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Two months Europe itinerary.. Please HELP/COMMENT!!

Posted by (San Francisco, CA, USA) on

after carefully reading lots of the wonderful tips on this board, doing some research and given my itinerary a lot of thought, here is my dream itinerary I'd like you guys to comment on.. I am very open to suggestions of places beyond the big cities.. note that I am only doing a few cities up in the North since money IS a consideration and I'd much rather stretch it in two weeks worth of exploring and fun than 4 or 5 days in one place.. which brings me to a question.. London.. to go or not to go?? honestly, I didn't love London the time I went there.. so I've wanted to go back and give it another try.. though I know it's very expensive.. particularly on early August.. should I just skip it and start my trip out of Paris, Amsterdam or Frankfurt (I am flying over seas with miles and am pretty sure I could fly into one of those places - just need to decide quick before booking my flight)? I definitely want to do Amsterdam and Paris though..

SFO/ London on Aug 05th
Lisbon/ SFO on Oct 20th
** DETAILED ITINERARY DOWN BELLOW**

about myself, 38yo brazilian gay man living in San Francisco.. I am pretty much into sightseeing, museums, sites, cultural sites, but above all I like to 'feel' the city and the way people live.. sometimes I'd much rather spend an afternoon wondering around a busy neighborhood than spend hours in a museum.. I really like to have a feeling of the locals.. not a heavy party guy.. I am searching for some sort of a 'sophisticated' backpack trip.. don't think I can do the hostels though.. so I am aiming for some sort of bed and breakfasts, guesthouses, pensions (love them!!) and cheap hotels..

thanks a lot and I look forward to hearing your comments/ questions/ critiques/ suggestions.
bless you all!!

Posted by
11507 posts

Hi Alex,,
Well I am a bit of a "itinerary cutter" less is more type of person. I think you have 18 places listed, and that averages out to about 3.5 days per place,, but does not figure in travel days.. so really,,, time to trim...LOL

I can't comment on all the places you want to see, since I haven't been to all of them, but, I think Rome and Paris deserve at least 5 or 6 days each. To keep budget reasonable I agree that south tends to be cheaper then north. If you didn't love London,, fair enough, but you could spend a few days there , daytrip out to Oxford and Bath, maybe even Brighton,, and then Eurostar or cheapo flight to Paris. Eurostar is cheap if purchased well in advance, so you may find a flight cheaper at this piont. Pack light to use cheapo airlines.

I will add that I loved the Greek Islands, I only went to Mykonos and Paros, but they were really wonderful. Athens was not my favorite place( ok, didn't like it). I went to Greek at end of September , into first two weeks of October, and still found great weather then.

If you go to Greece I would skip Cinque Terre though, or vice versus, they are both "beach and relaxing" type stops,, so in interest of time why do both.

Posted by
16 posts

PAT, thanks for replying and sharing your thoughts...

here is a break down of my itinerary.. this is all in planning still so nothing is set in stone.. my doubts at this point are London, Vienna, Firenze and choose between the 5Terre and the South of Italy.. or Greece.. like you suggested..

since I am arriving in Europe at the beginning of August (is this a smart choice?!).. in order to try and save some money I'm planning on booking and reserving the first (and most expensive!) cities of my trip.. by them it will be September and I should be able to have a bit more flexibility (and better deals!)..

in regards to Greece.. how expensive/ unrealistic it is for a one week island hoping? I am not necessarily interested in doing the most "touristy" islands.. definitely Mykonos though (for obvious gay reasons!!..

SFO to London on 08/05 - arrive London 08/06 - 2pm
?London - 4 nights - fly or train to
Paris - 6 nights - a couple of day trips (Versailles.. ???).. from here trains or flights? whichever cheaper/more reasonable to..
Amsterdam - 4 nights - day trip to Brussels
Berlin - 5 nights - a couple of day trips (Hamburg.. ???)
Prague - 5 nights
Krakow - 3 nights - day trip to Auschwitz
Budapest - 3 nights
?Vienna - 4 nights - day trip to Bratislava
Venice - 2 nights
?Florence - 2 nights
Rome - 5 nights
5 Terre OR Amalfi Coast/ Sorrento/ Naples/ Capri - 5 or 6 nights? - fly? to
?Greek Islands - 6 nights - or some other sunny retreat/ vacation of vacation - fly to
Barcelona - 3 nights
Madrid - 4 nights
Sevilla - 2 nights
Lisbon - 4 nights
Lisbon to SFO on Tuesday 10/20 @ 11:30am

*I've left a few days open for transportation time and some flexibility...

what do you guys think? too long in some cities? too short in others? I feel like I'd like to explore more Italy, Spain and Portugal though.. day trip suggestions?? I tried to keep the weekends in the main cities for some of the social/gay scenes.. ;-)

thanks!!!!!

Posted by
16 posts

UPDATE!!

I've decided to go ahead and book a hotel in Amsterdam just to be safe.. I might rethink this and choose for a day or too in Rotterdam on my way from Paris before I buy my train ticket.. - is it worth it?? for how long?.. how about as a day trip from Amsterdam?.. doable?.. - .. or I might just go straight from Paris to Amsterdam.. I'll be already coming from a weekend in London and one in Paris.. so it will be a nice break in a beautiful city to get some rest.. let me see what you guys suggest..

a few quick updates about my trip.. sort of where I am right now with it..

now I am gonna start looking for train tickets to go from Paris to Amsterdam.. I think I should make a decision about Rotterdam first.. also, not sure wether I want to book train and accommodation for Berlin just yet or wait till I get to Amsterdam.. and just go with the flow from there.. it'll still be August though... should I be concerned about missing all the best deals for transportation and accommodation??

thanks!!

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