6 week trip advice (London, Italy and Eastern Europe)

Looks like you've pretty much got things covered. You should consider flying Pisa to London on EasyJet, as it's just an hour train ride west of Florence.

Thank you for the advice (just checked flight and it's the same price but would save me time and money)!! Do you think this itinerary is doable?

Hello goldasin. You will start your travelling from what country ? Do you have the airline tickets for flying to Dublin (arriving there 24 May), and for flying from Dublin (3 July) ?
If you wish to eliminate a place from your proposed itinerary, I suggest : eliminate Milan (24 June) and Pisa (24 June and 25 June). You could add one day to Florence. In one of your days for Florence you could do a day trip from Florence to a hill town in Tuscany. There are various transportation choices for that day trip. 20 June : you will ride in a train from Vienna to Salzburg. I suggest : be in a train departing from Vienna at a time that is not later than 8:00. You will have only one afternoon at Salzburg.

Hi Ron!

I will start from the US, sorry forgot that detail. Yes, I already bought the ticket. I was going to do an open type of flight-- in one city out the other, but this flight was too cheap to resist.

Does Florence need more time? (Silly question to ask...)

Which town in Tuscany do you recommend? Should I leave more time for Salzburg?

Thanks!! :)

I'm concerned about whether you're going to have time to see anything in your first 3 days. You will be jetlagged your first day and probably not really efficient. And Glasgow is probably not the city I choose to see in Scotland – Edinburgh is probably a better choice.

An alternative would be to fly immediately after you arrive to Gdansk, skipping the very brief visits in Dublin, Belfast, and Glasgow. You could then devote those days to Italy. You asked if you had enough time in Florence. With your stated interest in art, I would suggest adding days there. I spent 10 days in my first visit, and could have stayed longer. Rome and Venice are also to wonderful places to visit for art and architecture.

In the big picture I think Italy, as much as I love it, is way off course. Your reasons to go may exceed all other factors and if so then that's what you should do, but ................... for me I would do all of Italy as a trip. I spend a lot of time in Central and Eastern Europe and you have a great plan right up to and including Budapest. You are even spending enough time in each location. Well done. Since you brought it up and since you asked, I would be inclined to fly from Budapest to Istanbul (about $300) and then spend a bout a week going overland from Istanbul to Sofia. From Sofia you can get back to London and the Dublin.

Hi Sherry,
Good point! I was hoping one chill day in Dublin would help (I'm usually much more jet lagged coming home than the other way around), but I see your point. So, I was putting those trips in because the flight is about $110 less for flying Tuesday instead of Sunday or Monday. Which probably isn't worth wasted time, but I thought Belfast would be interesting to see and the flight on Sunday to Milan is at 1pm, so I would be wasting a day? Very conflicted now because you are so right that I could spend that time better in Italy (especially since Cinque Terre seems amazing!)

Options:
Dublin---> Glasgow--->Gdansk (Tuesday) for $60.
Dublin--->London Luton---->Gdansk (Tuesday) for $80
Dublin---> Milan (Tuesday) for $90
Dublin---> Warsaw (Tuesday) for $120

Dublin---> Pisa (Sunday) for $120
Dublin---> Milan (Sunday) for $170
Dublin--->Warsaw (Sunday) for $120

So, the layover between Dublin and Gdask can either be Glasgow (for 7 hours) or London (for 4.5 hours) instead.

I am starting to think about flipping my itinerary over. Say fly from Dublin to Milan first week or so and then go up through eastern Europe ending in Warsaw with a quick trip to Riga, or continuing up to Gdansk, OR including Ljubljana?

Thankfully, I have been to both Rome and Venice already (otherwise I'm sure my head would be spinning with thousands of options). So sorry for the long reply and for coming off as if I want it all... :)

Hi James,
You have definitely confirmed what my brain is telling me... The artist inside of me keeps saying to go to Italy for Florence, but it will be there next year hopefully.

I think I will mull it over and decide, but I agree with what you are saying! Is Vienna/Salzburg/Innsbruck okay to fit in after going to Istanbul and Sofia? For instance, how does this sound: flight from Budapest to Istanbul, overnight bus from Istanbul to Sofia then fly Sofia to Milan, see friend in Verona for a day and then go up to Innsbruck, Salzburg and Vienna, then Vienna to London? How many days would do Istanbul and Sofia some justice? Last question, would you suggest Riga or Ljubljana? I think Riga would fit well with a trip to the baltics and Ljubljana for an add-on to an Italy trip, so maybe not for my trip.

