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Planning 2-Month Solo Trip to Europe Early Summer 2016, need advice

Hi everyone! I'm new to the forums as of today. I'm in the baby stages of planning a solo trip to Europe for two months next Summer. My husband is in the military and will be deployed for 6 months so this is just my way of having an adventure of my own as well :)

I have never traveled solo and have not been to Europe yet either so my list of places I want to go is pretty long. I have no idea where to begin! I want to hit the main big cities: London, Paris, Rome... but also am drawn towards Ireland, and more bohemian places like Prague, Budapest and Vienna... I want to have a mix of big cities and small scenic towns but I find all the information out there to be completely overwhelming.

If you were me, a woman in her early 30's traveling alone... what would your game-plan be? Where would you start and end? What are some MUST sees and MUST dos while I'm over there?

Posted by
2487 posts

Two months is nothing. If I look back at all the trips I've had in France alone, they will add up to a year. There is simply too much. Here, in my part of the Netherlands, you can get off the train or out of your car every 10 kilometres for something historical or otherwise which at least is worth a look. It's the result being around here for some centuries and having left a lot of tangible history.
The biggest pitfall is to want to see it all. That's downright impossible. It means running around having a quick look at some major sights without having a real sense of where you are. I've got of course the luxury it all being around the corner and can afford myself to spend 10 days to wander around in some corner which got my fancy, but I'm firmly of the opinion that the way to really appreciate this continent is not only to visit the so-called must sees, but also the lesser places. Together they make the experience.

If I were you I would make a list of the places you would really regret to miss, plan to stay there for - let's say - a week and have a look whether you can keep yourself busy with visiting that place and daytrips to places around. When travelling alone it is a comfortable feeling that at the end of the day you can return to a familiar hotel. It might look you're limiting yourself in this way, but you'll find you have more time to explore those places in depth and have more time to really enjoy it.

Posted by
1806 posts

Your "must sees" and "must dos" are your own. Without knowing what you really enjoy, it's hard for strangers on a travel board to tell you anything is a "must see".

If you are new to traveling in Europe, start by realizing that you need to give yourself a bit of time to get your bearings in each destination you choose and every time you have to pack up and change locations, you are losing time. Don't be overly ambitious and plan way too many stops in an attempt to squeeze all of Europe into 8 weeks. If you move too fast hopping from place to place, everything starts to blur together and you won't remember much about any one particular spot. It can also become physically and mentally exhausting as you are doing this solo and you have no one else to rely on but yourself to help you plan this or get from Point A to Point B.

Be flexible with your plans - realize not everything is going to work out the way you might want it to. Don't choose too many far flung countries if you are trying to keep your costs down. Don't fly round-trip in and out of the same city/country even if the airfare seems like it is "cheaper" unless you first factor in the transportation costs to get back to your original point of entry - open jaw often works better and can save you money and time.

I try to go by a loose rule that each country should receive, at the bare minimum, 1 full week (preferably 2). If you go by this, in your 2 month time frame, you just need to accept you aren't going to see it all. This is especially true if you are hoping to mix in both big cities and small, scenic towns. A single week in a country will at least give you the time to experience one of the main cities, and then have a few days to spend outside of the city. Again, this is just a general guideline - a huge city, like London or Paris, is full of so many things to see and do that you could sometimes easily spend an entire week there and still barely scratch the surface.

How do you plan to get yourself to those small, scenic towns you would like to see? Are you getting a rental car or are you relying solely on public transit? Don't forget that crossing international borders with a rental car can often be pretty expensive - you will want to plan out when you will truly need to have a car, and when you won't (ex. you don't want a car when you are staying in Paris, but you likely will want one if you are headed over to Normandy).

I'd go for countries that share borders and maybe save the outliers for another time. Just as an example, in 8 weeks, you could do something like fly into Rome, spend your first 2 weeks visiting Rome, Florence, Venice and 1 other part of Italy (Tuscany or a coastal region), head over to Vienna and spend Week 3 in Austria, move up to Prague and have your Week 4 in Czech Republic, maybe spend Week 5 in Germany, Week 6 could be split between the Netherlands and Belgium and you could either spend Weeks 7 and 8 entirely in France and fly home from Paris, or else carve 5 nights out of that final Week 8 and take the Eurostar from Paris up to London - this is about enough time to get a very limited overview of London itself and maybe squeeze a single day trip in outside of London. Normally, it costs more in fees to fly home from London, but depending when you are traveling, you might want to hit Italy before it gets way too hot. Keep in mind that if you are traveling during August, that's a really busy time for a lot of Europeans to also take their own vacations, so you may find budget lodging harder to find if you are visiting coastal regions during August unless booked well in advance (particularly in France and Italy).

