95 day Europe Trip (Can be away for 98 nights max.)

Given you schedule, it doesn't make a sense (and also cents) to return to London for the trip home. You might look to rearranging the last few days to come home from Prague or Munich. Probably would be cheaper. And do be very careful to get good entry and exits with leaving the Schengen zone. Also put some pins in a map and see if you can get a better straight line with you plans. You are doing a fair amount of zigging and zagging and that just adds to your costs.

You're using Milan and La Spezia as "map pins," but you don't have to sleep there. Plan to sleep on Lake Como, such as at Varenna, one hour away, and in any one of the 5 towns of the Cinque Terre, to maximize your experience of those smaller towns.

The DB train schedule link will show connections to the Cinque Terre towns, but you have to switch to Trenitalia.com or Trenord.it to see most Lake Como schedules.

Although Contiki calls this their "in-depth explorer" style of tour, the name Spanish Spree says it better, as you are still moving at top speed.

I'm with Frank - don't go all the way back to London. You mentioned wanting to get Prague or Munich in. Cut Salzburg to 2 nights and add 1 night to the Prague/bussabout segment - you can then end by spending 2 nights and flying back out from Munich.

I would want to get right thru northern Europe first, then hit the Med countries when the weather has warmed. Fly home to Sydney from Athens ...

4 - London (day trips to Bath, Stonehedge, etc) (Eurostar)
4 - Paris (train)
2 - Bruges (train)
4 - Amsterdam (fly/train)
4 - Berlin (train)

2 - Munich (train)
3 - Salzburg (train)
4 – Vienna. (train)
4 – Prague then tour with Busabout
8 - Busabout Classic Rhapsody 8 nights Tour Prague-Olomoc(1)-Krakow (2)-Zakopane(1)-Budapest (2), Plitvice (1)-Split
11 - Croatia sailing tour of Dalmation Islands from Split to Dubronvik with 2 extra days in each of those mentioned cities (fly)

13 - Spain Tour:- Spanish Spree by Contiki 13 nights Madrid 2, Bilbao 1, Pampelona 1, Barcelona 2, Ibiza 2, Grenada 2, Seville 1, Cordoba 1, Madrid 1 (fly Madrid to Nice)
4 - Nice (with a day trip to Monaco) (fly)
3 - Venice (train) (stop at Verona on the way) (day trip with Italy on a Budget to the islands)
2 – Milan (day trip to Lake Como on full day there as this is the reason I want to go to Milan) (train)
2 - La Spezia (Cinque Terre) (train)
4 - Florence (day trip to Pisa, Siena, Grapes Tuscany tour by Italy on a budget) stop in Assisi on the way (train)
4 - Rome
3 -Amalfi Coast Tour based in Sorrento: Italian Adventure with Italy on a budget- Rome to Naples, Sorrento, Capri, Amalfi and Rome
11 nights Greece - Athens Tour (Contiki Spotlight on Greece: Athens, Athens to Olympia, Olympia to Delphi, Delphi to Athens 3 nights) Greek Island Hopper Athens to Mykonons, Paros, Santoini and Ios (8 nights) by myself using ferries (fly from Athens)

Fly home from Athens
96 total nights

Thanks for the comments!! I didn't think about staying in lake Como or cinque Terre as this is my first major trip, and first time to Europe so I've just been following places that tours stop at. Thanks so much for opening my eyes!! I found what looks like great hostels in manarola and Menaggio. I'd love to do Northern Europe allin one go, but as I mentioned I can't do this with the Shengen rules, and that's why I put Croatia last. Thanks for he help, if Greece is thrown out of the EU I'll be able to do it ending in Athens which would be awesome!

Don't get mixed up over different groups of countries, ambitious brooke.

Your last comment may have been meant as a joke, but there are real concepts to become familiar with.

The European Union - the EU - is a political alliance of most of the European countries. The EU countries are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK. That is 28 countries.

