14-18 days in Europe

[desertstrike]

hi guys, i am planning to cover germany, france, switz, italy on a free and easy basis

have no idea where to go specifically in those country yet...

first time going Europe, is it too ambitious? or should i just go with tour group?

any recommendation is welcome, thanks!

 

[Paul Low]

I happened to go europe last year...it seems to be better to go with tour. Easier and safer.

 

[ageha]

Yeah, pretty dangerous there. Anyway, for Germany you need a Leica. Japanese and Korean cameras don't work well there.

 

[desertstrike]

I happened to go europe last year...it seems to be better to go with tour. Easier and safer.

oh i see

 

[desertstrike]

Yeah, pretty dangerous there. Anyway, for Germany you need a Leica. Japanese and Korean cameras don't work well there.

why is that so?

 

[bbbee]

I suggest you go to either 2 to 3 countries so can cut down the travelling trip. Better go with someone

 

[Zichar]

Wah, traveling again?! Tsk tsk
I second the motion to cut down on the number of countries, don't have to catch them all

 

[desertstrike]

Good point

 

[desertstrike]

Haha, it's been a long time already... hmm any suggestion?

 

[rainfyre]

Italy? Good scenery, history, food. a lot of everything.

 

[Clarity]

Did Italy, Germany, Belgium and France in a 23 days trip. Very tiring, and still alot did not manage to cover. I thk I will prefer a less hectic itinerary...

Italy, we mostly did the usual tourist stuff.
4 days in Rome, one day spent on day trip to see ruins of pompeii. one day spend in vatican city.
3days in Florence. Including visiting the Leaning tower of Pisa
1 day in Venice
Try Amalfi Coast if you are planning on Italy

Germany, started from Munich, then work our way down Romantic road, finally ending in Frankfurt.
Do visit Neuschwanstein Castle if you are headed to Germany

One day stop over in Belgium to buy chocolate and eat Belgium waffle

Spent the rest of the trip in Paris.

 

[desertstrike]

Did Italy, Germany, Belgium and France in a 23 days trip. Very tiring, and still alot did not manage to cover. I thk I will prefer a less hectic itinerary...

Italy, we mostly did the usual tourist stuff.
4 days in Rome, one day spent on day trip to see ruins of pompeii. one day spend in vatican city.
3days in Florence. Including visiting the Leaning tower of Pisa
1 day in Venice
Try Amalfi Coast if you are planning on Italy

Germany, started from Munich, then work our way down Romantic road, finally ending in Frankfurt.
Do visit Neuschwanstein Castle if you are headed to Germany

One day stop over in Belgium to buy chocolate and eat Belgium waffle

Spent the rest of the trip in Paris.

thanks a lot for the info!!

 

[TheRyan]

Hi.. i also just had a 16-day europe tour covering italy, germany, switzerland and denmark traveling via the eurorail system. Very very tiring. So much so that towards the end start to have no mood to travel lol.. wished i had planned better but oh well.. whats done is done =)

So i would highly recommend restricting to fewer countries just as some of the seniors have mentioned

I always belief that travelling free-and-easy is the best way to get to experience a country and also to have the luxury to take your time in finding those perfect shots. Just have to apply some travelling common sense rules to prevent yourself from becoming a vulnurable target like flashing your camera gears openly or going out late at night alone. Do research on common crime incidents in the places u are going to travel so u can identify signs and avoid being a victim yourself.

Good luck...

Ill be starting a thread soon in the gallery section to share some pics =)

 

[climbermd]

It depend on the size of the place you want to cover as 14-16days is not that long after cut down on the travel time.

it also difference when you travel in summer and winter for example due to the available day times per day..

if you travel in summer then you have bit extra time till around 8-9pm till the sun set.. while 3-4pm in winter.
it better to split the country by it zone and cut down on the travel cost and spent more time to understand/experience local culture


propose itinearly..

trip 1: paris - london

trip 2: italy

trip 3: amsterdam - paris - london - scotland (local drive)

trip 4: germany


not worth to rush the trip and missed out most of the place or too short stay and not able to experience the local culture.


All the best and safe trip..


p/s: above proposed trip itinerary are from my previous travel trips..

 

[hanseos]

Think about the winter in febr to march.
Neuschweinstein near munich that you should see.

