Europe Itinerary - Scandinavia and St Petersburg

With only 22 nights, you need to cut back. Even this is tight ...

Madrid (2)
Oslo (3)
Stockholm (3)
St Petersburg (4)
Munich (2)
Venice (3)
Florence (3)
Rome (2)

My motto is that if you can't afford the accommodation then you really shouldn't be going there.

Thank you David, but as I already mentioned I have not interest this time in visiting Madrid or Rome, just using those cities to fly in and out of Europe. Also I won't be visiting much of Munich either, only going for the Oktoberfest to experience that festival. In previous trips I have been 4 days in Madrid, 5 in Rome and 3 in Munich.

I would dump the UK. You can add the nights to Oslo and Copenhagen. St Petersburg is a 4 night stop. Each day in a city is 2 sights. 2 nights in a city is not enough. When you switch cities, it is a lost day. We spent 40 days in Europe, and spent no less than 3 nights in each spot (save 1). We would have added 2 nights to Leipzig if we knew what we know now. 22 days / 3.5 is about 6. You are doing 10. Cut 4 out. Even though you are only doing Oktoberfest in Munchen, it is still 2 nights. After a lot of beer, you won't want to get on a plane.

I also would drop Dublin and Edinburgh - just not worth the time and trouble for essentially one day in each. Either spend enough time to see the sights or leave them for another trip. Or choose one for 3-4 nights.

I wouldn't spend the money on a Russian visa for only 2 days in St. Petersburg. If you're going, stay at least 4 nights and see the sights and consider adding 2-3 days in Moscow, as long as you have the visa. I don't know how long it takes to get a visa, but some have said it took weeks. You should look into that right away!!

Unless you want to spend a day seeing Oslo, don't bother going there. Look at flights in/out of Bergen here. You could fly from Madrid to Edinburgh, then to Bergen, then to Copenhagen. That gives you time for a 2-3 day tour of the fjords and explore the lovely towns. I wasn't that taken by my only day in Copenhagen (cruise stop), but STockholm does deserve more than one day.

What time is your flight from Rome? It's 1.5 hours to Termini, then allow another hour to get to FCO. Leonardo trains run 2 twice an hour and, based on my meager experience, there are often delays in the schedule.

Thank you Chani. My flight from Rome leaves at 7 pm so I have plenty of time to get to the airport from Florence.

I don't need a visa to enter Russia (I hold an Argentinian passport) but I am considering dropping something and going to Moscow given the hassle that is to get to Russia.

Thank you Paul. I also made a 40-day trip around Europe. I understand the time it takes traveling from one city to the other, but I don't consider the day of travel lost. I plan my trips to arrive before 1 pm, check in, leave the luggage and go out to explore. Days will still be long enough in September. I do worry about all the flights; I enjoy traveling by train but consider flying very time consuming. It does depend on how difficult it is to get to the airport from city center.

Way too much flying.

Have you considered taking a Baltic cruise that includes St. Petersburg?

Did you account for acquiring the Russian visa? You won't need one on the cruise.

Sorry, I agree about head-swiveling transport plans. Make sure your budget airlines don't achieve their prices with secondary airports with miserable transfer options ....

Edit: typo only

Tim's point about budget airlines is good. We took Ryan air from UK to France. To save $100, we had to go to East Midlands Airport, which required a train journey and bus journey, which added time and money to our budget flight. I wonder if we saved very much. We could have simply flown from Manchester, saving a train and bus journey, as well as 4-5 hours.

Of course, Natalia, no visa issue. I didn't pay attention to your location. I would still try to fit in 3 full days in St P - there is just so much to see. The Hermitage is huge, Peterhof is not to be missed (get there early so you see the show when they turn the fountains on) and will use up more than 1/2 day if you spend time in the charming gardens with their charming water fountains. And there are plenty of other sights, and a canal/river cruise. We took one in Russian, and it was still beautiful, even though we didn't understand a word the guide said. I looked at rome2rio.com and it's about 4 hours from St P to Moscow by train or plane. I haven't been there yet. I think in your place I would try to fit it in, since "what are the chances you'll be back that way."

Venice is my favorite city after Paris, so I would recommend 2 full days there.

Exciting trip. Enjoy!!