Trip sequence, and flying back

Paul, I don't know which places in each country you plan to visit but personally I would choose the 2nd option you suggested. Fly from Ireland to Berlin then Prague, Austria (Vienna), Italy (cities?) - after that, depending on where in France and Spain you want to go, flying home from Paris or Barcelona.

Although I enjoy some fast-paced travel, I would just make sure you aren't trying to cover too much ground. You say you'll be in Ireland for one week, and Florence for most of another week. That leaves you with just over two weeks for your other travel. It could be difficult to do Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, and Austria in two weeks.

Thanks to you both. I guess it sounds a bit crowded after all. I will simplify. I know I want to go to Paris, my wife wants to go to Barcelona and Italy. After that I'm not that picky.

First time - I would probably hit the biggies - Ireland, Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin - three nights in each - then either 6 nights in Florence then 3 in Rome and fly home from Rome or 3 nights in Rome then 6 in Florence and fly home from there.

I know I added Rome, is there a reason you did not want to go there? if you are set against Rome you could spend three nights in Vienna then on to Florence.

Is there a specific reason for a week in Florence? Fantastic place and it is a great base for a few day trips either by train or rental car.

5 places in two-ish weeks is still a pretty hefty pace - many here will say too many - but I think it will give you a good taste of each place, enough time to see the highlights and to figure out if you want to return there at a future time.

Not sure if cost is a concern but you should check fares for flying home from different places - some are usually higher than others on most routes.

Also some of your interests art, architecture, history, food, etc... would help.

" I know I want to go to Paris, my wife wants to go to Barcelona and Italy."

In that case, I would skip Prague, Austria, & Berlin. I would fly from Ireland to Paris, spend however much time you want there (and/or other places in France, such as Provence), then transfer to Italy (Florence and what other cities you want), then finish in Spain and fly home from Barcelona. If you spread yourself too thin (distance wise) you'll spend too much time in travel time from place to place.

I'm with Nancy. i would wait on Norther Europe for a second trip. You have to accept that there will be a second trip. :) You could make a lovely trip out of a week in Ireland, several days in Paris, I'd take the train to Avignon and pick up a car for a few days of exploration of Provence--Nimes, the hill towns, Arles, St. Remy and maybe Aix. Then ditch the car and take the train to Barcelona. From there you can fly to Italy. That sounds like a lovely trip to me.

BTW one thing that stopped me from traveling to Europe for a while was my faulty belief that I had to have a month to make it worth while. And in the US it's hard to carve out a month off. You don't need a month. You actually don't even need two weeks, although my favorite time is two weeks with all three weekends you can have a lovely trip for a week. I've seen insane business travelers go from Dubuque Iowa to London and back in less than 24 hours. That was when I discovered that t week was quite luxurious! So, I'm sure you'll figure out a way to get back to Berlin, Amsterdam and Prague.

Pam

Paul,

i look at flights & costs for where ever im going. If its cheaper to fly in/out one way or the other and if it doesnt make a dif, then i go the less expensive - its a no brainer. But you have to do some homework to figure out those costs.

as far as how from what end to start/stop. i plot my places out on a map and see what comes of it. Usually once you plot out what places you want to go, some pattern will emerge, or not.

you can try and fit all into your schedule if you dare to, but it will depend on how you want to do things.

also, you both of you may want to sit down and figure out WHY you want to go and list/rank them in some order. that way you can blend the places and priorities.

happy trails.

Good advice from Ray to figure out WHY you want to go to certain places and how much time it will take to be satisfied. For example my DH really wanted to go to Pisa -- but after one hour he was done: see the tower, take some pictures, move on. I wanted to visit the Orangerie in Paris -- to sit in front of the Monet waterlilies for hours.

Thank so much to all of you for the valuable advice. I'm taking it to heart and reworking my trip based on your excellent suggestions!

You are on the right track. The advice is sound. I can't think of anything else to add.

I'd suggest buying a map (RS or Other) of Europe, post it on a wall, and start using stickers/sticky notes/markers of the places on your list. Then start looking into how long it takes to get from point A to B door to door (air, train, or car). Meaning from the time from the moment you leave your hotel, transit time to airport for train station, time waiting for flight or train, actual travel time, then time to hotel. If your travel time is 8 hours +, that pretty much eats up a whole day. If only 4 hours, then you have a good part of your day on either end, depending on when you depart/arrive.

Once you look at destinations geographically on a map with transit times, how you sequence your trip and what makes the cut will start to become clear to you.
Have fun planning!

Hi,

You have the basic problem of prioritizing, something has to be skipped for the next trip. Choose between western Europe incl. Ireland or Ireland and Central Europe.

Yes, you can fly from Dublin to Berlin, then go by train to Prague and Austria, but then no France and absolutely no Italy. In your case I would stick with Paris and Italy, as suggested above, maybe Amsterdam but save Berlin, Prague, and Austria or Slovenia for next time. Even taking the option of night trains and flying is not going enable you to visit everywhere. For example, you have to fly from Amsterdam to Berlin or Prague, or the other option is the direct CNL night train.

Hi again,

I have most of the trip scheduled, but we are leaving some leeway and wondered what folks thought.

July 9-16: Ireland
July 16- 18: Amsterdam
July 18-23: Venice for the Festa del Redentore, then meandering down to...
July 23-27: Florence
July 27- August 7: ?

This is my question. Leaving Florence, meandering to France, eventually going to Paris. We are flying back from Barcelona on the 7th. So that's 11 nights after leaving Florence, obviously a few nights in Paris and Barcelona. Any opinions on how to fill those days, a route to take? Would you do rail or car? My wife has been to Nice, does not want to return, despite the fact that she is an artist and loves Chagall, and likes Matisse as well. Also, from Venice to Florence, any suggestions on where to stop? Hug the Adriatic side? Thanks in advance, it kills me to not do Prague, and miss the Bowie exhibit in Berlin, but as I have heard, assume we will return!

When you think about the number of days you have left, don't count your departure day; that will be spent mostly dealing with the airport. Also figure you will lose almost a full day making transfers between distant cities. So if my math is right, that means you have about 8 days left.

Instead of meandering, I would take your remaining time and split it between Paris and Barcelona, possibly with day trips from those cities to other places that interest you. Paris offers a wide variety of day trips, depending on your interests.

Renting a car in one country and dropping it off in another typically carries hefty fees. Suggest you check skyscanner.com for budget European air fares to Paris and Barcelona. While the train is another option, Paris to Lourdes by train took almost 8 hours; Barcelona is even further. The deutsche bahn website is the best site for planning travel by train, although you'll need to go to the various national rail sites to actually buy the tickets.