Well, i always plan a circle in my mind before heading to road as you did.. However, except the start and finish points i never managed to stay on the route… While you travel, you will soon find out that Amsterdam can not be bypassed, Prague is overrated, trains are slow in Italy, bla bla…

The point is, you can never make a perfect plan for such a trip, the meaning of travelling around Europe is freedom. So the best route would be the one which happens randomly…

Dont feel that you have to catch something or otherwise you will ruin your trip with running all over.

For hostels there are lots of online booking sites, i would recommend you to read reviews carefully and book just 1-2 days before.

Hmm, almost forgot to mention.. Lonely Planet is sacred IMHO… Get “Europe on a Shoestring” and do what it says

I dunno, I like planning ahead, personally And NOT reserving ahead of time for the weekends is a gigantic mistake.

Like most of us do at times, I think you’re trying to cram too much into your itinerary. I wouldn’t try to see all those places in that time. I would make your Madrid-Barcelona train reservation as soon as you can because during summer the trains on that route can be full days in advance. I would also suggest you book your accommodation in Barcelona now; finding places to stay there in summer has been difficult since I first went ten years ago, and it’s worse now that people book ahead online. I like to stay here in Barcelona: http://www.hfernando…
They could be full already, but if not you might be able to get a triple or a four bed dorm to yourselves (not sure how many of you there are).

I agree with augustin25, in that you are trying to cram too much in for such a short period of time. And definitely book ahead for Barcelona if possible. I was there years ago in May, and it took me most of a morning to find a reasonably priced room because I didn’t book ahead.

pick 6 places that you want to go to. i see some big cities that deserve several days. drop everwhere else.

yes, lose some places. also, i dont mean to throw a kink into your thinking but i went to pamplona for the san fermin festival. since you have a chance to go, DO IT. Spend 2 or 3 days there then head up to San Sebastian (my favorite place anywhere, 1 hour bus ride). It is a beach town with amazing night life. Relax on the beach, party at night.

My advice would be forget about the plan forget about the Itenerary. I have done it 3 times and I find it never goes as plan. Once you get your feet on the ground just go with the flow. Meet people and just have fun.

try this website
www.ratestogo.com
it is hotels and for only last minute but I have found some really good deals. I have stayed in 4 star hotels in europe for 30 bucks

LBurke,

It’s not a bad itinerary.

Just a few things:

You’re hopping all over the continent, spending 2 days here and there…mostly big cities… and skipping over a lot in between. Like for example, the commute between Amsterdam and Prague…should you make this commute by train, it’ll be a long train ride across Germany where you haven’t palnned to make any stops. You may want to break up the Amsterdam-Prague commute, maybe check out Cologne and/or the Rhine Valley or Munich? Likewise, should you go from London to Amsterdam by train, you’ll be bypassing Belgium. Should you fly, you need to take airport time into consideration. On your way from Southern France to London via the Eurostar (Chunnel), you’ll need to go through Paris, and you’re not planning to spend any time in the city, unless you’ve already experienced Paris on a previous trip. And where in Southern France will also affect the time required to travel there from Spain, and then on to London via Paris. Backtracking to Pamplona will pose an added challenge to a pretty packed trip…you’ll need to drop some places perhaps. It’s not too bad of an itinerary, but as long as you’re aware what else there is to see and do, as well as the logistics on some of the commutes, then go with what you’re interested in. Maybe you can drop Barcelona and add a day to Madrid (use as daytrip to Segovia or Toledo)… or reduce your time in Barcelona and add a day or two to somewhere in Germany. Perhaps drop Lake Como, maybe transfer that time to Paris if you’re interested, or a daytrip from London, or Belgium, or to Tuscany which is near Cinque Terre. And don’t backtrack to Pamplona.

Just some ideas.

Thanks, all!

I’ll probably book places to stay in the bigger tourist towns before we go and then just improvise in the smaller areas in Italy and Southern France.

Luv_the_beach, we have already been to Paris, so we’re just going to catch the chunnel. Also, we’re skipping over Amsterdam to reduce the amount of places we’re going.

If anyone has any additional perspective on Eurail passes, I’ve heard sometimes they’re not worth it. Does it include England?

Thanks!
LBurke

Eurail pass does not include UK or Czech Republic, and it’s impossible to tell which, if any, railpass is the best deal without a very exact itinerary. I think I’d probably just buy point to point tickets in your situation. However, you might find that some sort of railpass is worth if for your trips in France, Austria, any parts of Germany or Switzerland you might go through, and (less likely) Spain and Italy. Maybe look at a select pass for 3 country pass (France, Germany, Spain) for about 5 days — use that whenever you take a long, expensive trip. Buy point to point tickets in Italy and for any shorter, cheaper trips. A pass that covers France also gives you a discount on Eurostar, the chunnel train, which can be a good deal if you’re traveling at a time when special fares aren’t available. However, passholder youth fare and regular youth fare are almost exactly the same on Eurostar, so the discount doesn’t help if you’re 25 or under.

While your in London I’d defo try and do a day trip to Liverpool.

Its the birth place of the Beatles and definately worth a day at least if you can fit it in.