Need to trim itinerary to 75 days

You should count nights rather than days. I think your distribution of time in specific places is pretty good, but bare-bones, and you need to cut about 17 days! I would suggest cutting out places rather than decreasing time in the cities you want to see. Look at a map, check rome2rio.com for transportation options.

What you cut depends on what's more important to you. Sounds great, though!

that's the problem. i want to see it all so badly that i don't know what to cut. i was hoping someone with some travel experience could help me to cut some of the places that might be similar to other places.

Well, not only are you listing too many days in total, you're not taking into account the number of travel days from one place to another. Agree with Zoe, you need to count nights (not days) and make sure you account for the travel time. You need to cut a lot of places and/or shorten your time in other places.

The easiest thing to do is cut out the outliers. That saves time and transportation costs. Drop Iceland and Scandinavia and you save 13 days. Drop Dublin and you're up to 16 days. You're not really seeing Ireland if you just go to Dublin, and it's not that great a city. You could also drop Edinburgh (although it's my favorite city) and you are there. Another option is to re figure Switzerland. Spend 2 nights in Lucerne and 4 in Murren or Wengen. Forget Interlaken. That will will save a day and maximize your Alps time. Other places you could look for cuts are the Loire, Rothenburg and Italian Lakes. Maybe skip Cinque Terre since it is so crowded.

I would also suggest starting in Italy before it gets unbearably hot.

I don't blame you for wanting to see all those places, but you don't have to hit them all on this trip. You'll actually have more fun if you build in some slack. That provides flexibility to veg out for a day, hop on a bus to a great mountain village you've just heard about, etc.

You haven't said that you have a tight budget, but if you do, you might consider cutting some or all of the costliest places, which I think will be Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. There's much more to see in Germany, so you can re-visit it, along with Scandinavia (and Denmark), on your next trip. Iceland can be visited if Icelandair is your air carrier of choice. Switzerland is centrally located in Europe, so it tends to be reasonably doable on most itineraries.

I'm hoping to get to the Dordogne and Provence this year myself (if not, next year for sure), and it's my impression from casual reading that the Dordogne may not be a great 3-day destination. A lot of the charm lies in the villages, and you can't move between those very rapidly via public transportation. Also, I think it's a long slog, time-wise, between that area and Provence. Both those areas would combine well with Spain on a future trip, so I think they are other candidates for postponement.

Are you planning to lock down non-refundable rail and intra-European air tickets ahead of time? In that case, you will need to make firm decisions about where you're going. If you both happen to qualify for and plan to buy the 2nd-class rail pass for those under 26 years old, you have the option to simply make loose plans and handle reservations as you go.

Following on from Carroll's comment, the Italian lakes are a lovely, relaxed introduction to Italy, but may be anti-climactic when coming from the Swiss Alps.

Amsterdam feels out of place in the order of travel, even assuming a flight in there. Think about starting from either Amsterdam or Copenhagen and then heading Berlin-Dresden-Prague-Vienna-Salzburg-Munich- and then either Switzerland or Italy next.

What an adventure!

Good advice so far about dropping the outliers and Dublin. You can cut the CT to a day - hit a village - see what it is and I expect you will be ready to move on. You may find this to be true with other places as well.

I would also agree that if you can qualify for the rail pass - this is its best use. You can keep your plans flexible and are not locked into prepaid times & tickets. Use your itinerary as a guideline but not engraved in stone. You have the time so routing trains that do not require reservations with the rail pass is pretty simple - google maps & the DB site are your friend.

I cut out norway, sweeden, iceland, and ireland by suggestion. I do really wish to see them, but I guess I can always return later. I am still a bit over, I was thinking about cutting Berlin. I've heard that Berlin is just "another city" but I've also heard it's many people's favorite place in Europe.
Copenhagen (Odense\Aero) (4)
Amsterdam(Delft) (4)
Berlin (4)
Munich (Neushwanstein Castle) (3)
Rothenburg (2)
Rhine River Valley (3)
Prague (4)
Vienna (4)
Salzburg (2)
Jungfrau Region (2)
Bern\Lucerne (2)
Interlaken\Mountain Cities (3)
Italian Lake District (2)
Venice (3)
Cinque Terre (2)
Florence\Tuscany (5)
Rome\Vatican City (5)
Provence (3)
Dordougne (3)
Loire (3)
Paris (5)
London (5)
English Countryside (3)
Edinburgh (3)

Nancy is correct in that you haven't allowed for the minimum half day of travel between many of your destinations. Moving on is costly, so if on a budget, trim the number of destinations further and spend longer in each place. Aim to spend at least 3 nights in each place and if you think a destination doesn't warrant this, drop it. Remember that 2 nights somewhere is only one day.

Drop /trim the expensive locations ie Scandanavia, Venice, Rome and Switzerland. Only go to Iceland if your flight is going via there, as it too is expensive. The Dordogne is better with a car, as is Provence and the English countryside.

Weatherwise, start in the south and work north.

Book flights within Europe in December latest for the best deals.

For a trip of this length, you need a few odd days of down time to recharge your batteries.

Travel isn't always half a day - I do not understand, but for some folk checking in or out of a hotel/B&B/whatever and getting to from a train station is a very long process. For this type of trip we like to stay near a train station. You certainly will not really unpack at any destination so re-packing is a non-issue.

