Backpacking Europe - Itinerary?

Eight weeks is a lot of time, and you will surely have successful and unsuccessful days and will not want to be tied down to anything you can't change.

Still there is no substitute for planning. You really do not want to spend an hour of every day there figuring out what you are doing next.

And I firmly believe that those who say, I am now arriving in Rome, what does my guidebook say I should do? have less satisfying experiences than those who arrive with their own plans.

So, I encourage you to do some planning and research now, at least to identify some of the places you most want to go and the things you want to see and do when you get there.

List the cities you want to see, we will be able to give better input. Right now we know you will be in Munich the last of September. Are you flying open jaw, which cities? Eurorail pass?
Eastern Europe, most of it, is reasonaable. Spain/Portugal is affordable.I am also going for 4 weeks in September with a friend; hostels, B&B, and couchsurfing.

If I were you I would check out couchsurfing.org, a large percentage are your age and would meet with you for a drink, coffee and would probably show you the city. There are also lots of groups you can join for information. If you register now and put up a profile you will have a chance to meet some people and get some references before you leave. You can check out my profile there and see our itinerary; Amsterdam, Paris, Italy, then Spain.

Don't stress, read Rick Steves, stay on this site and research...you don't have to lock everything down but you need to have idea of where you will be going. I had to lock three travel days down because Trenitalia (Paris-Nice party train), Ryan Air and Vueling( Rome-Seville) give a big price break if you buy ahead (I use Skyscanner.com). The cheaper trips I'll buy there.
You can have a lot of fun researching your trip and it makes the time go faster. I am apologizing again for my rambling. Have fun.
Deborah Riley Kansas City MO

You are not crazy to do it, you will just simply be spending time organizing your travels while you are in Europe rather than before hand. The good news is that 8 weeks gives you the ability to do this without difficulty.

If you were going for less time (say 4 weeks) I would recommend that you reserve as much as you could in advance and research everything. As you have a lot more time you can take it more slow, but you probably will spend a fair bit of time in internet cafes researching places to stay and things to see in the next destination that you have decided to go to. Another great site is hostels.com, which I trusted for finding good hostels in most of Europe.

First of All...I have to say I'm jealous! 8 weeks in Europe is AMAZING!. Here are my favorite places I've been in Europe:

• If you go to London...make sure to take the train to Windsor Castle. It was out of a Fairytale. And of course if you can make it to Bath & Stonehenge make sure to do so.
• Since You're going to Munich, make sure to stop in Fussen to see the Neuschwanstein Castle. Dachau is also a very interesting sight to see a concentration camp.
• We also loved Austria. Salzburg is a great city to spend a few days in. And if you have more time go to Innsbruck which is right in mountains.
• If you can make it to Switzerland go to Interlaken. Then go up Mt. Schilthorn to see the views of the Alps. I suggest hiking on the way down to see the small swiss towns.
• In Spain I loved Marbella. We also did a day trip to Gibraltor which was very exciting. I was only in the South of Spain but other areas are supposed to also be very nice.
• most recently I was in Italy in May and that was one of my favorite places in all of Europe. My favorite places there were: Venice, Cinque Terre, Florence, San Gimingano, Sorrento, & Rome. I went on a fantastic wine tour in the Chianti Region called Castello di Verrazzano (http://www.verrazzano.com/) which I would highly recommend.

If you have any questions feel free to contact me. Your trip sounds AMAZING! :-)

Since you don't have any firm plans I recommend looking into a program in Spain called Pueblo Ingles or Vaughanvillage. Google either one, it's a program whereas for free room and board in a nice hotel in the countryside of Spain for a week you will work one on one with Spaniards who are learning english. You don't need to know Spanish, in fact they don't want you to. It's orgainized but informal, the majority of your time is spent just talking one on one. They say the Spaniards get a lot out of it but it's been my impression from everyone that has participated the Anglos get just as much out of it.

Don't stress yourself out thinking you need a minute-by-minute itinerary planned out before you leave.

Start your research by getting to the library and borrowing some travel guidebooks and taking out some DVDs on the cities and countries you think you may be interested in. Globetrekker has some really good shows on DVD. If the library can't find you a copy of these DVDs, rent them through Blockbuster by Mail or Netflix. Rick's books, Rough Guide, Lonely Planet and Let's Go can help you figure out what places you might find interesting, and also recommend some decent budget lodging. Hostelworld.com and bugeurope.com are also good websites to look over for traveler reviews on hostels.

