If you go for four weeks and drop Athens you could visit all of the other cities on your list, but I wouldn’t do it all by train. If you did this in the order in which the cities are listed I’d do a cheap flight from Barcelona to Rome, and from Rome to Prague, and use trains otherwise. Already booked your plane ticket? If not, from where are you flying?

I would like to visit Athens because I’ve always been interested in mythology so that a hard one to drop. I picked the train mainly because of the money issue, but I’ve noticed I would be switching trains constantly so I may keep the flight option in mind depending on the price. I haven’t booked anything yet, the only thing I’m really certain on is leaving the U.S. to Prague after that I’m still unsure of.

Ok, I’d recommend dropping at least one place if you only stay for three weeks, and if you definitely want to go to Athens do it by plane because otherwise transportation to/from there will eat up a lot of time. Flights within Europe can be quite cheap, often cheaper than train, but you need to book in advance to get the cheapest fares.

I’d start by booking your transatlantic airfare ASAP and then plan your exact itinerary within Europe. With the cities you’ve chosen you’re most likely to find the best fares from the U.S. to Madrid, Barcelona, Vienna and Rome. And be sure to look into open-jaw fares, for example flying into Madrid and home from Rome, to save time and money by not having to backtrack. Let us know if you want help looking for fares.

Thanks for the advice I’ll start looking ASAP. Quick question though is there a certain airline you would use over another when going to Prague to Athens?

About bank cards…I’ve heard some euorpean bank cards don’t accept PIN over four digits (mine is four digits so I’ve never had a problem). It’s best to check with your bank to make sure you ATM card will work in Europe. Also, get a second bank card (if you lose it or it gets stoledn in Europe you will have a difficult time getting a new one – I’ve experienced this problem first hand). Also take enough Euros to get you through your first 2 or 3 days.

I’ve seen several posts that say to be sure you have a four digit pin. I don’t recall seeing anything that would take another format.

Thanks for the tip Finnegan, I’ll take a look into the whole card usage in Europe.

Quick question I debating about whether to drop Vienna or Budapest any suggestions on which one to drop? Keep in mind I’m going for the culture, food, architecture and a little night life.

i’ve heard budapest really isn’t that great, so i’d go with vienna.

Use Sites Atlas to look at a map of Europe to determine a reasonable trip. You don’t want to spend all of you time on the train.

1) Personally I think that you should break your trip into three trips. The Spain area should be one: Spain, Portugal, and France. Maybe slip over to Morocco.

Trip two would be Prague, Budapest and other former communist countries.

Trip three: Greece, Rome, etc.

What you have is about as stretched out as possible. You’re young. You’ll have plenty of time to go back.

2) I went on the Jazz Boat in Prague and it was pretty cold outside. Inside, the band was good and the food and drink fairly inexpensive. The clubs are probably like here. Once you get in, you’re ok.

3) Many people your age will speak some english. Don’t worry. So far as phrases, learn the courtesy words of the country you’re in.

4) Take $50 USD and change it when you arrive. From there use ATMs to get cash and make sure of the four digit pin.

5) There aren’t near as many tourists in the cold weather. This means you’ll get lower rates.

6) Hostel Membership. Don’t know anything else.

It’s been over ten years, but I agree.

I think the cities you’ve chosen are fine, so long as you use flights to cut down on travel time the longer legs of your trip.

Pretty much my plan is to
1. Land in Prague stay for 4 days (January 22-25th)
2. Take train from Prague to Budapest and stay for 5 days (January 26-30th)
3. Fly from Budapest to Rome and stay for 5 days (January 31st- February 4th)
4. Fly from Rome to Athens and stay for 5 days (February 5 – 9th)
5. Fly from Athens to Madrid and stay for 4 days (February 10 – 13th)
6. Train or Flight (which ever is cheapest) from Madrid to Barcelona for 3 days (Feb 14 – 16)

How does that all sound? I know it is a lot of flying, but this was the scenario I came up with.
If any of you know of any websites with cheap flights/trains I’d be very appreciative of it.

For budget flights within Europe check here: http://www.whichbudg…
Where in the U.S. are you leaving from?

I’m leaving from Houston, Texas

I like Kayak for multi-city searches, and it looks like you have plenty of options from about $600. I think the cheapest I saw was on Delta but it was about 16 hours each way. If you spend about $20 more there are options (mostly multi-airline itineraries) that will cut serious time off your journey.

i am leaving from houston too.

best airline and price to fly out out houston to london?