Europe Itinerary Review - please be nice!

Been to Zurich - wasn't that thrilled with it (enjoyed Bern more)...honestly, I personally would rather spend the time in PAris or London...just my 2 cents worth :)...being said, I'd do prob #3 - we had 5 days in Rome (including a day trip to NAples) and 5 days was not near enough...I'd spend 3 days in Venice, or add an extra day to Ibiza...

Just one opinion- number 2. Number 1 is too little time & too many cities. #3 seems a little sluggish. YMMV

Unless you have visted London before, I think you are short changing it. Personally, I would have started there, then taken the Eurostar to Paris then flow home from Italy or Spain. That is, if I included them at all. You really have only 14 full days on the ground. I would have split that time between 2 cities (London/Paris, or either of them and Rome OR Barcelona) and done day trips. Or maybe 3 cities- London, Paris and Rome. Or Paris, Rome and Barcelona. You loose alot of time and spend more money changing locations.

I booked award travel and the only city I could "return" from was London. That is why I decided to fly back from London.

Serena, It's hard to make sensible comments without knowing a little more. Is this your 1st trip to these places? What are your reasons for choosing them? Just at a glance, I find Ibiza and Zurich to be odd choices. Rather than doing so much hopping around by plane (expensive and time-consuming), I'd add the Ibiza days to the Barcelona area. Plenty of things to do on the Costa Brava, if you get tired of the city. I would eliminate Zurich and add the time to London, even if you've been there before. We lived in London for a year and didn't exhaust its offerings.

Hi, I've been to Paris and Barcelona before. I'm going with someone who hasn't been to Europe at all -- so I wanted to give them a quick taste of Paris and possibly Barcelona. We're going to Ibiza for a night, because we wanted to attend a party there. Zurich is there because I wanted to add some "nature" rather than the basic architecture and art of the other cities. However, I'm leaning more towards eliminating Zurich and Barcelona if necessary. I really don't want to eliminate Ibiza --- I know it sounds kinda funny but we're young and we really want to go to their infamous "foam party". LOL

I like #3. More time for each and less moving around. I'm not sure about transportation to and from Ibiza, but I totally understand the need to go there. When I was a few years younger, I was also guilty of going to a place just for a party. Have fun.

Start by being honest with yourself. Don't count your arrival or departure days, regardless of what time your flights are. On arrival you'll be a jetlagged zombie. Departure day you have to get your act together and to the airport (one of the most challenging airports in the world that's notorious for hours-long lines). When you fly someplace within Europe, you are going to lose a minimum of half a day, maybe most of the day when you figure in gathering your things, getting to the airport, through security, fly, get out, find your hotel, etc. Most of that day is shot. Trains are a bit more efficient, but you still lose half the day even if you're experienced. You have 13 usable days in Europe. For all your time and money, it looks to me like you will be getting: 1 day in Paris, 1 day in London, 1 day in Zurich, 2 days each in Rome and Venice. Many hours in planes, trains, and buses. And that, um, foam party. Hmmm. Only you can decide if those are really your priorities, but to me, it looks like you are trading away an awful lot to go to this foam party. Just be aware of how much you are giving up for it (to me, this seems like a trip to Europe thrown away for nothing, but everyone has their own priorities, mine are surely not yours, and only you know what's right for you). Good luck.

By the way - you're leaving in 2 weeks. If you are just now trying to make your plans, I think you may be in for some surprises. Have you checked all the "budget planes" recently that you are expecting to use? A lot of the "cheap fares" are not so cheap when bought at the last minute. If you are traveling on a limited budget, you might want to investigate some of these details now.

London is shortchanged in all of these. Venice: 3 nights is enough. But my real comment is about all the hopping around. You will lose much more than a couple of hours flight time every time you fly. From Venice, for example, you'll shuttle to the airport, arrive early enough to clear security, fly, and finally shuttle again (probably from distant Stansted) to your London hotel. If all goes right, you'll have maybe the evening of the 24th, plus the 25th there. You'll have breakfast on the 26th, then you'll be prepping to check out and shuttle and wait some more at the airport. And with this hopping you will have seen just one place in each of 5 or 6 countries. Paris isn't France. London isn't England. I would see some more of those two countries first. Spend a day or two seeing Bath or maybe the Cotswold villages. Visit Bayeux, Normandy, Mont St. Michael, Giverny, Versailles. It's good to see what life is like in smaller places too in order to understand a country. And to maximize your time, instead of flying, you can use the Eurostar train to get between Paris and London - it's just over 2 hours from city center to city center that way. Italy's summers can be oppressively hot. I'd go there in the shoulder season some other time. So maybe you have 6 days in England and 6 in France - and fly to Ibiza and back for your party?

