Location Transport

Europe Itinerary Suggestions please?

I'm doing 6 weeks in Europe with a friend April & May 2011. Only 7 months to go, WOO! Okay so this is our itinerary so far. The first half (up until Paris is set, because we've made reservations already- didn't want to miss on some brilliant deals). What I need help with is after Paris (and also Wales- because we won’t have a rental car. It's not worth it the cost, we’re too young 23/20) So basically, we would love tips on our Germany/Switzerland/Italy ROUGH itinerary. And a few tips on public transport in Wales- and easy places to get to by train or bus that are still "local" feeling & will give us a real experience of the country in Wales. I understand getting around Wales is difficult without a car? FYI we're both into Art & Music. so any festival tips greatly appreciated!! Here goes: London 8 days Wales 5 days- We are interested in Snowdonia Nat Park- is this possible to do without a car?! It looks beautiful ! Liverpool 1 day Paris 12 days Germany 6 days ^^^This is where we need help! We want to do the Romantic Road, is it better to start from Wurzburg- so take a train straight from Paris>Wurzburg & work our way down to Munich on a tour bus. OR is it better to do a more direct train Paris>Munich and then do a 1 or 2 day trip up & back on Romantic Road with a coach tour? (we didn't plan on doing any guided tours, but without a car we have no choice) Also, included in this 6 days is a day trip to Salzburg. I want to see Mozart's house. I'm sure it's not much, but I need to see it with my own eyes! Switzerland 8 days Please tell me- is Lucerne worth the trouble? I hear it's packed. Plus I read that May (the time we're going) is the peak snowboarding season. Is this true?? This is what we had in mind: Munich>Zurich. 3 days in Zurich Zurich>Lucerne. 2 days in Lucerne Lucerne>Engleberg. 2 days in Engelberg WOULD IT BE BETTER to do this: Munich>Zurich. 5 days in Zurich including only 1 day trip to Lucerne (is it close enough?? Please tell me travel time one way if you know! Thanks!) Zurich>Bern. 2 days in Bern. Bern>Engelberg. 1 night in Engelberg (is this worth it?) Engelberg>Como. 3 days between Bellagio/Milan. Milan>Paris>London>HOME Sorry this ended up HUGE. Any tips on the Germany/ Switzerland part MUCH APPRECIATED. Thank you very very VERY much. Thanks. Yes, I've done a lot of research on this over the past few years. I've given 2 weeks to England & Wales. 2 weeks to Paris. And 2 weeks split between Germany & Switzerland. Finishing in Italy only to see como for 4 days and go to Milan only to come back to London to come home. The places we have chosen are due to CLOSENESS. We haven't just picked random places from a map. My question is about my plans for Germany. In particular Romantic Road- is it better to start at the top and work down, or just do it in a 2 day tour- see the main areas. Also the best way to move around Switzerland. Like I said, I cannot hire a car. I'm 23, and the minimum age is 25. Or some companies allow 21+ plus a kidney and the deeds to my house.. No thanks I'd rather bus it than stress about a car I don't even own. Rental cars are nothing but trouble. This trip was originally over 3 months, but my friend can only take 6 weeks. So it is severely condensed.

Public Comments

1. This is total madness. This plan means you end up knowing buses and trains very well and basically exhaust yourself. Well, collect lots of ticket stubs but don't quite see anything. Except the one monument. Understand a few things about Europe : not all shops are open after 5pm, museums can have days that are closed, some places itself are so huge that you take one day to see a place of interest - eg. the Louvre. Do you have any idea how far some of these places are? And how inconvenient public transport can be? Think of Europe as the entire US except with border crossings and not exactly all that integrated in terms of bus services. Look, do yourself a favour. Stick to one sort of area for the 6 weeks. Eg. rent a motor home and go to the UK - do England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland. It's beautiful. If not, rent a car is the best way to get around. I did 12 days in Scotland and didn't see enough by car. Need to go back again.
2. I am 21 years old and recently completed a 6 week trip around Europe. I published an article about travel tips, routes, where to stay, and what to do. That can be found here: http://trifter.com/europe/where-to-go-backpacking-europe/ I would recommend Paris straight to Munich. If I recall, there were day trips from Munich to Salzburg where the train rides only took about an hour or so. I think 6 days would be a little much to stay in Salzburg but thats just personal opinion. You can go to Lucerne easily as a day trip or an overnight trip from Zurich as they are not too far from each other. Read the article on tips for Germany and Switzerland but if you do go to Munich, definitely go to the English Gardens, Hofbrauhaus, and definitely do a bike tour (they are great and cheap).