Hi Im newbie here ... jus browse through the Europe thread but saw the last post was somewhere in mar'09, gosh.. tat was age ago .... is this site still working as i need some advice from fellow travellers.
Heh, that's the 9th of March (e.g. today), not March 2009. So yes, the forum is very much still active.
ahhh ..... hehehe.. my mistake ... sorry ... :D
Basically it’s my 1st time travelling to Europe and the longest backpacking that I have. After doing so much study & reading review of how to travel Europe recently, narrowing down from country to city to places of interest. I was thinking to travel through a path in order:-
Fly from Malaysia to London (return)
UK
3 days - London (include Bath & Stonehenge day trip)
1 day - Liverpool (day trip)
3 days - Carlisle & Edinburgh (Friends)
2 days - Dublin (Friends)
Germany (Should I skip Germany & go to Austria or Budapest - Hungary)
2 days - Berlin / Munich / Black Forest
Netherlands
3 days - Amsterdam (Friends)
France
3 days - Paris (Friends)
Spain
3 days - Barcelona
Italy
3 days – Florence (include day trip to Chianti, Cinque Terre)
2 days - Rome
2 days - Venice
Greece
2 days - Athens
3 days – Santorini (Diving)
Total travelling date from 3/6 – 9/7 is about 37 days. As the flow above already fill 30 days, still have spare 6-7 days for the time I lose during travel from city to. Heard about Budapest is very nice. As you can see that I’ll be able to save some coz have friends staying in Carlisle, Dublin, Amsterdam & Paris and they will be touring me too. Other places will all be on my own.
It’s still a lose plan, and willing to change number of days or place to visit and might change the route during the travelling period. Need guide on how to traveling from city to city, it can be coaches, trains, etc … whichever is convenient & cheap ofcourse.
In fact, I already done quite a comprehensive on how to walk around to places of interest to visit for cities I’ve stated here, after looking at it … seems like too much of churches & museums. Wanted to post it here but it’s gonna be long list. Which museums is a must visit?? Would appreciate if can do other things else rather than just visiting building. E.g: go for an event or festival, concerts, etc … I’m a Liverpool fan and wanted to watch Liverpool playing but too bad the season is close during that time.
Any advice or technicalities etc that could come about on such a journey would be appreciated.
By the way … I’ll be travelling solo, thus might change the route during the travelling if I meet any traveler and follow them. However, at least I have my own itinerary 1st.
Thanks.
From Barcelona to Florence is a LONG journey so i'd suggest chilling in Nimes or Avignon for a few days along the way- they are really beautiful towns & it's an unmissable area in my humble opinion.
I hope you realise that this initiary is completely crazy? You are racing all over Europe and if you are not careful you'll suffer from the "today is Tuesday so this must be Paris"-syndrome.
To have one(!!!!) full day in a city you need to plan on having 3 days there, spending 2 nights.
Cities like London, Berlin, Paris, Rome etc definitely deserve at least 5 days (which in my book means 6 or better 7 nights sleeping there) and even then you'll feel that there are things you missed.
3 days - London (include Bath & Stonehenge day trip)
Utterly unrealistic. I suggest 4 days London plus 1 day Bath and Stonehenge trip, 5 or 6 nights sleeping in London.
Germany (Should I skip Germany & go to Austria or Budapest - Hungary)
2 days - Berlin / Munich / Black Forest
To see Berlin, Munich and Black Forest you need at least 14 days, 21 would be better. Impossible to do in 2 days. Better use those 2 days for London or Paris.
3 days – Florence (include day trip to Chianti, Cinque Terre)
Forget it. If you like art you need at least 4 days in Florence alone, if you add Cinque Terre, Chianti and Tuscan villages 7 days is more realistic.
Spain
3 days - Barcelona
Barcelona is a great city, but I think you won't have time to see it. With your crazy initiary your time would be better spent elsewhere. If you skip Barcelona you won't be wasting 2-3 days travelling from Paris to Barcelona and from Barcelona to Italy.
Greece
2 days - Athens
3 days – Santorini (Diving)
I think you underestimate travelling times here. Check how long it takes for the ferry to get from Athens to Santorini and back and you'll see that you need 7-8 days to make your plans for Greece happen.
hehe ... ofcoz im not tiring to burn myself out for the trip ... thanks so much for your advice maia ... will rearrange my itinerary again ....
I agree with above. I made the mistake of trying to squeeze in everything I've always wanted to see in 1 trip and it was so tiring. By the end, I didn't even have the energy to enjoy most of it. That is a massive trip for that time-frame. You need to cut some destinations or extend your stay...
UK
- if you can't watch a soccer game, what will you do in Liverpool? Would be better to save this day for London or use it as a day trip to Stonehenge & Bath.
- London needs at least 4 days and that's barely enough.
Germany
- with only 2 days, would it be better to use this time for London or Paris? Paris definitely requires more than 3 days!
France
- *Paris needs 5 days. If can stay with friends, even more reason to make it 5 days.
Spain
- only 3 days >> should use these 3 days for Rome or Paris. You can take the overnight train from Paris to Barcelona which will save time but this can be better spent in other larger cities. I think you should consider dropping Barcelona from the list OR consider dropping Greece and spend that time for Spain. Spain is a great destination also (although I don't think Real Madrid or Barcelona FC will be playing at that time either).
Italy
-Florence will require 3 days itself & more time if you want to see Cinque Terre
- Rome needs at least 4 days, since you can spend 1 day in Vatican City already
- Venice in 2 days is ok but must factor in travel time.
I haven't been to Greece yet so can't comment but I will be there end of June so may even run into you for all I know LOL
I think you can stick with your current itinerary but it will be very exhausting and all you will know of the cities will be the tourist sites and that's all.
I loved visiting the churches and museums and all the art was just amazing. Once you've narrowed down your list, post up what you want to see in each city & people will give feedback if it's a must or miss.
Good luck with your planning!
thanks canadiank... point taken ...
Let me re-arrange the itinerary and repost it again later ... load of work need to be done within this week...
I've decided to drop liverpool since the football season is closed.
As for Germany, was thinking to choose either one of the 3 places that mention, if 2 days for 3 place it definately crazy!! Or probably i'll jus drop it for other cities.
Greece will be my last stop and back to london for flight return to kuala lumpur, you'll be there by end jun but i'll b in early jul. :D
how long is your trip during your europe tour?? it will be interesting to know how's your route last time.
As for Germany, was thinking to choose either one of the 3 places that mention, if 2 days for 3 place it definately crazy!! Or probably i'll jus drop it for other cities.
Don't bother. Two days are not nearly enough time for either Berlin, Munich or the Black Forest.
If you are mainly interested in football and can get tickets to a Bayern München game I would recommend spending 3 days in Munich, but 2 days in Berlin is absolutely crazy. The city really needs at least 5-7 days to experience it properly. Similar for the Black Forest. Seeing the main sights in the area takes at least a week and that is when you have your own car and do not have to rely on public transport.
0 Response to "Europe from 3/6/10 - 9/7/10"
Post a Comment