Planning your itinerary:

Planning your itinerary can be both exciting and frustrating.

I would start with a list of cities/countries that you are interested in, and then whittle it down to the places that you must see. Once you have a list of cities that you must see on your trip, create a loose framework of how you're going to connect those dots.

Don't get too bogged down in planning out the minutiae of how you're going to get from place to place, or where to stay. Just focus on first getting a list of target areas. Then narrow them down as you start researching transportation, accommodations and other logistics.

The development of a starting itinerary might look something like this:

Starting with a list of cities/regions:

  • France: Paris, Normandy, Nice
  • Germany: Freiburg, Munich, Berlin
  • Austria: Vienna, Salzburg
  • Czech Republic: Prague
  • Croatia: Split, Dubrovnik
  • Poland: Krakow
  • Sweden: Stockholm, Malmo
  • Denmark: Copenhagen
  • England: London, Manchester, Liverpool
  • Scotland: Edinburgh
  • Ireland: Dublin, Galway, Cork
  • Northern Ireland: Belfast, Giant's Causeway

Might be shortened to this

  • France: Paris, Normandy, Nice
  • Germany: Munich, Berlin
  • Austria: Vienna
  • Czech Republic: Prague
  • Poland: Krakow
  • England: London, Manchester
  • Scotland: Edinburgh
  • Ireland: Dublin, Galway
  • Northern Ireland: Belfast, Giant's Causeway

Then gets trimmed and developed into a basic itinerary

  • Fly to Paris (Spend 3 days)
  • Trains to Normandy and then Nice (3 days between the two)
  • Fly from Nice to Berlin (spend 3 days)
  • Train from Berlin to Prague (spend 2 days)
  • Bus from Prague to Vienna (spend 2 days)
  • Fly from Vienna to London (spend 2 days)
  • Travel up England (spend 4 days)
  • Make it to Edinburgh (spend 4 days)
  • Fly from Edinburgh to Dublin, see Galway, return to Dublin (4 days)
  • Fly from Dublin to Paris (stay overnight)
  • Leave from Paris to USA

Once you have a basic idea of your trip, you can continue to develop things further planning places in those regions you also want to see. Be sure to also leave a lot of wiggle room, you never know when you might meet a couple backpackers from Brazil who invite you to go with them to Estonia

When to go:

Another big choice is whether to go during the summer months, or high season (May-September) or during the off-season. Both have their advantages and disadvantages.

If you're a student like me, you're kind of limited to going during the summer months, but fear not, traveling during the high season can be amazing, even if all the attractions are crowded.

High Season: May-September

During the high season you'll have more trains and buses, warmer weather, attractions are open longer, more backpackers to meet. However, hostels might be fuller and pricier and everything will be swamped with tourists.

Off-Season: October-April

If you're going on the off-peak, there are some definite benefits. Hostels and travel will be a bit cheaper, you'll have milder weather and you'll spend less time waiting in line for attractions.

That being said, if you end up going during the off-season, although this applies to the peak months as well, make sure that the attractions you're interested will be open. Don't squander your trip to Bavaria by finding out that Neuschwanstein castle is closed in the fall (don't worry, it's open year round, but you get the point). This is where having a guide book is very handy; most have the open seasons for major attractions.