Don't try to cram too many countries into your 8 weeks. A good rule of thumb would be 1 week per country (therefore, 8 weeks means 8 countries max). 1 week will give you a very general overview of a few select areas within a country. Think carefully about how much you want to move around. It's sometimes better to base yourself in a city and take a couple day trips instead of spending 1 night here and 1 night there (you lose time whenever you relocate).

Aside from Oktoberfest, you should check to see if any other festivals are taking place in cities or towns you intend to visit along the way. Festivals often mean the better hostels are fully booked in advance, or it can be difficult to find a bed anywhere.

Wow - Thank you all so much! Such helpful advice. As a newbie international traveler, I'll fully admit I need all the help I can get for planning. I have checked out many travel books (Let's Go, RS, Lonely Planet and Fodor's as well as checking out some RS dvd's).

Here's a very rough list of places I know I want to see, and I'm certain I'm leaving some off:

London, Bath, Edinburgh, Dublin, Paris, Bordeaux, Geneva, Zurich, Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Copenhagen, Arhus, Stockholm, Oslo, Reykjavik.

And probably worth mentioning: As ridiculous as this sounds, I'm to a point where I'm close to scratching off doing any travel in both Spain and Italy being a solo female traveler. Nearly every person I've talked to (who has been there, not inexperienced travelers) has told me NOT to visit these countries for fear of my safety being a solo traveler. However, if you can tell me I'd be fine (which I would assume, but after so many tell me not to visit, I've taken the "ugh, fine, I'll go to those countries another time!" -route)... let me know!

Even though you have lots of time, try to have a general plan, for a few reasons:
1) I've met other similar travellers like yourself without a plan and they seem to go in all directions, back tracking and skipping places all quite inefficiently - I'm not sure how much of Europe they did see
2) You have time to hang out in each city for a while
3) Don't micro plan every hour of every day and see too much because it'll be tiring and you won't remember each place
4) Make a list of the places you really want to see and map a logical route so this way you won't regret missing something.

Have a great trip

Even though you are backpacking and want to "float", you still want some type of general route you want to travel so as to limit double backing. Get a good map and start listing your cities in the order you want to see and travel to them. I would not totally eliminate Italy. Go to a few cities just to get the feel of the culture. The cities on your list I personally would reconsider would be Geneva, Hamburg, Zurich and Frankfurt. I would add the Berner Oberland region of Switzerland, Venice, Florence and Salzburg. On your way to Prague, you could stop in Vienna. In regard to your safety, you should always be aware of your surroundings in any large city. Yes, more so in some than others. When in Prague, I would not travel alone after dark. I have read this in books and I travelled there with that thought in mind 7 years ago. Have fun making a once in a lifetime trip!

"London, Bath, Edinburgh, Dublin, Paris, Bordeaux, Geneva, Zurich, Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Copenhagen, Arhus, Stockholm, Oslo, Reykjavik."

Dublin, Frankfurt, Geneva and Zurich can all be axed, in my opinion - they're generally a bit dull. I'd spend more time in some smaller more scenic places instead.

1.) Near Frankfurt, look into Rothenburg (touristy but well-preserved medieval city), and the Rhine/Mosel (think wine and castles).

2.)In Switzerland, head to the Bernese Oberland (near Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen). The natural wonders here are spectacular.

3.)Instead of Dublin, spend some time in Bruges, Belgium (maybe the most beautiful old city in Europe??, lovely beer, the Venice of northern Europe) once you hit the continent.

"And probably worth mentioning: As ridiculous as this sounds, I'm to a point where I'm close to scratching off doing any travel in both Spain and Italy being a solo female traveler. Nearly every person I've talked to (who has been there, not inexperienced travelers) has told me NOT to visit these countries for fear of my safety being a solo traveler. However, if you can tell me I'd be fine (which I would assume, but after so many tell me not to visit, I've taken the "ugh, fine, I'll go to those countries another time!" -route)... let me know!"

If you were with a friend, I'd be more inclined to spend time in the south. But you're not, and it can be incredibly, unbearably hot and humid south of the Alps on a regular basis - not so great with a backpack. I'd stick with the north and see the south in January sometime.

I can't speak for Italy, but I never had any trouble alone in Spain, except for the one time when I was taking a stroll through Madrid and accidentally took a turn down The Street Full Of Porn Shops. All that happened was some catcalling, though.

On the other hand, I speak Spanish, so that may have something to do with it, but Spaniards in general are very friendly and Spain is awesome, so whether you go there or not I had to defend it.

Other suggestions here are good, get yourself a loose itinerary that you can adjust as you feel like it, but don't be stuck sitting there going "gee where should I go/what should I do now?" Pick out a few sights or activities that you really want to do in every city, then wing it for the rest of the time you're in a place, just absorbing the culture.