We try to be a 10 minute or less walk to a train station - 40 minutes MAX to leave room wig bags, stop at check out, walk to station and find platform - that is at the largest stations like Berlin - way less time for smaller ones. Same thing when you arrive. I will have spent some time the day or two before find a place to stay in the new destination - that way I am not using time when I get there finding a place to sleep. Even with a 4 hr train ride I can be all checked in to a new place to stay and out ready to see stuff by noon or 1pm.

Don't sweat it if you do not have the perfect optimal plan - the plan is to have an adventure of a lifetime and soak in all that Europe has to offer.

Lastly - Do NOT skip Berlin! It is a very cool city with something to offer everyone. The city has young, hip vibe - lots of students.

I agree that you should count in nights and not days.

Just my thoughts, I'd remove time from Venice, Florence, and London.

Drop Scandinavia, where costs are high, and logistics for travel less easy. Try to eliminate 2 night stays - you list 6 of them. I have substituted Cote d'Azur (because it fills a gap in the route) for Dordogne (which is remote and time consuming to reach). Another idea may be to include Budapest (4) instead of Rothenburg (2) + Bern/Lucerne (2).

Amsterdam (Delft) (4)
Berlin (4)
Prague (4)
Vienna (3)
Salzburg (3)
Munich (Neushwanstein Castle) (3)
Rothenburg (2)
Rhine River Valley (3)
Bern/Lucerne (2)
Interlaken/Jungfrau Region (4)
Italian Lakes (3)
Cinque Terre (3)
Rome/Vatican City (4)
Florence/Tuscany (5)
Venice (3)
Nice (Cote d’Azur) (3)
Provence (3)
Loire (3)
Paris (5)
London (5)
English Countryside (3)
Edinburgh (3)

It would be be easier to advise any changes if we knew what you like to do and are interested in seeing.

Do you plan hours in museums or just want to see the high points.

Are you outdoorsy? Hiking, biking and the like?

Architecture? History?

Will you want to partake in the nightlife/club scene in cities?

"my itinerary for a Europe backpacking trip"
"we are both young and don't mind couchsurfing, hostels, or airbnb"
"put together a list of the cities and places we most want to visit"

I think the above statements help to point us in the right direction.

I should add that, although we are young, our interest are historical sites, beautiful scenery, and culture/food. We have little to no interest in partying

I love Berlin. If you drop something in Italy, drop Cinque Terre, not Roma, Venezia or Firenze!

I agree with Zoe, don't drop Berlin, great city. Copenhagen was a disappointment to me, would never return, but have been to Amsterdam twice, love it!

Berlin would be at the top of my list and perhaps deserves 1 more day, especially if you would like to add a day visit to Potsdam. Not sure who told you it was just another city.
The Rhine could have a day cut off as 2 days is plenty, Rothenburg only needs a day. Salzburg only needs a day.
For your time in France, you have 3 destinations listed but since we don't know why you have chosen those 3, had you also considered Normandy in your decisions for where to go?
Please keep Edinburgh on your list. You will be glad you did.
Switzerland is so over the top expensive that I don't think I would include it on a budget back-packing trip. Copenhagen is going to be pricey too.

Alright, I've taken everyone's advice and now I'm down to 70 days. If there are any spectacular places that I've left off my list, please let me know. We are interested in old architecture (castles, chateaus, churches, cathedrals), beautiful nature etc. Thanks for all the help.
Amsterdam(Delft) (4)
Berlin (4)
Munich (Neushwanstein Castle) (3)
Rothenburg (1)
Rhine River Valley (2)
Prague (4)
Vienna (4)
Salzburg (2)
Switzerland (4)
Italian Lake District (2)
Venice (3)
Cinque Terre (2)
Florence\Tuscany (5)
Rome\Vatican City (5)
Provence (3)
Dordougne (3)
Loire (3)
Paris (5)
London (5)
English Countryside (3)
Edinburgh (3)

It is quite some distance from Rhine River Valley (2) >> Prague (4)
It is quite some distance from Rome\Vatican City (5) >> Provence (3)
Do you plan to fly these sectors ? See my post above for an alternative route that may flow better if you are planning on taking trains all the way.

Hi,

Which hostel do you plan on staying at in Berlin? I agree it it better to count nights instead of days, more accurate as to how much sightseeing time you have. The newer hostels are in the eastern side of Berlin and more of them too, closer to the historical center. There is one large hostel/hotel 2 mins across from the main train station, Berlin Hbf..the Meininger..as you exit and turn right. Staying within a few minutes walk to the train station is what I do too, much more convenient, but in Berlin it's close to a S-Bahn lateral station to the Hbf.

Cinque Terre should be between Florence and Rome, not Florence and Venice, to avoid backtracking.

More importantly, Italy is toward the end of your trip, when you're getting into hot weather. I'd try to rearrange the order to start as far south as possible and work your way north. You are more likely to have warmer, drier weather in the north in summer than spring. Win-win . . .

Hi,

The advantage to staying in hostels is that in some of the private independent ones laundry facilities are available. You have Berlin, Munich, Vienna listed to be visited. Wombats Hostel is in those cities too, that hostel chain has those facilities, very handy and convenient..