A friend and I are planning a 3-4 week trip to europe next May 2011. We are in our mid 20's,have both traveled overseas, and are looking to have a trip filled with culture, good food, and lots of fun nights out. This will be our first long trip and we want to make sure we are planning the most feasible and budget friendly itinerary possible. Any suggestions or comments are much appreciated! Plan: Fly out of charlotte nc to Paris - 5 days here(taking a day to adjust for jet lag) Flight from Paris to Naples. 3 days here with trips to sorrento and pompeii. Train from Naples to Rome. About 3-4 days in Rome. Train from Rome to Florence. About 4 days in Tuscany region with trips to Pisa and some time in Cinque Terre. This is where we start to get unsure of the best plan. We are wondering if we should spend a night in Cinque Terre area or is a day trip through the towns enough. We also plan to train from Florence to Venice with a few days here. At this point we are trying to get to Barcelona. We looked at train from Venice to Barcelona but it seems that it will take a good 15 hours, maybe more, with lots of train connections. I found some flights from Venice to Barcelona for about $80.00 usd on spanair but I'm concerned about luggage limits. Any suggestions on the best way to plan this portion of the trip? Once in Barcelona, about 3 days here, train to Madrid, with another 3-4 days and then sadly a flight back to Charlotte. We found open jaw tickets to include our flight to Paris, to Naples, and home from Madrid for about 1,100 usd and we thought this was a very good deal so we are looking to purchase soon but want to make sure our itinerary is a good plan before we do. Thanks ahead of time for your help and suggestions!
Posted by
Washington, DC, USA
571 posts
I don't think your plan is too rushed. Although you'll be doing a lot of planes and trains, I think you give yourselves time between to make it worthwhile. I'm going to guess you'll want that fourth night in Rome (if you can afford it) because it's an amazing city. Personally, I'd also sleep in Sorrento and make Naples the day trip rather than vice versa. And like the person before me said, once you get to Tuscany consider loosening your plans a little. You might want an extra day in Florence, or you might want more time to explore the hill towns, or you might want to rush to Pisa, but you probably won't know for sure until you get there. Leave some flexibility. Have fun.
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
This sounds like a pretty thoughtful plan, Ashley, but your post-CT plan raises some yellow flags. I'd just say, plan in a little slack so that something unexpected does not destroy this entire itinerary. And if you are tight on time, skip Pisa¶ To me, the $80 flight is a no-brainer. If you can't meet Spanair's 23-kg (!) limit you are packing much too much. Put it this way: pack light and your itinerary works. (Pack lighter still, and you will both be happier.)