Interrailing itinerary, too much??

plan in terms of nights. 2 nights = 1 full day of sightseeing. I wouldn't want this schedule for myself, but then again it's not my trip. You're also spending a lot of time inside the train...

To answer your specific question...does this seem too manic? Yes. You'll see next to nothing. You've got 17 cities and 28 nights. For 28 nights, you could have a nice trip if you did maybe 7, 8, 9 cities...that would still be a lot of running around but you'd have a lot more fun, I think. Your schedule is just a slog though endless train stations with that many one night stays in cities that are not that close together.

You've got a nice chunk of time to travel. Winnow down your list to fewer cities for a more rewarding trip.

It seems to me that you're not aware of the amount of train travel time involved. When you fit both transport time and overnight stay locations onto a calendar, it will become apparent that you need to cut several stops and/or fly the longest legs.

There will be fewer night trains than you may expect, but there are night train options for each leg between Budapest-Krakow-Prague (in that order); Berlin-Malmo night trains run summers only; night train also runs Madrid-Lisbon (no daytime trains).

Rick’s Train Travel Time & cost Map gives you an overview of faster train travel times in hours. To flesh that out with actual train schedules, How to Look Up Train Schedules and Routes Online gives you the DB train schedule link and tips for using it. See www.skyscanner.com for flight options.

There definitely are smaller-town destination that you can see with one full day on the ground, but the big cities on your list usually warrant at least 3 or 4 nights. Milan is one that I'd skip, unless flying from there.

[Additional] I'd also like to see a more small towns in the mix. They can really give you a different impression of a country than the largest city does and can be cheaper, more walkable, harder to get lost, friendlier, better preserved, etc. These can be stops along a daytime travel route, day trips from a city base if you stay longer, or overnight stops.

I would drop Poland and Denmark to make life easier for you, and plan just 10 days travel along this route ...

Rome
Florence or Venice
Vienna
Budapest
Prague
Berlin
Amsterdam
Paris
Barcelona
Madrid
Lisbon

Note that to spend 2 days exploring a destination, you will need to plan for 3 nights there, remembering your arrival day will have been lost mostly to travel.

I agree with the others that this is not going to be a pleasant trip for the reasons already given. Truly, the best trip doesn't come from getting to the maximum number of cities physically possible; it comes from having the most fun you can on each day.

As additional concern is that your trip is long enough that the exhaustion will catch up with you before you get home. A 7- or 10-day forced march is very different from a 28-day forced march. I'd be concerned about your ability to maintain this pace even if you weren't planning to take a bunch of overnight trains.

You may find that you don't sleep at all well (or at all...) on those trains. There can be very frequent stops, for one thing. You should check the detailed route for each train you are considering to see how often you'll be screeching to a halt. As you know, couchettes are not free. With two of you, I'm not sure they'll be much cheaper than a basic hotel room, and hostels will probably be cheaper if you get a bunk in a dorm--certainly more comfortable than a couchette on a train.

If you want to see the Cinque Terre, I think you'll save a bit of time by doing that on the way from Rome to Milan, rather than between Milan and Vienna.

I would not go for it even if you paid me. I will be brutally honest. This is the craziest itinerary I have seen in very long time. Besides even if you had much longer time the order of your destinations is not good logistically. Too much zigzagging.

This is the worst itinerary I have seen in some time. I realize everyone has their own "travel style" but logistically, this is a mess. Forget about days and think in terms of nights. Keep most train legs to three hours and maybe two or three long travel days during your entire trip. My impression is that you are not old and will have opportunity to visit Europe again. Plan like it won't be your last visit. Do less, enjoy more. And,nobody says, "interrailing".

To get a general idea of what people are telling you, try messing around with your itinerary on Rome2rio. It will give you different transport options, how long they are likely to take and cost, and include maps.

I'm assuming the pass you're talking about is the Interrail Global Pass and that you are citizens or official residents of Europe. Correct?

I think "Interrailing" refers to using the Interrail Pass which is available to European residents. Others would use the Eurail Pass. And yes, this itinerary could use some editing.

Hi,

Based on your listed itinerary, you can take the night train Budapest to Krakow. I would skip Cinque Terre, go direct from Milan to Vienna. Krakow to Berlin can also be done by the DB night bus. You're "attempting to take as many couchette trains as possible," I take that to mean you have no problems riding night trains, neither do I. It does help to squeeze out another day.

I would also drop Copenhagen. Good that you have the InterRail Pass, better than the Eurail.

yes Interrailing refers to the interrail pass available to younger folk.It has been nearly 40 years since I went interailing and it was a wonderful experience but there is no way I would even contemplate the itinerary you are planning.
slow down, use a couple of cities as bases and use your interrail pass for day trips to other places with a few hours train ride

can also say that travelling overnight by train on longer distances using and paying for a sleeper service or couchette is an option that can save both time and money

Have to agree that this is the most insane itinerary I've seen in a long time as well. You'll barely have time to get your bearing before moving on, and will be spending a lot of time in stations and on trains, and running around finding places to stay the night, not to mention that the most attractively priced/rated in the most convenient locations will probably be long booked up.

Additionally, there are many attractions you can't just "pop into" during high season in Europe. Ticket lines for the best of them will be very long so advance tickets are necessary to avoid wasting a lot of time standing around. As well, there are days main attractions are closed so if you only have 1 day and land into the city on that day...

