Traveling to Europe next year for Oktoberfest. But wanting to visit other countries on limited time!

I hope I am not too confused. You have a week, and you want to visit 4 places separated by large distances.

FOMO: Fear of missing out. That's the key deal with travelers who have not been to Europe much. Assume that you will return.

You should select 1 of 2 places - Italy or Greece. In a week, it's madness to do both. A week can be good for Greece (3 days Athens, 3 days island/Nafplio/other) or Italy (4 days Rome, 3 days Naples).

I wouldn't try to squeeze Rome, points south, and Athens into one week. If Athens is absolutely essential, you'll need to fly in and out. Perhaps there are flights from Naples to Athens. If not, you'll need to return to Rome by train and fly from there.

I use skyscanner.com to check schedules and fares for intra-European flights.

Any good guidebook should detail how to travel from Rome to Pompeii and Positano.

Hi Jenny -
Congrats on your 10-year anniversary!
Some questions?

My husband and I will be traveling into Paris...We wanted to visit other countries being that we will arrive a week early before we head to Germany for Oktoberfest. The countries/cities we want to visit are Rome, Pompeii, Positano, then head to Greece tocsee Athens, and if possible other cities there.

It's unclear exactly how much time you are working with before you must head off to Germany. Are you trying to do Paris, Rome, Pompeii, Positano and Athens in just a week (which is definitely not going to happen, I'm afraid)? What's your plan for Paris?

Let me understand your plan clearly. You arrive in Paris, but also want to see Rome, Pompeii, Positano, and Athens, and be in Munich - all within 1 week? With 4 of those places being distant from each other. I'm sorry, but I think that even if it was physically possible, it would only be a blur of airports and train stations and the view from a plane or train window. With even the most optimal timing (hotel to hotel) you would only have, at best, part of an afternoon and evening in each place.

Look at Rome2Rio website for transportation options and estimated times between each of these places. Then add in at least a couple of hours to get to and from hotels and stations or airports. I think you need to be realistic and at least triple your vacation time or drastically trim your current plan.

Slow down (briefly) and relax a bit. You need to get some basics clear. Please reply with...

How long is your trip?
Have you already bought your flights yet? If yes, what are the dates you arrive in Europe and depart from Europe? And what cities do you fly in to/out from?
Where are you coming from (your home country)?

Need to know these basics before anyone can give good advice.

Thank you all for the quick responses, we arrive in Paris on September 11 and have to be in Munich on the 21-24th then leave Paris back to the states on October 1. I'm so sorry for the confusion. I can move the dates for Munich but really don't want to being we paid for everything already. So I would like to see Paris for a few days, then head to Rome and all the other places before Munich. We will still have almost 7days after Oktoberfest to travel, so this is why I was wondering what the options would be with this time frame. Thank you and So sorry for the confusion. I will be traveling from the Texas into Paris.

You're flying in from Texas. You arrive in Paris on September 11. Your trip begins in Paris on September 12.
You're departing from Paris back to the US on October 1. So your trip ends in Paris on September 30.

So you have about 18 days on the ground in Europe, not including your arrival/departure days.

In the middle of your trip, you need to be in Munich from Sept 21-24.

Assuming you don't "move" your time in Munich, your trip has three parts:
You have about 9 days after you arrive in Paris, to spend how you choose.
Then you're going to Munich (probably using most of a day to get there), in Munich from 9/21 to 9/24.
After Munich, you have about 4 or 5 days to spend as you choose. You need to allow one day to get back to Paris, and overnight there, to ensure you don't miss your flight home.

If it were me, I'd do it this way...
Upon arriving in Paris, push on to Rome (catch a flight later in the day).
Spend the next 8 or 9 days in Italy. Pick Rome and one other area - Naples, Sorrento, Amalfi Coast, Pompei.
Fly from Naples to Munich for 9/21 to 9/24.
On 9/25, train to Paris, spend your remaining time there.

I don't think you have enough time to hit Greece or elsewhere. This itinerary above is fairly aggressive already, if you try and squeeze in Greece, I think you would regret it.

Hope that helps.

Thank you so much David, this seems like a well thought out plan. The first time we were in Europe, we stayed about a month and we had family in 2 different countries. Had a bit more time during our stay in Europe.