Eurotrip Itinerary Feedback and Advice

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  gaz3342 on 20/02/2017 - 10:11

  Why are you going to Lille for one night? Pointless going anywhere for one night IMO.

  • 

    boomramada on 20/02/2017 - 10:22

    True but I think OP is doing a drive by, Amsterdam > Lille > Paris, so it would be ok.

    But still not logical;
    Paris > Brussels > Amsterdam > Lille > Paris > London?
    Confusing much :)

    • 

      gmail92 on 20/02/2017 - 10:37

      Have to return the car to France (since return in a different country is significantly more expensive). Amsterdam to CDG airport is about a 5 hour drive, so Lille was just splitting the journey back in a more comfortable way.

      • 

        boomramada on 20/02/2017 - 10:52

        As I said, your trip is already finalized:)
        My experience, I would fly in and out in Europe with different countries.
        Its always cheaper to fly within Europe, but only problem is, they don't usually fly on time.
        Train travel and Public transport always on time and convenient for us tourist.
        I only drive in Germany, I did enjoy it, but time is money, rest of the places are economical to fly or train.

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  boomramada on 20/02/2017 - 10:14

  Look like your Itinerary is already locked in, but Germany and Spain are the best place to travel.

  • 

    gmail92 on 21/02/2017 - 19:28

    Im personally keen on Spain and Germany but my parents have no interest. Not to mention the schedule is already pretty hectic as a Europe-in-a-month trip. Its cool with me though, I can come back another time for it.

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  [Deactivated] on 20/02/2017 - 10:39

  You don't overlap with the Tour de France, but Rome might overlap with the Giro d'Italia starting May 5th. Check the route/dates to make sure you avoid serious hordes of bicycle fans and bedlam…unless you like cycling, in which case coordinate.

  • 

    gmail92 on 21/02/2017 - 19:28

    Thanks for the heads up!

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  spacemansam on 20/02/2017 - 10:59

  Have traveled Europe extensively over the past 2 years, would say overall your itinerary looks good. The only thing I personally wouldn't do is Geneva. I personally found it to be one of the more boring cities in Europe, like others have said Spain would be a good alternative, particularly Barcelona. I would also cut out a day in Venice and make it 2 days that way you can make Barcelona 3 days if you choose to do that.

  Make sure you at least do a day trip to Pompei when you're in Rome, an absolutely incredible site. They've recently done more excavations so you'll get to see even more than I did.

  Enjoy :)

  • 

    sparkles on 20/02/2017 - 14:34

    Agree, I would shave a night off Venice for certain. Arrive in Venice early enough on the first day, and even one night might be enough. With any extra days in Italy I would consider adding in Cinque Terre, one of the best places in Italy. Also Lake Como.

    Consider spending some time outside London perhaps, like Bath. Edinburgh is also worth a look, just a short flight from London.

    Bear in mind you don't want to be on the move all the time, like a constant state of flux. Sometimes it's better to see less places but really enjoy the ones you do go to.

    • 

      gmail92 on 21/02/2017 - 19:47

      Sounds good guys, cheers. Italy only has the return flight to France booked, so it will be pretty flexible. I will have a look at Cinque Terre :)

      I've figured that's the downside of trying to see all of Europe in a month (or as much as possible). Chances are my parents won't be coming back so it's a trade off.

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  zappy32 on 20/02/2017 - 11:19

  It's a tight schedule but I guess you already know that. Is there a reason for three nights in Venice? It's a beautiful city to see but can also be an expensive tourist trap. I'd suggest spending an extra night in Florence or slight day trip/overnight in a smaller city or town in Italy.

  If there's not a reason to be going to Brussels I'd also suggest to maybe give it a miss as it doesn't really compare to other cities you're going to unless you're really into EU politics. I'd suggest maybe Bruges or Mons instead though you are probably better not to spend Easter Sunday/Monday in Belgium, Amsterdam and Paris will likely have a lot more open during these days and you can stop in Belgium on the way back.

  Start to look at train tickets for Italy now to get decent prices on the fast trains.
  http://www.seat61.com/ is a great resource for train travel.

  You say you already have flights Lille-London? A train would be a far better option and you get to travel through the chunnel! Even if you do have flights I'd suggest cancelling and booking the train as it will save you a lot of time and it will likely cost you half a train ticket just to get to/from the airports.

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    altomic on 20/02/2017 - 14:16

    agree with 2 night max in venice. once you walk around for a day, san marco place (go up the tower), go on a gondola ride, bridge of sighs, catch the water bus, eat an ice-cream, buy some inexpensive souvenirs (Murano glass), etc then you are done.

  • 

    gmail92 on 21/02/2017 - 19:51

    No reason - haven't particularly locked anything in Italy in except the flights to Venice and return to Paris.

    Cheers for the suggestion about Easter - since I will probably have a car we can do a day in Belgium and then up for two in Amsterdam before coming back to Belgium (if there's anything else we watch to come back for).

    The flights are actually Paris CDG to London SEN, and Lille just happened to be a convenient stopover night rather than doing a straight 5 hour drive and flight out. Booked the flights for about $50 a head, and wasn't able to find any train tickets at a comparable price :/

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  peterpeterpumpkin on 20/02/2017 - 11:27

  +3

  Beyond Lille, are you planning to make stops between the major cities by car (Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam)? If not, the car may be more of a burden than a necessity, mostly because you're returning to Paris solely to return the car when you could be flying direct to London from Amsterdam.

