Overwhelmed Planner

Well, I guess I will be the first of many to say you probably have too many places, which might be the main reason you are overwhelmed. You are talking about 3 days per country, when you include travel time to these countries that is about 2 days per. You probably have to narrow it down to two locations. Fly into one and out of the other to maximize your time. You can get lots of help here planning a realistic trip that you will enjoy much more than barely seeing any of the locations. There are some tours that cover lots of countries like this, but all the details and logistics are handled and it is still a lot of wasted travel time. All the countries you want to see are worth visiting, but choose the top two and see if you can come up with a wonderful trip.

You do it like any plan, piece by piece. With 13 days, you should plan on three or at the most four locations/cities. Every time you change location you lose at least half a day if not more just making the change. It is impossible to see five countries in that time period. Don't even think about it. At most you could focus on two countries. With that limited amount of time an open jaw ticket would be most cost and time effective. For example - into London and home from Paris. Or into Paris and home from Frankfurt. Or something similar. What are the five most important things for you to see? It also helps to have the attitude - " I will see that next time." It makes it easier to pass up sites. Transportation is the least of your concerns. May is just around the corner so make some decisions. Make a priority list of where/what you want to see and do.

Many thanks to both of you. This definitely helps!! I have been researching the top sites to see county by country and will sit down and discuss which countries to trim off of our to-see list. The transportation idea really helps as well!
Thank you once again!

Mercedes you may be overwhelmed because you are trying to plan two or three trips into one.. unless you are very elderly or termanilly ill , its a good idea to assume you will get back to Europe one day for another trip. I find the worst things about these zoom zoom trips is people end up not enjoying some places because their stress level is so high rushing about.. and worrying about missing trains or planes or being able to see all the sites they want, and freaking out because the sites have hour long lines or are so crowded it takes 3 hours to go through them and they only allotted 2 hours.. etc. 13 days and you want to see 5 countries.. that is more ambitious then some bus tours , and they have everything in place, no getting from hotels to train stations or airports, you simply walk out hotel door and sit on bus. You can do as you choose, but my advice is to cut trip down to two or three countries and enjoy them, visit the sites, eat the food, sit in the cafes, actually see them.You can perhaps do a daytrip ot two from major baes. From London, maybe Bath, or Windsor Castle, from Paris perhaps Versailles or Chartes or Epernray, from Spain and Germany , well you first have to decide on a city, these are large countries with many good choices for base visits. Rome ( like Paris and London) is already so packed with sites you could stay put for a week and still not see everything. And you are giving them 2 days ? Travel between places takes up more time then you may suppose. I suggest you come back with three countries and then ask for site recommendations etc.

I think too many countries, too far apart, too little time. Try Googling the basic distances between let's say, London, Paris, Rome, Munich and Madrid. Even flying would be all travel, little time on the ground. You can also try the DB search site (http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en) to find out how long it might take by train betwen each of those locations. Be sure to click on the route map for each option. That might help you determine which places are most important. Remember that if you leave the US on one day, you arrive the next day, tired and jet-lagged. That accounts for 2 days right there. The day you fly home will also be lost to travel because most flights leave early in the day and the usual European requirement is to check in 3 hours before flilght time. Unless you have planned for this already, your 13 or 14 days quickly become 10 or 11. Were you planning to fly into one city and out of another? You might be able to do 2 cities that way, or 2 areas relatively close to each other, but I really can't see more than that in the time you have.

Lo, Thank you very much. That definitely makes a lot of sense and I greatly appreciate the website assistance!! I will be checking into that very soon.
We've actually come to the conclusion that, since we do not want to trim too much off of our list as we do not think we will have the ability to return soon (speaking realistically), we will extend the trip an extra week. I will be checking into travel time and key points of interest, then put up the itinerary for further feedback. Thank you once again!

Pat, I will definitely do that. Thank you very much!

Mercedes, while it wouldn't be my choice, have you thought about a group tour? Since you want to visit 5 countries that are spread across western Europe; don't have strong preferences for seeing specific sites; and want to go to 'mostly touristy spots'; a tour might be the most effective way to cover that many countries. Five countries is a lot to cover in about 20 days, and it's relatively late to be starting to plan a May trip. On a tour, all the transportation and logistics will be set up to maximize efficiency of getting you to and out of places. As I said, it wouldn't be my choice. However, I know folks who have really enjoyed the Rick Steves tours. Maybe one of the best-of-Europe type tours might work for you. There are also lots of other less expensive tours, typically with larger groups; and there are special interest tours (eg, art, archaeology, elements of history). Or... you could find a tour that would hit most of the European places you want and then tack on a do-it-yourself visit to a country that's not included (eg, most European trips probably wouldn't include the UK on the same trip as Germany),

Don't think you are getting the total drift of the responses. Another week doesn't come close to solving your problem. It ease it some but at most only adds another city or maybe two. At best it is a six or eight week trip that you are trying to plan. It has to be pared down to something more doable. Get your priority list started. Then we can help you in more specific ways.