Posted by
2487 posts

»... a loose rule that each country should receive, at the bare minimum, 1 full week«
It might be my European perspective, but I really don't understand the thinking in terms of countries. In some way everything in Germany is German as everything in Spain is Spanish, but Lübeck (my favourite city in northern Germany) is as different from Regensburg (my favourite in southern Germany) as Lisbon is from Madrid. In my experience one should think in places and regions, and the things which interest you. In a week one can have visited Sicily or Tuscany, albeit superficially, but not Italy.

Posted by
3 posts

Thank you all so much for your responses!

After reading these and other reviews on the subject I am now leaning more towards sticking with 4 or 5 countries and trying to explore different regions in each rather than spread myself out into such a large loop.

Posted by
8093 posts

I prefer to travel in a straight line--preferably to cities that are not that far apart. To cities that compliment each other. On our last 3 European trips, we've traveled a little slower--and have seen so much more.
My best advice is to pack light. That way, you can use budget European airlines that have opened up travel to many new locations. If you're visiting any of the great large European cities, stay long enough to experience the city.
You've asked for advice on where to go, so I'll start here and keep it simple:
You should start your odyssey in London.
From London, you can be sitting in downtown Paris in 2 hrs. and 15 minutes on the Eurostar train.
Then take the relatively new fast train down to Barcelona--6 1/2 hrs.
Fly on Vueling Airlines Barcelona to Rome. Then take a fast train (reservation required) to Florence and Venice.
Fly out of Venice to Prague on EasyJet.com to get into your Bohemian part of your trip. Take a train down to Vienna and then another train to Budapest.
You can also take a train Budapest to Salzburg and into Munich--one of my favorite cities.
From Munich, you could take an inexpensive flight on Aer Lingus to Dublin and explore Ireland by rental car. Or, you could fly EasyJet.com into Edinburgh--a great city. Or, you could fly Lufthansa or KLM into Amsterdam, another favorite city of mine.

I've not taken time to count the nights you'd need to spend taking a route like this. It may or may not be possible as an itinerary, but every city on this list is well worth seeing. My suggestion is to travel to cities that are easy to travel between. And when you can catch $100 one way flights, it simply opens up Western Europe to travel efficiently.

Posted by
552 posts

Kara, I think your solo trip can be awesome, and I strongly urge you to buy and read Europe Through The Back Door as an early step in your planning process. You will learn so much, and then you can come back here and ask specific questions, which will be answered by the very helpful people on this forum.
Have fun!

Posted by
6429 posts

This is an unusually thoughtful thread, thanks to these posters so far. Kara, I'd echo the recommendation to start by reading "Europe Through the Back Door" and the info that interests you on this website. Maybe look at some of the Rick Steves videos of places that interest you -- try Netflix or your public library. And also, please keep in mind that this will not be the only time you travel in Europe, hopefully you will have a lot of years to see and do more, so you don't have to see it all next summer.

Most people who like to travel would give a lot to have two months for a trip, especially at your age. And solo travel frees you to improvise, take advantage of opportunities, and maybe bail out of places or activities that turn out not to be so great. Packing light increases this freedom. Sure, set up your transatlantic flights, "open jaw" is usually a good idea. Set up any high-speed train reservations or flights you might need to cover long distances. Set up hotels in heavily touristed areas at peak times (but try to preserve the option to cancel or shorten or prolong a stay if you decide to).

If you don't mind some group travel, consider signing up for one of the Rick Steves tours of a city or country that interests you, at or near the beginning of your long trip. That would ease you into European travel, expose you to some friendly experienced travelers and a first-rate guide to bounce ideas off, and build your confidence for the rest of the trip. (I've never taken an RS tour, probably too old now to keep up, but I like the people I know who have.)

And, as others will tell you, planning can be half the fun. Go for it!