  Not only that, many major cities in Europe are simply not car-friendly. I honestly couldn't imagine using a car in central Amsterdam. They have Park and Ride facilities on Amsterdam's outskirts especially made to avoid having to drive around (http://www.amsterdam.info/parking/park-ride/). If you don't use the cars within the cities themselves then you lose any financial advantage over 2 ~3 hour bus trips for 3 people (see comparabus.com to compare prices).

  • 

    zappy32 on 20/02/2017 - 11:32

    Agree with this! If you're only going to the major cities then a train will be quicker and stress-free or if you have a car then definitely do some stops between the cities.

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      altomic on 20/02/2017 - 14:14

      I did a car in oct 2014 for 3 weeks around Europe. paris, cologne, prague, vienna, st anton, venice, nice, Barcelona, paris. - 4,400kms - there were 5 of us - 2 adults + 3 kids - so it was a lot cheaper than getting trains. also gave us the freedom to carry extra crap and have a "base". rented a diesel peugot - good economy. would sit at 140kms on the highways. the only time we had trouble parking was in Vienna as we were staying in Schönlaterngasse in the centre of Vienna. so it was all narrow winding 16th century streets ( a blood maze) - found a parking garage 1km away and left the car there for 3 days for $15 a day (approx.)

      • 

        gmail92 on 21/02/2017 - 19:55

        Cheers for the tips guys - will keep that in mind. We plan to stop around here and there wherever we feel like (so driving is probably convenient - not to mention my parents are pretty old so I'm sure they much rather the comforts of a car).

        I was planning to drive manual (significantly cheaper than auto) - but I'm not overly confident regarding road rules and driving on the other side of the road. Is this juggling something I am right to be concerned about?

      • 

        altomic on 21/02/2017 - 20:18

        @gmail92: it's a bit nerve racking at first - driving on the wrong side of the road. but it feels normal pretty fast. just remember on the highways to always stick to the left unless of over taking

        just remember - "wrong side of the road, wrong side of the road, wrong side of the road, wrong side of the road, wrong side of the road, wrong side of the road, etc"

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        gmail92 on 21/02/2017 - 22:22

        @altomic: Out of curiosity, you drive auto or manual?

      • 

        altomic on 21/02/2017 - 22:51

        @gmail92: drove a manual. that was interesting for a day with having to shift gear with my right hand

      • 

        boomramada on 21/02/2017 - 23:51

        @altomic:
        I drove in auto, one less thing to worry about when you driving at wrong side of the road.
        Driving in highway is easy, not so much in not so busy area or turning into roads.

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  [Deactivated] on 20/02/2017 - 12:53

  -3

  rome is a shithole. i thought i would hate paris but it was actually quite nice. amsterdam is awesome, and we liked belgium too (we based out of bruges and did a day trip to brussels)

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 20/02/2017 - 13:53

    you're entitled to your wrong opinion

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    sparkles on 20/02/2017 - 14:38

    +1

    If you think Rome is a shithole, try Athens which is really run down.

    One of the loveliest places in Europe is Vienna, the place is clean and the people are uber polite. It's total decorum and classy.

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  cvas on 20/02/2017 - 15:36

  -1

  After Paris, see if you can go straight to Berlin. Then you can sing "From Paris to Berlin"

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  crozza on 20/02/2017 - 17:16

  +1

  OK
  can offer limited suggestions as you have booked parts of your trip.

  Paris is 7 nights out of 27, still not enough for Paris, but large % of your total, maybe step 1 : leave Paris a day earlier.

  Step 2: Consider Bruges instead of Brussels?

  Add 1 day to Amsterdam.

  You are stuck with Geneva, maybe train around the Lake to Montreaux for a day? [ Brussels, Geneva your trip sounds EU or UN related?]

  unlike others I would add to Venice and deduct from Florence, each to his own. Day trip to Pisa from Florence would work by train, Pisa is walkable from the rail station.

  4 nights in Rome will go in a flash, day trip to Pompei or Herculaneum is an option.Unless it has changed since our last visit, Rome is fantastic.

  Well done, have a great trip

  One last thing, are you picking up car on arrival at Paris airport? I personally would not be keen to drive and park in inner Paris, but I am getting on,so maybe not a problem for you.

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    gmail92 on 21/02/2017 - 20:04

    A day late and someone is already getting needy :P

    Cheers for the advice haha.

    Will definitely look at Bruges. Are you suggesting skipping Brussels altogether?

    The trip is basically centred around seeing a much as possible. By leaving a day earlier are you saying that it is not enough for Paris - but as a whole should be shorter to leave more time for other places?

    Geneva is flying in one evening, a full day there, and then flying out the evening after - so I reckon it's already pretty short as is.

    We are not picking up a car from the airport, but rather picking one up just before we leave Paris.

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  crozza on 21/02/2017 - 19:19

  don't you just hate it when the OP disappears.

  Have a good trip

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  crozza on 21/02/2017 - 20:25

  apologies:

  good on you for replying to each relevant poster.

  Brussels could be a day trip from Bruges. think someone else posted this.[I have mo expertise in this area, other than have read alot about Bruges being 'good']

  Paris: it is a tradeoff: less Paris, more something else. YOUR choice, your trip. We are all subjective. Cannot get enuf of Paris or Venice for me!!

  Geneva: not highly regarded touristically, hence my suggestion of a train trip for a day, again , your trip.

  Car pickup wise decision - just ensure you preplan your exit from Paris from where you pickup the car.

  regards, you have done a good job of it as per' seeing as much as possible'