Help: Travel Advice for summer travel to Europe!

I'd have to spend some time looking at your plans more closely, but my initial suggestion would be....

• Fly inbound London
• EuroStar to Paris
• Flight from Paris / CDG to Seville (check Vueling for details)
• High speed train from Seville to Madrid (time 2H:30M, train travels at about 300 km/h)
• Flight from Madrid to Venice (again check Vueling)
• High speed train from Venice to Rome (time 3H:45M)
• Fly outbound from Rome

There may be other airlines that operate on the two air routes I suggested, but I didn't check. It's late and I'm not focusing too well.

For places to see / stay, that's rather difficult to answer as you didn't indicate what type of sights you're interested in, or what "comfort level" you want in the accommodations you use. Your best bet is to have a look at guidebooks as those have information both on sightseeing as well as hotels, transportation, etc. The Rick Steves guidebooks are very logically organized and I'd highly recommend them.

Your trip will be taking place during peak tourist season, and it's going to be hot & crowded, so pre-booking accommodations will be essential.

It would help to have some idea where you're located.

Can you travel a month earlier? This year in July, Madrid was topping 45 degrees, which is too hot to do anything. Venice and Rome will be hideously busy, hot and expensive then too.

I agree with Jennifer. To travel to Spain or Italy in summer borders with masochism. Even Paris will be hot. Nowadays with global warming good European destinations in summer are Great Britain, Ireland, Iceland, Holland, part of Belgium, Scandinavia, Baltic republics. The worst are Spain, Italy, Greece (islands OK - beaches).

I agree also. Forty-five degrees C . is 113 F, which is high, but you can count on 100+. Buildings aren't air conditioned even if your hotel is.

Thank you so much for your responses! We will be traveling from Seattle, Washington. I am concerned with the weather but unfortunately being a teacher the summer is really the only time I have to travel! We are hoping to travel on a budget so we were planning on staying in hostels or cheap hotels. Would these places be air conditioned?

I would consider focusing my touring around the Alps. You can still visit several countries, but the elevation will help with any heat issues.

In Europe usually more expensive hotels have air-conditioning so the answer to your question would be no.

Seems like you will be spending a lot of time travelling. Six destinations gives you barely 3 days in each one including travel. IMO you might want to leave Spain for you next trip and travel in a more "direct" route from London to Rome. You might want to substitute Germany and/or Austria for Spain.

we were planning on staying in hostels or cheap hotels. Would these places be air conditioned?

Very very unlikely.

As far as the trains go, the same. The expensive very fast new trains mostly have air conditioning, but they can often be cheaper if you can get them several weeks ahead. Fast trains tend to have extra charges if you are using a Eurailpass.

If the trains are older Regional or Inter-City or EuroCity trains they tend to have opening windows and no air conditioning throughout Europe.

Look at permutations of open jaw reservations for the best fare deal and departure timings ...
In - London or Paris
Out - Rome or Madrid

Then string the 3 components together ...
London (4nts) <<>> Paris (4nts) - about 3 hours by train
Seville (3nts) <<>> Madrid (3nts) - about 2.5 hours by train
Venice (3nts) <<>> Rome (4nts) - about 3.5 hours by train

Look for cheap internal European flights with easyjet or Vueling.
Your best routing for flights may be as follows...
Fly into London/Paris
Fly London/Paris to Seville
Fly Madrid to Venice
Fly home from Rome

I think you all have lots of research to do. Take advantage of the wealth of information on the Rick Steves website besides the advice and suggestions you'll find here on the Travel Forum.

Much will be dependent on how many of you there are, exactly how many days/nights on the ground you have and individual travel budgets.

The first day is usually not the most productive one for seeing things. On the other end of the trip, the day of the flight home is a travel day, period.

The point here is that neither arrival day nor departure day are good to count as part of the trip.

I consider being able to be a tourist on arrival day a bonus, not a guarantee. I've never had a departure day that involved anything except the details of leaving Europe for home.

The more of you that are going, the harder it will be to coordinate people's interests, if that is something you want to do. And if the group tries to stick together, it will travel at the rate of the slowest person

As you plan, you will likely learn how similar and how different each person's expectations for the trip are. If people's budgets are significantly different that will be a big factor in their expectations.

As you research lodgings, you may find that even hostels and cheap hotels cost more than you thought or that those places may not be acceptable.

I warned my son about that when he was planning a short trip to Paris with his 10 and 12 year old daughters. He found a hotel for the 3 of them at what he thought was a reasonable price and it turned out to be such a dump that they packed up their stuff every day and stored it at the closest station with secure luggage storage.

