Mediterranean 2019 summer trip

There are so many variables that will affect prices. The timing of purchasing tickets for trains and flights, the type of transportation (flights, trains, buses, car/motorcycle) and whether you'll be renting/leasing/buying motorcycle or car. What type of lodging you [wish to] stay in. Your budget....
When you say the prices of each country, in my experience, the countries you mention are priced, on average, on par with the U.S., but have more budget-minded options (like sleeping in a monastery or hostel). Trains can be very inexpensive, as can flights on budget domestic airlines like Ryan air or easy jet.

You have plenty of time to sort through options. I would calculate how many nights you think you'll be there and multiply by an average price per night (based on the lodging you envision staying in, whether hostel or shared airbnb, or monastery, or all of the above. And there's always camping! It will take some research). Then figure out an average for your flights. Then calculate how much you think you'll spend on food per day and multiply by # of days. And so on. And then you'll want to add to the final number because travel is always more expensive than you think it will be.

There are some threads on this forum where people are planning trips of up to 2 ½ - 3 months. I know of one in the Greece forum where the traveler is on a tight budget and weighing options for how to travel most cost effectively though Greece. You can do a general search or look at specific forums. You should also look at guidebooks and websites. There is one called Nomadic Matt (https://www.nomadicmatt.com) that I like for ideas on how to do things against the tourist grain and for less. Thats a start...

Here's an example, with budget ideas and costs. This one for Crete (scroll...):

https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-guides/greece-travel-tips/crete/

I lived in the Middle East for 5 years and Germany for 4. Also, have visited most of the Med countries (not Algeria, Tunisia, Libya or Syria).

Going to Egypt in the Summer you will encounter temps up to 110-120 degrees F. I went in December and it was in the 90s.

I will address each country:

Egypt: It is best to take a group tour, unless you are just going to Cairo to see the Egyptian Museum and Pyramids. Security is a serious issue in Egypt, there is still a serious terror element in the country, but the government does provide armed guards for each tour. Don't just wander off to off places on your own. Don't even take a taxi unless it is from your hotel and they take down your name and the ID of the taxi driver. Still, Egypt is amazing and not that expensive. The best way to see southern Egypt in the Valley of the Kings is with a river cruise of minimum of 4 days.

France (I assume you will be in the south) is wonderful but you need to plan your trip in advance. There is a lot to see, not just the French Riveria. There are many historical cities like Arles, Viene, Avignon, Nice, Monaco and more.
You might even consider starting in Lyon and moving down the Rhone Valley. Also, take in Pont du Gard, an ancient Roman aqueduct that was still in use until the last century. St. Paul de Venice is another great small city in Provence.

Italy is filled with History, Culture, Art and lots to see. The big three in Italy are Venice, Florence and Rome. I suggest spending minimum of 3,4 and 5 days in those cities. There is a lot more, Milan, Verona, Ravenna, Bologna, Siena, Orvieto, Assisi, Pisa, Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento, Capri and the Amalfi Coast. That doesn't even include Sicily.

Greece has had it's economic troubles and you will notice Athens has gone downhill, but don't miss the amazing Parthenon and the museums there, the Archaeological Museum and the New Acropolis Museum there.
Delphi side of the ancient oracle is worth a day trip as is to the Temple of Poseidon in Sounion, but the Islands are great. Corfu, Santorini, Mykonos, Crete, Rhodes can all be visited by ferry or if you can swing it a cruise.

Turkey, has its own problems with terror, but Istanbul is amazing. Easy to spend 4 nights there, Topkabi Palace and Hagia Sophia are must sees. There are other places to see in Turkey, I suggest doing some research before you go. Ephesus is a great stop while on a cruise, but probably not worth it on a land trip.

Don't leave out Israel, it is wonderful. The people are great and there is so much history there. Jerusalem is a city unlike any in the World.

My Wife and I did four weeks in Britain, driving around the country and spent an average of 100 pounds a night on B&Bs ($131 per night). Including the rental car, tours, admissions to museums and homes, dining, we probably spent $12000. Britain is more expensive than any of the countries that you mentions, except perhaps France.

Getting around France and Italy, I suggest taking the trains, but for Greece, Turkey and getting to Egypt you will likely need to take air. Unless you take a cruise, air to Egypt will probably be cheaper than a ferry, if they have them from Greece to Egypt.

You can save money on accommodations by finding B&Bs or what is called Pensiones. If breakfast is included, skip lunch and pay for one meal a day. Use Kayak.com and TripAdvisor.com for research. Get your Euros or other currency from ATMs.

Just from a very high level, I see two things that make me go "hmmmm...".

1. Summer heat. I don't know about you, but the idea of spending July and August around the Mediterranean sounds like my idea of Hell on Earth. I hope you do OK in extreme heat - and I hope you like crowds, as you will encounter plenty of both. Personally, I love being in Mediterranean countries when they are at their best: just before and after the worst of the summer heat and crowds (September is my favorite).

2. This is, as you say, your first trip to Europe. I'd pick something different for that. Rick has always advocated exploring places in Europe a bit further north first, and working your way south - as you go north to south, things become more and more complicated and culturally interesting. For most Americans, this makes sense: if you start in London, everything's pretty easy. Sicily or Greece is more challenging (by many measures) but also more culturally complex. Start you trip in, say, Cairo, and end in London, and (as Rick once said) London is going to seem like a wet noodle by comparison. Even for someone who has traveled widely elsewhere (sounds like you have) I think there's still some validity to this notion. Your trip sounds very ambitious, not sure it's what I'd recommend for a first trip to Europe regardless of where else you've been.

