Refined Itinerary – Should I Cut a Destination to Allow More 4-Night Stays?

This is what comes to mind. Not that there is a thing at all wrong with what you have.

• I guess you have been to Tokyo before? Cause it’s pretty short.
• Of course you are in Italy for the wedding, but maybe you bug out after the wedding and save Italy for a dedicated tour in the future. Otherwise when you do go to Italy you will be working around what you have already seen.
• Vienna would benefit from another night.
• Paris I don’t do 1 night stops well. With 2 nights you could at least enjoy one special planned day.

Thanks Mr E! You are always so insightful!
Nope never been to Japan before- it is purely a stop over from Sydney to Europe as I am not a good flyer. We plan to return there one day to experience it.
We are actually thinking of leaving Italy as soon as possible to return there one day too. I have siblings going to the wedding and we all get on fantastically & we may end up having a few more days together somewhere after the wedding.
Ok I agree Paris needs at least one more night at the very least.

If I was to cut a destination, I would cut Innsbruck. But I think your itinerary is fine

I was thinking I would cut Innsbruck too. Also, if you decide to keep Italy on the itinerary, visit Florence. Bologna doesn’t compare.
And yes, to us, a 4 night stay is ideal in any city is ideal.

Thanks Barbara and Big T!
We do great hikes in the Snowy Mountains in NSW which is what attracted us to Innsbruck. I can see though the consensus is to drop it. It would give us much more wriggle room to drop it.
When we travelled in our youth it never too this much planning. We would work it out on the go with the advice of other backpackers & the lonely plannet guide etc.
I'll def. add 1 more night in Paris to avoild rushing/ transport issues etc.

Your itinerary "problems" start after the wedding and continue until you get to Paris.

Consider cutting Prague and Nuremberg from this trip, and use those freed up 6 nights to allocate additional nights to Florence and/or Bologna (2), Vienna (1), and Paris (3). Fly from Vienna to Paris to get in place for the last 2 weeks of your trip.

I fly in and out of Narita. I’ve had multiple trips per year since 2022. It takes the limo bus about an hour into central Tokyo or the reverse back to airport . Perhaps I’ve been lucky with traffic, but that has been my consistent experience- traffic has been lighter than my route to Chicago’s O’Hare. Easy train access also.

Staying near Narita is not necessary. In fact, getting from an airport hotel or Narita City hotel into central Tokyo for day touring and returning to distant hotel at night takes much more time than one transfer into Tokyo, stay in central Tokyo, then back out to catch departure plane.

I have done as JoJo suggests as I had one day in Tokyo, then a very early AM flight out of Narita. It was a mistake- transfer from airport hotel to Narita City or airport to catch the train into Tokyo made the whole process much longer and required much more coordination of schedules than if I had simply gone directly to central Tokyo upon landing and stayed there for my two nights.

Narita City is charming, but half a day is sufficient. There is a large, popular shopping mall in the area. I have not found transport for other locations in the area convenient. Staying in Tokyo provides many more options.

Not sure you've taken the following into consideration. Two nights only allows for one full day of "seeing / doing", and parts of the arrival and departure days. Three nights allows for two full days; four nights three full days. Just something to ponder as you finalize your plans.

I’ve transited through Narita several times with a stay of just a night or two. No need to stay out by the airport. What I do is take the Keisei Skyliner direct to Ueno Station, about 40 minutes (or there are cheaper regular trains on that route taking about one hour). Plenty of hotels and restaurants around there and Ueno is a very interesting area of Tokyo, including Ueno Park with its fine museums if that interests you. Then back to Narita the same way. Plenty of time for a worthwhile Tokyo visit with two nights.

"Should I Cut a Destination to Allow More 4-Night Stays?"

Why spend 4 nights when you can do it in 2? More is more! Life is short! Go for it!

Of course if you like longer stays, nothing wrong with that either! Your picks are fine. You'll have a great time.

Personally, I'd trade some Austria for some Switzerland but that is only because I love yodeling!

Happy travels!

In her other post, the OP already mentioned they will fly in and out of Haneda, not Narita.

@AJ; it would help those helping you, if you could add the dates to your itinerary. I know you did this in your other post, but not in this one. If you include dates, people can alert you to holidays, local events etc.

