[Sandokan]

Hi all
Been lurking around the forum for a while so thought it's time to sign up.

Background
Recently finished university studies and decided to travel before entering the real world of the workforce. Currently a friend and I are planning a trip to Brazil for the world cup followed by a tour around Europe and need some advice from some seasoned travelers.
We both are in our early twenties from Australia and can speak reasonably well Italian.

Itinerary
I've tried to do as much homework as possible and look up datasheets for nightlife and places to stay but like everything this changes with time.

Most of the time we will stay in hostels (I know not highly regarded on the forum) however in brazil and some of EE we will try apartments from airbnb. .

Hitting up Sao Paolo (6 nights) & Rio (16 nights) for the Brazilian leg of the trip. See if we can capture the Brazilian flag as it seems like a hot topic on the forum.

The euro trip will be as follows,
July/August
Madrid
Lagos (portugal)
Lisbon
San Sebastian
Ibiza
Barcelona
Antwerp
Amsterdam
Paris
Nice
Split
Athens
Mykonos
Ios
hersonissos

September
Turin
Milan
Bologna
Riccione
Florence
Rome
Naples
Sorrento
Catania

October-December
Munich
Berlin

Unsure on EE in deciding which cities to visit and for how long.
Prague (4 nights)
Wroclaw (4 nights)
Krakow (5 nights) Do I stay in both polish cities or focus on one?
Lvov (4 nights) Thinking about cutting from list?

Kiev (5 nights)
Anyone visited these? http://englishrussia.com/2012/02/13/aban...s-in-kiev/

Kharkov (4 nights)
abandoned tank factory http://thehiat.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/k...ctory.html

Tiraspol (4 nights)
Chisinau (4 nights)
Bucharest (5 nights)
Sofia (4 nights) possibly cut off list
Istanbul (3 nights) possibly cut off list
Belgrade (4 nights)
Budapest (4 nights) possibly cut off list
Tallinn (4 nights)
Helsinki (4 nights)
Stockholm/Uppsala (5 nights)

Nothing is set in stone so the trip is going to be more like "take it as it comes" therefore if the city is good we'll stay longer

Any advice/thoughts on the trip?Also which areas are best to stay in for nightlife/logistics in some of these cities.

Cheers

[rudebwoy]

Far too many places in such short space of time.

[RawGod]

5 months in Europe? What about cutting your list in half, travel to a dozen cities in the first two months. Then set up in your favorite city for three months and own the place, making some side trips now and then.

[vinman]

This is way too many places, and way too regimented. As the previous two posters said, it's too much. Pick the places that you want to hit the most and focus on those. Also, go over some of the other threads about the experiences that some of the other RVF'ers had in some of these places.

[Sandokan]

Fair call guys. I probably won't change much of the western Europe side of things as there are certain touristy we'd like to do and those dates are locked in (running of the bulls, oktoberfest etc). Its more EE and deciding where to go there.

@vinman:I've read fair few datasheets and gained some insights into some of these places however they are also why the list is so long, because going by what people have said these places can't be missed.

[WanderingSoul]

Looks fucking miserable.

Cut that shit in half, at least.

Check out Slubus 3 month EE trip. That's a much better timeline to follow.

[Gato]

the advices are good .....
if I have more time on my trips ....I like to have "lets wait and see approach"
tonight you party in Paris and tomorrow you decide to go to Barcelona ...(your next move) ...keep flexibility
and be spontaneous ....do not let the agenda control your experience.
Enjoy !

[Sandokan]

alright so the generally consensus is the cut some cities out. So based on experiences which cities would you recommend I ditch and briefly why?

[Chaos]

Go more with flow and don't focus so much on a itenary.
Trust me, if you really like a city and it's atmosphere,or maybe you have something going on with a chick 4-5 days is nothing! Not many things suck as much as when you need to leave a city when you have a feeling of unfinished business.

My suggestion is to have an open itenary and not having things planned into the smallest detail.
Be flexible.
What the hell, there should be some adventure also. Isn't that what travelling is all about?