And forget about putting more people in a room than it is rated for as a money-saving plan. If you try that, you may be denied the room or kicked out and still be charged for it.

You are definitely not starting too soon to do the planning -- especially for a trip during high season. It will be an iterative process. All who now want to go need to participate in the planning and some who now say they want to go may drop out during that process.

To preserve each other's sanity and friendships, be very careful to share any upfront costs. No one should be left holding the bag for costs that others were supposed to share.

Finally, I also think you have too many cities too far apart on your list for 21 or fewer days. Google map 'em and you may think so, too.

It's all about the money and time it takes to go between them. If budget is a truly big factor, going fewer places and staying longer in each, perhaps in a shared self-catering apartment, would probably help with the limits on time and money.

When your group gets together to do the planning, you may have to make some hard priority choices. Or you may be lucky and find that you are more in sync than you thought.

Having been to all the cities you list, and having enjoyed them all, I think London and Paris are musts. Then I'd choose either Spain or Italy, not both. And yes, it will be hot in the south for you Northwesterners. Take light clothing, sunscreen and deodorant.

Hostels are a good idea for a group. You can rent a room for the size you need (2, 4, 6, 8 . . . ) and you'll usually have your own bathroom if you take the whole room (you pay for the number of beds in the room, no matter how many people you are. Hostels in Italy often have AC, but the ones in London and Paris almost surely won't. Do some research on sites like hostelworld.com. They have lots of information - not just prices and locations, but also descriptions and reviews. Some hostels encourage a party atmosphere, but many are geared to serious travelers who want a good night's sleep. While most guests are in their 20's, you will find families with kids, and people who have been around a lot longer.

If you have 21 nights in Europe, I would go with no more than 5 cities. 4 nights gives you 3 days of sightseeing and you'll use at least 1/2 day each time you move, plus all the expenses. You have to get from the train station to your hostel and drop your bags before you start sightseeing. If you are flying, add in the time to get to/from the airport, including checking bags (carry-on is usually pretty low) and waiting for them at the other end. When you look at flights, pay close attention to the airport. For instance in Paris, you could end up with Beauvais which is listed as "Paris" but is a long distance away with few transportation options. Watch for all the extra fees too - luggage, choosing seats, internet fees, credit card fees . . .

I agree, Spain (except Barcelona) is likely to be way too hot in summer. Italy is very crowded (and hot), and potentially more so in 2016 since the Pope has declared a jubilee year. Best to skip both this time. Maybe in a year or two, you'll be able to visit over a 2-week Christmas holiday. Winter is a great time to be in Spain or Italy.

London and Paris are very expensive. Consider adding Belgium and/or the Netherlands and/or Germany. For something completely different (but still great), there's Central/Eastern Europe . . . Poland (Warsaw, Krakow), Prague, or Budapest. Since you are in Seattle, you have limited options for non-stop flights to Europe. A travel agent may be able to put together a better flight route than you can by combining 2 or more airlines on a single ticket.

As you are a teacher, won't you have many summers to continue traveling? I'm more of a slow traveler when I can. I'd rather truly see a place than be able to list off a lot of places that I just ran through and didn't really see or feel. Why not just plan to return regularly, with or without your friends? (you might find without will be more fun.) It will be hot so why not move much less and make sure you can slow down to accommodate the heat and be able to afford a room with some AC? A good night's sleep makes all the difference. Or spend 1/2 your time in a cooler summer climate (UK, Scandinavia, etc.) and only half in the hottest areas. I don't even include the travel days in my calculations of how much time I'm spending in a location. I only count full days. I'd suggest 2 large city locations or 1 large city and two smaller locations. Smell the roses. Get to know the bakery or flower seller down the street, etc. Running around for 21 days in 85+ degree heat would be my idea of torture no matter where I was visiting. Just me. Wray

You can sometimes find cheaper lodging in university housing. Here is one example in London. It is basic lodging (thin mattresses, etc), but can be in excellent locations & sometimes with access to kitchens & self-serve laundry.

Too hot, too crowded, too expensive ??
Pay no attention, just go !!

(I've been to all of these places (ex Venice) in July/August, and yes it can be hot, but it makes the cold beer all the more satisfying).

On whether hostels have air conditioning...no. If you're lucky you may get a fan in your hostel room which is nice as long as someone does not mind the noise when they're trying to fall asleep. Otherwise you all have to put up with the heat and fall sleep.