Buying a vehicle (and later getting rid of it) may be a lot more complicated/expensive than you might first imagine. You will need to research that carefully.

Weatherwise, you would be best starting in the south and heading north as the summer progresses. To buy a vehicle in Europe, you need to have a permanent home address and there will be difficulties trying to take a vehicle out of Europe and then selling it.

I know Americans can lease a car in France, but I don't know if this also applies to bikes and you would certainly need to return it to France.

Europe will be more expensive near the coast from mid June until the end of August, when accommodation costs could double or more.

France and Italy are expensive compared to Greece (unless you visit Santorini, which is also pricey). Athens is hideous from the end of June onwards - far too hot. There are many price comparison websites for the cost of various items that you should search out.

I presume you are male - I wouldn't contemplate a solo trip to Turkey or Egypt if female.

What is your choice of accommodation? If camping, prices in France are cheap until c 5 July, when prices rocket as the French school holidays kickstart.

Staying in apartments makes it easier to buy food from a supermarket rather than eating out, but you are not picking the cheapest time of year to travel.

Have you considered travel by train? You can easily spend a month getting around the Green islands by ferry - the Ionians are good value and have a cooling breeze to take the heat off the intense sun.

Although you haven't mentioned it, Croatia would be a great destination after Italy and apart from Hvar town and Dubrovnik, presents good value. I could easily spend a month here.

Air travel can be good value if you book flights on say Easyjet or Ryanair at least 9 months in advance and do not travel on weekends and ret to avoid school holidays (impossible in July and August!).

My month-long winter holidays in Europe recently have cost on average £80-£100 per day (US$110-140) for two of us, including budget flights from the UK and staying in small apartments and mostly self-catering, but with a hire car for the duration. In summer, the apartment costs the same per week as I am paying for the month.

Camping in rural western France for 3 weeks in June cost us c £50 ($70 per day) but we didn't eat out at all and we had our own car there. Staying in cities and paying entry fees to museums etc would significantly increase these numbers.

Thanks so much so far for your advice guys. Reading so far, I will state that yes, I am a male, in my 20s. It does now seem smarter(duh) to visit Egypt before the summer heat really starts. Perhaps I could fly out there first and go to Turkey from there. In egypt though I would not be interested in seeing anything else (at least right now) than Cairo.

What is the best time of the year for such a trip as this? I'm just picking summer as those are the months I get off of work. But if it makes a world of a difference price wise or convenience wise, perhaps I can do it another period of the year.

What is the best time of the year for such a trip as this?

The challenge there is that what you are proposing is "more than one trip" for most of us.

Anyplace in North Africa - I'd go in the spring or fall. Mid-summer heat would be miserable or even dangerous.

Around much of the Mediterranean - best time is late spring or early fall. June and July is worst, due to the heat but also due to the crowds. Europe's popular tourist areas are surprisingly crowded nowadays - more crowded than you probably think. Millions of Europeans take their summer vacations then, plus there's the throngs from everywhere else. A generation ago things may have been crowded, but nowadays there are large numbers of people traveling from countries whose middle class have boomed in the past decades - throughout Europe, you will now find plenty of people from China, India and elsewhere (a few decades ago this was not the case). The world economy has been pretty good for a while, and people from everywhere want to see the famous places in Europe.

In recent years, avoiding big crowds has been one of my top considerations when visiting Europe. It can make a big difference to your experience. I still might go to Europe in July or August, but I wouldn't dream of going to Italy or the South of France then. If that's the only time you can go, well, then do what you can. But "shoulder season" is a lot better there.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck!

Having just spent the last three summers in Europe, I can tell you that you will very much regret it if you spend that much time in the Mediterranean countries during the summer. I've started being a lot more strategic in the way I organize my trips, planning to spend as much of the time as possible at altitude or in areas with mild summers (north coast of Spain, Normandy/Brittany, Great Britain, etc.). This year's trip, unfortunately, isn't working out that well from the weather standpoint, but at least I won't be riding around on a motorcycle!

Forget saving money (though you probably will); you need to avoid a summer-long trip in that area because the weather will be miserable! I find that monthly temperature averages can be misleading. I like to go to wunderground.com to look at actual day-by-day weather stats for recent years. That's how you can see what you may really run into, and how often it may happen. To get to the historical graphs and charts, choose History, then use the pull-down boxes to select July 2017, July 2016, etc. Then choose Monthly.

One other thing to be aware of: As an American (Canadian? Aussie? New Zealander?), you are permitted to spend only 90 days of any 180-day period in the countries that constitute the Schengen Zone. It sounds as if you'll be OK, but it could get rocky if world events cause you to decide to skip Egypt and Turkey. Page 2 of the document I've linked to has a map you can use for reference. Leaving the Schengen area and returning does not turn the clock back to zero; the days keep accruing. And for every period within the Schengen Zone, both your arrival day and your departure day count. One other point: 90 days is not 3 months. Penalties for overstaying your allowed period in the Schengen Zone can be quite heavy: fines in the thousands of euros and banishment for a number of years.

July 2017 the temp range ( daily high) in Cairo was 92-104F--- the lows ranged from 72-80F.

My sister in law and niece were there this past Feb and all the photos show them in 'summer' wear.

You will really need to develop a love of hot to go there mid summer.

On two separate occasions I was in the Mediterranean area in the summer, 1997 (it was hot!) and I came back in 1999. That was in Toulon for 3-4 nights, right on the Med. in July, took most of the day from Paris on the TGV. Yes, the heat was oppressive, you deal with it, watch what the locals do. If you spent considerable time in SE Asia, (Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia?), the heat in Greece and Italy I'm going to assume you'll be able to take or endure.