Posted by
14481 posts

Hi,

Traveling solo is first of all safe. I would suggest with the two month time available , 8 weeks, in early summer 2016, (say May to July?) you start in England. (I would be thrilled to have 2 months traveling in Europe) Fly to London. Why? As a first time solo traveler to Europe, that's recommendable to get use to the culture, without worrying about the language, etc. If you speak French or German well, then go there first. If not, one of the things you need to get used to is seeing all the signs not in English, which can throw you. Lots of people know English but then you have to ask. The cities you list are great to see for the first timer...London, Paris, Rome, Vienna Budapest, Prague. It is all matter of planning the logistics and the accommodations, and your level of luxury expectation. What are your specific interests?

Posted by
13809 posts

If budget is not a huge consideration, I would consider starting with Rick's 21 day Best of Europe tour. We had a 30 yr old on our tour and it looked like she was having a wonderful time as were we all.

Add 4 or 5 days on the front end for more time in Amsterdam and Haarlem. Then add time on in Paris (a week at least with time for a couple of day trips), take the Eurostar to London for a week, add a week doing perhaps Bath/ Salisbury/ Stonehenge or smaller towns that interest you. Tag on to that either Ireland or perhaps an inexpensive flight to your interests in Vienna and Prague.

Sounds like fun.

Posted by
15560 posts

Early summer - when would you start? Beginning of June, end of June? It could make a difference. I'd rather be in sunny Rome in early June than in mid-July, for instance.

How's your budget? And what is your minimum comfort level? If you are fine with staying in dorm rooms in hostels, you needn't book more than a few days in advance so you can be pretty flexible in your itinerary - at least for parts of your trip. If you want hotel rooms (private bathroom or shared bathroom), you'll need to book 1 to 3 months in advance. Most reservations can be cancelled up to a day or two in advance, if your plans change. You can also save a great deal by buying train and budget plane tickets several months in advance, but you won't be able to change them, so you'll be locked in. London and Paris are pretty expensive, while Dublin and Budapest (and the rest of Ireland and Hungary) are pretty cheap wonderful destinations.

Posted by
2487 posts

»... trying to explore different regions in each rather than spread myself out...«
I'm glad to hear this. And try to fit in some stays outside the big cities with some walking opportunities.
Last year I went for a few days to a small village somewhere in Bavaria (near Oberammergau, to be precise). Nothing much to do there. There was one pizzeria, but with a rail connection and good bus services it looked to be a perfect base for one or two things I wanted to see around. (On the spot I found out there was also a monastery nearby which I had overlooked.) Took the bus to visit the wonderful Wieskirche (look it up: you won't be disappointed) and had a three-hour walk back to the village. Had a large beer at the same pizzeria and went back to the hotel for a shower. I could have done it in half the time and on a tour they would undoubtedly have put in two or three other attractions, but it was a perfect day.

Posted by
3 posts

Wow, some really insightful stuff here! Thanks everyone!

I just picked up a copy of Europe Through The Back Door 2016 so I'll be diving in to that today.

I am roughly planning on May & June as my travel months although I'm open to some wiggle room there. I'm considering flying in to Dublin and starting my journey there. My husband had friends there that I can stay with for a few days before beginning the rest of my trip.

As far as a budget, I'm looking at roughly $9,000 for 2 months but I can adjust that up to around $11K if need be.

Accommodations-wise I plan on going the hostels route with maybe one nice hotel splurge along the way somewhere.

Although I love museums and art, I'm more interested in mingling with locals, seeing how the rest of the world lives, and seeing the main sites.

Posted by
2487 posts

One practical advice: for longer train trips on express trains it pays to have your tickets booked well in advance (some two or three months before the travel day). The 09.01 train from Amsterdam to Berlin normally costs EUR 89, but only EUR 39 if bought now for a trip mid-December. It is only possible with advance planning of your trip, but in my experience people plan their trip.
To add to the prefun, the Deutsche Bahn has a perfect pan-European railway planner: http://www.bahn.de/p_en/view/index.shtml
You can use it also for getting tickets on trains served by the Deutsche Bahn. Otherwise you go to the website of the relevant railway company: http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en (which understands only the Italian orginals of place names), http://www.oebb.at/en/index.jsp for Austria etc. (The website of the Spanish railways Renfe is a disaster.) They all work on the system of paying by credit card and tickets printed at home.
Enjoy!

Posted by
1806 posts

It might be my European perspective, but I really don't understand the thinking in terms of countries. In some way everything in Germany is German as everything in Spain is Spanish, but Lübeck (my favourite city in northern Germany) is as different from Regensburg (my favourite in southern Germany) as Lisbon is from Madrid. In my experience one should think in places and regions, and the things which interest you. In a week one can have visited Sicily or Tuscany, albeit superficially, but not Italy.

