Novice Traveler-Need suggestions for big 1st Europe Trip!

First, get some travel books and start reading. Seriously. I could make hundreds of suggestions, but you'd end up taking Tom's Dream Trip, not Courtney's. Come up with a rough outline, and we'll help you fine tune it from there. You'll get far more responses if you ask specific questions.

Second, relax, two years gives you more than enough time to plan a trip.

I would go longer (3 weeks) for France, Italy, and Greece. Start at the top, Paris? and use trains to end up in Rome, then fly to Greece or take a cruise from Italy to Greece. Use open Jaws, fly into Paris or Amsterdam and fly out of Athens.
For your husband, keep an eye out everywhere for memorial plaques to resistance fighters, on walls, on buildings.
have fun

Well, I just ordered Ricks Books, Through the Back Door, Europe 101 and The Best of Europe. That should keep me busy for a while.
I like the idea of starting in France and then going to Italy then Greece.
I really appreciate the tips, keep them coming! :-)

If you read the books you referenced, and take the information to heart, I think you are in for one awesome experience. Those guides will certainly be the single most valuable investment you make, and a bargain at the price!

When we are planning a trip, we start with reading Ricks books and supplement them with other reference books. There is a lot of additional detailed info right here on this site from others that have "already been there and done that". A good place to start is reading Kent's 2 posts about how to search in this site and how to figure travel times.

Now that you've found us, just start reading. If there is something specific that you don't find, post away.

The books that you have gotten are a great start; what I really like is that he will point out the "must see" things in any area, and then add more ideas for if you have more time. I get bewildered with books that just list every sight without discriminating between them at all. Of course, that only works if you have similar tastes, but I have tested out some of Rick's recommendations and found that I agree.
I agree with the others who have said to read some and then ask questions, but I will make one plug; after hitting most of the major European countries/cities (some multiple times) I tell friends that if you can only go to one place, go to Rome (and venture out into Tuscany). The combination of history, art, architecture, great food and wine, culture, and the varied landscapes are amazing. Even if you aren't religious, St. Peter's and the Sistine Chapel are once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Of course, I teach art and am a chef, so I am biased. That being said, see what sounds fun in Rick's books and go for it. There are so many wonderful places, you really can't go wrong.
Happy planning!
Sally

I agree with the post that suggested you allow more than two weeks. Italy and Greece probably each need one week, and Paris plus Normandy (where your husband could see some WWII history) will take a week.

I think I'd start by asking yourselves what kind of trip you really want. In October, it may be too cold for splashing in the Mediterranean - but it will be perfect weather for climbing to the Acropolis (trust me, this is miserable in July!) Also, are you hoping to hit all of Italy? Or would you be content with sailing from Greece to Brindisi and then spending a few days in small towns like Sorrento?

Look into local passes such as the Paris museum pass that allow you to skip ahead of most lines (I'm not sure if Italy has something like this or not). With it, you can save days of standing in line.

Visit RailEurope for ideas on how much tickets will cost and how many hours it will take to travel via train.

Since you aren't flying until 2010, start looking at prices for 2009 and see which airlines are cheapest and which location is cheapest to fly in and out of; compare this with the option of flying "open jaw".

I've found that when travelling with my husband and with other family members that it helps for each person to make a wish list of the three things they absolutely have their heart set on seeing... then try to accomodate these first. Good luck!

Courtney,

All good comments so far, but I will definitely plug Europe Through The Back Door.

My wife and I were in much the same boat, except it was our 20th Anniversary, I had travelled within the US, my wife had never even flown in an airplane or been out of the Midwest. First trip to Europe, did 3 weeks, Benelux, France, Germany, and a dip into Italy. ETBD was invaluable in learning HOW to travel, not just what to see. Read it cover to cover and then scour this site for info.

I will add a serious note of warning. That first trip infected us such that now less than 10 years later we are planning our Sixth trip to Europe. You will be finding yourself saving pennies, vacation days, and planning out years ahead even after just one exposure.

I have spent a good amount of time in Greece and Italy, as well as Paris a couple times, if you have questions, just ask.

Courtney, if you need a break from all that reading, Rick's DVDs are great for watching and seeing what places take your breath away. I have all of his shows on DVD from his PBS series and I'm always lending them out to friends planning trips. They're a pleasure to watch and extremely useful in narrowing down choices. Many libraries have them if you don't want to buy.

We are planning a similar trip for 4 1/2 weeks in Sept 09, we are also not experienced travellers. Going to Italy, Greece, France, Turkey (Gallipoli), and a few days with family in the UK. My husband is also interested in WW2 history so we're going to include Normandy beaches. I'll let you know how we get on!

Courtney, as usual, the advice you've been given is spot on. One caveat: don't try to do/see too much. My wife and I did our grand trip in '98 to get married in Venice. We almost overwhelmed ourselves to the point of "OK, we've seen one more art masterpiece, it's time to move on to the next great experience."

We return to Europe at least once every year (now planning our UK/Czech Republic/Vienna trip) and have learned less is more. Some of our best moments are the "back door" interactions w/ locals. So, relax, drink some wine, people watch, and enjoy. Remember, there is always the next trip . . .

