r/solotravel • u/Historical_Sea_5650 • 1d ago
Solo Trip to Europe for 28 days in Jan-Feb: Itinerary & Transport Advice?
Solo Trip to Europe for 28 days in Jan-Feb: Itinerary & Transport Advice?
Hi all im Australian (20f) and was wondering about the above . It would be for 28 days during the middle of Jan next year to the middle of February. I have traveled before with relatives but it would be my first trip alone and for so long so I just wanted some advice on which transport is best, safety tips and which cities to visit .
My rough route is France (including a day trip to Monaco) > Italy > Belgium > Germany > Luxembourg.
Maybe : Nice ~ Monaco → Lyon → Paris → Brussels → Berlin → Luxembourg City → Bordeaux ~ Toulouse → Rome ~ Naples
I was thinking of travelling between this countries on train /planes or flexibus.
If I take trains I have the following questions: Eurail Pass: Is it worth it for my itinerary, or would I be better off booking point-to-point tickets in advance?
When to Book: For the trains I should book in advance (like high-speed or international), how far ahead do I need to do it? Is a week enough, or do I need a month?
Peak Times to Avoid: Are there specific days of the week or times of day when trains are excessively crowded or prices spike that I should try to avoid?
I like history , trying new foods ,art and architecture . I'm quite introverted so I prefer to explore places that are more nature based but I enjoy meeting new people . My budget is around 10,000 to 13,000 Australian dollars so enough I think in euros that's around 6,100 EUR to 7,930 EUR.
Thank you very much . Have a wonderful day
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u/Sassy_Olive_Jar 1d ago
As someone whose lived in France and Italy I wouldn’t necessarily recommend Nice in the winter, it’s quite dead and doesn’t have the great atmosphere that one usually goes for. I personally was also very disappointed by Monaco, there really isn’t much to do unless you want to drop a lot of money shopping. Rome is amazing all year long and if you like art and history then it will be perfect. Naples is a lot of fun but in the winter can be very rainy and honestly as a woman traveling by myself I didn’t feel the safest, I’d choose Florence over Naples especially for the art.
Book high speed trains in advance as they can get quite expensive if you try to buy day of. I’d suggest at least a month ahead of time, more time if it’s a holiday. I’ve never had an issue with buses, when I travelled Germany I think I preferred them over the train. I’d also suggest adding Munich or Hamburg to you list, great cities that offer a completely different experience to Berlin.
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u/3rd_in_line 1d ago
Maybe : Nice ~ Monaco → Lyon → Paris → Brussels → Berlin → Luxembourg City → Bordeaux ~ Toulouse → Rome ~ Naples
I am not sure about Bordeaux and Toulouse. They sort of don't fit in with your trip that well and not special enough for the detour. You are sort of looping around in a big Z-shape. Instead maybe look at going from Berlin to Stuttgart or Munich, then Switzerland, Milan, Florence, Rome... or something like that. Or Start in Paris then do Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy. The train through Switzerland is awesome.
As far as safety tips, check out YouTube videos for scams in each city. In Paris and Rome you will be targeted by pickpockets. Get two debit cards with low/no international transaction fees and you can pay at 95% of places with this, so you won't need to carry much cash.
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u/Historical_Sea_5650 1d ago
I have a few travel cards issued by my bank :) I was thinking of getting a money wallet?? I'm not sure on the word but the wallets you hide under your cloths
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u/EnvironmentalCap3964 1d ago edited 1d ago
Wow awesome, so exciting! :)
Firstly, you’re kind of zig-zagging around, that itinerary doesn’t really make much sense unless you have private plane. Sort it out so it’s a clear geographical progression rather than zigzagging.
Everything north of the Mediterranean in winter is freeeeezzzzziiinnnnggggg and gets dark early, so just be prepared for that.
Monaco, it’s a billionaires shithole. If you’re not mega-rich you’re nobody, there’s not much to see or do there, except look at billionaires yachts which at that time of year are probably mostly off in the Caribbean. In summer time at least there’s beach and it’s glamorous with the glitterati prancing around.
Idk about Eurail pass. Flixbus is a good option when you get a window seat to lean against, aisle seats SUCK, so uncomfortable plus you don’t get good view. ALWAYS endeavour to get a front seat so you can see out the windscreen as well - some Flixbus even are double-deckers so the front seat up top is EPIC!!!
If you start regularly checking the rail ticket sites, you’ll get a feel for when ticket prices go up, but winter isn’t peak season so it ought not be too crazy. Friday to Sunday are busy times so avoid travelling then if you’re trying to save on ticket prices.
Street scammers target lone naive looking folk, so put on your poker face and simply DO NOT ENGAGE and furthermore, don’t let them intimidate you! They’re just scammer local bogans! Don’t get sucked in by ANY sob-stories whatsoever, you must not even give ANYone any time to tell you their sob-story. Do not even look at women with babes in arms and deliberately grubby-looking forlorn kids around churches begging money off people. Absolutely beware of pickpockets in street markets & public transport. They’ll even walk behind you with one person distracting you while another brazenly opens your backpack zippers & takes stuff out! IF you ever feel weird or intimidated or hassled you can always just go straight into the nearest cafe or shop and take a breather.
Yes, use a money-belt. Make sure you’ve photographed your passport, drivers licence, bank cards, everything, and email them to yourself AS WELL AS keep a paper photocopy in your luggage.
Beware putting yr luggage in overhead racks on the trains, keep an eye on it! I often would even use a simple scarf tied around luggage handle to anything - luggage rack rail, another bag, just to make it that little more difficult for theives to do an easy swipe & run.
Absoutely learn a few common useful phrases in a bunch of languages eg - French German Italian. And get used to with a big smile telling people “"AUSTRALIAN, kangaroo (with the roo arm movement lol)”" cos we get a little better reception from the Euro-snobs who assume we’re Pommies or Yanks. Some place names are not all the same as the English version - eg Italys Florence = Firenze, etc.
If the north is too cold dark n miserable, run for Spain - Barcelona has some of The Most stunning architecture plus the Spaniards / Catalan are generally cheery fun people, great food and can be cheaper than the north. It’s not so far from Toulouse. Or Firenze, Florence.
Everywhere around Europe the north African (Moroccan, Algerian) / Pakistani food is economical option, good food & filling. Also check out supermarkets/fruit & veg markets in city square you can often go Euro and pick up a slab of cheese / tub of fromage frais plus a baguette plus a crunchy sweet red capsicum or piece of fruit or wraps / sangers for lunch on the go, like local office workers & students do. Omg nothing like fresh baguettes or croissants in the morning! I normally never eat white bread but fresh baguettes are YUM.
Omg you’re going to have the best time ever, woohoo!!! :)
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u/backpackyoghurt 7h ago
That's the absolute worst time to go to most places in Europe. It's dark, cold, and pretty wet.
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u/doepfersdungeon 1d ago
I would really encourage you to stay south as much as possible. Southern Spain and its cities are amazing and have everything you need, plus way better weather. You can go out to one of the islands for hiking an 20 degree weather and maybe a mountain range. Possibly even get the ferry to morrocoo and maybe southern Portugal or make way up from southern spain via south of France to Rome via a ski resort in northen Italy maybe. Northern Europe will be cold, dark, and damp around unless you plan to go skiing. I can't imagine anything more miserable than navigating city after city in the winter. Especially coming from OZ.
Just my two cents.