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Help with Vacation plans.

Hello everyone,

We are traveling to Europe Aug. 18th to Sept. 12th flying in and out of London, this is our first time to Europe. My friend is coming for the first part (she is from Poland and will stay there). I need help with what to do for the last couple of days. Here is what i have so far.

Aug 18th - 24th London - take Eurostar to Pairs
24th - 27th - Paris - Fly to Berlin and taxi to Kolobrzeg Poland
27th - 30th - Kolobrzeg, Poland - taxi to Berlin and fly to Rome
30th - Sept. 4th - Rome, Italy - Train to Venice, Italy
Sept.4th to 7th - Venice

What to do from 7th to 12th???? We fly out at 10am Sept. 12th from London to home.

Thank you in advance,
Beverly & Jim

Posted by
11056 posts

I would add several days in Berlin and/or London if this is your first trip to Europe.
Check flights from Rome to Venice, either Rome FCO or ROME Ciampino CIA. Some budget airlines fly out of CIA, nearer to downtown Rome.

Posted by
11033 posts

One thought is a stay at Lake Como and fly from Milan to London on the 11th.

Whatever/where ever you choose to go after Venice, you need to be in London the night of the 11th

Posted by
13809 posts

Unless you've got flights booked, I'd add time to Paris as well as Venice.

If that won't work, I'd add time in Florence and maybe Lucca. You might be interested in one of the Cinque Terre villages but for me it would be too hot there in early September.

I agree to fly to London on the 11th.

You could also return to London on the 7th and add in some other locations in England - Salisbury and Bath if you want to go west-ish or York if you want to go North from London.

Posted by
26840 posts

Are you sure you want to taxi from Berlin to Kolobrzeg? I have no personal knowledge of transportation options in that area, but the distance seems to be about 170 miles, and any taxi is going to charge you for the round-trip mileage.

Rome2Rio.com says there's rail service available, changing in Szczecin.

Posted by
2 posts

Thank You for all replies. The ride from Berlin to Poland is actually my friends sister's husband's company transport.

Posted by
633 posts

I'd suggest other northern Italy destinations: Lake Como, the Dolomites, Verona come to mind, or travel to Florence, which is wonderful. Or return to London early and do day trips in England.

Posted by
4761 posts

You have to consider the amount of time required for each of your travel days. You will lose at least 1/2 day of sight seeing every time you change cities. So realistically you only have 2 1/2 days in Paris and 3 days in Rome, etc. And as pointed out, you will need to return to London on the 11th for your flight home the next day. Assuming you haven't booked your intra European flights yet, just add those extra nights onto Paris, Poland, and your Italian stays. If you have booked the flights, add more time to Rome, and maybe stop in Florence for a few days before going to Venice.

Posted by
343 posts

Oooh, perfect opportunity to go to the lakes. Spending time at Lake Como to unwind and just take in the scenery would be ideal.

Sounds like a great trip!

Posted by
7181 posts

London is certainly worth the time, but Paris is worth an equal amount, if one has the opportunity. You are right to do Venice in September, after the end of Europe's fierce vacation month of Europe. It also sounds like you cannot change the transatlantic flights to "open-jaw", so you don't have to waste time returning to London. (Since you must return to London, it may make sense to plan a full day around a last night there. It is most unlikely that you can fly home the same day you return to London. There are lots of USA flights from Venice and from Milan, for example.)

It would be helpful to be certain that there are family reasons for Kolobrzeg, which would otherwise not be a first-trip destination. Presumably you have checked luggage charges for any "bargain" airlines, and know if they use "tertiary" airports that are harder to transfer to and from.

Don't misunderstand my comments as criticism for your decisions. My point is that it would not be harmful to expand time in the places you have. I personally would not combine Italy with Northern Europe, but you have your reasons. To be specific, Berlin is one of the great cities of the world, and could easily occupy an entire week. You're not even sleeping there, are you? Would you consider one of the major cities of Poland? I'm trying to save wasted time on hotel changes and travel jumps. Please state if you do not wish to visit Germany.