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Wow... so much to respond to here. Sounds like a good general itinerary on the whole if you aren't opposed to some long travel days.

I'll assume you already have a ticket flying into Dublin? I would look into flights from London to Paris because the chunnel (unless you really want to do it for the experience) is not cheap, even if you use the discount you get from your Eurail pass. If the flight from Athens to dublin saves you that much, then do it! Everything else will most likely be best handled by train with your pass. (you can really get into it by comparing the price of a pass to researching the price of using flights) Unless your heart is dead set on seeing Athens, I would consider eliminating it from the itinerary in favor of either staying in Sorrento and seeing the Amalfi Coast / Capri OR going to the Cinque Terre. These places may not have the ancient ruins that the Acropolis offers, but the overall experience will be much nicer. For your 3 days in Germany, Munich is a great place for 3 days, is somewhat on the way toward Venice, and has good day trip possibilities in seeing the Dachau concentration camp or Neuschweinstein (sp?) castle.

As far as your Eurail pass selection, i'm not sure getting the 15 consecutive day pass will be the most economical. Evaluate what countries you will be going through and see if buying ~6 days of a selectpass will work. It should be cheaper. Check the Railpass tab at the top of Rick's website for more info.

Lots of other great info is available in the Plan Your Trip section here too.

Enjoy your trip!

Jaimie & Tracy,

You've made a good start on your travel planning by reading Europe Through The Back Door.

"things that are a must-see!"

My first suggestion would be to check out some of the country specific Guidebooks to get ideas on what you might like to see in each of the cities you listed. It's difficult to suggest "must sees" for other people, as our interests and expectations may differ.

Does your two days in Dublin include the day you'll lose in travel? Also, you won't be up to "full touring speed" for a day or two in Dublin due to jet lag.

Is there a reason you chose Bern as your destination in Switzerland? You might also have a look at Lucerne or the Berner Oberland (Gimmmelwald).

Given that you'll be relatively close to the southern part of Germany, Munich would be a perfect choice. Three days is not a long time as there's lots to see there! It would be easy to spend the entire three days just in Munich, but as Andrew mentioned previously you might also enjoy a day trip to see Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau in Fussen ("Mad" King Ludwig's Castles). You can do that either on your own or as a day tour (check Radius Tours for details on the tours and the cost).

Be sure to pack light if you're using Euro budget airlines (especially RyanAir!) or you'll be paying excess baggage charges. Note also that only ONE carry on item is usually allowed.

In deciding whether to use the EuroStar from London to Paris, you'll also have to consider the time and cost in getting to & from the airports at both ends (probably Luton or Stanstead in the UK and CDG, Orly or Beauvais in France). That also applies to your flight from Athens to Dublin. Open jaw flights are usually a more cost effective method, even if the initial cost is slightly higher (and this also provides one more day of touring).

Good luck with your planning!

I would suggest skipping Dublin. If you're only going to be there for two days, one of which is the day you arrive, you're not going to see much. It would be much easier and cheaper to go straight to London and have a little time to get over jet lag and really see London and possibly take a day trip from London. There is so much to see there.

When you are looking at flights be sure to look at "multi-city" flights rather than just one-way versus roundtrip. You should find that a multi-city flight into one city and out of another (also called "open jaw") is cheaper than a one-way into one city and another one-way out of a different one. That being said, you can also come across great deals roundtrip to a gateway like London or Dublin, and take cheap flights from there to the other places you want to see, returning to the gateway city for your flight home.

When you say mid-May to end of June, it sounds like you have 6 weeks. But your days listed total only 25 days. If it's only around 4 weeks, then I'd say you probably shouldn't be trying to go to all these places. The time and expense of getting from Rome to Athens isn't worth it for 3 days in Athens. Go to Greece when you have time for some islands too. The Chunnel is expensive too.

Here's what I'd do.

Dublin - Paris (cheap flight on Ryanair)

Paris - Venice (cheap flight on Ryanair)

Venice - Rome (train ticket)

Rome - Bern (train ticket; but don't waste a lot of time in Bern. Nearby are Lauterbrunnern, Interlaken, the Schilthorn, etc. See Rick's suggestions)

Bern - Germany (train ticket; but I don't think you have to go to Munich, necessarily, which is out of the way from Bern. Try Freiburg and Tübingen, both University towns near the Flack Forest. Or try the Rhine - Rick recommends Bacharach but the choices here are many - where there are lots of medieval castles to tour.)

Germany - London (cheap flight on Ryanair; leave from Karlsruhe-Baden or Frankfurt Hahn, depending on where you go in Germany)

London - Dublin (Ryanair)

Castles on the Rhine: www.marksburg.de , www.burg-eltz.de

WW II museum on the Rhine: www.bruecke-remagen.de

I really don't think a railpass would be needed if you did it this way; check Rick's page with estimated point-to-point train costs once you pin down your ground travel.