And I agree 100% that in 8 weeks Kara is only going to have a very limited overview of these countries, but the initial suggestion of a minimum of at least one full week (and I stated preferably 2) was given with the caveat that in that amount of time, at best, a 1st time visitor can fit in one primary city to see some of the well-known tourist sights, and then have a few days to eek out some side trips. I've seen way too many first timers come bursting out of the gate with the intent to "see" 14 different countries in 2 months and given Kara mentioned her "list of places I want to go is pretty long", it sounded very much like she was headed down that path until she had time to step back, think about it and realize maybe 4 to 5 countries with a focus on specific regions is a better starting point. Also, if I am responding to a general inquiry on this board I can't exactly whittle it down to a specific region of any one country that would work best for the original poster if they have not initially given a whole lot of detail stating what their likes and dislikes are. Therefore, I have to speak in "terms of countries" and not regions and make the assumption that the OP is going to do the legwork necessary to figure out exactly which region makes the most sense for her based on what she wants out of the trip. I think I covered that part when I said it's up to the OP to determine what their own "must see/must do" list is, because everyone's list is different.

It's also just a general guideline - not a hard and fast "you MUST travel like I do". If I thought the advice people gave to me here before I went to the Netherlands for the first time was something I needed to strictly adhere to, then I guess I would have spent just 4 days in Amsterdam (which is what is generally tossed out here as a guideline of "enough time") instead of 10 days, I would have used some of my time to take a canal cruise (I skipped that in favor of going to the well-off-the-tourist track Museum Vrolik), and I would have made a side trip to Delft and skipped Rotterdam instead of doing the opposite since I have zero interest in Delft (FYI: not because I think the city itself is bad, but because I simply did not want to be visually assaulted with mass-produced blue & white knock off pottery being marketed to tourists and felt my interests and my limited time would be better served elsewhere). Did I leave feeling I "saw" the entire Netherlands after my first trip? Hardly. I left feeling it was a nice overview of a few key locations that peaked my interest, and I would want to go back and focus on some additional places and sights that interest me. Hopefully, that's what Kara will leave Europe feeling after her 8 weeks.

Posted by
14481 posts

True, a very stark and distinct contrast exist etween Regensburg and Lübeck. Regensburg with its strong Catholic influence and evidence, look at the statue dedicated to Don John, as he is known in English, Lübeck with its red Backstein architecture, a different feel in both cities. it's one of my top favourite cities in Germany too. My first introduction to a German city was Lübeck after arriving in Travemünde.

@ Kara...Another source I would recommend for a first timer especially one who can stay 8 weeks (do I wish I had that !) is The Rough Guide First Time Europe.

Posted by
2487 posts

I have to speak in "terms of countries" and not regions
I was a little bit harsh, for which the only excuse is I've seen too many itineraries and trip reports in which countries are listed with only one or two »must-sees«, mostly only the capital. Personally I'm very much of the school »you do it well or you don't do it at all«. But I'm the first to admit that's the luxury of someone living around the corner, who can permit himself to be two weeks on Sicily, only looking for that most wonderful of architectural styles: Sicilian baroque.

Posted by
2487 posts

My first introduction to a German city was Lübeck
Shall we advise Kara to put in a week Northern Germany? A few days Lübeck to see the pride of a rich merchant city. A few days Rügen to have some good walking. A few days Wismar to experience small-city life.
No, she already has too many tough decisions to make.

Posted by
14481 posts

What ? Devote a week in North Germany? How about 2 weeks then? Unerhört!... Seriously, good choices to choose from...Lübeck, add/substitute Eutin/Holstein, Lüneburg, or Schwerin.

Posted by
7175 posts

I know in your last post you say you want to concentrate on spending more time in fewer places, but I think an extensive journey is the ideal way to get a broad picture of those very places you might wish to return to in years to come. Other factors influencing me here are your relative youth, your mobility travelling solo, and the amount of time you have at your disposal.

Ireland - 7 days
London - 7 days
Paris - 7 days
Amsterdam - 4 days
Berlin - 5 days
Prague - 4 days
Vienna - 4 days
Budapest - 4 days
Salzburg - 3 days
Venice - 4 days
Florence - 6 days
Rome - 5 days

Posted by
1 posts

Hi Kara,

I am from Australia and am in the process of organising our trip to Europe in 2016. We are doing a European River Cruise first and then plan to lease a car and drive through France, Italy, Spain & Portugal.

