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travel destinations between london and rome and transport ??

I am planning a trip in End May-End June for 4 weeks from India - London and back from Rome-India. I would be covering Paris, Switzerland and Italy for sure and need to decide on Spain, Austria, Check Republic, Amsterdam and Edinburg. Tentative plan for now:

Travelling with family (wife and 2 kids:10 and 6) Plan is to be in London on 27th May and return from Rome on 24th June. Total 28 days. Covering London (2-3 days), paris (3), switzerland (7) and italy (6) days for sure. Still need to pan for remaining 10 days. If I am coving Switzerland for sure, should I spend 2 days in Edinburgh as well. Asking because I am spending ~Rs 1000 per person for UK visa so better make use of it but don’t want to lose on days unnecessarily.

Also going to Edinburgh will make the return to paris costly. Also should I do Austria, Germany, Amsterdam and chech republic in remaining 10 days or should I add few more days in existing places and cover spain for 6-7 days

Need advice on the destinations to pick and route.

What I also need advice on is what should be my mode of travel after paris. Options:
o Eurail pass + local city passes
o Point to point train tickets + swiss pass + city passes
o Cheap flights
o Rental car
o Short term car lease
o Or a mix of the above

Eurail seemed like the default option but the more I am reading on blogs people say that you need reservation most of the time and that adds to the cost. Don’t know if eventually it will come out cheap or not as itinerary is not final. Also people were saying that eurail pass holders have limited seats which run out fast. Also not sure how effective it would be in Switzerland 7 day trip.

Should I take a Swiss pass and other trains direct or should I take a eurail pass and rental car in switzerland...too many possibilities.

Posted by
69 posts

That's exactly the problem. I had seen this and many other posts too but its still damn confusing whether for my itinerary what should be my mode of transport and if train then whether I should take a eurail pass or swiss pass or nothing.

Posted by
134 posts

I do not know why you need to spend so much time in Switzerland whereas you spend so little time in Italy. 3 days in Switzerland is enough.
If you come from London, I would take the Eurostar to Paris then take the thello train by night from Paris to Venice ( you may also decide to stop in Verona, town of Romeo and Giulietta) and from Venice you have direct fast train to Florence and Rome ( need at least 4 full days in Rome, 3 in Venice and 3 in Florence)
You may as well take the TGV from Paris to Milan.
Make sure you specify you are a family when travelling on European trains.

Posted by
69 posts

I am seriously thinking of adding Norway to my pla.
So it could be
London 3
Edinburgh 2
Norway 4
hamburg/Amsterdam 2
Paris 4
Switzerland 5
Venice 2
Florence 2
Rome 4

Pls suggest

Posted by
1994 posts

I suggest you plot the cities on a map. You have hamburg and Amsterdam combined, with a total of 2 days allowed to travel to and visit both. If you mean Hamburg Germany, it is hundreds of kilometers from Amsterdam. Even if you fly between them, you're not going to have time to visit either city.

Also, I suggest you calculate the travel time between cities because I don't see that you're allowing enough travel time. You will lose one-half day to a full day of touring every time you change cities. With the number of places you want to go, you will see mostly the inside of trains, planes, airports, and train stations. But obviously, travel preferences differ.

Posted by
69 posts

I actually meant either amsterdam or hamburg.

I am getting inclined towards the following plan

london (3) - edinburg + isle or skye (2) - norway (4) - amsterdam (2) - paris (3) - switzerland (7) - venice (2) - Siena (1) - Rome (4)

Pls suggest modifications to it and transport plan.

Posted by
16893 posts

OK, this is some useful detail that was missing from your several other questions. But it's clearly not yet a firm plan. Please read carefully my answer about rail passes. Both kids will be free with any rail pass, or will usually pay half price for point-to-point train tickets. You cannot make any meaningful rail pass comparison until you make some more trip decisions. At the very least, try to narrow down the countries. If I had 4 weeks to spend in Britain, France, Switzerland, and Italy, I would not add any other countries.

Is there any significant factor that will prevent you from making some firm reservations and purchases soon? For instance, have you already received the visas?

Posted by
69 posts

No visas or hotel or transport bookings yet. Only the main flights I have booked. From the plan I just wrote above I can remove Amsterdam and all a place maybe in Italy.

With kids along, we are more into nature than art and architecture. Why do I need more that 2-3 days in London and Rome.

Posted by
693 posts

With kids, London is one of the best cities in the world. It easily justifies 4-5 days at a minimum

Natural History Museum
Churchill's war rooms
changing of the guard
Hampton Court, including the maze
The Tower of London
Greenwich
London Eye
watching a football match
Imperial War Museum
Science Museum
etc etc