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Euro Trip Before Grad School?

Posted by on

Hi!

My friends and I want to plan a trip to Europe with the kicker being that one friend has a desitation wedding in Portugal Memorial weekend. We want to travel in May, and I'm trying to come up with an itinerary that is both budget-friendly (we are all post-grad about to enter medical school) and the right pace for girls in their 20s.

My current idea: We fly into Germany -> Croatia -> Spain -> End in Portugal for our friend's wedding.

We have about 3-4 weeks to make this happen, and I'm looking for suggestions of what cities to catch along the way and if this travel plan is too plane centered and I should change to a more train-based trip.

For some context, I've spent more time in Europe than the other girls and have been to all these countries (besides Portugal) for varying amounts of time. I've been to Berlin and spent a good amount of time in Bavaria; I've been to Dubrovnik, Sevilla, Barcelona, Leon, Nice, Paris, Rome, Cinque Terre, Florence, Aix en-Provence and a few other places along this general route. Any suggestions are welcome!

Posted by
784 posts

Based on the many places you have already visited, I suggest a three week swing through the Nordic countries, across Northern Germany and into Central Europe. Spend the last week in Western Spain and Portugal to work on your wedding tans.

Posted by
28698 posts

I hate having to take a mid-trip flight, but it really doesn't bother some folks, so the two-extra-flights (probably) aspect of your itinerary may be OK for your travel group. It's not what I would do.

One thing to keep in mind is that there are very few ground connections between Spain and Portugal. It would be worthwhile to figure out how you're going to deal with that situation. You can cross the border from Galicia to northern Portugal without much difficulty. There are buses from Seville to Faro in southern Portugal. Neither of those solutions involves a fast train. The Deutsche Bahn website, which is often helpful for researching international rail trips, gives a 9-1/2 hour routing between Madrid and Lisbon. It requires two changes, one of them with a 4-minute transfer time. What could go wrong?

Many people trying to see Spain and Portugal on the same trip end up deciding to fly.

The places you propose to go are great. So are the places you haven't mentioned; it's hard to go wrong as long as you don't end up with too high a ratio of transportation time to sightseeing time or plan to spend a lot of time in places you maybe can't afford at this stage of your life unless you are willing to stay in hostels, etc. I'd be cautious about places like Switzerland, Norway, probably also Sweden and Finland, and some individual high-cost cities; I've been struggling with lodging costs in London for a trip in May myself.

Posted by
15102 posts

All I can say is have a wonderful time! Best of luck in med school and I think this is a terrific time to decompress before the hard work ahead of you!

Posted by
3432 posts

I miss interests for relevant suggestions.

Just coming to my mind:

"medical school": Berlin, Hamburg and Schwerin have med schools as well.

Posted by
8543 posts

You propose to visit three countries in 3-4 weeks. You can't see all of Spain or Germany in 3/4 weeks.

If you plan to return to Europe in you life, cut down on travel within Europe and eliminate Germany and Croatia.
Stick to Spain and Portugal. Germany is more expensive than the Iberian countries.

Do research and plan your trip including lodging, transport and key sites to see. For Spain do not miss Toledo or Seville.

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