I too had the problem of what cities to visit and what are the main attractions to see in those cities, I found a great site for planning a stay in a city called Visitacity (http://www.visitacity.com)

Here they have all the attractions in the city and suggested itineraries which you can adjust to suit yourself. It will create a map of the attractions and give directions on how to get from one attraction to the next.

Hope this helps
Colin
Sydney, Australia

Posted by
1315 posts

Hi Kara,

my view is a bit different. Since this is your first trip to Europe I suggest you start by taking an organized tour, e.g. the 21 day tour described above - and don't plan anything else.

(I often visit new cities this way. I start with a guided tour (Hop-on-hop-off) and then use the next days to visit places that interested me.)

Then after the tour you have freedom to go back to a place you really liked and spend some more time there or go to somewhere quite different. Maybe you will get some good ideas from other people on the trip. Maybe you find that you are fed up with cities (and moving around) and just want lay on a beach for a week - I would:-) - or maybe you feel all sweaty from all the sun and wants to visit Northern Norway.

Your flexibility depends on the time of travel. "Europe through the back door" has some good thoughts on when to go where. You don't have to show up in a city and look for lodging. If you bring a computer or visit a net cafe you can book ahead.

Take this rare opportunity to see a lot and then plan to come back again with your husband to delve into one area at a time.

Posted by
15560 posts

I am roughly planning on May & June .... I'm considering flying in to Dublin and starting my journey there. My husband had friends there that I can stay with for a few days before beginning the rest of my trip. As far as a budget, I'm looking at roughly $9,000 for 2 months but I can adjust that up to around $11K if need be. Accommodations-wise I plan on going the hostels route with maybe one nice hotel splurge along the way somewhere. Although I love museums and art, I'm more interested in mingling with locals, seeing how the rest of the world lives, and seeing the main sites.

May/June is great. Does Dublin have to be at the beginning or can it be at the end? I'm just thinking that if you want to spend time in Italy, May better (fewer tourists, less heat). Your budget sounds fine to me if you're staying mostly at hostels. Hostelworld.com is one of the sites that will help you choose hostels - there are descriptions and reviews. Spend time looking at them to get a feel. For instance, some are "party central" and others keep strict quiet hours and deportment rules. While most people at hostels are in their 20's, you will also find retirees and families with young kids. Many hostels also have single rooms that you may want to "splurge" on. Also use Airbnb, especially for small towns w/o hostels. In London you can stay in university dorm rooms (great central locations) during school vacation (not as cheap as hostels but much cheaper than hotels).

Usually traveling in a line makes more sense (less travel time, less expense) than zigzagging, but if you have stops that are far apart, budget airlines will be better than trains and then it may not matter as much. 2 months is a long time to be on a trip and moving from place to place, getting oriented, absorbing different languages, customs, foods, currencies, and so on can be exhausting. To minimize that, limit short stays (1 - 3 nights) and do them between longer ones. It can be good to spend a week or more in one place and day trip. With 8 weeks, I'd pick 6 main destinations and build from there. For instance, if you choose Paris and Rome, you could spend a few days in a small town in France before flying to Rome.

One thing I learned the hard way is to lock down the itinerary before buying plane tickets.

Posted by
2487 posts

Visitacity ... they have all the attractions in the city
I don't want to be too critical, but I was not impressed. In southern Germany alone I missed something like lovely Bamberg, let alone they would guide you to the nearby wonder of Vierzehnheiligen, and Regensburg had to do with some »Real-Life Escape Game«. Terrible Neuschwanstein (it's telling I saw someone seriously referring to it as »Cincerella Castle«) was mentioned five times. According to Visitacity the Netherlands isn't more than Amsterdam, The Hague, Delft and Rotterdam.
Do yourself a favour, and buy a decent guidebook!

Posted by
7175 posts

Yes, nothing beats a decent guidebook.
Every minute spent sitting on a HoHo Bus is one less minute spent on the street experiencing your destination.
You could spend that minute with your head in a guidebook BEFORE you get to your chosen place.
Another option ...
Ireland - 7 days
London - 7 days
Paris - 7 days
Amsterdam - 4 days
---fly to---
Seville- 4 days
Madrid - 4 days
Barcelona - 5 days
Nice - 4 days
Milan - 3 days
Venice - 4 days
Florence - 6 days
Rome - 5 days

Posted by
3387 posts

You have so much good advice here so I won't repeat what has already been said...

