70 Day Europe Backpacking Itinerary - Thoughts?! (The End!)

I think you need to build in days in which you have nothing planned. You can use those days to extend a stay in an area that you really like or to make allowances for rainy days, days that you are not feeling well, days where you meet someone and want to spend more time with them or strikes when you can't travel. Right now it looks like you go, go, go. I can almost guarantee you that you will only accomplish about 70% of what you have planned. Build in some time and eliminate some of your destinations. If you end up not needing them, you continue on with your original plans.

I found that I often changed my plans when talking to fellow travelers on my trip and learning of places that they raved about.

Looks fun and ambitious! But yeah, you need some down time scheduled in.

Yeah I did have a feeling that this would be the case. Would one 'free day' per 7-10 days be enough? Or could you get away with say one per 10-14?

I was also thinking I could use some of the beach days as free days, as well as some of the day trips in Nice.

Looking at the trip the first cities on my chopping block would be Vienna + Budapest (saves me 5 days which I could use as free days). Is this a reasonable choice or is Budapest/Vienna 'DONT CUT FOR ANYTHING' worthy?

Thanks for the awesome advice!

For me the points of difference in backpacking are ...
1 Extended period of travel
2 Limited funds so watching the $$$
3 Relying on trains and buses
4 Staying in hostels
5 Slower travel - minimum stay of 3 nights at any one location
6 Nights spent socialising with fellow travellers
7 Ability to 'write off' a day at a moments notice due to (6) above
As long as you keep all this in mind and don't over plan you'll be fine.

Waaaaaaay to much planning for my blood and vagabond desires, but you will have fun.

I did about 100 days when I was in my twenties. Your over planned itinerary freaks me right out.

While there is a lot of detail and such I would call it more of a guideline vs itinerary.

It will be super flexible, so things will be tossed and other things may be added or more time spent there etc.

I just wanted an idea of 1) rough length of trip I needed for what I wanted to see and 2) to help me discover things I could do in each place.

By no means is this a regimented schedule, more of a detailed foundation for our trip

I am exhausted just reading your posts, lol. Even as OCD as I am, your schedule seems way too rigid. Even picking out the restaurants before you go??

I think you should consider things like the weather, it can definitely alter your plans. Allow yourself some spontaneity. Remember many places will have lines to wait in, taking up time.

All in all, I am sure you will have an awesome time. I would love to be able to do some of this :)

I am curious on how many of you are going, ages, and relationship to each other. When traveling on such a long trip, you can get on each other's nerves. I would recommend building in a down day once every ten days. I really would expect you to meet people along the way and probably alter some of your itinerary to spend some time with your new found friends, even changing some your plans to accommodate them. What time of the year will you be going? Weather plays a big factor in if you end up liking a city or area more than another. If I learn that the weathers is going to be really bad going into an upcoming city, I might stay where I am at until the forecast improves.

Most importantly, accept the fact that you may not meet all of your goals on this trip, but you will probably by coming back again. Have fun and try not to get on each other's nerves.

Keep in mind that trains can have disruptions with changes in scheduling, trains being taken out of circulation (Zug fällt aus) in spite of its scheduled departure on the yellow (Abfahrt/Departure) sheet, routes from A to B turn out be replaced by a bus and train combination...all resulting in lost/wasted time waiting for connections. If you don't encounter any of this, you've lucked out but if you're going in the summer, you'll encounter super crowded train stations, where just trying to get through the crowds is taxing. My first trip at 21 was solo, a long one planned for 84 days, not quite the 100 which you intend on doing. The second longest some years ago at 59 also solo was 67 days. Stay mainly in hostels, dorm rooms with 5-7 roomies, also university dorms, Pensionen, small hotels,

I agree with the above poster on not accomplishing everything planned due to all sorts of contingencies...train disruptions, missed connections, fatigue, overstretch, weather, accommodations, etc. You could end up dropping 25 to 30%.

We plan an off day every three to four days just to catch up on what we didn't get in during those prior two or three days. Since you don't know the ground, streets, you will much slower than you think you will. Far too tight. But have a go at it because I know you will.

On dropping parts of the trip...I would not drop Vienna or Budapest, maybe some parts of Spain, depends upon your priorities. Budapest and Krakow have some of the best independent hostels in Europe. If you're not going solo, are your companions totally on the same page as you. The last thing I don't have any patience with on a trip is bickering on where to go, what to do, etc. How do you feel about splitting up for a few hours or a day or two, then rendezvousing afterwards. Otherwise, leave your friends, go solo.

If it not breaks the camel’s back :-) : Add the German Pavilion in Barcelona to your list.

Sorry, there is no way on God's green Earth that you can do all that you have listed for Day 62 in Madrid! Those locations and museums are all over the place, and unless you only want to see the outside of places like the Royal Palace, you have to allow time to actually tour it. Retiro Park is massive, and well worth spending time in, and the Thyssen Museum will take you at least an hour, possibly more. You don't even arrive into town until 10:00 a.m., which shoots most of the morning. Perhaps you aren't aware, but in order to get from Atocha train station to the Royal Palace (Day 62), you actually pass right through Puerta del Sol, and within a couple of blocks of Plaza Mayor (Day 63). And the Botanical Garden (Day 63) is in Retiro Park (Day 62). Perhaps you could take a look at a map and rearrange your days to fit things in better by grouping them according to location, but it's still too much.

We would be going in the summer. I am a huge soccer fan and want to soak in the Euro Cup. I will be going with my wife.

I have decided to cut Vienna/Budapest, Munich, and one Greek island; and am using those days throughout my trip as free days.

Just trying to decide now what Greek island would be the best to visit. One with superb beaches would be my preference.

You guys have been a great help!

Remember, summer will be hot and crowded!

Loved being in Europe for the World Cup finals last year, very fun evening out at bars and clubs watching the games! Met tons of folks .

For me the best way to free up some time in your plan would be to ...
1 Drop Bayeaux
- add the night to Amsterdam
2 Drop the night trains to/from Krakow (plus the single night there)
- add a night each to Berlin, Prague and Budapest
3 Drop the night trains to/from Lisbon (plus the 2 nights there)
- add a night each to Madrid and Reykjavik, plus 2 nights to Barcelona

Bath 2
Liverpool 1
Cambridge 4
Paris 4
Amsterdam 3
Berlin 3
Prague 3
Budapest 3
Vienna 3
Munich 2
Greece 9
Naples 1
Sorrento 3
Rome 3
Florence 3
CT 2
Venice 3
Nice 5
Collioure 2
Barcelona 4
Madrid 3
Reykjavik 3