A good place to get more travel books and also a lot of Ricks DVDs is your local library. This way you can narrow down the places you want to visit and then buy the appropriate guidebooks.

My husband and I just returned from three weeks in Europe. Here are the things I will be changing BEFORE my next trip. Lose weight! Everything is harder for fat people. I was tired all the time--never got over the jetlag. Start a walking program now! You will walk your butt off which helps with the weight loss but still can leave you exhausted. Take an empty water bottle and fill it up everywhere you can. I don't think Europeans drink much water but you will need it to stay hydrated with all of the walking. Consider renting a car and getting out of the cities. The "off the beaten" path places were my favorites. Consider trading homes with complete strangers. It will save a ton of money, give you "insider" suggestions for tourist stops, let you mingle with the locals, easily do your laundry, and give you options for eating out. A trip to the grocery store in a small village can really be an experience. My most comfortable and relaxing time in Europe was when we stayed in one location and took day trips to three different countries.

If you have almost 2 years to plan your trip then you should start reading some books. My favs are Fodor's, Frommer's, Lonely Planet and DK collection.
Rick Steves' books are good for the novice travelers.
Also the internet is full of free advice.

In my experience, its better to try to limit yourself to narrow areas rather than trying to travel a big distance. I think London and Paris are a must see, especially for a first visit. I'd suggest 3-4 days in London and Paris each or you will feel cheated. You can take the Eurostar between London and Paris in 2.5 hours. From Paris you can get just about anywhere via train. Amsterdam and Frankfurt are each about 4 hours (I'd chose Amsterdam). Another option is Paris, Rhine/Romantic Road in Germany (with or without Munich), and Austria, either Salzburg or Vienna. From Vienna or Munich you can make a day trip or weekend to Prague within just a few hours.

If you have your heart set on Italy, consider taking a night train from Paris - they have direct service to Florence, Rome and Venice - its about the same price as a hotel and then you aren't wasting daylight hours traveling. I think Greece might take too much time to get to, unless you are flying (there are a lot of cheapie airlines so that is definitely worth looking into, try RyanAir or JetBlue). The concern I'd have about a cruise is that you spend almost all the time on the boat. Excursions in ports are only a few hours at best, so it is very limiting and you won't see much or interact with people who live there.

The biggest suggestion I have is to do some tour research. You may not want to take a tour, but it will give you ideas on how to combine things and get a sense for the minimum amount of time you need in a given area.

Hope you have a great time!

A WWII buff going to France should definitely fit in Normandy. And Paris would be my #1 recommended city in Europe for a newbie European traveller. Greece takes a lot of time to get to - 2 days by train and overnight by boat, so make sure you really want to go and it's worth the travel time investment for you. Italy is a fantastic choice for anyone - Rick's done more shows on Italy than any other country and for good reason. Reading Rick's books is a great way to learn more about the places in depth and help you decide where to go. "Europe Through the Back Door" is indispensible for planning and making the most of your trip. I also recommend looking at the DK Eyewitness travel books. Even if you don't buy them and just browse them while you're in the bookstore they have truly amazing color photographs of places that give you far more a sense of the place than black and white words on a page ever could. I supplement these books with Rick's books. They are very inspiring, great for planning, and even just armchair-travelling. They include history, culture, and food as well as the places and sights. I also like to watch Rick's dvds, over and over. I enjoy them so much when I next go to Europe I'll probably remember what he said about most of the sights!

Courtney,
Two weeks is not much time to see Italy, Greece and France. Traveling on your own is easy and relatively inexpensive; you'll be back. My favorite country is France because it's beautiful, the people are wonderful and it's almost impossible to get bad food or wine. Italy is very easy for Americans. The people are louder (like Americans) and the food is very familiar for most of us. I would leave Greece for another trip but I'll bet you'll also be back to France and Italy. Pick your favorite areas and allow yourself time to enjoy the culture and people watch. To save time you can catch an inexpensive Easy Jet flight from Paris to Naples and then take the train from Naples to Rome. It's very easy. Pick your favorite areas and let Rick's readers help you with the details.

I agree with those who say 3 countries in 2 weeks is Madness. Now I am a Grecomaniac (8 trips in past 10 years), but I had already experienced England, France and Italy in 2 trips ... but I would say, save Greece for your NEXT trip.

Try to see if you could get an "open-jaw" ticket arriving Paris, leaving Rome. If not, you could do a RT ticket to Paris and do the following:

4 days -- PARIS -- 3-4 Days
2-3 days -- FRANCE drive... to Normandy & back (for WW II stuff)

CHEAP Euro airline 1-way flight (Easy Jet etc) to ROME

3 days -- ROME ... then take train/flight to FLORENCE
2 days -- FLORENCE ... then train to Venice
2 days -- VENICE

Cheap Euro airline 1-way flight to PARIS ... then back to US
... Ooops! that makes 15 days!! Now, do you see how difficult it is to cram so much into 2 weeks??? I would try to manage 3 weeks, or at least 2.5 weeks.