Option #1 is way too much moving around. You will mostly see the inside of planes, trains or whatever. Option #2 is a little better. I think you are short changing London, since you have not been there. I would take a day away from Barcelona, Rome or Venice and add it to London if #2 is your chosen itinerary. I have never been to Ibiza, bit your other destinations are cities. For a break from that you might want to consider taking the train from Paris to Provence, where you could spend a couple of days. See where you can spend less time above. Take the train from there to Barcelona. From Spain fly to Rome, train to Venice, fly to London. Or from Spain fly to Venice, train to Rome and fly to London. Either way works. If you decide you can live without the party, I would skip Spain altogether. Whatever you choose, have a great trip!

I must be the only one that understands the culture and need to go to Ibiza. Ignore them, Serena - you will not regret Ibiza. I'd go for #3, but I'd use one or both of the "Barcelona" days in London instead of Rome or Venice. Just MHO. EDIT - missed Brad's comment - he gets it too.

Two weeks. You seem committed to Ibiza on those dates. Itinerary 3 looks the best of the three, but I would suggest itinerary 4. Add a couple of days to Ibiza, skip Rome or Venice. Distribute the freed-up days to London and whichever other city you choose. Example: After Paris, Ibiza 7/15 to 7/19, Venice 7/19 to 7/23, London 7/23 to 7/26. Even flying from city to city takes up lots of time. Then there is getting to/from airports and to/from hotels. And you need to be at airports early. For example, I flew from Paris to Venice one year. I left my hotel in Paris at 6am and arrived at my hotel in Venice about 2pm. The flight itself was about 1 1/2 or 2 hours. The all-day train would have taken just a couple of hours more.

I agree with everyone that you may be squeezing too much into one trip.. I just came back from three and a half weeks and it was our first trip.. I also had to fly in and out of london because of special deal... but we had 4 days in London and 3 in Paris and and between jet lag, travel and unexpectedly feeling sick we did not get to all we wanted although we realized that might happen. I am not sorry that I only touched on the places we went to (also went to Venice 3 nights 2 1/2 days was enough to feel like you got to see it) We were three night in Tuscany and two in Florence then three in Switzerland. yes I felt like I could have spent weeks all all these places but I was glad that I had the chance to see them and as you are young.. you will have a chance to go back to them and do any one place in more depth another time. No one can really tell you which cities you will like best or least or which to do more in as we don't know what you like and that is all very personal but I think what can be helpful is all that info on time ect.. after doing our trip recently I will admit that we struggled with jet lag for almost a week which did have an impact on us in London.. I was not feeling well for most of Paris and then went to the hospital in Venice which killed an afternoon there and some time in Paris was blown as well... and traveling back and forth from trains and airports then finding your lodging and checking in will eat up a lot more of your time then you think so just keep that in mind and be sure to give yourself enough time wherever you are going Look at the guide books.. decide what you want to see and do and what is most important to you and they how long will that take.. you may find that 6 days in Rome is far too much and Venice is great but you can see a good part of it in three days..its also very expensive.
Have a great time whatever you decide:)

Serena, My suggestion would be Itinerary #3, as it's relatively simple and will be easiest to arrange on short notice (IMHO). I have to agree with the comments made by David that it's a bit late to get the best prices for budget flights, so be sure to allow for that in your budget. A few comments on each of the transportation links in Itinerary #3..... > Paris - Ibiza: Try EasyJet from CDG to IBZ > Ibiza - Rome: EasyJet (only one flight per day?) > Rome - Venice: Travel via Freccia (fast) trains, as that's a better option than flying (and NO airport hassles). The fast trains in Italy require compulsory reservations, which will be included in the cost of your ticket. If travelling on Regionale trains (or Buses in Rome), BE SURE to validate your tickets prior to boarding or risk a hefty fine (which will be collected on the spot!). > Venice - London: EasyJet from VCE to LGW Regarding the budget airlines I would suggest booking SOON, not only to get the best price but also as some flights may fill up. Be VERY careful with luggage weights - if you think your checked bags may be over the allowable limit, pay the extra charge at the time of booking. It's more expensive if paid at the gate. Finally, many budget airlines allow only ONE carry-on item (and they usually do enforce that). Have you booked any accommodations yet? Keep in mind that the Olympics will be underway in London shortly, so rooms may be in short supply or may be VERY expensive. Do you have an approximate idea on sightseeing in each city? Check Guidebooks at your local Library or Bookstores to get some ideas. Happy travels!

Three nights in Venice is one night too many when you have so many other places that coud use that extra night,, like Paris or London!