Mercedes, As the others have so aptly pointed out, your proposed Itinerary is FAR too ambitious, especially for the distance you're planning to cover. An extra week will certainly help, but will only partially alleviate the problems. Spain is somewhat problematic, as it's somewhat distant from the other places. You won't be able to "explore" five countries in even three weeks. Rather than having a list of countries, it would be helpful to have an idea of which cities you most want to see. It would also help to know if you've been to Europe before, and are familiar with the getting about by train or Bus? There are certain "caveats" to be aware of, especially in Italy. If this is your first trip, I'd highly recommend reading Europe Through The Back Door prior to your trip. In addition to good information on "how" to travel in Europe, it has a section on Itinerary planning. Rather than limiting yourself to B&B's, you might also consider budget hotels, which usually all include breakfast. There are many listings of good places to stay in the Guidebooks. As Frank mentioned, May is not far away so you'll need to get cracking and get some arrangements in place SOON! That's spring shoulder season and in my experience it could be busy at that time of year. Therefore, pre-booking hotels would be a really good idea. Have you arranged flights yet? Using open-jaw flights would absolutely be the best idea! Good luck with your planning!

Mercedes... I really like Sherry's idea of taking a tour for part of it (perhaps the most logistically challenging) and then adding on some extra time to be on your own. At that point you may be so exhausted you might just decide to chill out for a bit. I have done plenty of whirlwind trips... my first one actually..but I did it with a car, so we could drive as we pleased. We 'tasted' 9 countries in 3 weeks... and I wouldn't change a moment of it. Didn't think I would ever be able to go back either...I have since made it a priority and returned more than 30 times in 15 years... but my daughter, who was with me on the trip, is in a career/children etc. has not returned as of yet...and I am so glad we saw and loved everything we did. So, with 3 weeks a whirlwind trip is more doable. Just don't pass up some of the great locations to visit in the countries you are going to simply to add another country. (but I get the temptation!)

Well....it can be done, in 3 weeks, but let me tell you what we did. First, I'm gonna blame my husband because he ALWAYS wants to see too much, and I unfortunately go along (BUT NOT ANYMORE!). We had 23 days. (Because of airmiles, flew in and out of Heathrow). Arrive London early (we've been to London 1 other time), eurostar to Paris...3 nights, off to Strasbourg for 1 night (saw basically nothing, but know we want to return), 1 night Augsburg (spent most of the next day there due to a really nice person we stayed with), 1 night Munich - here is where it gets fun - hubby doesn't even rem seeing Munich! We had about 1/2 day...then 2 nights Salzburg, overnight train to Venice, 2 nights Venice (we had visited there before), 2 nights Milan, 1 night each Spiez, Bern, Zurich...then fly back to London, visit sis for a few days in Portsmouth and back to London for a few and home. Yes, 6 countries in 23 days...crazy...hectic, lots of wasted time on trains, lots of money spent on transportation (trains only), lots of rushing thru museums...lots of very fuzzy memories...but when people tell you you'll lose half a day between places and checking into hotels and such, they are 100% correct. Now, with 3 weeks I'd cut it down to maybe 3 countries...and visit cities closer together...unless you have unlimited $ for flights. Whatever you choose have fun!

...and as Terry said...we have been lucky to go 3 times since 2008...before we went over, we figured once every 5 yrs, then while over....'maybe we can come back in 3'...then after we got home, 'Every 2!' (One year overseas, next year to somewhere in the US). But we have no kids, our mortgage was paid off last year - not retired tho, long way for that....(I'll be 40 this year)...but travel is a priority for us...we savesavesave...I know not everyone can do that, but once you go, and realize HOW MUCH there is to see, you'll want to go back ASAP.

I think Nicole summed it up nicely, can something be done is one thing ( they did it) but should it be done is another. I realize some people enjoy a faster pace then me, but to not ever remember what you have seen or where you have been is another thing.

For 20 days, here is an itinerary you might consider. I would save Spain for another trip. It is just too far out of reach. Also, to save time like others have said, I would fly into one city and out another. Also, consider jet lag from California. Day 1 Arrive London Day 2 London Day 3 London Day 4 London to Paris on Eurostar Day 5 Paris Day 6 Paris Day 7 Paris to Munich Day 8 Munich Day 9 Munich – day trip to Salzburg Day 10 Munich - day trip to castle region Day 11 Munich to Venice Day 12 Venice Day 13 Venice to Florence Day 14 Florence Day 15 Florence – Day trip to Siena Day 16 Florence to Orvieto – overnight Day 17 Orvieto to Rome Day 18 Rome Day 19 Rome
Day 20 Depart Rome

Mercedes, With your planning, keep in mind that you'll also need to allow for your two flight days. You'll generally arrive in Europe the day after you depart, so one day is lost there. The last day will be spent on the flight home. Cheers!

I think you could realistically see 3 countries in 3 weeks. Try to stay at least 3 nights in most places and avoid one-night stops. 3 weeks is a long time to be on the go. The less you pack, the less you have to unpack/repack along the way. The less you pack, the more you will have to hand-launder, so you'll also want time for stuff to dry before you have to repack it. May is usually quite warm and sunny in the south (Italy, Spain), but can often be very chilly and wet in the north (England, France, Germany). Plan A - fly to London for 6-7 days, with 1-3 day trips. Then Eurostar to Paris for 5-6 days, with 1-2 day trips. Then train to Strasburg for 2 nights, then train to Munich for the remainder. If you skip Strasburg, you might be better flying to Munich (or Berlin) rather than a long train journey (no really fast trains in much of Germany). Plan B - London, Paris, then fly to either a Spanish city or an Italian city and choose one or two other locations to visit and fly home from. Both Italy and Spain have good train connections between cities. Easy to see Venice-Florence-Rome or Madrid (plus day trip to Toledo) and Cordoba/Seville (choose one, day trip to the other). Plan C - London, Paris, then Belgium and Holland. The benefit is that the train journeys are short and there are a good number of towns to visit in the Low Countries.