# Europe Forum > Travelling & Living in Europe >  Is this too much for one trip?

## brooksms

Hi there! I am planning a trip to Europe in June 2014 and need a little bit of help narrowing down my itinerary. My plane ticket will be purchased next month, which is why I am trying to figure this part out so early. I will be flying out June 1st and coming back home June 30th, so I'll have a whole month in Europe. Starting in Dublin and ending in Paris is ideal to me, but I am not sure how practical that is. 

These are the places I am most interested in-

Dublin, Ireland
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Brussels, Belgium
Rome, Italy
Tuscany/Florence, Italy
Venice, Italy
French Alps
Lyon, France
Loire Valley, France
Reims, France
Paris, France
Alsace, France



I want to be smart about this to eliminate unnecessary days wasted on trains, and I also don't want to be moving too quickly to enjoy each place. How much of this is reasonable for one month? Please help me narrow this down!

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## LeBrok

It's not too much if you have extremely good memory. If not all the places will mix together in your memory after a while.
Pick on place a week, don't rush, relax and really enjoy your vacation. Europe is not going anywhere, you'll have time to come back and see more.
Good luck. :)

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## Cambrius (The Red)

> Hi there! I am planning a trip to Europe in June 2014 and need a little bit of help narrowing down my itinerary. My plane ticket will be purchased next month, which is why I am trying to figure this part out so early. I will be flying out June 1st and coming back home June 30th, so I'll have a whole month in Europe. Starting in Dublin and ending in Paris is ideal to me, but I am not sure how practical that is. 
> 
> These are the places I am most interested in-
> 
> Dublin, Ireland
> Amsterdam, The Netherlands
> Brussels, Belgium
> Rome, Italy
> Tuscany/Florence, Italy
> ...


Looks like a little bit much going by my past experience. Sometimes it's better to limit yourself to two or three regions and get the most you can out of them. I'm certain you will be worn out come June 30th, going by your itinerary.  :Smile:

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## brooksms

Yes, that is what I was thinking as well. I'm trying to narrow down this list and put it into an order that makes sense. I was hoping a global eurail pass would make traveling between places easy, but each route I check seems to be complicated and expensive. Every trip I have checked times for says a reservation is required, which means more money on top of the pass cost. I'm having trouble understanding the costs and how to best use my money to get from place to place.

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## ebAmerican

I recently came back from a two week trip to Europe. We visited Rome (4), Florence (3), Lucerne, Switzerland (3), and Paris (4), plus lost a day coming to Europe. We took trains, and that was a wonderful experience. If you are going for a month I would recommend a week stay in 4 locations. I could have spent the whole 2 weeks in Rome and Florence alone. Like LeBrok said, Europe isn't going anywhere.

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## Gea

Example:I've visited Rome for three days.

Not enough.

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## Maciamo

It doesn't look too much for me, although you are going to have to plan everything carefully and see things a bit in a hurry. It gives you about 3 days in average in each city. I would stay just one day in Reims to give more time to Paris, Rome or Florence, which are the three places that really deserves more time. 

It's easy to waste time in the French Alps or the Loire Valley if you are using public transports, as these are rural areas with infrequent connections. I would skip these altogether unless you are renting a car (with a GPS). Likewise in Alsace stick to Strasbourg and Colmar if you want to save time.

Here are my recommendations for 30 days. I took the liberty of reorganising destinations in a logical order.

Dublin, Ireland => 2 days
Amsterdam, The Netherlands => 2 days
Brussels, Belgium => 2 days
Paris, France => 6 days
Loire Valley, France => skip
Reims, France => 1 day
Strasbourg, Alsace, France => 2 days
Colmar, Alsace, France => 1 day
Lyon, France => 2 days
French Alps => skip
Venice, Italy => 2 days
Tuscany/Florence, Italy => 5 days
Rome, Italy => 5 days

Of course some days sightseeing time will be shortened by transports between cities.

If you really want to see the Loire Valley, you can make a one- or two-day excursion from Paris (and spend less time in Paris).

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## Maciamo

> Example:I've visited Rome for three days.
> 
> Not enough.


You could stay 2 months in Rome and not see everything.

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## brooksms

> It doesn't look too much for me, although you are going to have to plan everything carefully and see things a bit in a hurry. It gives you about 3 days in average in each city. I would stay just one day in Reims to give more time to Paris, Rome or Florence, which are the three places that really deserves more time. 
> 
> It's easy to waste time in the French Alps or the Loire Valley if you are using public transports, as these are rural areas with infrequent connections. I would skip these altogether unless you are renting a car (with a GPS). Likewise in Alsace stick to Strasbourg and Colmar if you want to save time.
> 
> Here are my recommendations for 30 days. I took the liberty of reorganising destinations in a logical order.
> 
> Dublin, Ireland => 2 days
> Amsterdam, The Netherlands => 2 days
> Brussels, Belgium => 2 days
> ...


Thank you for the help! I do plan to remove a couple of these stops but I'm glad it is possible. Do you think it would be better to stay a few nights in each of the French towns or stay in Paris for two weeks and make day trips?

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## Cambrius (The Red)

All great locations you've chosen. Try to use your time judiciously.

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## brooksms

Thanks for the opinions! I think it really would be best to save Italy for another trip. There is so much to see and I would hate to miss out being in such a rush!

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## Maciamo

> Thank you for the help! I do plan to remove a couple of these stops but I'm glad it is possible. Do you think it would be better to stay a few nights in each of the French towns or stay in Paris for two weeks and make day trips?


You could make day trips from Paris to Reims, but it would be best to stop one night Reims between Paris and Strasbourg. As for Strasbourg and Lyon, they are definitely too far away for day trips.

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## Cambrius (The Red)

> Thanks for the opinions! I think it really would be best to save Italy for another trip. There is so much to see and I would hate to miss out being in such a rush!


Yes, you couldn't take in the best of Italy if you travelled there for a entire year.

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## RosenBlues

Personally, though its possible to do 'hitandrun' touring of all of these places - I think you get to really travel when you spend an adequate time at each location. That way you can have sufficient time to have an experience that is more unique and more to your taste.. .and come back with stories and an experience that really mean something to you, rather than coming back with stories that you were able to see everything every other tourist has done. Plus, leaving some places for another time gives you the perfect excuse to return ;)

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## alayka

No, infact these places are a must visit while you are travelling to europe

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## GarryJP

> Hi there! I am planning a trip to Europe in June 2014 and need a little bit of help narrowing down my itinerary. My plane ticket will be purchased next month, which is why I am trying to figure this part out so early. I will be flying out June 1st and coming back home June 30th, so I'll have a whole month in Europe. Starting in Dublin and ending in Paris is ideal to me, but I am not sure how practical that is. 
> 
> These are the places I am most interested in-
> 
> Dublin, Ireland
> Amsterdam, The Netherlands
> Brussels, Belgium
> Rome, Italy
> Tuscany/Florence, Italy
> ...


Telling the truth, I think it is too much. I mean for one month. You will be confused by all you will see and try to analyze. You will travel during one month.Only month. Do you want to have the full head of mess or you want to be impressed? It is only advice, you should definitely choose what you really want. But if I were you I would skip some places.

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## Aberdeen

This thread reminds me of an old movie called "If this is Tuesday, it must be Belgium".

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## JamesWorsham

Looks like a little bit much going by my past experience.

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