8 month travel itinerary - advice needed

Naomi, The first piece of advice is that you'll need to be very careful not to exceed the limits of the Schengen Accord, which allows tourists to remain in the E.U. for no more than 90-days in any 180-day period. Those who overstay can face severe fines and possibly deportation. Most countries in Europe are included in the Schengen zone, however this does not include the U.K. and Ireland. Some countries in eastern Europe are also not included. In order to suggest an Itinerary, it would help to have some idea on which cities you plan to visit and which country you're planning to start in? I assume you're using Guidebooks to plan sightseeing in each place? Good luck with your planning!

Are you planning to fly west thru Asia, then on to Europe? It would make sense to organize your time so that you aren't backtracking a lot. Turkey, Greece, and on west or north, then winding up in America and on back home. If you are in America in November, be aware that winter weather starts about then in the northern parts of the country. LA and Las Vegas should have milder weather than many other parts.

First and probably most important, you need to read up on the Schengen Accord....which is in a 180 day period you are allowed in any of the Schengen countries for a total of 90 days then you have to be out of all Schengen countries of another 90 days....there are 25 countries included in the Schengen countries...Austria, Belgium,Czech Republic
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Noticed that Ken posted regarding the Schengen while I was typing.

wow, thank you! I had no idea about that Agreement. I will definitely look into that and make sure we don't violate any laws. Our initial thoughts were something like this, but now that I am aware of the Agreement, we may need to adjust the plans: Apr – Italy (start south in sicily, head north). Also include Monaco for a couple days. Maybe Switzerland for a few days. May – France. Also include Belgium for a few days and Amsterdam for a few days. June – England and Scotland July – Portugal and Spain August – Greece September – Croatia and Germany (oktoberfest) plus a few days in Poland October – Turkey
November – USA I know it makes more sense to visit turkey first (coming from australia) but it will be so cold then, that i was trying to avoid it. We may need to visit turkey in the middle of our trip though to avoid violating the Agreement. you guys have been very helpful, thank you! Hopefully you can give more advice - I am open to any advice/suggestions.

You need to redo it as you are well past the 90 day limit out of 180. England and Scotland do not count as part of the 90 but nearly everything does. Your clock starts in April when you hit Italy so between April to late September around the 25th, you can only spend 90 days in most of Europe. The penalty if caught is heavy fines.

Schengen aside, I would spend the summer months in northern Europe like Great Britain and France and the spring or fall in southern Europe like Spain, Italy and Greece. Not just because of the extreme heat, but because a place like Greece in August will be a mad-house of tourists and partiers. Obviously if that's your thing, then go for it. But just be aware. Also, are you prepared for an 8 month trip psychologically? That is a very long time to travel and sleep out of hotels and eat in restaurants all the time. Will you be renting apartments a lot? That can help, using a main city as a base and just day triping and living in a city for a couple weeks. I've done long, multi-month trips and it can be amazing but also very taxing and stressful in its own way.

In Hawaii a few years ago I met a young British couple in a hostel-like hotel. They were traveling around the world staying a week in each place. I thought it sounded brilliant. If you can do this when you are young and flexible, it can be incredible. To meet others, stay in hostels as least some of the time. Hostels often have double rooms. B&Bs are also good places to stay for meeting others, both locals and travelers.

What a fantastic trip. My son and his wife (early 30's) did some thing similar last year. They avoided Schengen issues by returning to the US for awhile in the middle of their travels, and also included South America. As noted above, you need to re-organize the order of countries visited. First 90 days in the Schengen zonem( April and May are the best time to visit Spain, Italy, and Greece); the spend the next 90 days in Turkey, Croatia, the UK and maybe add Ireland; then retune to the Schengen zone for October and then to the US. Note the you could gain more time in the Schengen countries by moving the US part to September. This is the perfect time to visit our national parks like Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Yellowstone, which youndid not mention but are well worth a visit. September is also a much better time than November for California beaches. But this would add quite a bit to the cost of your trip, as well as backtracking.

I find that for thinking about dealing with Schengen and a long trip of travel what Sheryl and Scott at the A Year in Europe podcast learned can be very helpful. Happy listening ...

Rather than working around the Schengen Accord, why not try to get a visa? Visit the Italian Consolate in Melbourne and find out the requirements. Have an amazing trip! I hope you'll come back and tell us about it.

Naomi, One other thought regarding travel in North America. Public transit is a bit "limited" outside the larger cities, so using a rental car is a big advantage. While day tours are offered (ie: Vegas to the Grand Canyon or Hoover Dam, etc.), these tend to be expensive if taking many of them, so a car is often a better option. If you're under 25 y/o, there could be "difficulties" in renting a car. I know that, as I recently booked a car for a U.S. destination in January and the information provided was very specific on the 25 y/o age limit. Good luck with your planning!

Here's another thought. Shorten your time in the Schengen countries and lengthen your time in the US. October in the Northeast (New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania . . . ) is glorious. You can easily fit in a few days in Washington D.C. as well before heading to the West Coast. Weather in northern California (San Francisco and Monterey areas) is very mild in November and usually fogless (a real plus). Take a look at the websites for the national parks in Utah (Zion is only a 2 hour drive from Las Vegas) - they are amazing and in November the days are usually warmish and sunny. Even the drives between the parks are so scenic you will want to stop and take photos all the time.

I agree, Scott and Sheryl really set the mark for how to do an extended trip in Europe. Even if you have Schengen figured out, you will learn a lot from their podcasts.

Hello,, if doing North America I think you should most definately pop up to see our Rockies,,they are stunning,, and yes, I have seen the Alps too!
Check out Banff, Jasper and Lake Louise.. all good but would avoid april or november in them as will be cold . Temps in Portugal will be VERY hot in july or august,, would see norhtern cities then ( London and Amsterdam etc,, but avoid Olympics in London end of july I think )

You don't say where in the US you want to go, but I'm with Chani, you will want to be in the northern US in late Sept and into Oct. Fall in the north are usually very nice (but you can on occasion get a snow storm). November is more likely to have ice storms and blizzards, especially on the northern plains and the upper east coast. May I suggest:
April, May, June: Do the Schengen areas right awaywatch the 90 days rule. July, Aug and early Sept: Turkey and the UK and/or any non-Schengen countries you absolutely think you need to see. late Sept, Oct and Nov: Start with NYC and/or Boston. Maybe add in Washington DC; Charlotte, NC; or Richmond, VA. Head west by way of Rapid City, South Dakota and see Mt. Rushmore (gotta put in a plug in for my home state). Finish up in Vegas, San Francisco and/or LA. Maybe even consider flying back to Australia by way of Hawaii.

"wow, thank you! I had no idea about that Agreement. I will definitely look into that and make sure we don't violate any laws." Click here http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/24928/cant-stay-in-schengen-zone-more-than-3-mos-in-6-mos-following-first-entry.html to start your research on how long you can legally stay in Europe.

Also take into account that, unless you are willing to stay in dorm rooms in youth hostels, or have a pretty unlimited budget for 4/5 star hotels, you can't "wing it" in most of Europe from April through October. You will need to make hotel reservations around 3 months in advance. Outside of New York City, with a car you won't need reservations anywhere. It will probably be worth it to join AAA to get all the free maps and guide books - and travel advice.