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1st Timer to Europe - 1st Attempt at Itinerary
Sun, 03/11/2007 - 01:24
Hey!!!
I’ve been looking at this sight for quite awhile now, dreaming of going to Europe, and now it’s finally a reality (albeit still awhile away) but I’ve been working on my itinerary so that I can figure out my budget and how much I need to save. My boyfriend (who I’ll be going with) has been through Scotland, Wales and England, Romania, Hungary and Austria but I’m a first-timer and he’s letting me plan a route that covers the countries I want to see so feel free to criticize and give suggestions on my itinerary.
We’re planning on going for 3 months at the end of April 2008 until the 1st week of August (I picked April 26th to August 4th/5th just for examples sake).
[=“times new roman”]4/26: Flight to London[/]
[=“times new roman”]4/27: Flight to Dublin from London[/]
[=“times new roman”]4/28 to [/][=“times new roman”]4/30: Dublin (3 days)[/]
[=“times new roman”]5/01: Dublin/Kilkenny[/]
[=“times new roman”]5/02: Kilkenny (1 day)[/]
[=“times new roman”]5/03: Kilkenny/Cork[/]
[=“times new roman”]5/04 to 5/05: Cork w/ possibly a day trip to Blarney (2 days)[/]
[=“times new roman”]5/06: Cork/Killarney[/]
[=“times new roman”]5/07: Killarney (1 day)[/]
[=“times new roman”]5/08: Killarney/Galway[/]
[=“times new roman”]5/09 to 5/10: Galway w/ possibly a day trip to Connemara (2 days)[/]
[=“times new roman”]5/11: Galway/Dublin[/]
[=“times new roman”]5/12: Flight to London[/]
[=“times new roman”]5/13 to 5/15: London (3 days)[/]
[=“times new roman”]5/16: London/Paris[/]
[=“times new roman”]5/17 to 5/21: 
aris w/ a day trip to Versailles (5 days)[/]
[=“times new roman”]5/22: Paris/Brussels[/]
[=“times new roman”]5/23 and 5/24: Brussels (2 days)[/]
[=“times new roman”]5/25: Brussels/Bruges[/]
[=“times new roman”]5/26 and 5/27: Bruges (2 days)[/]
[=“times new roman”]5/28: Bruges/Amsterdam[/]
[=“times new roman”]5/29 to 5/31: Amsterdam (3 days)[/]
[=“times new roman”]6/01: Amsterdam/Berlin[/]
[=“times new roman”]6/02 to 6/04: Berlin (3 days)[/]
[=“times new roman”]6/05: Berlin/Dresden[/]
[=“times new roman”]6/06: Dresden (1 day)[/]
[=“times new roman”]6/07: Dresden/Prague[/]
[=“times new roman”]6/08 to 6/10: Prague (3 days)[/]
[=“times new roman”]6/11: Prague/Munich[/]
[=“times new roman”]6/12 and 6/13: Munich (2 days)[/]
[=“times new roman”]6/14: Munich/Zurich[/]
[=“times new roman”]6/15: Zurich (1 day)[/]
[=“times new roman”]6/16: Zurich/Lucerne[/]
[=“times new roman”]6/17: Lucerne (1 day)[/]
[=“times new roman”]6/18: Lucerne/Interlaken[/]
[=“times new roman”]6/19 and 6/20: Interlaken (2 days)[/]
[=“times new roman”]6/21: Interlaken/Bern[/]
[=“times new roman”]6/22 and 6/23: Bern (2 days)[/]
[=“times new roman”]6/24: Bern/Venice[/]
[=“times new roman”]6/25 to 6/28: Venice w/ a day trip to Verona (4 days)[/]
[=“times new roman”]6/29: Venice/Bologna/Florence (stopover in Bologna for a few hours)[/]
[=“times new roman”]6/30 to 7/03: Florence w/ a day trip to Pisa (4 days)[/]
[=“times new roman”]7/04: Florence/Siena[/]
[=“times new roman”]7/05: Siena (1 day)[/]
[=“times new roman”]7/06: Siena/Rome[/]
[=“times new roman”]7/07 to 7/10: Rome (4 days)[/]
[=“times new roman”]7/11: Flight to Marseilles from Rome[/]
[=“times new roman”]7/12 to 7/14: Marseilles (3 days)[/]
[=“times new roman”]7/15: Marseilles/Barcelona[/]
[=“times new roman”]7/16 to 7/18: Barcelona (3 days)[/]
[=“times new roman”]7/19: Barcelona/San Sebastian[/]
[=“times new roman”]7/20 to 7/22: San Sebastian w/ a day trip to Pamplona (3 days)[/]
[=“times new roman”]7/23: San Sebastian/Madrid[/]
[=“times new roman”]7/24 to 7/26: Madrid (3 days)[/]
[=“times new roman”]7/27: Madrid/Lisbon[/]
[=“times new roman”]7/28 to 7/30: Lisbon w/ a day trip to Belem (3 days)[/]
[=“times new roman”]7/31: Lisbon/Porto[/]
[=“times new roman”]8/01 and 8/02: Porto (2 days)[/]
[=“times new roman”]8/03: Flight to London from Porto[/]
[=“times new roman”]8/04 or 8/05: Flight to Vancouver, BC[/]
I probably made that super confusing but I wanted to include travel days so I could show how many days I planned on actually spending in places.