I second Steve's recommendation- Rick Steve's is good for general information, but for your age group, Lonely Planet, The Rough Guide and Let's Go are probably better sources for lodging, dining, and nightlife recommendations.

Hi ,, how exciting.. but I would also suggest you look at a few other guide books and forums,, for your age and budget group you really should look at Lonely Planet ( forum is called Thorntree,, google it).

Anyways,, having been young once, and having done a big Europe trip with my friend when about your age,, I have a few suggestions.

Athens,, yech,, one day and no way would we do the ferry from Italy,, its long and you still have to get the train to Brindisi,, waste of travel time. You should look at flying from Rome to Athens,, look at Vueling, Ryanair, Easyjet etc.. ,, then GET TO THE ISLANDS!! I suggest you allow at least 5 days,,, more if possible. I would check out Mykonos, Paros, Santorini or Naxos. I would schedule that part of trip for May( its still pretty quiet in April)
We allowed 2 weeks for Greece and it was too short .

Dublin,, hmm, well, wouldn't be my first choice,, and as pointed out,, flights likely cheaper into London.

Eurostar is a great way to get from London to Paris, and book ahead,, its cheaper. Its city center to city center,, and only 2.5 hrs,, so fast and efficent.

I would not jump into getting a rail pass,,I would stream line your plans,,then look at point to point tickets

Have fun planning, and keep asking lots of questions,, and look at Lonely Planet,, and tripadvisor.com forums,, they are great,.

Think twice about Athens. The train-ferry combo from Rome to Athens will take 20+ hours. For me the best part of Greece are the islands. You are travelling a long way just to see Athens. I would consider saving Greece for your next trip and adding the extra days to other places.

I would either add one more day to Dublin or fly directly to London and skip Dublin. You will find that the first day of your trip you are tired from travelling and jet lag so you often don't see as much as you would like.

Recheck the prices on Open Jaws - keeping in mind that you save a flight plus a day of travel. Another option would be to fly from Dublin or London to Rome and then travel from Rome back to London/Dublin. A plus to this is that you are travelling north as the weather gets warmer.

In Italy, you will probably find point-to-point tickets cheaper than a railpass.

A rail map of Europe can be helpful for planning. These maps show the major routes and the duration of the journey in hours.

Let's Go will probably be your best resource for planning and finding budget accommodations.

You have a lot of large cities in your trip ... nothing wrong with that. However, many people like to break up their trip with visits to smaller towns. Cities are typically the most expensive places to stay.

Somebody suggested to consider flights rather than the Eurostar because Eurostar was not cheap. If you buy your Eurostar ticket in advance, you can get a good price that will be less than flying. Keep in mind, if you fly, you need to add in the cost of getting to and from the airport.

Enjoy your trip.

ha ha I see Laura and I were thinking alike..

and shes right about Eurostar,it can be very cheap,, cheaper then flying,, I have paid less then 60 euros return for some trips, and that is city center to city center!! Remember to consider costs of transportation to airports etc.
Buy in advance.

Agree with others on the Let's Go series. They were my travel bible a generation ago.

This site may be helpful:

http://www.eurocheapo.com/

MANY years ago,, like decades and decades,, I had the guide "Europe on $5 a day" !!!!!!!!!!!! I think it was a "lets go" book,, not sure,, but I wish I had kept it,, it would be a fun read now..

Pat, it was Frommer's Europe on 5$ a Day. In 1968 I went to Europe with that book. And I averaged $5/day for room and food. Some of it was on the grubby side, but I was a student and on a budget. The entire month, including airfare and Eurail Pass, came to $700-800. I hit about 8 countries. I never made a reservation, just jumped on a train when the mood struck. I fell in love with Paris. I ate where students and poor people ate. Some of my lodging was in hostels. Some was the low end of "budget." The same trip today would probably cost 10 times as much.

Jaimie and Tracy. Arm yourselves with a Let's Go book for lots of tips on saving money. Almost everywhere the bus is cheaper than the train--and slower. Don't hesitate to stay in hostels. You will meet lots of people and find more places to eat for very little. Use the grocery store for most of your food. Load up on food at breakfast when it is part of the deal. Sometimes B&Bs are a great deal, especially for two travelers.

Thanks Swan for correction,, it has been a long time.

For Germany, Munich would be your best bet.

For what it's worth ... don't overplan your trip. Have a general idea of where you want to go, and let the winds blow you around in between. You'll meet other young folks and maybe want to go with them someplace you hadn't thought of, or you'll learn of some festival or something; just be really flexible and the rest will take care of itself. Remember - you can always go back. I've traveled twice doing the eurail thing for two to three months each time and I never made hotel reservations until at a destination - always found lodging, food, new friends and great memories with very few problems. Youth hostels are a great place to meet others, and they have energy to them - I remember the ones in Salzburg, Austria and Arnhem, Holland to be particularly fun. Regular hostels are aplenty and not in the guidebooks - easy to find near all the train stations. Good luck.