Serena, For travel between cities in Italy, travel by train is absolutely the best option in most cases. You can research travel times and other information using the Trenitalia website. If you haven't ridden the trains in Italy before, it would be highly advisable to do some research, as there are some potentially expensive pitfalls to be aware of. If you need more information, post another note. You may find it very helpful to read the excellent Ron In Rome website, as there's lots of information there on travelling in Italy. When buying tickets, be sure to specify the correct stations. Many towns have more than one station, so you'll need to know the Italian names for each one. For example, you'll probably be using Roma Termini, Firenze SMN and Venezia Santa Lucia. Regarding budget airlines, my suggestion would be to use EasyJet if possible, as they typically use regular airports. Some of the other carriers such as the much maligned RyanAir sometimes use airports which are way out of the city. Therefore the cheaper fares are not as much of a bargain as time and cost to actually get to the city have to be added. Cheers!

I would say that 2 days in Venice is enough. Or skip Venice and do Florence which is a shorter trip from Rome and a beautiful city.

I vote for #3... but I would take a day from Venice and add it to Paris. I totally get going to Ibiza. You will love it.

I like #3 with one small change...i don't think you need quite so much time in Venice. I would instead stop for a night (maybe 2) in Florence or Siena between Rome and Venice (do all of that by train which is much cheaper than flying within Italy). That would also break up the Rome to Venice train trip, which is over 4 hours.

So, it seems like the consensus is #3 modified so that I do less time in Venice and maybe instead add Florence. I think that is the route I am going to take. I'm going to let you guys know what I ultimately decide. Thanks for your help! Also, for travel between the cities in Italy, would I save time/$ by train or plane?

Take the train between your Italy cities.

Hey everyone! Thanks for all your help. So, I've decided to eliminate Ibiza, because the plane tickets for two people in and out of Ibiza was ending up costing me around $600, which I didn't think was worth it for just one night and one party. :( Sad, because I wanted to go, but alas, now I just have Paris, Rome, Venice, Florence, London. I wanted to squeeze in one more major city since Venice and Florence will be very short trips. Any suggestions on that? Thanks.

Serena, you have five cities and only 14 nights. It is kind of like visiting Boston, New York, Washington, Disney World, and Miami in a two week period. Would you advise someone to do that? If so and you want to "squeeze" another city in, then consider doing a day trip from one of the places you are already visiting. For example, from London you could take a day trip to Oxford or Brighton or Cambridge. From Rome, you could take a day trip to Orvieto. From Venice, you could take a day trip to Verona. All of the cities on your list are jam-packed with things to do, plus you have to already have to change cities 4 times which will take anywhere from 4-6 hours for each change. Your first day in Paris won't be as productive as you like because you will have spent the night on a plane. That last day in London you will only have until 1pm before you have to leave for the airport.

So, this is what I ultimately decided on and already bought tickets for - Paris 7/12 - 7/15 Florence - 7/15 - 7/17 Rome - 7/17 - 7/21 Venice - 7/21 - 7/24 London - 7/24 - 7/26 All plane travel except Florence to Rome via the new Italo train. What do you guys think now?

Serena, Your latest Itinerary appears to be reasonably well paced, however the order of cities is not the most logical as it involves some "backtracking". Have you already bought tickets for budget airlines? If not, you might consider travelling Paris > Venice > Florence > Rome > London. As you may have noticed, the new Italo trains use different stations in each city than Ferrovie dello Stato trains. For example, in Rome the new train uses Roma Tiburtina rather than Roma Termini. You can easily get into the centre from there via Metro. Cheers!

I second Ken in that your order is a bit off. Paris-Venice-Florence-Rome-London, or Paris-Rome-Florence-Venice-London. Try and fly between Paris/London and Italy. Check out whichbudget.com to help out with that. Hopefully it will not be as expensive as going Ibiza.

I forgot to mention that my order is off due to the price differences in flying to the different cities (from Paris and then to London) - huge differences in price caused me to pick that order.

I was gonna say - you can find major parties at all the locations you're visiting except maybe Venice, and they still have plenty of nightlife there too. Do a little internet research before you go to find what kind of parties are going on, particularly for Rome and London. It's hard to find a city in Europe where you can't stay out all night, get groped, and listen to bad techno, honestly. Have no worries. I'm gonna go rinse the club funk off me now...ugh.

Your trip itinerary looks great and I think you're going to have a great time. Do you have hotel reservations at each location or are you going to wing it? How is the rest of your planning going?

Serena, I think this is a fantastico itinerary! I would definitely fly Paris to Florence (although I'd prefer Paris to Venice) and then fly Venice to London but then take trains within Italy. Trains are so much easier and less time consuming. Just a thought.

I'm doing airbnb for rome and florence. Did a hotel for Venice. I'm trying to do airbnb for London and Paris too but every place I want keeps getting reserved.