No need tour, you can buy euro rail ticket that you can also sleep at cabin train.
or overnight in Jugendherberge(youth hotel) , is quite safe.

 

[wangwe]

hi guys, i am planning to cover germany, france, switz, italy on a free and easy basis

have no idea where to go specifically in those country yet...

first time going Europe, is it too ambitious? or should i just go with tour group?

any recommendation is welcome, thanks!

If you want to minimise the fuss, you could go with a tour group, which you could then see the a couple of countries, but you'd compromise on things like time spent at attractions, etc.

But if you want to do your own stuff, I have to concur with alot of the other posters in the forum. 14-18 days is really quite short to see 4 countries. Travelling between the countries will take up time and you'll need to factor in contingencies like navigating the language barriers, weather/seasonal changes, public holidays (some places don't open), or if your train came late and derailed your plans (pun intended) to reach a certain place by a certain time (which happened to me). I would suggest that 14 days is probably ideal for 5-6, at most 7 cities, and it depends on where you want to go, what sort of sights you want to see, etc. You can also base yourself in certain cities and do day-trips to other smaller cities from there.

There are a lot of good travel forums out there that would give you advice on how to go about planning your trip - and they've helped me plan my first trip to Europe (3 weeks, to Munich and parts of the former Yugoslavia). A good start is to identify which cities you really want to see, and try to pick those that are closest to one another, dropping others to the next trip. Those are my 2c worth of travel planning for Europe. Hope it helps.

 

[Eng Hoe]

If you plan to take Eurorail, can visit their website for some suggested routes. Pick 2 to 3 countries you like to visit, then plan around the cities in those countries. While you are in those cities, you can always join the local tour to travel around, like visiting the castles, vineyards etc. If you are travel alone first time, be careful of thefts and scams. You can pick up some safety tips online, like those from wiki travels, trip advisor, etc.

 

[Shen siung]

hi guys, i am planning to cover germany, france, switz, italy on a free and easy basis

have no idea where to go specifically in those country yet...

first time going Europe, is it too ambitious? or should i just go with tour group?

any recommendation is welcome, thanks!

I happened to go europe last year...it seems to be better to go with tour. Easier and safer.

not necessary, it depends on TS; are you an 'more than amateur" traveler?
If you have been to at least 3 - 4 country in asia, on your own / with friends on free and easy, I would say it is a good experience to tour Europe on free and easy

I suggest you go to either 2 to 3 countries so can cut down the travelling trip. Better go with someone

Yes 3 country is good enough.

I would suggest you go either
1. Swiss + France
2. Swiss + Germany
3. Swiss + Italy

Trust me, you will definitely have chance to visit Europe again one day, maybe after 5 years or 10 years, or even next year, no need to cover so many places at one go
You may cover about 4 cities, with about 3 nights per city.

 

[desertstrike]

Hi.. i also just had a 16-day europe tour covering italy, germany, switzerland and denmark traveling via the eurorail system. Very very tiring. So much so that towards the end start to have no mood to travel lol.. wished i had planned better but oh well.. whats done is done =)

So i would highly recommend restricting to fewer countries just as some of the seniors have mentioned

I always belief that travelling free-and-easy is the best way to get to experience a country and also to have the luxury to take your time in finding those perfect shots. Just have to apply some travelling common sense rules to prevent yourself from becoming a vulnurable target like flashing your camera gears openly or going out late at night alone. Do research on common crime incidents in the places u are going to travel so u can identify signs and avoid being a victim yourself.

Good luck...

Ill be starting a thread soon in the gallery section to share some pics =)

Thanks and hope to see ur pics soon!

 

[desertstrike]

It depend on the size of the place you want to cover as 14-16days is not that long after cut down on the travel time.

it also difference when you travel in summer and winter for example due to the available day times per day..

if you travel in summer then you have bit extra time till around 8-9pm till the sun set.. while 3-4pm in winter.
it better to split the country by it zone and cut down on the travel cost and spent more time to understand/experience local culture


propose itinearly..

trip 1: paris - london

trip 2: italy

trip 3: amsterdam - paris - london - scotland (local drive)

trip 4: germany


not worth to rush the trip and missed out most of the place or too short stay and not able to experience the local culture.


All the best and safe trip..


p/s: above proposed trip itinerary are from my previous travel trips..

is it possible to cover italy and switz? maybe a bit of germany for like 16-18 days?