A 3 month rail pass is probably best for this itinerary. However, a consecutive day pass is, IMO, very rarely the best deal for a reasonable itinerary.

You need to look at a lot more flights. For example, you will have exactly zero time in Istanbul unless you fly there. Use http://reiseauskunft… to check train schedules for anywhere in Europe and re plan your trip with an average of closer to 3 days per city to cover the travel time.

Thank you for the response, oldlady. I guess I really need to trim my itinerary. Arg, it’s gonna be hard. _ And I just read somewhere that the train from Thessaloniki to Istanbul is not operating currently so I just have to find a flight if I want to go there. This is a lot more complicated than I think.

I gotta ask… why 2 days Zurich, Basel, Groningen, Innsbruck? Your 2 days in so many places seems kind of arbitrary. Consider consolidating a bit to add more time to (in my opinion) more interesting places. Innsbruck can be a day trip from Munich, for example. Interlaken and surrounding villages are probably what more people are looking for in CH vs. just Zurich (which is fairly boring, IMHO) — as another example.

I’m thinking it’s gonna be quite tiresome if I just spend a day in each cities, that’s why I put 2 days. I have no idea it’s actually possible to do a day trip, haven’t studied the railway map thoroughly. Any other cities where I can use the day trip plan? I’ll be visiting a friend (and probably staying at his house too) in Groningen so maybe I’ll spend more days there.

Packing up and getting to the train station, train ride, finding and getting to your new hostel, getting settled, getting oriented in a new city… You want to do this every other day for 2 1/2 months? Don’s idea of staying longer in a city and taking day trips to nearby places is a good one.

Bahn.de — look for the English option. It has train timetables for just about every train in Europe. I checked Munich Hbf – Innsbruck Hbf after posting and if you take the direct morning train (i.e. no changes/connections) it’s under 2 hours.

For others, look at maps to see which places might be enroute or nearby, then check Bahn.de to see how long it actually takes by train.

I would not want to use up an expensive rail pass day on a route that’s relatively close& cheap (under 3-4 hours) unless the pass price would effectively beat the typical walk-up fare.

Visit Pisa as a day trip, or even 1/2 day trip from Florence.

..Now that you mention it, it does look tiring. I think I need to make a new itinerary and cross check it with the train timetables. But I still find it hard to separate what I actually want to visit and what I want to visit because I don’t know when I’ll ever be able to do another euro trip. First timer syndrome?

Yes, First timer syndrome. If you enjoy yourself, you WILL find a way to get back to Europe. It may be several years, or even decades, but you will make it back.

My rec for a first time, particularly going solo, would be a 3 or 4 week trip with the idea of taking another in a couple of years.

I hope so. I’ve always wanted to visit Europe ever since I was a kid so I really want to get the most out of this upcoming trip. I prefer quality over quantity of course but still I secretly wish I could get both.

I highly endorse oldlady’s suggestion. I did a solo 2 week trip through England, Soctland and Ireland last summer and it was a very eye-opening experience. I learned a lot about the pace I’m capable of going, how to plan for a trip and what to expect once I’m on the ground. Now I feel more prepared to do a three month trip through all of Europe. I know it sets your trip back, but it really will pay dividends in the end.

I’d like to but I’ve already booked my plane tickets to and from Paris so I guess I just have to go with the 75 days trip. I’ve revised my itinerary to:

1. Paris – 3 days
2. London – 6 days
3. Edinburgh – 4 days
4. Bruges – 1 day
5. Amsterdam – 3 days
6. Groningen – 2 days
7. Berlin – 4 days
8. Prague – 3 days
9. Salzburg – 3 days
10. Vienna – 3 days
11. Budapest – 3 days
12. Istanbul – 4 days
13. Thessaloniki – 3 days
14. Kalampaka – 2 days
15. Corfu – 2 days
16. Rome – 3 days
17. Florence – 3 days
18. Pisa – 1 day
19. Cinque Terre – 1 day
20. Venice – 2 days
21. Milan – 1 day
22. Lauterbrunnen – 3 days
23. Barcelona – 3 days
24. Madrid – 3 days
25. Granada – 2 days
26. Lisbon – 3 days
27. Paris – 4 days

Pisa is a day trip from Florence so I’ll be going to Cinque Terre from Florence too actually. Budapest – Istanbul, Istanbul – Thessaloniki, and Lisbon – Paris will be by plane I think. Maybe Corfu – Rome too, I’m not sure. I think this one is better than the last one but do I still need to take out a couple cities to further make the trip more enjoyable?

I loved Edinburgh when I went, but 4 days is too much unless you plan on going on a day trip to the higlands or lochness or sometin. Also, after 4-5 days you might start running out of things to do. I suggest getting the London Pass and doing as many things on the list that intrest you, in addition to things that aren’t covered (like Parliment, Westminister Abbey, etc). Also, why did you knock Athens out of your itinierary? I would suggest at least 2 days there.

The London Pass seems interesting. I think I will get that, thanks for the suggestion. I took out Athens because I’m planning to see Meteora and Thessaloniki instead. I’m thinking of taking out Lisbon too for flexibility but I haven’t made up my mind yet.

I’d either skip Lisbon, as much as I like it, or reorder your itinerary to do Barcelona-Granada-Madrid-Lisbon because Granada to Lisbon by train takes at least 18 hours.

Yeah, I think I’ll skip it. I’m not sure I can make it and I definitely could use those days somewhere else. Thanks for the suggestion.

Hi everyone. Due to one and many things I have to postpone my departure to May and shorten my trip to 48 days. That being said, my revised itinerary would be:

1. Paris – 3 days
2. London – 4 days
3. Edinburgh – 3 days
4. Amsterdam – 3 days
5. Berlin – 2 days
6. Prague – 3 days
7. Vienna – 3 days
8. Budapest – 3 days
9. Rome – 3 days
10. Florence – 2 days
11. Cinque Terre – 1 day
12. Venice – 2 days
13. Lauterbrunnen – 3 days
14. Barcelona – 3 days
15. Madrid – 3 days
16. Paris – 4 days

I decided to drop Turkey and Greece, save it for my next euro trip if I have the chance. My questions regarding this new itinerary are:

• Is it feasible?
• Are there any places that I should stay longer or maybe shorter? I’m quite happy with the destination points but if there are suggestions that would be great too.
• Will I still get the most out of my trip (scenery & architecture)?
• So far I’ve managed to save about $5,000, would that be enough for me to enjoy this trip and not worry about running out of money?

I’m thinking of trying couchsurfing to save some more and asking for a favour from a couple friends in places I’m going to visit but I’m still undecided. Thanks before.