[Sandokan]

(01-05-2014 03:26 AM)Chaos Wrote:  

Go more with flow and don't focus so much on a itenary.
Trust me, if you really like a city and it's atmosphere,or maybe you have something going on with a chick 4-5 days is nothing! Not many things suck as much as when you need to leave a city when you have a feeling of unfinished business.

My suggestion is to have an open itenary and not having things planned into the smallest detail.
Be flexible.
What the hell, there should be some adventure also. Isn't that what travelling is all about?

Yeah I understand what you're saying. Nothing has been booked nor will it be until we land in europe (except for international flights). The itinerary just serves as ideas when we decide to move on.

[Steve9]

(01-04-2014 07:55 PM)Sandokan Wrote:  

Istanbul (3 nights) possibly cut off list

I would stay longer in Istanbul - it is one of the best cities in the world.

You probably will not get your Turkish flag, but its got a fantastic vibrancy to it and so many cool things to see.

There are some good hostels in the Sultanahmet area where you would be just a few minutes walk from the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, & the Grand Bazaar.

[rudebwoy]

I see you are from Australia, I will assume you will be staying in hostels.

Have you priced this out and what is your budget?

Also be careful where you go in August, some places may be dead.

[GreenTobacco]

I tried that kind of travel schedule once (hit all the cities, see all the sites), It was not enjoyable.

i recommend you pick a few nice spots and get to know them at a deeper level.

pick a region (2-3 countries at the most) and enjoy your 5 months there

[Scott Free]

(01-04-2014 07:55 PM)Sandokan Wrote:  

The euro trip will be as follows,
July/August
Madrid
Lagos (portugal)
Lisbon
San Sebastian
Ibiza
Barcelona
Antwerp
Amsterdam
Paris
Nice
Split
Athens
Mykonos
Ios
hersonissos

September
Turin
Milan
Bologna
Riccione
Florence
Rome
Naples
Sorrento
Catania

Stockholm/Uppsala (5 nights)

Nothing is set in stone so the trip is going to be more like "take it as it comes" therefore if the city is good we'll stay longer

Any advice/thoughts on the trip?Also which areas are best to stay in for nightlife/logistics in some of these cities.

Cheers

A couple of buddies and I took a Euro Tour in April of 2012. It was over a much shorter time span than what you are planning, but the general idea was to see as much as possible so that on our next trip to Europe, we would know more or less where we'd want to spend more time in. We spent a metric fuck ton of money, simply because it was unplanned. In fact, the only thing set in stone, was the flight into London and the flight out of Stockholm. Everything in between was 'figure it out.' I don't recommend doing this... but at the same time, I'd never regret that experience.

Down to the details.

San Sebastián is a gorgeous little city near the Pyrenees Mountains, bordering France. One of the most beautiful cities I've seen in Europe. And prior to making it a stop for my own Europe Tour, I had never heard of it before. The only reason we went there, was my buddy had an aunt there he wanted to visit. It's deep in Basque country and the women are fairly attractive, but for some reason, are generally short(er) in stature. The city has a picturesque beach wrapped in its bay. It probably depends on the season, but when we were there, we only saw older people sunbathing, some tourists. There's a decent bar, Tiki Bar, we checked out within walking distance of the beach and the touristy centers of attraction. Girls were decent and worth gaming, at least around that time.

Amsterdam (read: AmsterDAMN!) was definitely one of the highlights of our trip. I still have some 8 hours of nightlife missing from my memory... Amsterdam, as you probably know, has legalized prostitution and 'soft' drugs. Worth checking out are the coffee shops and the Red Light District which is not as seedy as one would imagine. I've seen tourists and couples even a few grandfather and grandmother types strolling around it late at night. The coffee shops are somewhat unique, the ones I've seen had separate counters, a bar for the food or beverage (Take note: They're not allowed to sell alcohol) and one for weed, which was operated by a police man. It was freaky buying weed from a cop... Make sure you have arranged lodging prior to going there... Hotels charge an arm and a leg and hostels are usually booked if you try walk-ins.

