Traveling Europe with my sister

You might start with this quick excerpt from the RS 3 part travel series, European Travel Skills.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUHLCobRgaE
How much time do you have?
What is your budget?
If you can do the whole shebang, start with a flight to Ireland and work your way south. Ireland, England, France, Germany, Poland, Italy, Greece. You can use trains and ferries through to Poland, then jump to Italy with an airline flight. Getting to Greece could be by ferry, but a flight is probably better. Fly home from Greece.

The hardest part is realizing that you can't see everything, keep in mind that you will certainly be back, so what you skip this time is the start of your list for next time. Europe is big and it takes time to get from place to place - the more you move around, the more expensive it is.

What kinds of things interest you? There are tons of museums (not just art), churches and majestic cathedrals, centuries of history, some beautiful scenery, diverse night life and more. Use the library and the internet to explore these countries and decide what most attracts you. How long will your trip be? For a start, figure one country for each week (no more than that). Small towns are often as interesting (and cheaper) than big cities.

So, first choose your destinations. Look at websites like hostelworld.com and tripadvisor.com to get an idea of room rates. Next, see how they are connected (train/bus/plane). Use rome2rio.com for that. Try to plot a route that moves in one general direction. Figure that every move uses about 1/2 day, so leave enough time to see and do stuff in each place you stop. The last thing you want to do is book your flights to/from Europe - that locks you in, so you want to be sure of your route. Plan to fly "open-jaw" (returning from a different city - like into Dublin and home from Athens). Use the multiple-destination option when you look at airlines.

When you have an idea of the places you most want to see and how much time you have, let us know and we'll help you work it out.

How much time do you have? If you're nt in a rush I would suggest getting the Eurostar from London to Paris, it's a little more expensive than flying or getting the ferry, but it's a fun experience and takes you right into the heart of Paris. You can get tickets here
Once you've made it to France you can travel around mainland Europe by road or train. Can you drive?
If you can I'd recommend getting a caravan while you're in France, there are lots of sites in the countryside where you can park up over night. Ocotober will be a bit cold for camping, so a caravan would be a good way to travel around the country, and see the countryside! I did it last year with my husband, we got our caravan from here . It was so much fun! Here's a list of places where you can stay http://www.campingfrance.com/uk
Once you've explored France head over to Germany and then get the train to Poland, it doesn't take that long and is alot of fun. For Germany I've only ever been to Berlin (which is an amazing city), I got the train from there to Poznan in Poland, which is worth checking out, it took about two hours.
You might want to fly to Greece, as it would take too long otherwise. You should definitely check out some of the islands in Greece, here's some of the best.
Hope that helps? let me know if you want to know anything else. Do you know the travel guide the lonely planet? I find it a pretty useful resource for travelling: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/

Greece is the country that geographically is the most remote and unless you are very lucky with the weather, then October is not the time to visit. October is not a common time for Europeans to be backpacking. Work north to south to try to make the most of the weather and the diminishing daylight hours. Do you have 2 months?

Fly open jaw. You should check out Lonely Planet for ideas. There are some large countries on your list and unless you are just going to skim the surface of each capital city, you need at least a week in each and this would be a very rushed itinerary.

In order to spend less money, travel around less, as this costs both time and money. Moving locations will take at least half a day. You are young and will have time to return.

Cheap airfares for this period such as Easyjet have been available for months and they only increase in price as time goes by, so book asap once you have nailed your itinerary. Often, trains are quicker and cheaper. Use rome2rio.com to plan routes. Use booking.com and Airbnb to find accommodation and check out the hostels eg YMCA in London.

Berlin is a good value city with plenty to keep you occupied. France and England will be more expensive, but in London, most of the museums and galleries are free to enter. Italy will be your most expensive destination. Avoid Venice, as this can't be done on a budget. If they could charge you to breathe the air, they would!

Plan the odd down day, where you just have a break from each other and chill, rather than charging round the continent. Enjoy!

I think they only have the one month - October - so I'd just add that it's important to realistic about what can be done in that amount of time. Covering counties is a very different animal than just cities: London is not 'England', Rome is not 'Italy' and Paris is not 'France', if that makes any sense? Within each country is a variety of unique regional cultures, histories, architecture and whatnot. You could easily spend the entire month in just about any country and just barely get to to know it.

As mentioned, the more moving around you do, the more time and money you'll spend on that versus having fun! So really think about what interests both of of you, do a LOT of reading, and then choose which locations are the best fit. Settling into a base city which offers good transport options for day trips can be really nice as it allows you some flexibility to work about weather and other complications, such as a day of traveler's tummy. Very tight itineraries increase the chances of all sorts of wrenches in the machinery.

Like everybody above: don't think in »countries«, but in »places«. Realise it is a trade-off between seeing a lot of places superficially or less places more in-depth. Make a coherent journey through adjoining countries. It keeps down your travelling expenses, and gives you more feeling for where you are. Don't stay in larger cities only, but plan in some smaller provincial towns or countryside. And, most importantly, keep something on a list for a future visit.
Get yourself some travel guides at a library or a second-hand webshop. Make yourself acquainted with the pan-European railway planner of the Deutsche Bahn (www.bahn.de/p_en/view/index.shtml) to get a first impression of travelling times.
With your list of countries you're interested in, you could start in Poland, with Kraków as a first base. After another stop in Poland (e.g. Wroclaw) you can continue to Germany, where dozens, of not hundreds of interesting places, larger and smaller, await you. The route Dresden, Nuremberg and Karlsruhe brings you already to the French border. Have ample time in Paris. Go the south east, e.g. to the Provence, where you can have a good taste of Roman remains. After one or two days enjoying Genua (Genova) you could end up in Florence, or maybe spoil yourself with Venice.

Thank you all so very much for the kind words and advice! I will definitely keep all of that in mind while I am planning. Once I figure out more of an itinerary, I will be sure to share it with you all. Thank you so very much again. I am very thankful for your responses!

You should start by getting Rick Steves Europe Through The Back Door and reading the whole first part. It has all the nuts and bolts of travel - getting to Europe, figuring out an itinerary, getting around, money, food, communication, etc.

The second half of the book has information on some of his favorite places, and his country-specific books have more information. You should also look at as many other books as possible for your destinations, to get other opinions and ideas.