5 countires in 33 days

Lilly: Your travel itinerary is a little overwhelming, as you're looking to go so many places. Europe is so full of history, architecture and culture that it's best taken a little slower. You should consider traveling in a manner that provides the path of least resistance. Few travelers use Eurail passes these days. You might do best to break your trip up into two segments of 2 weeks: Spain/France and Switzerland/Italy. Spain is much larger country than most people realize, and it's a full trip to itself. Portugal is simply out of the way for the time allotted. Example: Lisbon to Barcelona is almost 800 miles. Have you considered flying into Barcelona open jawed and taking a train up to Madrid? You can fly very cheaply from from Madrid to Paris on EasyJet.com. You can travel by train to Switzerland or take a flight into Geneva or Zurich from Paris. The train trip through Switzerland into the Lake Como section of Northern Italy is very scenic. Venice is easily reached by train after transferring in Milan. From Venice, you can easily travel by fast trains to Florence, Rome and down to Naples/Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. You can get back to Rome by train, as flying out of FCO is much preferred. Good luck, and enjoy planning the details of your trip. There is very good travel information on this website, especially in the To The Boot section (Italy.)

France we have 5 days - 3 days in Paris. where would you recommend 2 more days?
Spend all your 5 days (4 nights I assume) in Paris, it is a city with enough attractions to keep you busy for more than a week. Spain we have 4 days - should we go see Madrid and Barcelona only? Not interested in partying, just want to experience Spanish culture. You can't experience the culture in just 4 days. Pick either Madrid or Barcelona, stay the whole time there, than take one or two day-trips to nearby places (Toledo and Segovia from Madrid, for instance) Italy we have 11 days - We want to see Rome,Florence, Pompeii, Venice. Would like to include Lake como as well. Use the Portugal days here. Drop either Pompeii or Lago di Como. Switzerland we have 4 days - We are thinking of Interlaken and Zurich or Bern. Base yourself in Bern and take day-trips from Bern to other places in Switzerland.

As for best way of travelling between countries, you should buy point-to-point tickets with advanced purchase discounts for Italy and Italy-Switzerland travelling. Do the same if you decide to decide to travel between Barcelona and Madrid. Fly in and/or out of Portugal from/to anywhere else, and also fly between Spain and Italy/Switzerland, and between Madrid and France if that is the case.

Lilly, As this is your first trip to Europe, I'd highly recommend reading Europe Through The Back Door prior to your trip. I'm not sure if it's available "down under" but you may be able to download the E-book version. The country or city-specific Guidebooks will be invaluable in planning your touring, hotels, etc. It would help to know whether you've currently bought air tickets or made any other arrangements? The route you've planned could be "streamlined" for better efficiency. Also, using open-jaw flights would be a really good idea, considering the area you're covering. A few comments on the places you listed.... France - I'd suggest 5 days in Paris, with perhaps a day trip to Versailles. You'll need to recover from jet lag, so won't be up to "touring speed" for a day or two. Spain - I'd suggest adding a few days and starting in Barcelona and then Madrid. Use a budget flight from Paris rather than rail, perhaps EasyJet from CDG to BCN. Portugal - this is somewhat of an "outlier", mostly because of transportation, especially for just 3 days. I'd suggest skipping it. Italy - given the number of places you want to visit, adding a few days here would be prudent. Adding a day or two to Lago di Como (Varenna) should be possible. Switzerland - even though it's "between season", a visit to the Berner Oberland should be possible, but not sure what the weather will be like? Rather than Zürich, you might consdider Bern and Lucerne. I doubt that a Eurail Global Pass would be cost effective, especially in Italy? I'm sure an efficient route could be worked out, but if you've already made arrangements that may not be possible. Good luck with your planning!