The EEA - the European Economic Area - effectively 32 countries, is a larger group adding to the above list
Iceland
Liechtenstein
Norway
NB while Switzerland is not in the EEA, Swiss nationals have the same rights as EEA nationals.

The Eurozone is those countries only using the common currency, the Euro. Official members are Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain. That's only 19 countries. The Euro is also unilaterally used in other countries - outside the EU, the euro is also the sole currency of Montenegro and Kosovo and several European microstates (Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican City) as well as in four overseas territories of EU members that are not themselves part of the EU (Saint Barthélemy, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, the French Southern and Antarctic Lands and Akrotiri and Dhekelia).

The Schengen treaty area for common entry and exit without normal border identity checks or customs checks is currently at these countries:
Austria,
Belgium,
Czech Republic,
Denmark,
Estonia,
Finland,
France,
Germany,
Greece,
Hungary,
Iceland,
Italy,
Latvia,
Liechtenstein,
Lithuania,
Luxembourg,
Malta,
Netherlands,
Norway,
Poland,
Portugal,
Slovakia,
Slovenia,
Spain,
Sweden,
Switzerland.
Microstates Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City are not part of the Schengen Area and have differing formal relatioships with it, but they all have open borders with neighbouring Schengen countries and can be legally entered with a Schengen visa. Andorra has no formal agreement with the Schengen Area and maintains permanent border controls, but issues no own visas. Instead, Andorra also accepts a Schengen visa.
That's 26 countries plus the microstates.

Greece will not be "chucked out of" the EU. It may lose the Euro as its currency.

You can see from the above lists that Greece is in the EU, the EEA, the Eurozone, and is a member state of the Schengen Agreement.

If it loses the Euro it will still be in the EU, the EEA and have Schengen controls unless and until anything else changes.

Don't count on having non-Schengen days in Greece.

Greece can't be thrown out of the Eurozone, there is no provision in the treaty to allow that.
Greece may decide to leave the Euro and create a new currency for itself, so that it can pay its bills inside the country, in which case the most likely scenario is that this currency would rapidly depreciate against the Euro. But that would not stop Greece going bankrupt, it owes money in Euros. Except that countries can't go bankrupt, they just fail to pay their bills to other countries and to investors in those countries, and there is nothing the other countries can do, short of declaring war.

In either case, Greece would still be in both the EU and the Schengen Area. The "90 days out of 180" rule applies to Schengen countries.

Thanks for all the history, and yes it was a joke. My point was simply that I appreciatedthe feedback, but I couldn't do that revised itinerary as I'd be breaching the visa rules, which is why I put Croatia last as its not a part of the treaty.

Well at this stage, with five organised tours as components of your 3 month epic, you really have to wait for the release of 2016 tour dates. This will probably occur sep/oct this year.
http://www.busabout.com/eastern-europe/classic-rhapsody-trek
http://www.busabout.com/europesailing/croatia-sailing/croatia-one-way-sail-dubrovnik-split
http://www.contiki.com/destinations/europe/tours/155-spanish-spree
http://www.italyonabudgettours.com/en/activity/5973/amalfi-coast-tour-from-rome---4days3nights
http://www.contiki.com/destinations/europe/tours/157-spotlight-on-greece
The final Greek tour with Contiki has the least frequent departures going from this year, so I would choose my date here first and work backwards.

Thanks!! I wasn't sure when the tour dates would be released. I wish they'd be released soon! Also if the dates don't fit too well I'll just have to do it my self.

Look out for when Flight Centre has its European Travel Fair and 2016 Earlybird Airfares are released, all about the same time.

Having been to many of these places, I have a few city recommendations based on my experience there (sorry to repeat anything already mentioned):

• In Italy, I would spend less time in Venice (or not go at all) and more time in Cinque Terre. Venice is expensive and the food is absolutely terrible. Cinque Terre was one of my favorite parts of Italy - I wish I stayed longer. I'd recommend staying in one of the 5 towns. We stayed in Monterosso and loved it. Also, just venture on up to Varenna or another Como town to stay the night.

