Looking to spend 2-3 months in Europe. Help me with my itinerary!

70-100 euro per night for lodging will be challenging.

Have you priced out lodging yet? If your lodging budget is ~$9000 you may have to price out the lodging and see how many nights you can cover and revise your plans to fit the budget.

A big portion of your time is London and Paris and neither is noted for being budget friendly

Venice could be a change of pace between Munich and Lyon

Bon Voyage!

You have a long time and are already going to Spain. I would consider adding Sevilla and Granada (and possibly more in Andalucia if you have time). This is my favorite part of Spain, relatively inexpensive, and you can have dinner after your work is done!

It would make more sense to visit Edinburgh before London, then you can take the Eurostar train from London to Paris rather than having to fly.

Your accommodation budget is challenging for the summer months.

Budget lodging in Munich during Octoberfest is a pipe dream to put it mildly , and your Paris dates also put you in a time frame when Paris is at its busiest and most expensive when it comes to lodging ( trade shows and fall fashion shows )

Im going o ignore the itinerary itself and speak to cheap ;) Things are certainly different now than two years ago as far as prices, but for what it's worth. I have been a stickler for cheap airline tickets and lodging and have a had a lot of success enabling our family of 5 to travel for long times on a tight budget. In the back-then days I tried to get lidding that averaged 125/nt for 5 ppl. In some places it cost more and some less, but I had that average in mind. We stay mostly at Airbnb's or b&b's and not necessarily in city centers, but often in city centers. Many cities are cracking down on Airbnb, rightly so, so you may have more difficulty finding inexpensive lodging. My current thought is to look at hostels that offer private or family rooms, and look at "private room[s]" in Airbnb. These interest me because as happy as Ive been with our lodging, I am lately also interested in meeting locals or others travelers. I can imagine sprinkling a few of these types of lodging in with the others for the experience (and then my average price would be easier to meet. Not that 125 is still the average I am seeking). I dont know, but imagine that private rooms are not being clamped down on as they are more in line with the original spirit of Airbnb. In general I think we have been successful finding inexpensive lodging because we are low-maintenance types, and because we are happy to stay in places that may not have the creature comforts others seek. For example, we stayed in an Airbnb in Cassis France that was the size of a garage, with a loft. The space was SO efficient for 5 ppl, and yet we loved it. The location was awesome.
As for airfare, I am looking at fares now and if I fly from my city directly to the city I want to go, it costs 1300+. If I fly to the cheapest city I can in Europe and then take a domestic European flight from there to my final destination, it is 900. For many, this is too chaotic, uncomfortable, and risky. I agree. And the older I get, the less I want to worry like this when I travel. But multiply that savings X 5 ppl and it is the difference between going or not. Or between going for 2 weeks or 5. But again, I think Im tentatively re-entering travel with a much more conservative approach, so take this with a grain of Maldon salt ;)

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the replies!

We've looked at Airbnb's and hotels and the middle of the range of what we expect to pay is around $7000-8000. One thing that I keep coming back to is London. This is the most expensive and the place we spend the most time. I have spent time in London studying abroad and loved the city. Felt like my time there wasnt enough to do everything! My girlfriend has not been and this is part of the reason we want to stay there - however the price is making me reconsider.

One other thing that we may consider is not staying within the major cities. Has anyone had experience doing this without a car?

We've looked at other locations and would love to spend some more time in Spain. Andalucia looks amazing and were trying to figure out ways to pack that in.

Lastly, we've managed to get a refundable room in Munich for Octoberfest that we could bare to spend.

Thanks for all the thoughts!

You dont have Budapest so the trip is already defective 🤣😂🤣

You are in London for a long time and can do day trips, here're some suggestions:
Canterbury
Cambridge
Windsor Castle
Stonehenge
Oxford
Bath (best to stay at least one night overnight), suggest the Brooks Guesthouse. Also, the Scallop Shell Restaurant (best Fish and Chips in England).
Salisbury
Winchester
The Cotswolds (also suggest at least one overnight).
Stratford Upon Avon (another place to spend one overnight)

On your way to Edinburgh, plan on at least two nights in York.

Munich, forget staying in the city during Oktoberfest, try staying in Augsburg and take the train down for the fest. Don't miss the opening day parade.
Day trips to Salzburg, Austria and Garmisch/Fussen as well as Augsburg.

South of France, Monaco, St. Paul de Venice, Cannes, Nice, Arles and more.

Spain, Seville is wonderful, but a long way from Barcelona, also, you missed Granada, Madrid, Toledo and Segovia.

Munich: 9/16-9/20
9/21-9/25: Unknown
...Could stay in Germany?

Why not stay? Right now you have only 5 nights, and in Munich during Oktoberfest?? Maybe that's "Germany" as you think of it now, but IMO a plan like this reduces a country of 83 million people to a complete stereotype.

...we are looking to have a bit more hiking/nature...

This shows solid planning progress.

One other thing that we may consider is not staying within the major cities. Has anyone had experience doing this without a car?

And here your travel strategy makes a quantum leap! Germany's rail system includes thousands of smaller places and is unusually inexpensive using local/regional day passes - or entirely FREE in certain places - read on...

...any ideas of places to stay, routes to take, ways to make it cheaper, or really anything to help educate us!

Yes... Take the high-speed train from Paris via Strasbourg FR to the Black Forest (a hiking mecca which, besides being a fine place to visit, will be dramatically less costly.) By train it's less than 3 hours (10:55 - 13:49, for example) to a nice old-world town like Gengenbach, one of several very nice towns on the scenic Black Forest Railway. Other fine towns nearby that are not mentioned on the previous link but are easy to visit from Gengenbach by train include Haslach, Gutach, Schiltach and Villingen. Also accessible on day trips are the cities of Freiburg, Baden-Baden, Basel CH, and Strasbourg FR.