You have a challenge ahead of you. Personally the stretch to Verona would be more than I would do so I cant put myself in your shoes. I don't know what your budget is, but I wouldn't just hop a bus from Istanbul to Sofia. Sofia is a nice city, we've been a couple of times and do enjoy it. But the Bulgaria is a pretty spectacular country and I would spend a night in each of:

Nesebar
Veliko Tarnovo
Plovdiv
And then at least two nights in Sofia from which you can do some day trips including the Rila Monastery
And at that you are missing an awful lot of Bulgaria.

I asked about your budget because this is tough to do without a car. A car, a guide, gas, tolls, hotel room; everything but food might run as little as $250 a day if you shop around a little.

Istanbul is at a minimum 2 to 3 full days depending on your interests. To be honest I wouldn't trade the experience for anything but there were cultural norms I had trouble dealing with and was glad to leave behind.

Check your messages for a little more info.

Hopefully a fun challenge. I found a bus through a Russian company that offers one way from Sofia to Istanbul for 40 lv or 60 lv roundtrip (overnight). I thought it was a good deal, how would you suggest getting from Sofia to Istanbul? So more details: I am going mainly on train and bus for all of this (not doing a rail pass though...) except for 2-4 flights. I am traveling alone, which is why I wanted to run into friends in Verona and London, but I feel it will be a stretch. My budget is $4000, which I believe I will be able to get under. Total for all the transportation I am looking at $1,600- 1,700. Plus staying at hostels and airBNB I hope to spend $800-900 on accommodations and I will be eating out max one time per day, but not limiting myself to only free attractions ($1,000-1,200 food and museums).

Do you think Istanbul is safe for a solo woman traveler? I tend to be cautious, but I have my ways of getting into trouble. I have been reading about it and I think it would be a wonderful exotic location, but I can always wait until some other year when I am traveling with others. I think I might do is a tour of Bulgaria instead of adding on Istanbul, will it be worth the added flight time?

Hi,

Where are you staying in Gdansk? Reasons for going there? I ask because it's not on the typical American tourist radar. I stayed in a Pension in the old town. That was in 2003. Be sure to reserve the two night train rides once you arrive in Krakow and Prague if you didn't do it on-line.

goldasin, the whole Istanbul and Bulgaria thing I think stretches your return on investment given your budget. I would think elsewhere for good faster public transport that is better suited for seeing some of what you are traveling through. Or not......

I have found an interesting hostel (something with guitars) to stay at while there. I am going there because it is one of the cheapest flights to Poland, and the city looks very interesting! I think I will do that (buying night train tickets) online before I go, so I will not have to worry too much about anything. How did you like Gdansk? I have the option of flying straight to Warsaw after I land, it would give me 2-3 more days in eastern Europe, would it be worth it to miss Gdansk, or do you think a trip from Warsaw would be reasonable?

Hi James!
Yes, I think it will not be a good idea also, I found a way to do it for about $250 but it wouldn't be as time friendly I think. BUT, I am thinking about going to Bulgeria for a few days (found a round trip flight for $70), or trying to go to Ljubljana.

Riga, Sofia, and Istanbul are all not very convenient train rides, so I'm not surprised that you're having trouble to fit them in an efficient manner. Cutting off the furthest points on any itinerary draft is usually a way to keep it more compact, practical, and efficient. Budapest-Sofia can be done by direct overnight train, 21 hours. Sofia-Istanbul by shorter overnight train, but with border controls at 2:00. We have no reason to suggest against a bus that may be faster, but an overnight bus is usually less comfortable than an overnight train.

I've decided again Istanbul and Sofia as I feel that the region warrants a separate trip some time in the future. I'm considering adding Kosice to my plan though? Thoughts?

Hi,

On how did I liked Gdansk: very interesting. I went there primarily for historical reasons, since it was the former Danzig, the province capital of West Prussia, spent only 4 nights there, when regrettably I should have spent 2 more. Great that you got a cheap flight to the place. Wizzair does a London-Gdansk flight. I did it the old style, took the early train Berlin to Gdansk, had to change twice, total ride was ca nine hours in 2003.

About adding time to Warsaw: yes, you could do that if you drop Torun, much as I liked the city, or Cesky Krumlov or Bratislava. Warsaw is an absolutely captivating place, a poignant historical place as you track down the sights, needs more than the two full days set aside for it. Saving Italy, except Verona, for next time will give you more time in Poland and London. Remove Innsbruck then you can do Salzburg to Verona with a change in Munich by night train but maybe not since you've already planned on two night train rides prior already.