5 weeks in Europe and NO IDEA where to go!!

Thanks everyone,

I sure wish we could travel in a different month but that is just not plausible. To answer Kevin, I would love to just fly by the seat of my pants, but I don’t think we have enough guts for that. Plus, considering the fact that we are traveling in July, we don’t want to risk not having a place to sleep at night. We aren’t really worried about the heat at this point—we both grew up in Texas. Our budget for this trip is around $5,000 including a railpass.

Transportation – Is it better to get a consecutive day railpass or a flexipass? Also, within cities (such as London, Paris, or Florence) is it easy to trek to different sites by foot or do we need to budget extra money for public transportation?

Hostels- I keep reading about hostel cards and student ID’s that claim to ‘save money.’ Are these actually needed?

Cinque Terre – This place keeps showing up in a lot of the blogs I’ve been reading. Is this a must see?

Spain – We would love to make our way over to Spain. What is our best bet if we just travel to one city: Madrid, Sevilla, or Barcelona?

Germany – Neither of us are history buffs, what might we enjoy here? Or should we skip it and spend more time elsewhere?

Amsterdam – Is it necessary?

Switzerland – This is a definite. Should we visit only one city, or try to spread out?

Thanks!!! :-]

I think you could do this trip by having an outline of where you want to go, which you pretty much have already, and then just do it. Start in London, over to Paris, over to Amsterdam, wander down through Germany and into Italy and end there. Aside from your airfare in and out and maybe your first few nights, I would go without reservations and just see where the wind takes you. As you make your way from Hostel to Hostel, talk to other travelers for ideas on what's going on where and for ideas on where to stay at your next stop. Part of what I like best about traveling is not knowing what's next. Maybe you're not that kind of person and need to have things more structured, but from the sounds of it, playing it loose might appeal to you.

I would suggest examining the itineraries for the Rick Steves tours (especially Best of Europe) and seeing how they have mapped out their route, then adjust for your tastes/budget. Be sure to build in some rest days in smaller locations. Cities are exhausting and overwhelming, and after awhile, you stop absorbing and appreciating anything.

And factor in that August is a HUGE vacation month for Europeans (especially Italians). Many places are either semi-abandoned or booked solid, depending on whether they are vacation destinations for Italians or not.

Also, you might benefit from the various "Rough Guide to ___" guidebooks that are more targeted to the backpacking/hostel crowd.

And (obviously) be prepared for intense heat the farther south you go.

Brittany, to begin planning your Itinerary, you might want to read Rick's "Europe Through The Back Door". It provides a wealth of information on both planning and travelling in Europe!

Is there any possibility you could travel in one of the shoulder seasons rather than July/August? The months you've chosen are about the worst for travels in Europe! It will likely be hot & crowded and pre-booking even Hostels would be highly advisable! As mentioned, some facilities may be closed.

A trip of five weeks is not a long time so you'll need to plan efficiently. A common problem is trying to see too many cities in a visit. Even though Europe has efficient public transit, it's necessary to plan for travel times between destinations. For longer travel distances, budget air is often a good option, however during the time period you specified, bookings at a reasonable price might be difficult?

You might find it helpful to visit pretravel.proboards1.com for further information.

Good luck!

Purchase Let's Go Europe, it will give you a good idea of where to go, and its aimed at students so most of the accomodations it lists are hostels or cheap hotels. I'm leaving at the beginning on Jan for 5 months and have got some great ideas from that book.

The single best bit of advice is this: educate yourself by reading some travel books so as to get an idea of where to go.

We can kibbitz, but really you and your friends need to do this yourselves. Tastes vary, so you don't want to rely on us too much, I think!

For this purpose a trip to the library will do just fine (though at some point you should buy a few up-to-date guidebooks).

Less important advice: Switzerland is great, but not for the cities so much as the mountains. Amsterdam is very fun, but only you can decide what is "absolutely neccessary."

Madrid, Barcelona & Seville are very different and all have reasons to recommend, so if you are picking one and they all seem good to you, pick the one that fits your itinerary the best.

Cinque Terre is a nice spot popularized by Rick Steves--but there are many nice spots in Europe. You'll be better able to make your railpass decision once you know what your itinerary is.

Hey, have a blast!

You want seat of your pants? Well here you go. Try this site. I went to Europe 3 times this way with nary a hitch.

http://www.airhitch.org/

I have to admit though August will be hard.

I agree with everyone else -- you can't get all the information you need from the Helpline -- you have to do some research on your own. Read Rick's and other guidebooks. Places will pique your interest.
I think you should plan ahead on where you are staying, and book your lodging. And keep checking a currency converter for both the Euro and GBP, to keep on top of how much money you will actually have when you are over there.

If you go to Paris, don't miss Musee d'Orsay. The top floor with all the Impressionism is especially Excellent.

It's hard to beat Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, van Gogh, Cezanne, & Gauguin all lined up, even if you are not that big a fan of art.

1. Take Rick's books. We buy current copies every year (now have 3 or 4 just for Paris), a pretty minor % of trip cost with huge returns. Any of the Paris walking tours in there are a great, inexpensive way to see Paris & USE THE METRO.
2. Eiffel Tower for sure but best at night. Start a walk from Rue Cler and appreciate the true size as you approach through the park & I won't ruin the surprise if you don't know what it does at night.
3. Visit Notre Dame and have a picnic in the lttle park behind it (last time we were there a Swedish rock abnd was playing in the small bandstand, no idea how that happened).
4. Be prepared to get hooked traveling.

Transportation – Is it better to get a consecutive day railpass or a flexipass?

Some guy with a travel site did a great comparison of the Consecutive/Flexipass railpasses. It ultimately depends on your travel style. Buy the youth versions of the pass if you are under 26 years old.

Hostels- I keep reading about hostel cards and student ID’s that claim to ‘save money.’ Are these actually needed?

No. They won't hurt, but they certainly aren't necessary to save money in Europe. Take advantage of youth discounts for museums and such - you only have to show proof of age.

cont'd

For more information (because you can never have too much!), in addition to buying a stack of guidebooks as big as yourself, visit travel websites aimed at young people, like the StudentUniverse.com forums and guides, the STA travel guides, and Lonely Planet. Before I went to Europe, I bookmarked dozens of sites on computer. You may want to do the same. You can never have too much information: so many surprises await you on that continent! :-)

Hostel Reco for Paris: Auberge Internationale des Jeunes. Cheap, clean, and near the metro. You may read my full review on Student Universe forum here.