Late April is a difficult time to visit the Berner Oberland, where you have outlined Interlaken. It is after the ski season and before the summer tourist season. I haven't used the websites to check but it would be worth your time to do so to find out which lifts and attractions will be open. Many hotels and B&Bs will be closed. Could you consider something completely different? Have you considered the Netherlands and Keukenhof Gardens where the bulbs will be in their prime? If you want to get to both Lago di Como and Pompeii you may find yourself stretched. You might ditch Como and concentrate on Southern Italy, perhaps basing in Sorrento to see Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast - the time of year is good for both. You are talking about covering a vast amount of ground. The suggestions to consider intra-European budget airlines are worth consideration. While Eurail Global passes are rarely suggested here because of the difficulties in obtaining and paying for all the mandatory railpass reservation fees given the huge distances, if you elect not to fly, it just might pay in your case. You'll need to do the maths and factor in the prices of the very cheap non-changeable non-refundable purchase 90, 92, 120 days in advance tickets which do lock you into specific trains but can save wheelbarrows of money. It will come down to your preferences, and I know its a long way from Oz to Europe, but do consider seeing a few fewer places and seeing them in more detail... OH - - I just noticed you will be in Spain for Holy Week. That may slow you up a bit. Happy planning

Lily i concur with others, you should spend all five days in Paris, first of all you do not really have 5 full days , you first day is a bit of a write off, getting to hotel , checking in, recovering from jet lag etc. So four days , and perhaps you could fit in a daytrip to Versailles( easy to do ). Spain, I would choose one place. Portugual, too out of the way, add those days to Italy or Spain ( if you wish to do Barcelona and Madrid its more realistic with 6 days ). Italy, well its not my fave so I could do it in 11 days. Switzerand is so beautiful, but rememeber it may be too early to hike some trails there can be snow on them till late May .

Late April-early May is the absolute worst time to visit the Alpine regions of Switzerland , for the reasons outlined by the other posters. If you're going to shell out the money to visit one of the most expensive countries in the world, get the best value for your money, and do it at a time of year when it can be most enjoyed: December-March for winter sports, June-September for summer hiking.

Don't forget to factor travel time. It takes longer than one thinks - often the better part of a day to get from one place to another. Consider packing up and checking out of a hotel, getting to either train station or airport counting the required time for checkin for flights, and the same time alloted for arrival. I find that frequently you lose a day. Also, you really can't plan to do much on a travel day unless it's a short distance. It is also best on a tight itinerary to have your hotel reservations made in advance so that you don't have to spend even more time looking for a room. I have done this kind traveling and know what to expect. Make sure you don't push yourself too hard, especially for your first trip. Like Rick says, plan to return. Barb

Thanks for all the inputs, it was really helpful. We have decided to drop off Portugal for this trip and reshuffled our itinerary. We will be basing ourself in one city most of the time and travelling around from there to avoid too many checkin-checkouts. We also wont be taking the Global Eurail pass, and just by individual train tickets or flights. Mar 24 - 28 - Barcelona, Spain Mar 28 - 31 - Fly from Barcelona to Nice, France. Stay in Nice. Maybe visit Monoco Apr 1 - Apr 3 - Get a train to Florence, Italy from Nice. Stay in florence. Visit Pisa if possible Apr 4 - Apr 8 - Train to Rome from Florence. Stay in rome. Visit Pompeii as a day trip Apr 9 - Apr 10 - Venice Ap 11 - Milan Apr 12 - Apr 13 - Train from Mialn to Lucernce. See Lucernce Apr 14 - Take fast train from Lucernce to Chur. Take Glacial Express from Chur to Zermatt. Stay the night in Zermatt Apr 15 - Apr 16 - Train to Bern. See Bern Apr 17 - Apr 19 - Train to Amsterdam from Bern, See the city Apr 20 - Apr 25 - Train to Paris, see Paris
Apr 26 - Fly out of Paris I know there are certain days with too much cramped in esp around Switzerland, but we do have some rest days as well. We are yet deciding if a stay in Milan is necssary to break the journey from Venice to Lucerne , or can that day be used as an extra day in Lucerne.