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Indecisive 1st Timer - Suggestion Needed for Add On Countries

I am exceptionally indecisive about what countries/ cities to add on to my trip and could use advice. I leave in 11 days for my first leg of the trip that is already planned, but want to set the rest in stone by this weekend. I will be traveling solo and have two weeks (give or take) to explore. Never having been to Europe I booked the Mediterranean Trail tour with Contiki Holidays. Its 9 nights and stops to these places: Rome, Sorrento, Capri in Italy then to Corfu and Athens in Greece. My flight is currently scheduled to have a layover in Amsterdam for 2 nights then fly back to San Francisco, CA on May 22. However, I got laid off my job, found someone to sublet my apartment and want more than anything to experience more of Europe – BUT I just can't decide what to do! Here are my top choices: Croatia Austria Prague Cinque Terre, Italy Swiss Alps (Interlaken) Paris London Ultimately, I need to get back to the states. It would be ideal to have my last stop in a city that I can get the best flight rate. I'm thinking London? Much appreciated!
Lindsay

Posted by
2779 posts

Creating the initerary might be a bit tricky but I'd add Dubrovnik in Croatia and then probably some places further up the Croation Adriatic coast (e.g. around the Zadar area; Petrcane and Pudarica come to mind). Going to Vienna from there would mean diving into a completely different world. This can be interesting but allow for a couple of days to get re-adjusted.

Posted by
2 posts

Thank you Andreas! I will certainly look further into Croatia and those spots you mentioned. Transportation from Amsterdam to where ever I choose is also a fear of mine. On that note, an easy train ride or flight would be ideal. Although I would love to see all of these places, I assume cramming them into two weeks would not be the most enjoyable. With that said, if others have top choice cities and recommendations just as Andreas provided that would be helpful.

Posted by
2876 posts

<<It would be ideal to have my last stop in a city that I can get the best flight rate. I'm thinking London?>> According to farecompare.com, right now the 3 cheapest European cities to fly to from San Francisco are Warsaw, Copenhagen, and Madrid. London comes in 19th. But it might be prohibitively expensive to change your current ticket out of Amsterdam.

Posted by
33501 posts

This one boggles me. Are you saying 9 days, wind up in Amsterdam on the 9th day then days 10, 11, 12, 13 somewhere then fly home on day 14? Changing your flight from day 11 to day 14? Or are you saying 9 days then wind up in Amsterdam, forget your original flight and take two more weeks somewhere, then a new flight home on day 23? Or is it wide open, 9 days then go somewhere else for an uncertain time, completely cancelling your original flight? Any of those will have financial considerations and I would have thought that losing your job might have caused you to pull in your horns a little. I would have thought that indecisiveness costs lots of money. Hotels at this late date are likely to be top whack as are flights. Discount flights and discount trains will now be like hens' teeth. I wish you luck on this worthy endeavor but think that starting to plan 11 days out is cutting it a bit thin.