Possible snags with train schedules have already been addressed. Add the possibly of a strike or two to that picture. Overnight trains - even those that are still operating - are of no use to you in Italy as your chosen cities aren't far enough apart to need them.

I see potential issues right off the bat with Capri; if you are arriving in Naples that same day, be aware that it's going to take considerable time to get there, and it is a very expensive place to spend a night. Boats back to Naples leave relatively early (currently a little after 8:00 PM but summer schedules aren't up) and will be jam-packed. I'd skip it and add that day to Naples. Heck, I'd drop Naples/Capri altogether, fly directly to Rome and add at least 1 day to that city; lots to see there.

The Cinque Terre will be mobbed and accommodations in the 5 villages long booked up. You could try finding a bed in La Spezia or Levanto but personally I'd skip it or add one of the dropped Capri/Naples days. If you must do it, your itinerary should be Rome>CT>Milan. It doesn't make sense to go that far north only to head south and then north again to Vienna.

Another alternative would be to drop Naples, Capri and the CT, add a day to Rome and the other two to Florence, which is not on your list but well worth doing, and will be quicker to get to via fast trains from Rome. Take a fast train from there to Milan.

Drop Copenhagen; add that day to Prague thus eliminating all one-nighters but Milan. If you leave Florence early, you can cover just enough of the highlights in a partial day.

Way too many places. Narrow down your list to at least half or more of these places and try to be more geographically centered.
For example, I would save Spain and Portugal for another trip, unless you just want to do Spain and Portugal on this trip.

Two days in Rome is a sin, you need at least 4 days there. The Naples area has Pompeii, Capri, Sorrento, the Amalfi Coast and you could spend a week there. Capri is nice and we spent one night there after a day at Pompeii, so you could do two nights in the area.

I would skip Milan and go to Florence and/or Venice unless you have been there. Those cities are special. Cinque Terre is great, but a bit out of the way unless you insist on going to Milan.
The days you have allowed to Vienna, Prague, Krakow and Berlin are obscenely short. These places are not real close to each other.
Forget going to Poland this time, probably need to skip Berlin as well. Also Copenhagen is quite a distance and you need more than a day there.
Amsterdam, again, too far from your other places.

You've had a lot of negative, though well-intended, feedback in a short time since your post, and I don't want to pile on. I admire your energy but agree with others that this will be a trip mostly about trains and stations. (Are you railway buffs?) I used to travel between home and college on overnight Greyhound buses, theoretically sleeping but actually turning myself into a zombie the next day. (I guess couchettes are more comfortable.)

I hope your plans to move to America work out and you enjoy living here. But I also hope you'll get to visit Europe as often as you can in life, as many of us on this board do. It's an unpleasant plane ride but it can be affordable if you plan carefully. So hopefully this trip won't be your "last opportunity to see Europe."

I think you are fairly young, correct? If so and you want to try this itinerary, go ahead. If you are interrailing, it is my impression you can change your schedule at any given moment, correct? If that is the case, go with your busy plan, and change if necessary. I think a large portion of this forum is over 50...I might be wrong, but that is my impression, and we get into comfort a bit more as we age, generally. There is quite a bit of adventure just in the thought of succeeding with this schedule and you would certainly get an idea of where you want to return to afterwards. I have many friends/acquaintances who did itineraries like this in or after college. I say go for it because you can change your plans midstream if it is too exhausting...but that might be the fun of it. And maybe you are zigzagging to get longer train journeys so you can sleep on occasion overnight?

Also, if you end up settling on the east coast of the USA, Europe is a fairly easy trip relatively. Good luck! I'd love to hear how this works out for you.

I agree with Wray. This sounds like my college trip for 60 days. However, that does not mean it is a wrong or bad trip. As most travelers age we want to slow down. It takes roughly a half day to get from one close city to another. I would suggest a minimum of two days at each location. In Milan, you could visit the Duomo in two hours and get back to the train to continue on. I noticed no Florence or Venice. I would add Venice. It is a unique city unlike any other. You are hitting large cities, this would be a change of scenery. It is car free islands. I would go Rome, CT, Venice.

Packing and leaving the hostel, getting to the train station, waiting for the train, which averages close to an hour and a half to two hours, the train ride, then getting to your hostel and checking in is another hour and a half, you are already have lost 3 hours not counting on the train ride. Figure average train is 3 hours, and it is six hours and you have not seen a site in a city. Most of your destinations are further than that apart.

Berlin to Copenhagen is 7 hours by train but 2.5 hours by plane, but you have to arrive early and check in and get through security. You arrive Copenhagen in the afternoon, and then leave the next morning to Amsterdam 11 hours train and 3.5 hours by plane.

Hi,

If you keep the present itinerary, use all means of transportation, ie the inter-city buses, ( night routes plus day routes), trains (including night trains, figure out how many night routes are available and how many you want to take), discount air carriers, ferries.

You could focus on either western or central Europe, either drop Spain, Amsterdam, and Portugal focusing on Berlin, Austria, Poland and Hungary. Krakow and Lisbon each have one of the best, most popular hostels in all of Europe. The Greg and Tom is located only a few mins from Krakow's main train station.