At any rate, do NOT consider a cruise. A cruise is primarily a sea voyage for lazy people who only want to unpack once, who like being waited on, and only want a brief glimpse of a port town and some snapshots. it is NOT a way to experience a different culture. You're young & peppy ... save cruises for the Caribbean when you are old and crotchety.

Can I suggest Krakow in Lesser Poland. We have travelled in Europe several times now and as I am writing this post, we in Krakow Poland and being very surprised by how wonderful this town is. There is a huge and vibrant centre square in the Old Town which unlike Prague and Venice is not overrun by tourists. You get a real feel that it is a working town with several large universities. Consequently, there are numerous bookshops which are all excellent. The cafes on the main square are open in summer til midnight, some all night. Police presence is strong but in any case, you feel very safe in the centre. This is not off the beaten track by any means, there are horse-drawn carriage rides, walking tours etc. But you never get a feeling of being suffocated by the whole over-touristy feel. As for WW2 history, the main point of interest is the Jewish ghetto, the Prascow concentration camp, Oscar Schindler with his factory here and the nearby Auschwitz camp which you can tour and in fact we are going today. Apart from that, one of the only 5 Da Vinci Paintings in the world are located here. English is spoken but obviously only a few words often. The people I find engaging but real. And there are vestiges of communinism era which also make it interesting. Without doubt one of our top recommendations for Europe and a guaranteed point of conversation for years to come.

Hi Courtney.

At the risk of being slammed by all the independent travel, anti-tour people (just kidding), you might want to look at Risk's 14 or 21 day Europe trips.
They are a great overview of Europe. They will give you an excellent introduction to Europe and ideas where to go on your next trip. Because once you have gone you will go back.

I have taken 5 of Rick's tours and just love them. I have always felt that I have gotten a great bang for the buck and learned a lot about travel. The tours are small and the other tour members have always been a great deal of fun. There also has been at least one couple on each tour celebrating a birthday, anniversary etc.

I am not the type of person who likes planning the logistics, hotels, transportation etc. Once I sign up for the tour I spend my entire time researching the stops and what is at each. If you do like to do the logistics then this might not be the right option. But it is worth looking at.

Whatever way you go you will have a good time and you will go back.

Two years to plan will be plenty. We usually take one year to plan and by the end of that year, I am pretty tired of guide books, videos, and internet research. That said, spending a good deal of time researching both places that you want to go and accomodations is time well spent - you will be greatly rewarded by taking time to do your homework.

I would recommend spending more time in certain areas, and not racing around trying to see everything. For one, you'll simply have a better experience. You will also be less tired and will have more time. Moving around, waiting for trains and buses, and finding and checking into and out of accomodations really eats up your time.

Since this is your first trip, I would recommend Italy. You could easily spend five days in Rome, then move on to Florence, villages in Tuscany, and Assisi. Capri is unbelievably beautiful, and if you get down that way, Pompeii is excellent.

In 2007, my husband and I went to Italy for a month in Sept/Oct. We went swimming off the eastern coast of Sardinia and the water was just perfect. So, if you are considering anything involving getting in the water, October will probably be just fine.

If you can take more time than two weeks do so. If you can manage three or four weeks, you won't regret it.

Also, the day that you arrive in Europe, you will probably feel terrible from the jet lag and may not enjoy your first day so much. So, on that day, don't plan to see any major sites (like the Vatican Museum or something like that), but pick out smaller sites that you can walk to from your hotel so that you have an easy first day.

I too lived overseas when I was four and my wife was the novice. Now, she is the trip planner and I sort of tag along.

Not enough time in two weeks to see all of what you listed, so you and your husband need to pick what each of you really want to see. So you might want to extend the trip by at least a week or cut out something and stay focused on, say, only France and Italy.

Start in Paris - about four days at the beginning of the trip. Get the museum pass - well worth it. But mainly, get over your jet lag and excitement of being there by staying in a great city and enjoying what it has to offer. This is actually very important.

Next, visit Normandy. Not just the WWII sites, which, BTW, you as well as he will greatly appreciate. The whole experience is very inspiring and they have done an excellent job of showing how it must have been in the nice (and little!) museum there in Arromanches. Also stay in Caen and visit Bayeux to see the Bayeux tapestry.

Not for everyone but certainly an incredible site is Orodour-sur-Glane, near Limoges. This will effectively be enough for anyone regarding WWII events.

Taking a cruise to see Italy and Greece would be a pretty good way to do that for a first trip and you can easily incorporate both plans into a single trip with planning.

Lots of opinions and all of them valid. A structured tour is a way of seeing a great deal of Europe but very superficially. I agree with those who state that 2 weeks is barely enough to begin to cover one country, let alone 3 or 4.

If you would like an indepth visit, I would suggest you start your research deciding WHERE you would most like to visit. Once decided, let's say Italy, then pick you city(ies) of arrival and departure. Once that is established, research into a tour route can follow, ie. Naples, Rome, Florence, Venice and Milan. If you pick a country or two, post specific requests for info on Rick Steves and you'll be deluged with great info.

Your first visit to Europe will generally result in an attempt to "see and do everything". Try not to make that mistake. Stop and smell the roses...absorb all you can, enjoy the ambience, atmosphere, history, people. Take another trip in a year or two.