First trip to Europe Question (Scotland, England, France, Switzerland?)

Crazy is relative....

It sounds a bit ambitious to me, but I find that I always enjoy travel more when I try to cover less ground, I think you end up seeing much more that way, you actually have time to appreciate where you are.

If you think you won't be back, then maybe you want to "check more places off the list" as it were. If it were me, I wouldn't go to Switzerland this trip, just stay in France, it's a big country (by European standards) with much more to see than you have time to see it in!

Have a great first trip no matter what you decide. Cheers

I agree with Liza. Stay in France, once you've worked your way south from Scotland. You could easily spend 2 weeks in Paris and the Loire Valley. if you get tired of Paris, there are plenty of good days trips from there: Versailles, Fontainebleau, just to name a couple.

The question is do you want to see a days worth of each location, while spending a lot of time on a train between locations, or do you want to focus on a specific location? We're spending 10 days in England, with the first two nights in Bath after we land, and the remaining 7 nights in London as our base for city tours and day trips out of London. I assume we'll come back again, so we're not going to Edinburgh as I had wanted to. We will take the chunnel to Paris for a day trip though.

I agree with everything you guys are saying.

However, I am going to have to be in France half way through, so the blazing through Scotland and England is somewhat required. As far as train time, does anyone know much about ride times between the major cities?

My one reservation is that, Switzerland just seems like such a relaxing and pretty place to be... I would imagine fans of France would say the same thing, but on paper it just seems like Switzerland is better. Having never been to either, I of course have no idea.

France likewise seems like it is a place filled with tons of great museums, but I don't really want to spend all my time in museums. Switzerland seems much "prettier". Again, completely ignorant of actual conditions.

Does anyone have any idea how the hostel situation is comparing both France and Switzerland?

Keep replying though and pointing out ideas and things. This is very helpful. I am basically hoping to get my plane ticket purchased by this weekend

Jeremy, Scotland is just so gorgeous you could fill all of your time there, quite without meandering through England. I'd reduce to a week in Britain and a week in France, but of course it all boils down to personal interests and finance. Remember that it is school/summer holidays and all places will be very busy.

Greetings

I don't think you have time for the UK and Switzerland. Otherwise you'll be spending your time on planes & trains rather than actually seeing sites.

If it's Scotland you want to see, it might be cheaper and easier to skip London. As long as you don't have a lot of luggage, it's very cheap to fly from Edinburgh to a number of places in France (or Switzerland). You just need to book ASAP. Same for trains - on trains the cheap tickets are on quota and can run out quickly for popular routes and times. It takes 4.5 hours Ed to London if there are no railworks or other delays. Ed Airport is small and without fuss, and it's 1-2 hours to French destinations.

You could do 3-5 days in Scotland, then France (which I'd think would be worth a good chunk of time) and then if you are really ambitious, pick one or two locations in Switzerland.

TBC...

As to Switzerland...it's best seen by train and at a slow pace.

For 4-5 days, you are probably best to fly or train via Geneva (which is on the French border). Not sure how long the train would take. Then explore around Geneva. I'm not sure how practical it would be to get up to the Bernesse Oberland in a limited time given the number of train changes, but there are great mountain areas right near Geneva.

Kate

If you have a friend in Scotland then of course you want to spend time there! Edinburgh is great, and you could spend a couple of days there and then head south through the Borders to London, but you will be missing a lot of Scotland and see only a bit of England. If you want to get out and see more than museums, then I would spend some of your time in Perthshire or in the Aviemore area where there are wonderful walks that would let you really enjoy the countryside. Check out Dunkeld area and further north. If you want a guide, let me know I can recommend one who took us on wonderful walks. They were based out of the Black Isle north of Inverness. BTW you don't have to go to Switzerland to see some scenery. You could try Chamonix or Annecy in the French Alps. Both places have good walks and beautiful scenery.

Pam

Can be done? Yes. Crazy? Who's to say? Your first week is pretty much a given, so the only question is whether to go to Switzerland in your second week. You can drive from the Swiss Alps to Paris in a day (I've done it).

The question is whether to spend more time in fewer places or less time in more places. Either way works for different folks. Since this is your first time and you plan to come back, I think it's fine to see a range of things quickly to help you decide where to return to (which will be all the places you see!).

Have a great trip!

Hi Jeremy. I recommend : go to only Scotland and France. I recommend that your return trip to the U.S.A. be on July 30, because travelers need to be back at home for 3 days, for resting and getting adjusted to the different time zone, before going back to work.