Paris is definitely worth the visit. So many things to see... and a lot to talk about, but I'll just stick to the top of my list. Especially if you are more of a Day Gamer, the Louvre museum is a must-see. I seriously could not concentrate... I didn't know whether to look at the art of man (sculptures, paintings, etc.) or the art of god (a sea of gorgeous women from around the world!) The weekends are very busy but the trade off is that there are throngs of sexy students providing nonstop hunting grounds to satiate your hunger. At one point, I remember hearing those sexy Aussie accents one second, then Russian the next, Irish after that... I could go on and on...

Rome is also a must-see. The crazy cab drivers, the classical architecture, the indescribably flavorful food, and don't get me started on those Italian ladies... Man, now I want to go back... Like, Paris, there is plenty to see. Even if you don't have any gouge, it won't be a problem once you're there. Be sure to visit Vatican City, as it's considered a country of it's own, with perhaps the hardest flag to capture (Does anyone here have a Vatican Flag? Lol)

Prague is as far east as we traveled. Praha, in the vernacular, boasts St. Vitus Cathedral and the Orloj, the world's oldest astronomical clock that is still working. Czech women are amazing in my eyes. I met my ex at one of the local coffee shops. Did a cold approach, chatted for a bit, but due to lack of logistics and my newbie game I settled for her contact info. After a few months of chatting, she visited me in California and we hit it off. Anyways, back to you. Another place to Czech out, is St. Norbert's. It's a monastery turned into a brewery/pub. Without exaggeration, some of the best beer I've ever tried was found here. If you get a chance, try a bite of sweet Oplatky (best when toasted) and some Halušky. Just ask around, it shouldn't be too hard to find some.

   

Stockholm was our port of exit. I've seen some insanely attractive women here, like our hotel front desk lady, a redhead who looked like a model, she had a *deep* V cut blazer and proudly showed off her cleavage... but also saw some nightmarishly repulsive ones, blue-haired, mannish land whale with metal spikes coming out of her face, I. Shit. You. Not. Anyhow, check out the unique Ice Bar (Although I hear Sydney has one now.) There's also a Kaffebar (coffee shop) that was apparently featured in that Daniel Craig Dragon Tattoo movie, popular at the time. Saw a couple of cutie blonde college students there. I approached and conversed one who was mildly interested. Failed to keep things going though and she went back to her studies. Weather-wise, the place was too cold for me, even in April.

We visited more places than that, but those are the ones on your list. I hope some of this has been helpful.

[Sandokan]

(01-05-2014 11:10 AM)rudebwoy Wrote:  

I see you are from Australia, I will assume you will be staying in hostels.

Have you priced this out and what is your budget?

Also be careful where you go in August, some places may be dead.

Mostly hostels with the exception of few airbnb apartments in EE.
Budgeting about 30K AUD for the whole trip.
August we should be alright as we'll be on the croatian coast & greek isles.

@ScottFree Nice post, thanks for the insights

[Scott Free]

(01-05-2014 10:15 PM)Sandokan Wrote:  

@ScottFree Nice post, thanks for the insights

No worries man, hit me up when you hit EU soil and you have any questions. Let us know how it turns out and good luck!

[perspective]

Agree with Steve9. You'd be mad not to visit Istanbul. Agruably the best city on your list.

Regarding Munich for Oktoberfest). Be aware it takes place in *September! Try to get accommodation sorted ASAP ... it's a nightmare and can be very expensive.

All the best and good luck.

[Sandokan]

(01-06-2014 09:25 PM)perspective Wrote:  

Agree with Steve9. You'd be mad not to visit Istanbul. Agruably the best city on your list.

Regarding Munich for Oktoberfest). Be aware it takes place in *September! Try to get accommodation sorted ASAP ... it's a nightmare and can be very expensive.

All the best and good luck.

we'll be there on the last weekend (2-5 Oct) so guessing it going pretty busy. I'll sort out accommodation by the end of this month, any ideas where to stay in munich?