Best way to plan a 4 country trip...

That's kinda open-ended, so it's difficult to give specific recommendations without knowing how long you plan to be there, when you'd like to go, what you want to see, etc. But here are some suggestions to get you started.* Fly into Germany and out of Greece or vice versa, to save back-tracking. These are called "open jaws" tickets, and can be found on most airfare websites under a heading like "multi-city" or something similar. * If you're journey is a year away or less, start checking those airfare websites like kayak.com, orbitz, etc NOW. Get a sense of what the baseline price is for airline tickets...then jump on the first good deal that comes along. That could come several months before you travel. Most of these websites can send you e-mail [INVALID]s when the prices change, but check back on a regular basis anyway. Flying Tues-Thurs is cheaper than on Fri-Mon. * Public transportation in most of Europe is excellent. Rail travel is especially good in Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. check the German rail website at bahn.de for schedules all across Europe. You may also find some excellent advance deals on train tickets on various national rail websites, but they're usually not posted until at least 90 days out. Once you lay the foundations for your trip, there are many on the board who can help you with that. * Consider discount airlines for the longer hauls and certainly from Italy to Greece. My personal tipping point is about 6 hours. Anything less and I try to take the train (which usually goes downtown to downtown) while anything longer, I try to get a good airline deal. whichbudget.com is a great site for discount airline flights, but be sure to read the airlines' rules regarding check-in and luggage limits. They can be very strict, and failing to heed them could cost you. * (continue)

(Continued) Get a good tour book covering each of the four countries you want to visit. Go to the bookstore or library and skim thru Fodors, Frommers, Rick Steves, and any others you spot, to see which appeals to your particular life- and travel-style. Don't worry about things like hotel recommendations or prices...they can change greatly, and there are lots of websites to look for accomodations, restaurants, etc.* From a philosophical view, keep your inter-Europe travel to a minimum....plan with the idea that you will be back. Far better to spend 3 or 4 days in one city, than a day in each of four cities. Any travel day is a virtual writeoff as a holiday, what with checking out of the hotel, getting to the train station or airport ahead of time, the journey itself, then getting to your destination hotel. So keep those to a minimum. * With that in mind, it would seem to me that, if you have three weeks, you may want to limit your travels to Germany, Switzerland, and Italy....and leave Greece for another time.

How long will you be gone and how much money do you have to throw at the project? I've spent a good bit of time in each of these countries and couldn't begin to 'explore' any one in two months (except maybe Switzerland (but I don't like it too much anyway except for the mountains). How much of the history of each country have you read? Do you want to talk to a baker in Italy and see what his/her problems are? Which of the languages do you speak? You need to give up a couple of clues about what you're about. A laundry list of 'must see' spots and a generic itinerary for each country based on X days is widely availabe in most travel literature.

jessi, it would help to have some further information about the trip you're planning. For example, how long will the trip be, what type of budget are you working with, what interests you in those countries and why those particular countries? In other words, what prompted this desire to travel to Europe in those four countries? ¶ Given your location, I'd suggest you take a drive up to Edmonds and spend several hours looking through the Guidebook Library at ETBD (it's free as I recall), talking to the experts there and if possible have a look at some of Rick's DVD's on each of those countries. ¶ The best method to "start planning" would be to pre-read the Guidebook "Europe Through The Back Door". That will provide you with a good foundation on travelling in Europe and includes a section on planning (be sure to read the "Rail Skills" chapter thoroughly). ¶ If you decide to buy any of the RS Guidebooks, note that some 2011 versions are available now, and others will be released shortly (the 2010 versions would also be fine, and I believe some of these may be "on sale" at the moment). ¶ When are you planning to take this trip? The previous suggestion from Norm on "open jaw" tickets is exactly what I'd suggest (that's the method I ALWAYS use). Getting around Europe by Rail is normally the quickest and most efficient method, although of course the rail system in Greece isn't quite as well developed (depending on where you'll be going). ¶ I was in all of those countries this year, and they're all fanstastic places to visit! Good luck with your planning!

You need to do reading and research. Then make a list of absolute "must-sees'. Which sights would you want to see. What do you want to experience- how much countryside, how much City. how much time in each. Then when you have this rough framework you will have a much better idea. And these guys can help you better.