Hiking options abound in this area. The Black Forest Open Air Museum in Gutach is very worthwhile. AirBnB-style Vacation Rentals are very inexpensive. Best accommodations resource for Black Forest towns: https://www.schwarzwald-tourismus.info/stg/ukv

In Gengenbach... numerous options but I see you can stay a week from 9/9-16 at the Beneke apartment for €238:

https://www.schwarzwald-tourismus.info/stg/ukv/result?tt=30kl95h4re75jlip91e63ddkdl

Beneke apt. homepage: http://www.ferienwohnung-gengenbach.de/Ferienwohnung/Haus_Beneke.html

You'd be a few minutes' walk from the center of town and the rail station for outings, a separate bedroom, private bath with shower, and a full kitchen. Looks a little like Grandma's house.

A few years ago 3 of us did a farm-stay in a 2-bd. apartment in the town of Steinach, a little further along the BF Railway from Gengenbach. Upstairs from us was a cozy studio apartment for two with mini-kitchen and private bath - I see it goes for €203/week. Steinach's train station is 500 meters from the apartment. Page below is in German; PM me if you want the owner's email address (which is how I booked.)

https://www.traum-ferienwohnungen.de/63656/

Note that Steinach has a grocery store and not much else. We wanted it quiet. But when we wanted to eat out, we just took a walk to the station and caught a train into Gengenbach or Haslach or one of the other towns. And the thing is, our train rides around the Black Forest were all FREE because of the KONUS program. Details below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkgzMXQ7blQ
https://bw.tourismusnetzwerk.info/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/KONUS-Flyer-PDF-Download_GB.pdf

Some BF outdoor experiences:

https://www.black-forest-travel.com/landscape/ (click on links at left)

https://www.black-forest-travel.com/leisure/hiking.html

Hike from Haslach to Vulkan Memorial WW II site (2 mi.)

After a week here, head to Munich (or Augsburg?) for a day or two of O'fest.

If you haven't already, it would be good for you to read Rick Steves' book "Europe through the Back Door" as a guide to planning your trip. It will generate questions you may not have thought about. And yes, many, many of the people here on this site have traveled extensively through Europe by train. Its hard to explain how easy it is to do that without a car, unlike the US. Rick has plenty of info on how to do that in his books and here on this site under the Travel Tips link.

I'm doing a 5 week retirement trip next year and am finding it very helpful to break the trip into 5 'mini-trips' so I don't get too overwhelmed with planning ... I plan each trip separately, keeping track of estimated costs vs budget for that trip ... e.g. London for 5 days is trip 1, then touring around the Cotswolds (trip 2), then off to Amsterdam and the Netherlands (trip 3), etc...

Also, the plan at least originally was to not have a rental car (just take trains, planes, buses)

I'm renting a car to drive around the Cotswolds for 6 days, also renting a car for a few weeks to drive around the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg ... for us, this saves time and allows us the freedom to go, stop and do what we want (but I will have my daily stopping points identified). But from what you have planned, I think a car would be out. Here's why:

1) Rental costs would be high for that time of year and the length of the trip (can you drive a manual? ... no, then expect to pay a premium for an automatic) ... and you would need unlimited miles (another added cost?) ... and if you don't return it to the same city where it was rented, you can tack on the huge drop-off fee.
2) Gas (petrol) would be crazy high unless you went electric (again at a premium rental cost).
3) What do you do with the car when touring Paris or other big cities? Seems a waste to park it for days since you're paying for it. Then if/when you do take it into a city, add the cost to park (again, another not cheap item).
4) It will be sitting most afternoons while you work which, again, seems like a waste
5) Insurance ... the longer you rent, the more likely you have some issue where you will be glad you have the full coverage insurance.

I'd look into a flexible rail pass ... it will be a large expense but will cover most if not all of your travel needs. The German rail DB has a twin pass, which is basically a 'buy 1 get 1 for 50% off', not sure if other countries (or Eurail) offer something similar.

Reply by Jennifer:

It would make more sense to visit Edinburgh before London, then you can take the Eurostar train from London to Paris rather than having to fly.

Agree, try not to backtrack, will save time and $$$ ... another consideration after your London visit and you're ready to move to the continent is to take the overnight Stena Line ferry from Harwich (1.5 hour train from London) to Hook of Holland, then train to Rotterdam and onward to Antwerp and Brussels for a few days, then train to Paris ... Rail and Sail from London is about $50 and the required room on the ferry starts from about $65 (2 person bunk bed inside cabin) to $200 (Captain's Suite) ... for 2, I think that would less that the Eurostar and you don't need a place to stay that night.

Good luck planning ... just prepare to be flexible because sometimes things don't work out according to plan. To quote Mike Tyson ... 'Everyone has a plan, then you get punched in the face.'

Hi,
Sounds like a great trip. My first thought was that your accommodation budget was possible, but I agree the length of time you have in London, will make it harder. I would try searching or posting in the England section for extra ideas. Pre-Covid we stayed in London end of June, early July. I was looking for 3 people, but was surprised at the challenges finding a reasonably priced place, including that quite a few air bnb's just didn't reply.

Couple of suggestions. You may want to split your time between hostels and then splurging on an airbnb or hotel . It is probably cheaper outside of London, so don't day-trip out, instead spend more days out of the city. I also wonder if you can find any places at universities if their classes are not in session.