Our family - 2 adults and 2 teenage girls are going to travel Europe this summer for 6 weeks. We have put together the following itinerary and would appreciate any comments from fellow travellers. Here is the itinerary
Day 1 - 3 - Amersterdam (sightseeing and visiting friends)
Day 4 - 5 - Bacharach, Day 6 - Rothenburg,Day 7 - 9 - Switzerland (Gimmelwald),Day 10 - Innsbruk,Day 11 - Munich,
Day 12 - 13 - Berlin (night train),Day 14 - 15 - Prague (night train),Day 16 - 17 - Vienna,Day 18 - 19 - Salzburg, Day 20 - Venice, Day 21-22 - Rome, Day 23 - 25 Sorrento, Day 26 - 27 Florence, Day 28 - 29 Cinque Terra, Day 30 -31 Provence, Day 32 - Barcelona, Day 33 - Beaune, Day 34 - Strausburg, Day 35 - 38 - Paris, Day 39 - 42 London
Posted by
Nederland, CO
1530 posts
Denise, Wow! You are planning on covering a lot of ground! We took a 5 week trip in 06 and are taking a 4 week trip this year. You're itinerary looks pretty good except: You should consider planning a "vacation from your vacation". You are going to 2 great places for this. Cinque Terra and Gimmelwald. I would personally plan a little longer for these two stops giving your family time to just sit on the beach, or sit and soak up the alps. The only stretch of your trip that doesn't make sense to me is Provence - Barcelona - Beaune. You're crossing France to Spain then cutting all the way back across France again. Maybe you should consider the Dordogne region or the Loire and Mt. St Michel instead?
Posted by
Wodonga, Australia
440 posts
Denise, I am concerned that you, and the girls, will overload and become jaded and cranky. Constant travel- arrive, unpack, sleep, pack etc is wearing. I am a firm believer in slow travel, with at least 4 days in a location, allowing days to do nothing much at all. Six weeks is quite a long time together with normal routine of time away from each other out the window. I'm all for family harmony with everyone having a say in what they would like to see.
Posted by
Atlanta
3262 posts
Hi Denise,
I agree with Jill and Pat. Especially for destinations like Berlin, Rome, Paris, Venice and London you need at least 3-4 days. In many cases, it takes a day to get to the next destination and settle in--then that leaves you only one day to see the sites--then you have to pack up and be ready to move on. I'd plan a combination of big city and then smaller town stays and cluster them to eliminate long distance travel between stops. I'd chose 10-12 of the places your family is most anxious to see. Good luck!
Posted by
southwest, Missouri, U.S.A.
1717 posts
Hello Denise. That is too many destinations for 42 days. And I do not see travel time between most of those destinations. I suggest : delete Rothenburg, Innsbruck, Berlin, Beaune, Strasburg, London. In ITALY, a traveler could make more efficient use of time by flying from Venice to Naples (sleep at Sorrento that night), and ride in train from Sorrento to Rome, Rome -> Florence ->Cinque Terre.
For travel in the countries that you will be in before ITALY, I would go Bacharach ->Switzerland ->Munich ->Prague ->Vienna ->Salzburg ->Venice. I do not recommend traveling in any night trains. I traveled in much of western Europe.