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please review my itinerary (best of Europe 30 days)

We are trying to mimic Rick's Best of Europe 22 days. People told me that it's a trip designed more for tours than independent travelers. so I hope to get a review from experienced folks here and fine tune it so the plan is realistic and not in a big rush.

You can see his suggested route here: http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/europe/eur22.htm

Here are a few consideration we had: 1) Since we have 30 days, we wanted to add Bruges/Brussels. 2) The round trip ticket to Amsterdam is a better deal so we will also try to start/finish via Amsterdam. 3) we prefer to visit Paris in the beginning of the trip rather than the end.

Here is the rough plan we have so far (haven't gone into the details on the sightseeing points of each place but more on logistics)

(continue)

Posted by
23 posts

Day 1 Amsterdam Arrived AMS 1pm, check in hotel

Day 2 stay in Amsterdam

Day 3 stay in Amsterdam

Day 4 leave Amsterdam at 8am and arrive Brussels at 10:45am ($70) leave Brussels at 7pm and arrive Bruges at 8pm ($26) stay in Bruges

Day 5 whole day in Bruges stay in Bruges

Day 6 leave Bruges at 1:30pm and arrive Paris at 4pm ($69) stay in Paris

Day 7 stay in Paris

Day 8 stay in Paris

Day 9 stay in Paris

Day 10 train from Paris to Lauterbrunnen (12:30pm to 6:30pm)($114) stay in Lauterbrunnen/Gimmelwald

Day 11 stay in Gimmelwald/Lauterbrunnen

Day 12 stay in Gimmelwald/Lauterbrunnen a night train from Lauterbrunnen to Cinque Vie/Vernazza ($100)

Day 13 arrive 10AM Cinque Terre/Vernazza

Day 14 Cinque Terre/Vernazza (vacation from vacation)

Day 15 Cinque Terre/Vernazza to Rome (3:30pm - 8pm)($48)

Day 16 Rome

Day 17 Rome

Day 18 Rome to Florence (1.5 hour ride with frequent rides)($42)

Day 19 Florence

Day 20 Florence

Day 21 Florence to Venice (2-3 hour ride)($54)

Day 22 Venic

Posted by
23 posts

(continue from the previous post)

Day 22 Venice night train to Munich ($124)

Day 23 arrived Munich early morning

Day 24 stay in Munich

Day 25 rent a car and tour romantic road to Rothenburg stay in Rothenburg

Day 26 (bay car) from Rothenburg to Frankfurt stay in Frankfurt

Day 27 from Frankfurt to Bacharach (6pm - 7:30pm) stay in Bacharach

Day 28 stay in Bacharach

Day 29 train from Bacharach (8:30am to 1:30am) to AMS ($91)

Posted by
94 posts

I'd skip Frankfurt and go straight to the Rhine.

Posted by
23 posts

Thanks for pointing this out - we did not want to go to Frankfurt but unfortunately Herz and Avis don't have a drop off location in Bacharach (or Rhine area).

One thing I found out (after a whole day's research today) is that the EurailDrive Pass is such a good deal that it's 10 days + 2 day car rental is CHEAPER than 10 day Global Rail Pass!!

4 days Global Rail + 2 days car rental = $455, each additional rail day is $45. I can get 9 day rail plus 2 rental days for $680!

10 days global Rail is $750!

That's why we plan to rent a car in Munich and drop it off in Frankfurt (no drop off in Rhine :(

Posted by
1449 posts

If it was me I would trade one of the days in Venice for more time in Rottenburg. Heck, if was me I'd skip Venice entirely. Most people love it; for me, its nothing special and I'd much rather spend time in Amsterdam that has canals and a lot to see than Venice. But preferences differ, and I'm sure I'm in the minority on this.

It sounds like you're basically going to arrive there late one afternoon after touring along the Romantic road and then leave the next day. I spent only a day in Rottenburg and wished I stayed more. There's the church to see, the town walls, and just the relaxation of sitting down for a beer at an outside table and watching the world go by.