• 4 nights is a lot in Vienna, for me. Again, it is expensive and I just had a hard time connecting with the city. Bratislava, on the contrary, is an hour train ride away and is a city I adored although 4 nights there is a lot. Maybe split it 2 and 2?

• Munich is an easy day trip from Salzburg, but I think if you do that then you'll just be able to say you went. Could you consider turning it around and basing yourself in Munich and day tripping to Salzburg? Just depends on which one you want to spend more time in.

• Please, please, please spend more than 1 night in Budapest. The city is great - good food, incredible people, and very reasonably priced.

• While in NIce, make a day trip to Eze. It is about an hour (little less) train away and perched atop a hill/cliff. You can hike to the town from the train stop.

I've written blogs about our trips to many (if not all) of these places. Feel free to check it out - lauraandelliottstenstrom.wordpress.com. I'm currently working on our trip to Italy.

Brooke, your trip lives up to your "ambitious" moniker. If I were doing it (and not exhausted just thinking about it, but I have more than a few years on you), I'd spend less time in Nice and Salzburg, and give those nights to London and Paris. And I agree with others about the zigging and zagging, but you may have to do that to get the tours you want on the dates they happen. And I agree with the suggestion to fly home from somewhere near your trip's end rather than backtracking to London. "Open jaw" flying could gain you another day to spend somewhere.

Good luck with this ambitious but well-researched itinerary. And remember, you should have plenty more chances to visit Europe in the years to come. You don't have to "do it all" now! :-)

Hi all, and thankyou so much for all your insightful advice. This by far is the best travel forum I have found.

Laura - Your blog looks awesome!! Thanks for the link to it!

This is my updated trip. Hopefully you can see that I've taken on board lots of advice and I've continued researching. The main reason I've tried to cram so much in is that I know I own't be returning anytime soon in Summer (lots of advice to the contrary, however, I have fixed holidays per year that I have to take a certain times, and this won't allow for another summer trip until I have enough Long Service Leave again), but it does mean I can return in winter. I've decided to skip London, Paris and Brugges this trip, as I think I wouldn't mind seeing them places in winter, and it means I can spend more time in places I want to visit in the summer. I've also been given mixed advice about how many nights to spend in Eastern Europe, so I've gone from 4 in most to 3 nights utilizing the CNL sleeper train from Berlin to Munich to give me more time (I researched night trains more, and I don't think this one will be too scary for my solo self, but I will pay extra to have a sleeper to myself). This also means more time in summer places, and I can include Switzerland again (but I'm not sure where, more research needed).

Djp - The route you re-wrote for me is awesome. After lots more research I came to this conclusion and I should have went with your advice earlier! The only tricky part is that flights Dubrovnik to Madrid are infrequent and expensive, so if that doesn't work out, I'll go Dubrovnik to Rome, spend a week there, then go Rome to Madrid to continue. Also I'm saving time by flying Rome to Snatorini, rather then to Athens then a ferry back.

I was also confused with the Schengen rules, I thought that once the clock started it didn't stop even when I left, but I've since realised this referred to the 180 day clock. So I should be fine to fly open jaw as you all suggested.

Updated:
Fly Sydney to Amsterdam mid April
4 – Amsterdam (train 6 hours 31)
3 - Berlin

1 – CNL sleeper train
3 – Munich (train 1 hour 40 mins)
2 - Salzburg (train 2 hours 25) day trip to Salzkammergut if I have time?
3 - Vienna. (train 4 hours 100 day trip to Bratislava if I have time/feel that way inclined?

