France:Trip of a Life Time.

My advice would be to cut your itinerary in half, and double your budget (this is just a minor variation on the most popular advice here, which is to bring half od what you planned to bring, and bring twice as much money).

You will be receiviing a lot more advice along these lines here momentarily. I'd eliminate either Italy, Switzerland, or London. Actually, probably I'd eliminate any two of those, and then what you're left with seems reasonable.

Personally, I'd do France and Italy -- that's probably plenty for your first trip.

I'm not really into fully organized tours. But if you really want to see 4 countries (15 or so cities?!?!) in 3 weeks that would be the way to go. Rick's "Best of Europe Tour" might work for you. Visiting that many places usually also ends up being more expensive. $8000 would be a rather tight budget in this case.

Otherwise, I'm with David: cut out one or two countries from the itinery. While you might see less you'll experience so much more this way. And it could be less expensive and keep you within your proposed budget.

I'll echo the suggestion to see more by seeing less--fewer destinations. France and Italy would make a memorable three weeks, in fact that's what we did on our first trip to Europe years ago.

Some reasons why I think your plan is too much: It's your first time and there is a learning curve, it's high season and there will be lines and crowds, its going to take you a whole day of your trip to get from Nice to Italy, and things in Italy just take longer than you think.

Beyond that, I suggest thinking critically about all those day trips out of Paris, and how those days would actually work. Amboise is is in the Loire; Arles is in Provence. Either from Paris is feasible, but both would make for a long day with lots of travel to and fro.

I wouldn't want to visit Arles that way, but you could stop there enroute to Nice or Italy.

Fly home from your final destination, not Paris, to save time and money. Unfortunately the very helpful night train from Nice to Venice has been discontinued, or I'd suggest taking that and working your way to Rome. (If you swap Arles for Nice, however, there is a roundabout night train option to Venice via Dijon--you might want to consider that.)

It's confusing, there's lots of choices, but you are asking the right questions and I'm sure you'll have a great trip.

Alberto, you appear to have posted this Thread twice? See my reply in your other Thread.

With 3 weeks, I would focus on just France and Italy. I would drop the rest. Start in Paris, down to Amboise, then Arles, then Nice with a day trip to Monaco and Eze. Then to Venice, Florence and ending in Rome. $8,000 should work but you will need to be conservative with your hotels (I am including airfare in that 8k). There is so much to see in just these areas, trying to pack more in would just be exhausting and you would miss a lot by running in and out of these major cities. Nice and Venice are both very relaxing cities which will be nice in the middle of your trip. I have never used a Eurorail pass - maybe on my next trip. So I can't offer advise there. Best of luck!!

Alberto,
My first trip was for three weeks too. I would fly into London stay for 3 nights and then take the Eurostar to Paris and spend some time there. I would also cut down on the country's that you plan to see. I love Bavaria and The Berner Oberland areas myself. I would also fly open jaw so you could fly into London and out of Rome. You want to be able to relax and enjoy the sights. Have fun planning your trip.

Alberto

I'm going to agree with some of the advice you've been given..and disagree with some.

I agree with the sentiment that you're biting off more than you can realistically chew. 3 weeks is lots of time to do a first time "whistlestop" tour of Europe...but you've got way too many stops--in the same area. For example, if you want to visit the French Riviera, pick one town. You'll get the flavour and can decide if you want to return another time.

The open jaw tix is excellent advice--that way you're not wasting valuable vacation time backtracking. Start in say,London and work your way south(ish)-Paris, Loire, Riviera, Venice, Florence,ending up say in Rome. Come home from Rome.

Rail pass might not be the best investment. Check out point to point costs.

I think with careful planning 8K should be doable.

God Luck

I agree that much needs to be cut. The France part looks good but the rest is unrealistic. For example, the one day each in Florence and Venice--by the time you factor in buying train tickets, waiting, riding the train, then finding your way from the station to the sights, you will have little of your one day left. You could probably start in London and finish in Rome, or do France and Italy, or even London, France and Switzerland, but not everything. Prioritize.

Make hotel reservations now for the coastal visits. All of Europe heads to the coast for August. I personally wouldn't go during that time of year, but if you don't mind crowds you may not mind.

I also agree that "open jaws" flying makes more sense.

I'd lose the "trip of a lifetime" mentality. This sort of thinking leads to people trying to pack way too much into one trip, and not enjoying any of it. Unless your days are numbered, assume you will come back to Europe to see the sights you missed this time.

Hi Alberto, I too planned a three week trip of a lifetime (five countries), and then ran the numbers for a eurail pass - $2,700 for three people. I ended up getting point to point with price specials and paid $700.00 ( I did cut out one country). Best to shop around because maybe price will limit you. Good luck, plannig is half the fun.

Thankyou for your advice. I will make changes and will post my new plans.