Flying or riding throughout Europe

I think you've got too many far flung destinations scheduled for a 17 day visit. Perhaps you can do Italy as a separate trip in the future. Also with the cities you've got lined up for England, Scotland, and Ireland and then Paris, you'd probably do best to fly open jaw into one of the northern most cities and then fly out of Paris (or vise versa). You ask "what do all usually do" and my answer is slow down and enjoy your destinations a little more thoroughly rather than checking off places.

The option you missed is doing fewer less stops in that time. With only 17 days (really 15 becasue you lose 1 getting there and one getting home) you should choose maybe 3 destinations. London will need at least 3 - 5 whole days. I'm sure the Paris advocates will say the same. I haven't "done" Italy yet- but when I do I plan to have at least 5 days just for Rome. Scotland can take the whole 17- or just 2 or 3 if you only visit one part of it- same for Ireland. You basicially loose 1/2 to a whole day each time you fly. Trains/buses help for shorter transisitons (say Edinburgh to Inverness or London to Paris) but really won't help you with the destinations you picked. If you try to fly with those listed you will loose at least another 5 days. That means you will have 10 days to see 5 MAJOR destinations- less than 2 days each. I'd suggest you pick ONE of the following: Italy or England/Scotland Or England/Ireland Or Scotland/Ireland Or
London/Paris/Rome

It is hard to say without laying out an itinerary, but as a general rule, if the train or ferry is less than 6 hours, don't even consider flying. More than that, then flying may make sense. For you, Makes sense to fly Ireland to Scotland, use the train/bus within Scotland, Train to London, Train to Paris, maybe fly to Italy, then Train/Bus within Italy. A lot of travel in the time you have. View discount air fares and travel times with caution, fees, additional transportation time and cost, security restrictions and time, all add to a 10 euro plane ride that takes an hour, turning it into maybe a couple hundred euro and 4 or 5 hours.

Thanks you all so much! We will definitely have to cut out some places. Glad we found this site!

For me, you see some of the scenery when you travel by train. airports are all alike- hassle, hassle, hassle

Toni had good ideas. You will be spending way too much time traveling from one place to another and losing so much time in airport Do you really have 17 days or does that include arrival and departure days, if so you only have about 15 days to see the sights. Toni's ideas grouped locations near each other and remember what people say,you will always go back My first trip to Europe I figured would be my one and only so we did 3 countries in 7 days. Since then have been back twenty times and have learned to plan, save and plan again to get the most of everything. If you can, say in visiting the UK, fly into London and home from Edinburgh, called open jaw. Same as if going to Paris and Rome, never waste the time going back to your original arrival city if you can. Also keep on checking this site for other travel ideas such as packing light, places to stay, etc. You can't get a better travel web site. Check out Rick's books, videos etc and you will have a great trip wherever you decide to go. Enjoy.

Kim, As this is your first trip to Europe, I'd highly recommend reading Europe Through The Back Door. Even if you travelled with a group previously, you'll be doing everything on your own now, so there are some important things you'll need to know (especially rail skills). As the others have mentioned, you have FAR too many destinations for a 17-day trip. You've listed one region, two countries and two large cities, which is NOT going to work for a 17-day trip! Which cities were you planning to visit in Ireland and Italy? Which places are most important to see on this trip? You might find it helpful to look at a Map and try to choose a few locations that are easily managed in terms of transportation. While budget flights are certainly one option, you'll still lose at least 4-6 hours even if travelling by air. I'd suggest using open-jaw flights (even if the cost is slightly higher), as that will maximize your touring time. On the topic of transport in Europe, I usually try to travel by fast trains whenever possible. If a particular rail trip is >7-8 hours, I'll consider budget air. There are some routes where travel by air makes more sense from an "efficiency" point-of-view (eg: Ireland to England). In planning the destinations for this trip, "assume you will return". Good luck!

Thanks for all the great advice. My boyfriend and I are thinking either London, Edinburgh, and Dublin, or Dublin, Edinburgh and Rome. He really wants to go back to Rome. We have looked at open jaw flights and they do seem way more expensive, but they do maximize the touring time. The cheapest flights we can find right now are flying in and back out of Dublin round trip. Even with the extra airfare of Rome to Dublin, it seems to come out to be about the same if we left from Rome. So I don't know what we should do about that. It is sooo difficult planning your own trip! And we are still stuck on the where to go part. :(

Part of your decision will be based on your budget. London, Paris, Rome would probably be the most expensive. Ireland, Scotland not as expensive. Your original plan has way too much going on. Flying open jaw Does save both time and $$. Each of you pick 3 places,and give reasons why, then see what matches up,this is your starting place.
Once you figure out "where", then the planning becomes fun.

Kim, London, Edinburgh and Dublin are all good choices, but be sure to consider the exchange rates for both Pounds Sterling and the Euro. London especially is one of the most expensive cities for travel! If you decide on using a budget airline from Dublin, it will probably be RyanAir (I try to avoid them if possible). BE SURE to pack light, or you'll face some very expensive overweight luggage charges. One other point regarding budget airlines in Europe, is that in most cases only one carry-on item is permitted. That doesn't mean one plus a personal item such as a Purse or whatever, it means ONE ONLY of the approved size and weight (and they'll likely check that).