3 – Prague

8 - Busabout Classic Rhapsody: Prague-Olomoc(1)-Krakow (2)-Zakopane(1)-Budapest (2), Plitvice (1)-Split (1)

9 - Croatian sailing tour of Dalmation Islands from Split to Dubronvik (7 nights) 2 extra nights in Dubrovnik (Hotel Splurge: Hotel Bellevue Dubrovnik) (day trip to Montenegro) (fly direct 1 hour 15 mins)
**Go straight Dubrovnik to Spain if flights work, (would be better but flights are expensive and infrequent, then do Rome after Florence which is logical)

4 - Rome
3 - Italian Adventure with Italy on a budget- Rome to Pompeii, Naples, Sorrento, Capri, Amalfi (amazing reviews on Tripadvisor) (fly 2 hours 45 mins)

13 – Spain- Spanish Spree by Contiki (pay single supplement to get a room to myself for 2 weeks): Madrid 2, Bilbao 1, Pampelona 1, Barcelona 2, Ibiza 2, Grenada 2, Seville 1, Cordoba 1, Madrid 1 (fly 2 hours direct)

4 - Nice (with a arvo/night trip to Monaco, Eze) (fly 1 hour direct to Geneva/or train)

4- Switzerland Somewhere? Lauterbrunnen, Grimmelwald, Murren, Interlaken, Burn or Lucerne? (fly 1 hour 20 mins direct from Geneva )

2 - Venice (train 3 hours 23 mins ) (stop at Verona on the way) (day trip with Italy on a Budget to the islands)
3 –Mennagio (Lake Como, instead of Milan) (train 3 hours Milan to La Spezia )
3 - Manarola (Cinque Terre) - (train, could stop at Pisa on the way?)
5 - Florence (day trip to Pisa, Siena, Lucca, Grapes Tuscany tour by Italy on a budget) stop in Assisi on the way (train 1 hour 20 mins to Rome) (fly Rome to Santorini direct 2 hours)

16 – Greek Islands – Santorini 4, Ios 4, Mykonos 4, Nexos 4,
3 – Athens
Fly home from Athens

Thoughts?

Don't get too obsessed by detail until the 2016 dates are released for the organised tours you wish to take.
Even then (and I hate to introduce uncertainty here) tour companies can cancel some departure dates if tours don't fill.
Look for guaranteed departures, or look for their company policy. The jigsaw will fall into shape around these large pieces.

Yep I completely understand. Dates for 2016 have been released though under the preview for 2016 sale at 2015 prices with 10% off.

Look a G Adventures. As far as I know all there departures run as long as one person books. You do not have the worry about them cancelling a tour. Make sure you check out how much the tours spend at each stop some spend more than others, less of a party trip. I used Explore worldwide in Morrocco and had a great time lots of time at sights and fun nights out. They also do tours in Europe. I am using them again to go to Israel in September. Think about Spain on your own it is very easy, trains are easy.

Wendy

@ brooke...If you do an open jaw flight on the return, be sure to check how many times you have change planes, whether that's worth it in time. Based on your itinerary you can do Berlin to Munich on the CNL night train. That route offers the sleeperette (reclining chair), saves you the expense of a sleeper. I took that option Munich to Berlin a few weeks ago, solo, no problems, totally satisfactory. Were there solo women also taking the sleeperette option? Yes, they were all German. If they can travel solo, so can you.

I think you need to cut some places. Deciding where is hard...choose between Spain, Rome, or Croatia, otherwise factor in more discount flights and night trains, such as Munich to Budapest.

You have split your time in Italy.
I know Dubrovnik is a difficult place to get cheap flights to/from.
Easyjet and Vueling both fly Dubrovnik to Rome (which is good for low fares)
Consider perhaps ...
Rome => Amalfi => Florence => CT => Venice => Como => Switzerland
Then travel down to Nice.
Fly from Nice to Madrid.
Fly from Madrid to Greece.

Yea I plan to take advantage of those cheap fares, my other option would to fly Dubrovnik to Madrid,, but not direct. They also have cheap fares Dubrovnik ==> Barcelona==> Madrid and the shortest time is just under 6 hours. Thanks Djp I had considered that, but I was hoping to fly into Santorini to save some travel time rather than into Athens and I can't fly Madrid to Santorini, but def still a good idea.