Five or Six Weeks Across Europe

I'm a woman and feel safer with Busabout for my transpo around Europe, especially since they drop one off and pick on up at the centrally located hostels they use. Rail passes are costly! But this is just me. As far as nights in each placve, it depends. I think large cities, such as London, Paris, Rome, and Berlin, require 5 nights minimum as there's just too much to see in 2 or 3 nights. Small
towns & villages are doable. I'm spending 5 days in Prague but only 2 in Cesky Krumlov because it's a small place. I always buy food from supermarkets - it is healthier and cheaper, as even fast food in Europe can be pricey. And I drink lots of water! I hope you have a GREAT trip, I hope to return to Europe next year but will be doing a different itinerary...it's impossible to see so many places in so little time (sigh).

What do you mean by "three days in each location"? I assume you mean 3 days in a big city in each country.

I'm going on a 3-week trip next week to Germany (Hamburg, Berlin, Braunschweig, plus a few towns), Luxembourg, and Amsterdam. My trip this time is a little different because I'll be staying with friends for all of it of except the last weekend in Amsterdam, but I'm budgeting 200 euros in cash (via ATM) per week for food, sights, public transportation, etc. I'm also bringing 2 credit cards for larger purchases. I budget on the higher end because I don't want run low on cash.

But you also have to consider the cost of being in each country. People say that Switzerland is very expensive, as is the UK because of the pound. Croatia is probably cheaper than western Europe, though I'm not sure about this. You should do some money research on each country to get an idea of daily expenses.

We did something similar in 2005 and found 3 days (4 night) in most places was a good time frame. SOme places we would have liked longer, but as Rick says, "Plan to return". Our Canadian dollar was not as strong then as it is now, and both the GBP and Euro are weaker, though strengthening in the last few days. We reckoned the 5 weeks cost us about C$20,000 for 2 all told, including airfairs, rail pass, food accommodation, admissions and casual spending money.

Three days in each location is great, though as others have pointed out, in the major cities, five is much better. You list 10 countries in your e-mail. In a six week trip, that works out to about 4 days per country. That is not nearly enough unless you only want to see one city per country. I would cut back on the number of countries so you can see a little more of the countries you visit. Also, you don't want to spend a major portion of your trip traveling from one place to another.

Whatever you decide, a five to six week trip to Europe sounds like heaven to me. Good luck!

This isn't an exact comparison, but in 2007 I spent 30 days in Europe, with a budget of $5000. I ate a lot of street food, took photos instead of buying souvenirs (except for one emergency sweater purchase), and spent most of my money on sightseeing, lodging, and transportation.

I kept my expenses low by staying with friends part of the time, but probably could have kept them even lower by staying in hostels instead of hotels and not using my free lodging with friends as an excuse to go out to dinner with them for every meal!

This was my basic itinerary:

5 days in London with a friend, including a day trip to Stonehenge/Avebury/Salisbury

5 days in Dublin with a friend, including a day trip to Newgrange

6 days in Rome, including a day trip to Pompeii

3 days in Venice

3 days in Paris

2 days in Amsterdam

5 more days in London

In retrospect, I wish I'd gotten out of Dublin more, made Pompeii an overnight including time in Naples, and stayed longer in Paris and Amsterdam instead of going back to my friend's place in London -- but it was still a wonderful trip and I'll never regret a minute of it.

I am reading your post as if stating you are spending 4 days in each country. That is just stretching yourself way too thin. You have far too many countries for a six week trip. You need to do some serious thinning. However, I suspect once you start doing some reading - you will make those difficult cuts. For instance - you have 4 days in Italy - do you see the grandure of Rome, the beauty of Venice, the art of Florence, the stunning scenery of the Cinque Terra. I suggest you start with cutting Ireland and Spain first as they are your biggest outliers and will be difficult to transport too and from in a logical loop. That is of course unless you have them at the top of your list - then by all means - keep them and cut out other things.

Switzerland and France are the most expensive. They are worth it, but just know they will be the budget-busters.

I consider myself a pretty moderate spender. I mix picnics and street food with moderate dinners throughout a trip and roughly I figure between my husband and I - we spend 300E every-other-day. that was for entertainment, meals and a few hotels that only accepted cash.

With the Euro/Dollar exchange being far more favorable since our trip last fall - it would be even less.

Not sure I agree totally with Amy...with the plethora of discount airlines in Europe you could have breakfast in Paris and lunch in Madrid, easy peasy....or for that matter the same, London to Paris. I will agree however that Ireland might be a bit of a stretch...

This is doable, if you understand it is a "whistlestop" tour, that will give you the flavour of each place for return visits..

Oh..open jaw flights are your friends....