AJ
I agree with those who suggest dropping Innsbruck. However, your plan seems fine to me, although I would opt for Florence over Bologna and give Paris 2 of those Innsbruck nights and Vienna 1 of them. That's just me however. I love both Paris and Vienna. It seems the wedding date and your flight dates preclude any more time in Munich, alas. If the wedding is at least 2 days after your arrival in Munich, perhaps you could spend 1 more night in Munich, and one less in Castiglione d'Orcia? (Munich is another of my favorite cities). Of course, the wedding festivities and schedule will determine that. Your travel time between locations will be a big factor in how much you get to see in each place. Since we usually drive, I don't have recommendations on those transfers, but try to minimize those all-day travel days. The views of some areas from a train are lovely, but you have 8 or 9 travel days in there, so they will get old fast, even for train buffs, IMHO.

And I completely understand a layover in Tokyo. When we went from Los Angeles to Nairobi we had two plane changes and long flights and it was about 26 hours of travel. We were exhausted! I wish we had planned a 2-3 day stop in London (one of our plane change locations) to move around, and to get a night's decent sleep. Wearing compression socks for that long was annoying as well.

Have a wionderful trip!

Well done you've made some good changes! I personally would still consider dropping one destination, are you a 5-minute packer who can zip out of a hotel quickly?? You may end up agreeing when you check Google about train connections between all these places and add in the time. (Late you will want to use train apps, but at least get an idea of the logistics soon.)

She actually said on an earlier thread, she's flying in & out of Haneda, much easier than Narita. I can give you the name of a wonderful hotel within taxi distance of Haneda if you'd like?

Thanks again everyone I’ve really appreciated all the thoughtful insights! It’s helped so much as we’ve refined our itinerary.

We’ve decided to drop Innsbruck (as many of you wisely suggested), and we’ve added two extra nights in Paris to slow things down before the cruise. That feels like a much better balance.

Prague is staying in as it’s been on my dream list for over 20 years, so that one’s non-negotiable.

Here’s where we’re currently at: ( not sure about Florence to Salzburg actaully..)

April
10 April, Travel: Sydney to Tokyo
11 April, Tokyo
12 April, Travel: Tokyo to Munich
13 April, Munich
14 April, Travel: Munich to Castiglione D'Orcia
15–17 April, Castiglione D'Orcia
18–20 April, Florence (travel to Salzburg evening of 20th)
21–23 April, Salzburg
24–26 April, Vienna
27–30 April, Prague

May
1–3 May, Nuremberg
4 May, Travel to Paris
5–7 May, Paris
8–12 May, Seine River Cruise
13 May, Return to Paris, travel to Amsterdam
14–16 May, Amsterdam
17 May, Fly home

Also, we’re flying in and out of Haneda, not Narita — and I’d love that hotel recommendation for Tokyo if you’re still happy to share it!

Thank you again tp this community has honestly made the planning process so much smoother and more enjoyable.

That's great! And it's your holiday, so it needs to work for you, sounds like you've made some wise adjustments.

We stayed at Mitsui Garden Hotel in Gotanda a few years ago & LOVED it. https://www.gardenhotels.co.jp/gotanda/?utm_source=googlebusinessprofile&utm_medium=google&utm_campaign=maps.

Breakfast was AMAZING and the service was equally wonderful, impeccably clean & on the top floors, great view from the lobby. There are a few of these hotels, be sure you book this one.Gotanda is on the Yamanote circle line, will get you around Tokyo & connects to the subway system, and it's nice to be above ground & see the views. (You could just jump on the Yamanote line, it's a circle and you'd get back to where you started, would be a fun way to see something of Tokyo!)

Thanks for the hotel recommendation in Tokyo- look sbeautiful. I was also thinking of staying at one of the ones at the airport...

Bravo, AJ! You have some good and practical and enjoyable-sounding plans! Have a great trip!

Thank you!

AJ, I love it.
But what do i know. I'm no expert.

Thanks Mr E- more of an expert than me!
We are just so greatful to this community and the fact we have this trip to plan!

Thanks for the hotel recommendation in Tokyo- looks beautiful. I was also thinking of staying at one of the ones at the airport... My recollection of Haneda is that there's not much to do there, but then again maybe you just want a nice hotel with perhaps a spa and stay there?

Thanks Sandancisco, yes I guess that is what we need to decide. Thanks again.