All I would add is that you may want to consider traveling from south to north if you are going to be starting in May/June. The further into summer you get in the south the HOTTER it gets. There is also less rain in the north the further into summer you get making traveling more pleasant. I would suggest beginning in the warmer countries (Italy) and ending in the north (Ireland).

As someone who stays in Europe for months at a time myself, here are a couple of practical things to consider also...

  • Plan a laundry/business/stocking-up-on-necessities day every week or so. There is nothing worse than having no clean clothes or shampoo and realizing that you're going to have to skip 1/2 of a day in the Vatican Museums to get that stuff done. Factor it into your schedule and there is nothing lost of what you want to see and do!
  • Plan a "do nothing" day every once in a while as well. Even if you are staying in one place for a week, sightseeing is very tiring. We often give ourselves a day here and there to go to the beach or a park and just enjoy a book.
  • Plan your clothes carefully! We were in Europe for two months this past summer and I stuck with "colors of a stormy sea" for my wardrobe. All greys and blues - everything mixed and matched. I was able to fit everything into a carry-on! The lighter you pack the happier you'll be.
  • Mix and match between city and countryside destinations as well. If I spend all of my time in cities I tend to get overwhelmed and tired. I make sure to go out to more rural areas to hike and sit in little restaurants under trees or beside streams. It's a nice break and sometimes easier to meet people along the way with the slower pace. Create city/countryside pairs such as Rome/Tuscany, London/Devonshire or Cotswolds, York/Lake District, Paris/Brittany, Milan/Dolomites, Amsterdam/Friesland, Edinburgh/Scottish Highlands...you get the picture.
  • Get out a map and pin all the places you want to visit and see the most direct links from one to the next...that way you'll at least have an order in which to travel before booking your tickets. Good luck and let us know what itinerary you decide to create! You'll be so glad that you took this trip!
Posted by
3428 posts

I'm going to suggest a different approach to deciding where to visit. What about a 'themed' trip? Are you especially interested in a particular period of time? Roman conquests, the Renaissance, WWI or WWII, etc.? Maybe a particular artist or art style or period? Architecture? Science? Fashion? Your ancestry? Pick an interest OF YOURS, then delve into what places might tie in strongly with that. For example, if the Renaissance is your 'theme', Italy for much of your time would be great! Visit art museums, learn more about Da Vinci, Michelangelo, etc. Roman conquest- start in Italy, move to France, then the UK. Plan on visiting Roman ruins, look for Roman Villas, etc. Ancestry? If your mom is more Polish and dad is more Irish, then visit those 2 places. You get the idea.

Posted by
565 posts

Hi Kara!

I am also a woman in her 30s, and I travel solo frequently. Without knowing your interests, I can't really recommend any specific places, but I agree with the poster who recommended Europe Through the Back Door or Rough Guides First Time Europe. Both are excellent resources to get you started.

Starting with English speaking countries might be a good idea to get your feet wet. There are some countries that don't have English as an official language but have a very high percentage of ESL speakers, like Belgium, the Netherlands, and the Scandinavian countries, that will be very easy to get around as well.

My favorite city in Europe is Berlin-it has a youngish, energetic vibe that's infectious, while being less expensive than most other large cities. I recommend it as a must-see.

One other aspect of life that can't be ignored is the street harassment you'll likely come across in France and Southern Europe. It's usually benign, but it's very common and the best thing to do is just ignore it or tell the offender 'NO' firmly. If that doesn't work, stop in the nearest cafe or store.

Feel free to PM me with any questions. I have lots of AirBnb links and restaurant recommendations!

Emily

Posted by
17639 posts

I would get a nice apartment in a town I like (for me that would be Budapest), then from that location do a lot of overnight and two night trips. From Budapest that would be Vienna, Prague, Zagreb, Kotor, Transylvania, etc. The advantage is you have a home base and place to be comfortable as you explore the world. You could also choose two towns, like Budapest and Paris so you have more options.

OR....... Leaving out all the detail and the little side trips if you just wanted to wander Europe in general this is a good route.

