Advice needed

Hi guys, brilliant website by the way!

I was looking for a bit of advice. I'm looking to 'do' Europe at the end of May for approximately 5 weeks. This would be done by train preferably although I'd do it by bus if it's cheaper/easier... Which are the best companies?

How much realistically would I be able to see in this time. I don't mind not spending too much time in one place. I would prefer to see more of Eastern Europe although to get there I'd need to get through Holland/Germany/Poland (I live in Nottingham, England).

The route would take me across the channel to Belgium, through Holland and Germany then onto Poland. Then through Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, then onto the Croatian coast, Slovenia, Austria, North Italy, Northern Spain, then back through France home.

Am I being greedy?

p.s what kind of Budget am I approximately looking at (what with the poor state of the pound!)

yes, you are being greedy.

Unless you're looking to do a tour of European capitals (and still spend too little time in each place), 3 countries imo would be the very most you can do in 5 weeks. Poland-Czech Republic-Austria would make for a feasible itinerary.

Bus is marginally cheaper than train, but less comfortable. I'd not do it.

Or how about Belgium, France, Northern Spain and then take the Ferry home to Portsmouth from Santander.... You could also go France, Holland (or direct to Holland) Germany, Denmark and again take a Ferry home, either of these would save you backtracking and the Ferry is quite cheap for a foot passenger.

Train through Western Europe is also the best way to travel in my humble opinion, but in Eastern Europe I 'prefer' bus.

You could just fly to Eastern Europe and travel your way towards home ( but maybe you don't like to fly, in which case it's not a good idea, cheap though).

Hope that's some help. Any specific questions you can PM me.
Zaksame

traveloid, forget traveling on the bus. i guess you want to enjoy a travel experience and no torture experience...

probably the interrail pass would be the perfect choice for you. available at 599 euros (for one month), it is valid for unlimited travel on most trains in much of europe (certain restrictions may apply). Info may be found here: http://www.bahn.de/international/view/en/prices/europe/interrail.shtml

i agree with bentivogli, you should try to do less to make most of your trip. to do 20or so countries within five weeks would not be greedy, but crazy...

as for your itinerary, i would suggest to include eastern germany in your itinerary. formerly part of the east you seem to take particular interest in, you might be surprised there are many cities worth visiting (berlin, erfurt, dresden among others). and from dresden, prague is not far away. the itinerary could bring you on to bratislava, budapest, vienna. there are many options, of course.

Thanks for the advice.

I've revised the itinery slightly - I'd be looking to fly to Krakow and start the trip there. Basically I want to spend more time in the warmer, cheaper Eastern Europe states. I'd also cut out Spain and rush through France to come home.

Would this be more feasible?

Also is it possible to just roll up in these places and grab a cheapish room? I'm not bothered about whether its a dorm or not. When I went to S.E Asia you could simply turn up and find somewhere easily often with someone waiting for me to arrive to escort me too!

Flying to Krakow, easyjet or ryan air would be cheaper. Eurolines is the easiest website for buses around europe and at least its in english. Czech Republic was cheap (quality hotel in Prague). Slovakia is a waste of time as its a nothing place. Hungary is quite cheap too. But I drove around europe as the prague has the cheapest car rental of all of europe. But a train pass would be a more logical idea, not buses. If you like sitting in an airplane, like a sardine, then go for it. The advantage of a bus is the overnighters so you can save a night accom. Croatia, yet so beautiful, will not be cheap.

[ Edit: Edited on 08-Mar-2009, at 12:05 by way2goeh ]

Ok new and improved revised Itinerary here...

May 16 - Flight to Krakow in the morning
May 17 - Krakow
May 18 - Budapest
May 19 - Budapest
May 20 - Cluj-Napoca, Romania
May 21 - Cluj-Napoca
May 22 - Brasov, Romania
May 23 - Bucharest
May 24 - Bucharest
May 25 - Sofia
May 26 - Sofia
May 27 - Belgrade, Serbia
May 28 - Belgrade
May 29 - Sarajevo, Bosnia
May 30 - Sarajevo
May 31 - Ploce, Croatia
June 1 - Dubrovnik
June 2 - Dubrovnik
June 3 - Split
June 4 - Plitvice Lakes NP, Croatia
June 5 - Plitvice Lakes NP
June 6 - Zagreb
June 7 - Zagreb
June 8 - Ljubljana, Slovenia
June 9 - Ljubljana
June 10 - Bled, Slovenia
June 11 - Bled
June 12 - Rome
June 13 - Rome

Its still early days yet but obviously I need to take into account travel times between places.

Any suggestions for which places deserve more attention on the list than others?

Would this itinerary be possible fellow travellers?

Sorry to be a pain in the ass but I'm keen to start book flights etc