Is this travel plan too ambitious?

Rainbow,
We have been all over Europe and traveled many different ways. I am 71 and still active, but I would never opt for backpacking or camping. That doesn't mean it won't work for you. I presume that you probably have camped a lot anyway.

Still, you should be careful where you camp or stay. Suggest wearing a money belt.

You should be sure to visit Dubrovnik. As for Greece you should spend some days in Athens to see the Acropolis, New Acropolis Museum and Archaelogical Museum. Also, Delhi, north of Athens is a good one. Also, the temple of Poseidon at Sounion.

As for the islands, you would need to take ferries. Crete is loaded with history, but far from Athens. Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes and on the NE coast before you cross to Bari, Corfu.
https://www.touropia.com/best-greek-islands/

Don't miss Rome on your way back.

"Belgrade is not on the coast. From Bar why not continue south through Albania to Greece?"

Hi Doug, No indeed! That was shorthand for "down the coast to Bari, then the highly recommended spectacular train ride to Belgrade.

Actually though, this brings up another question: Is Albania accessible to tourists? (I had presumed not.)

Thank you Geova for your tips. Actually I'm an old hand at travelling (although not much camping experience) and will be sure to wear a money belt and take all the necessary precautions.

But what my post is really about is whether I am trying to do too much: All the way up to Prague and then down to Greece and up again via Italy.

I do hope someone can respond who has experience of this sort of project. Thank you, kind soul.

You have a lot of time in your pass. I think that it might be good for you if your plan becomes a bit more specific.

Day 1-4: Geneva
Day 5-6: Verona (travel by train - 4 hours)

and so forth. If you do this, you can account for the time of your pass in an accurate manner. Plus it will allow you to decide where to spend time and what to do.

Just listing the destinations is the beginning. You also don't say when you are doing this. As you are camping, I would doubt winter.

When you travel south or east of Montenegro, ground-transportation becomes slower and less frequent. Connecting Greece to your other stops will not be easy, and traveling within Greece is quite slow since the islands require ferries if you don't want to deal with airports. A slow traveler (I am one, at 67 years old) could easily spend 3 or 4 weeks on a "short" trip to Greece.

Counting every asterisk as a stop and assuming you don't do much in Greece, I think you probably have too many destinations planned over too many miles, but I doubt that you'll need to make extensive cuts. It's impossible to be sure since so much of the itinerary is undefined and the travel time for each leg is unknown.

Thank you Paul of the FN.

I don't see how I can be specific about the number of days I might spend in the different places, as I will want to decide that each time on the spot before moving on. That being said, I will be spending a few days in August in Geneva (with my son who lives there) before I embark on the first leg of the Pass from Geneva to Verona on September 1st. (You will find this date in my post!)

I am afraid I don't understand your nomenclature:
"Day 1-4: Geneva
Day 5-6: Verona (travel by train - 4 hours)"
Does this mean, 4 days in Geneva, then Verona via a 4-hour journey for 2 days? (Actually I see myself travelling for ten hours from Geneva to Verona, taking the tourist route via the Centovalli in southern Switzerland, which I love and want to experience again, involving any number of connections!)

Regarding winter, the latest time I can return home will be the end of October, coming from the south. This BTW was the reasoning that led me to head north at the start, rather than travel down the leg of Italy first and cross to Greece from Bari. In my experience, October can be a very pleasant month, and I will take whatever weather comes...

In the history of this forum, whenever someone asks if an itinerary is too much, the answer is always yes.

Haha Richard, so where do I apply the scissors?

• Should I not venture so far north, and leave Prague for another year (or another life)?
• Regarding Austria, perhaps I should simply start with one city, choosing between Salzburg, Linz and Graz.
• Or I could decide simply to head straight from Venice to Ljubljana, and then turn south.
• I am struggling to understand my possibilities in the Balkans. What route do I take, and where do I stop over, between Belgrade and Greece?

Basically, I would like to visit less globalised places, where the old spirit is still alive. That feels important, and I guess the Balkans is a good region to find them.

Camping gear can be heavy and cumbersome and could be quite wearing after 7 - 8 weeks. Bringing a light sleeping bag so you can take advantage of hostels is a great idea. There are so many pensions/hostels/rooms for rent I probably would lean in that direction myself for a "backpack" oriented trip. In addition, on shoulder season for travel that type of accommodation should be relatively easy to find. You have 15 travel days on your pass, so that gives you three/four days in a place. It will be plenty of time in some places and never enough in others. I suggest that you really plot your travels on a map and figure out how far you need to go to connect your desired destinations. For example Croatia is big and not very well connected (Zagreb to Dubrovnik is a long trip). The easiest way down the Dalmatian coast is by ferry, but you will need to check their schedules for that time of the year.

You should also research different travel options. Many areas do not have good rail options and buses make more sense (Croatia and Greece come to mind in particular).

Places you haven't mentioned include: Ravenna for the 5th Century mosaics, Bolzano to visit Otzi the 5,000 year old Ice Man, Innsbruck and the gorgeous valleys south of there in the Alps (Stubai Valley and Ziller Valley), Berchtesgarden south of Salzburg, Munich or Nuremberg on your way north from Salzburg to Prague, or on your return, Lake Bled and/or Triglev National Park in Slovenia, Napflio on the Peleponnesus (easily accessible by bus, but no train) Etc..

Prague is really the only geographic outlier, being much farther north.

It sounds like a great trip.

@richard: The reason why "your itinerary is too busy" is the frequent response is that mostly those asking the question are not experienced European visitors, and thus are posting their itinerary. Experienced travelers know how to pace. Less-experienced are less clear about packing up and moving. We don't see a random sample of itineraries, rather one biased toward newer travelers.