DAY 1. Leave the US
DAY 2. Arrive London
DAY 3. London
DAY 4. London
DAY 5. Train to Paris (3 hours)
DAY 6. Paris
DAY 7. Paris
DAY 8. Paris to Frankfurt (4 hours)
DAY 9. Frankfurt
DAY 10. Frankfurt
DAY 11. Frankfurt to Berlin
DAY 12. Berlin
DAY 13. Berlin
DAY 14. Berlin day trip
DAY 15. Berlin
DAY 16. Train to Prague (5 hours)
DAY 17. Prague
DAY 18. Prague
DAY 19. Prague day trip
DAY 20. Prague
DAY 21. Shuttle to Cesky Krumlov (3 hours)
DAY 22. Shuttle to Vienna (3 hours)
DAY 23. Vienna
DAY 24. Vienna day trip (Melk)
DAY 25. Vienna
DAY 26. Vienna day trip (Bratislava)
DAY 27. Vienna
DAY 28. Train to Gyor
DAY 29. Gyor
DAY 30. Train to Budapest
DAY 31. Budapest
DAY 32. Budapest
DAY 33. Budapest day trip to Szentendre
DAY 34. Budapest
DAY 35. Budapest
DAY 36. Train to Zagreb (6 hours)
DAY 37. Zagreb
DAY 38. Zagreb day trip
DAY 39. Train to Ljubljana
DAY 40. Ljubljana
DAY 41. Ljubljana to Bled
DAY 42. Bled to Ljubljana
DAY 43. Ljubljana
DAY 44. Private transfer to Trieste (4 hours)
DAY 45. Trieste
DAY 46. Trieste
DAY 47. Train to Venice (4 hours)
DAY 48. Venice
DAY 49. Venice
DAY 50. Train to Milan
DAY 51. Milan
DAY 52. Milan
DAY 53. Train to Florence
DAY 54. Florence
DAY 55. Florence
DAY 56. Train to Rome
DAY 57. Rome
DAY 58. Rome
DAY 59. Rome
DAY 60. Return to US

Posted by
14481 posts

Hi,

Are you planning on giving certain countries more attention or is your attention more or less equally spread out... France, Ger, UK. ,

Posted by
7175 posts

I am going to back up Chani's suggestion to start in the south (Rome) and finish in the north (Dublin), following the warming weather as spring turns to summer.

Posted by
1717 posts

Hello Kara. You said you are thinking about going to a total of 4 or 5 couintries. I think 5 countries is enough countries in one trip.
If you go to 11 countries, you would use 10 days for travelling between countries. I recommend going to
ITALY
AUSTRIA
CZECH REPUBLIC
GERMANY
FRANCE.
Travel in railroad trains in Europe.
I suggest : fly to Rome. And fly from Paris toward your home. This week, you could decide which airport in Europe you will fly to, and which airport you will fly from for the return trip. Buy your airline tickets when you find airline flights that you want, and the price for the tickets is acceptable for you. And, in the next few months, read about the countries that you will go to, in travel guide books (Rick Steves, Lonely Planet, Rough Guide).

Posted by
8377 posts

Kara you didn't mention budget, but that has to be a big factor. The more places you visit the bigger the transportation costs. But here's two more ideas.
I did a fair amount of travel alone, and must admit that it gets lonely sometimes. You could consider sandwiching in an RS tour somewhere in the two month window, and at least that will relieve you of some of the planning burden as well as provide some company for part of the time.
The second depends on your husband's deployment, and whether or not he will get any leave time, which would allow him to meet up with you somewhere in Europe. Usually the military will fly you somewhere for your leave, not necessarily home.

Posted by
9363 posts

I don't think I saw any of the above posters address this, but one thing a lot of new travelers fail to consider is the minutiae of moving from place to place. Every time you change cities you will use up a half-day to a full-day of your time. You have to check out, get to the airport or train station, wait for the train/bus, travel, orient yourself in the new city, find your accommodation, check in, and get settled. That can take a lot more time than you realize. In addition, just doing daily things that might be second nature at home (riding the city bus, doing laundry, ordering a meal, etc) can take longer when you don't know the language and can't read signs.

In addition, traveling solo can have stresses of its own. I travel alone frequently, and it can be very wearing after awhile having no one else to rely on except yourself. It can get lonely, too. It can be harder than you think to be gone for so long. It can also be exciting and fun, and you get to do whatever you want to do, for as long as you want! Just don't overplan or try to keep a rigid schedule. I plan one major thing for each half of a day, then fill in with other things as time allows. Also, remember to allow time to tour or see the things you are traveling to see.