a ton of tips that will help tremendously. Some questions/comments from your responses...

• We definitely want to visit a concentration camp at some point during our trip, do you recommend Dachau over any others?
• As far as Innsbruck goes, we may be reworking that part of the itinerary altogether so that's likely to change so I'll look into each of those stops you guys have recommended.
• We're pretty set on Berlin and Amsterdam as two of the cornerstones of our itinerary, I think we will enjoy those cities based on what I've heard
• Ms. Jo, I have a family friend in Prague so we are meeting up with him to get a more local experience of the city and hopefully enjoy it more
• We plan on taking day trips from multiple cities to smaller, outlying towns to experience more than just the big city.

Ron,

I decided to skip Geneva altogether and add a night to Florence (extra recovery time), Munich (day trip to concentration camp), and Amsterdam (due to long train ride from Berlin). One person I'm traveling with has family in Spain so we must go there. We would rather extend the trip to allow more time for rest before we cut out Spain.

pw,

Regarding your most recent questions.....

• Concentration Camps - If you have time, you might want to visit a couple. Dachau was the first camp opened in 1933 to house political prisoners, and was the model for many of the others. Sachsenhausen is also a very interesting visit, as it has a few unusual aspects. It was built in a triangular design to make it easier to visualize the fence line (a concept that apparently didn't work as well as they had hoped). It was the site of one of the largest counterfeiting operations in history, and some of the notable inmates incarcerated there were airman who had been part of The Great Escape (I believe one or two of them also escaped from Sachsenhausen). Finally, at the end of the war the Russians took the camp over and used it to house their prisoners. It's an easy trip from Berlin to Oranienburg via train (about an hour as I recall). You could consider a day trip with Original Berlin Walks, as you'll learn more about the "wild camps" and other history. All the camps were dreadful, so try to mentally prepare for some of the details that you'll encounter.
• Berlin & Amsterdam -I definitely agree with the others that you should continue to include Berlin and Amsterdam (both very interesting cities). I'd probably allocate more time to Berlin (3 nights or so should be good for Amsterdam).

You guys have helped me so much, I'm very appreciative of all your advice. I've knocked it down to 10 cities in 32 days, and I can afford to add more 3 days because we had initially planned 5 weeks. I'm thinking about adding a night to Munich because we'll get there late on arrival day and spend a day in Dachau.

Revised itinerary w/ some notes

Fly into Milan (1 hour bus ride from airport to train station)
Florence - 3 nights (day trip to Pisa)
Rome - 4 nights
Venice - 2 nights
(Train ride through Brenner Pass)
Munich - 3 nights (Dachau tour, Hofbrauhaus)
Prague - 3 nights (meeting up with family friend)
Berlin - 4 nights (day trip to Potsdam to see foreign exchange student, Berlin walking tour)
Amsterdam - 3 nights
Paris - 4 nights
Barcelona - 3 nights
Madrid - 3 nights
Fly out of Madrid

pw,

On your arrival in Milan, there are two methods you can use to get from MXP to Milano Centrale.....

• Malpensa Express (train) - trip is about 52 minutes and not affected by traffic. If you decide to use that, note that the M.E. has two destinations, Milano Centrale and Milano Cadorna. Be sure you board the correct train, and DON'T forget to validate your ticket prior to boarding the train. An adult ticket is currently €12 PP.
• Malpensa Shuttle (bus) - trip is about an hour, depending on traffic (I've found that the time is always fairly close to an hour). It arrives on one side of Milano Centrale, and you'll have to go up two levels of stairs to get to track level. An adult ticket is currently €10 PP. As I recall, there are at least two different firms offering shuttle service, and it doesn't matter which one you use (if you buy tickets on one firm, they won't be accepted by the other firm).

A few points to mention regarding Milano Centrale.....

• It's a large a busy station, so be sure to watch your luggage as there may be a few thieves about.
• If you need to use the WC's (washrooms), they're "pay-per-use" (€1 as I recall). The largest WC's are one level down from the tracks, which you can reach via a "moving sidewalk".
• There's a good selection of restaurants at Milano Centrale, including McDonald's, Burger King and Roadhouse Grill, as well as lots of Italian restaurants. I'm usually hungry after a long international flight so I usually end up stopping at one of them. You might want to buy food before you board your next train.

THIS video is a bit "choppy", but it will give you some idea what to expect when you arrive at Milano Centrale.

If you have time, you may want to visit Terezin from Prague. The Germans turned the whole walled city into a "model" concentration camp. Outside the city is a fortress which they used for housing political prisoners and for executions.