Thanks in advance!!!

I think it looks good. If I missed something, I hope someone else catches it. Some would perhaps say to spend less time in Dublin, but I realize you’re just arriving and need to get yourself oriented. FWIW, I think Bologna is kind of an underrated city. I enjoyed my time there.
i think it looks like a great trip also. i would love to have that kind of time to be able to go.
only thing i can think of is prioritizing your time in switzerland. from what i’ve heard, the cities of switzerland aren’t worth the average tourist’s time.
you might be better off cutting zurich, lucerne, and bern, and adding time in interlaken.
you’ve got some time to decide.
i’d recommend skipping Brussels. Maybe you can add Cinque Terre to your trip. I second the idea to spend less time in Swiss cities and more time in the Alps.
Marseilles? not sure why you’re picking that place. Happy Travels
London, Paris, Tours, Caen, La Rochelle, Annecy, Genoa, Venice, Florence, Rome
I get the feeling that Marseilles is sort of like Naples in its seaport grittiness; maybe its authenticity (and immigrant flavor) might be too strong a taste for some.
Some people hate Naples, but it felt very Italian and we had a good time.
I’ve never been to Marseilles, but it looks lively, colorful and vibrant to me. FWIW I’ve read that tourism there is up.
At any rate, there are probably good day trips to take out of Marseilles.
I think it looks good, but I would advise taking a week in the middle or so a just staying put in a place. Traveling like this is hard, harder than what most people do when they aren’t traveling, you’ll want a vacation and some time to kick back and relax.
With regard to Dublin, I think your time is about right, especially since it’s really your starting point. By the time you’ve flown in, caught a bus from the airport, etc, a good part of the day will be gone. It’s a compact place, so you can walk around and see most of central Dublin easily. Take a bus ride out to Glendalough (check with the tourist office).
I’m never too sure how to reply when people ask about Marseille—- I think the description “gritty port city” is true! The airport in Marseille is roughly equidistant to Aix-en-Provence, which might make a better base— and you could take a train into Marseille to have a look around (about 50 minutes).
For me, the amount of time you’ve alloted to Venice would be too much. Some feel that staying there for the night is important, but I thought that it was expensive. I actually stayed in Verona, and took a day-trip to Venice (Padova is even closer).
I’m not sure about Dresden as a destination. The distance to Berlin is relatively short, and Dresden was heavily damaged during the war, and rebuilt. I was there briefly a few weeks ago, and I think it’s someplace that you could skip.
Overall, I think that your plans look good but agree with jkfaust about having some down time during a trip. I’ve also found that, on every trip that I’ve planned, my rough plan changes as I go along—- but I think that your plan would allow enough opportunity for flexiblity.
Hey everyone,
Thank you so much for all your input, there was some really great, constructive advice - I’ve taken it all into account and I’m going to rework my itinerary then get back to you!
Cheers!
As everyone else has said, it looks pretty good. From my experience in Switzerland I would recommend going to Luzern instead of Lucerne (I found there was more to do in Luzern). Also, one full day in Bern is enough. I was there for only about 5 hours in the old city and found that more than enough time to see it.