Travelling alone for the first time this summer and was looking for advice on my itinerary I've made
I would recommend Ghent while you are in Belgium - it's a gorgeous city and not far from Bruges on the train. I was actually really disappointed with Bruges as I thought it was over- touristy and not nearly as pretty as Ghent.
While you're in Dubrovnik you could also consider going to Mostar in Bosnia for a day or 2, and also taking a day trip to Montenegro; there seem to be loads of tour operators that do these trips.
While you're in Florence you might as well visit the tower in Pisa; I thought this was interesting and there are also a couple of beautiful basilicas to explore near to the tower. Likewise Verona is only a an hour or so on the train from Venice, and makes a worthwhile day trip if you have time.
I would personally stick more easterly once you're in Dubrovnik, skipping Austria and instead going for Mostar, Budapest, Zagreb, Belgrade or some other places around there. Budapest in particular is one of my favourite cities, so I'd always recommend that.
We did a trip with some overlaps to this a while ago, starting in Italy, ferry across to Zadar, driving around Croatia, then train up to Budapest from Zagreb, train from there to Krakow, one day in Warsaw, across to Berlin and then up through Denmark to Norway. The route worked well and I'd recommend it
The main goal I'd say is to try and keep the trip as straightforward as possible so you don't have too much time travelling and more time available for sightseeing. As you say, there's always room for other trips.
Oh, and I HIGHLY recommend getting to Plitvice Lakes while you're in Croatia. Definitely worth the effort!
I can't help thinking you might be pushing it a bit here. You've listed seventeen places and you've got 28 to 35 days including travel - that works out at about two days each place. Paris has certainly got enough to keep the hectic traveller busy for at least four days and I think that's probably the same for Rome, Venice, Florence, Vienna, Berlin and possibly even Amsterdam. You might need to look at cutting some places from your list rather than adding places to it but, since I've not toured Europe like this, I'll leave it to others to make more educated suggestions. Either way, enjoy your trip!
Yeah, Borisborough has a good point. It is a lot to pack in. 2 days is rather short on each location and a fair bit is lost to travel time as well. From memory, I think we spent 2 weeks all up in Croatia and that felt like a good amount of time. It was basically the same places you're going with Zagreb added on. Consider at least spending a week per country with 3 or 4 days per town/city. Maybe meander your way towards Eastern Europe as planned, and then just fast-track the trip home.
Way, way too many different places. The trip will be a blur.
That's just me though, I'm admittedly a slow traveller, but personally your itinerary would be hell.
Good luck with your research.
Cheers,
Terry
Well good to hear
Will certainly try and cut out a few cities and leave for future travel
Thank you
So, I may cut Bordaux, cinque terre, genoa, salzburg/Innsbruck.
A few thoughts that came to my mind...
First of all, Bordeaux... It is a beautiful city, absolutely gorgeous, kinda reminds me Paris. But I don't think that it is worth visiting just the city itself. If you are headed there, then you should definitely check out the whole region of Aquitaine. Just about 60 km from Bordeaux you can find the beautiful sandy beaches - either near the ocean, like La Lagune or near the Biscay Bay like Plage Biscarosse. Or you can check out the peninsula Cap Ferret. I know you want to head to South of France, but I would recommend to cut it out and replace it with South West France, basically the region of Aquitaine. It would be a lot calmer there, although there are tourists as well (especially in August), but it is not as packed as Nice or Cannes. You can freely access the beaches and you actually get the real French vibe that you won't get in Provence. Also while in Aquitaine, you can check out the very famous wine region and if you wish then also places like Saint Emilion, Lascaux.
About Italy... Too much... You're trying to see Florence, Rome and Venice all at the same time. Well, it is possible, when you have time for that... I would say 2 weeks maybe for that. But you don't seem to have so much time, so I would recommend to stick with one main place and then wonder around the region. For example, if you go to Florence, I would recommend you to also explore Tuscany and get the real Italian vibe, go to places like San Gimigano, San Marino, Pisa. See the beautiful landscape, talk to the locals, eat local food etc, etc.
Going on... Never been to Croatia, so I don't know about that. And now you want to visit Austria, Germany, Netherlands and Belgium. Well, I am not very sure how you can fit it all into your plan. So maybe you just take one city in every country.
So my finally suggestion would be:
Paris (3 days) - Aquitaine (1 week) - Tuscany&Florence (1 week) - Croatia (1 week) - Vienna/Salzburg (2-3 days)- Berlin/Munich (2-3 days) - Amsterdam (2 days) - Bruges (2 days)
That does sound lovely. Will research that. Maybe i'll cut Amsterdam to try and give me more time in each place, rather than rushing, as you say
Thanks
Hi,
You can think of the below as recommendations:
1. France: Omit Cannes as then you can have enough time at Paris which has lots to offer. You would never regret missing out on any element there.
2. Italy: France, Venice and Rome are perfect. You may add Milan as well.
3. Austria: I would prefer Innsbruck over Salzburg.
4. Germany: Instead of Berlin, I would suggest Frankfurt as that helps in connecting Eurail transfers very conveniently.
-snip-
Best regards.
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