One Month in Europe

I think you'll find Switzerland about 20% pricier due to "overvalued" currency. Or maybe everybody else's currency got undervalued.

hi, you really need to get a copy of RS Europe, travle thru the back door. He has some really good info on all of the questions you seek. just an fyi. Travel is expensive. Period. i plan on what i want to do in the country before i go there. that way i know how long i will need in each place. you can do it, but it will depend on what you want to do/see. in my opinion, you can spend one month in any of the countries by itself if you choose to so you can add that to you mix. i have no idea on what floats your boat so i wont make recommendations on what to do/see in any of them. i think you will get more than enough recommendations from others. Since you picked more or less adjacent countries, train travel can be done and maybe inexpensive. im not that far east yet, but will be next year. compare flights vs trains and also look at travel durations. I see it as if im warming a seat on a plane/train, im not doing anything other than watching the world go by. try not to cross your path too many times or travel in a helter skelter pattern. think linear, circular or some fashion to minimze overlapping and backtrackinig. happy trails.

It's not the number of countries that's too high or too low, it's the number of places. For instance, if all you want to see in Italy is Venice, that takes a lot less time than if you also want to see Lake Como, Florence, Rome, the Cinque Terre, Pompeii, and the Amalfi Coast. You can certainly see parts of these five countries in one month, but you couldn't see all of even one in a month, so you will have to be selec-tive no matter what. Start by getting Europe Through The Back Door, as suggested above. This has lots of tips about "nuts and bolts" of travel, including how to plan an itinerary. Then start figuring out what places you want to see. For instance, of the five countries you list, what places are must sees for you? Or, what experiences did you expect to have in each? Are you going for countryside, cities, cuisine, Nazi sights, art museums, nightclubs, shopping, or something else? To get ideas about what to see, you can use guidebooks or videos (Ricks' videos are on Hulu and YouTube). continued..

continued.. Then, start thinking in terms of nights. Remember, two nights in a place equals one full day, not two full days. The day you leave to fly over and the day you fly back are lost, and the day of arrival is often a jet-lagged haze. Also remember that getting from place to place, even when they're are close together, takes a half day (check out, get to station, take train, get to new hotel, check in). If you have a longer train ride or are flying between cities, allow most of the day. Don't forget to put in some "slack time" to relax, do laundry, etc. Travel is usually easiest in a line or circle; try to avoid backtracking. It's often best to fly "open jaw" into one city and out of another. To find these flights affordably, use http://www.kayak.com/ and choose "multi city". Even if these flights "cost more" than a simple round trip, you save time and money by not backtracking. When planning the order of your cities, be sure your transit connections are logical (people often plan the order of their cities without making sure there's a way to get between them easily, then regret it later). You've chosen countries with excellent train systems, and buses will fill in gaps. To find train schedules, use the advice here: http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/db_tips.htm. If you're connecting far flung destinations (say, Rome to Paris), flying can be good. To look for flights, use http://www.skyscanner.com/

If you want to visit just one or two locations in each country, you can certainly hit those five countries in a month. A good "best of"/first-time itinerary might include Paris, part of the Swiss Alps such as the Lauterbrunnen valley, Munich, Vienna, and a couple of Italian highlights such as Venice and Florence. As for travel between, the budget airlines (e.g. Ryanair, Easyjet) make flying within Europe a lot more affordable than it was in the past. Trains are often the best choice for shorter distances, and overnight trains can be a good choice on some intercity routes (I've taken overnight trains from Munich to Venice and Zurich to Florence, among others). I second the suggestion to get a copy of Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, and also the Rough Guide First Time Europe. These books will give you tips for itinerary planning, modes of travel, and a lot more. Heck, I'd also get Let's Go Western Europe to get yet another perspective and more good backpacker info.