WOW!!! Thank you all so much! We are so open at this point so it is vague. We could be gone a month..we have started picking cities to see...Starting in Germany.

jessi, some additional points to mention.... First, a month is NOT a long time for travel in Europe. In planning a trip, some "first timers" try and fit a huge number of destinations into a short time frame which generally doesn't work well. Also, it's VERY important to allow sufficient time to get between destinations, keeping in mind that it also takes time to check-in / check-out of Hotels, get to the station, etc. If you're using budget airlines, time to and from airports, security, etc. has to be factored in. Finally, you'll lose two days at the beginning and end - you'll arrive in Europe the DAY AFTER you departed, and you'll be jet lagged for a few days so probably won't be up to full "touring speed". The last day will be spent on the flight home. Cheers!

I agree with starting in Germany, jessi. Three weeks would just about get you around Germany, with perhaps a bit of Switzerland thrown in. Think of Munich, Bavarian towns, Bavarian countryside, Bavarian lakes, Bavarian castles, the Rhine, the Mosel, Aachen and its spas and equestrians, the Black Forest and its countryside and cities and towns and villages and spas, Cologne with the amazing Dom containing the bones of the three wise men, Frankfurt-a-M (ask Jo), Rothenberg, Nuremberg, Regensburg with the still going kitchen making sausages under the bridge since 1300, going back to Munich, jumping across the border to Salzburg - a wonderful place, Dresden, Thuringia, Heidelberg, Mannheim, Berlin. That's just to get started. I haven't said anything about the northern areas, or the northeast. Or Switzerland. -=- Can I suggest going to one area and having a good look around and planning to go back to another?

Of course, depending on the amount of time you will be in Europe on vacation,it will determine where you will have the time to go. Remember the transporation of going from one place to another will take alot of your vacation time. I was in Europe for the last 6 years for a period of 30 days and did alot. Last year was able to see, Frankfurt (arrival),Amsterdam, Hannover, Hamburg,Berlin, Wunsdorf, Cuxhaven, St Goar, Boppard, Koblenz, Mainz, Innsbruck, Hall in Tyrol, Verona, Florence, Arezzo, Lucca, Rome and Pisa, then Hall in Tyrol, Ulm, St Goar, Frankfurt and then home. Of course, when I was in Wunstorf for 9 days, did some day trips to the other near areas, then when in Arezzo, did day trips to the other areas that I wanted to see. It really depends where you plan to stay overnight, and for how long. It wasn't impossible to see these places and enjoyed all of them. I traveled by railpass for 30 days, but next time, maybe next year, will use car and train. Hope this helps. The main thing is to enjoy your trip and see what you want to see with keeping in mind you will be back. You can't see everything and we all need some downtime while there. I would recommend staying at least a couple of days in the places you want to stay, so you don't feel like you are constantly moving. Pick out the main cities you want to see or stay in and work from there. Many areas you can see by day trips. Have fun.

With the four countries in mind here, you need two months, at least. Since you intend on starting in Germany, (that would be my choice too), where do you want to visit, top priority...the southern area Bavaria, the eastern area near Berlin, the lower Rhine area and the north - Hamburg, Luebeck, Kiel, or the Frankfurt, Darmstadt, Heidelberg, Stuttgart? You said this is first time to Germany, then I recommend Berlin with a day trip to Potsdam, followed by Frankfurt and Munich or after Berlin head north to Hamburg. Depending on how many places you are visiting in Italy, skip Switzerland. Do you want to fly to Greece or take the ferry from Italy? Allow travel time for that trip. With only a month you'll need to be more modest in the final itinerary.

I suggest during your research that you start a document, maybe one for each country, and when you read some info you copy and paste it in. That will save you wondering "what city was it that had the sausage bridge?" and save you time searching later.

OK... I'm going to go out on a limb here and disagree, with 30 days, Jessi can do all the countries. No, they will not see EVERYTHING, but with four weeks, they can at least get a taste for all four. Start in Germany for one week, maybe just Bavaria, move onto Switzerland for a week, then Italy, focusing on Florence, Rome, and maybe a day trip to Naples or time in Tuscany. The remaining week can be for Greece- just Athens and one island though. Really, to say that Jessi needs two months is not doable for most people. And frankly, a week in each country will be enough time to get a taste and not be travelling too much. ALL AS LONG AS THEY DO NOT OVEREXTEND AND TRY TO GO TO TOO MANY PLACES!!!