Europe in Summer
So I’m beginning to do some research on places to go in Europe for July/Aug/Sep 2013.. I’ve never been there before so I’m after some advice and ideas from my BW friends!!
I’ll be gone for around 6-7 weeks… Will definitely be going to Croatia and Ireland. Anywhere else is up for discussion!!
Sooooo…. Who’s been?
Sweden and Norway. Expensive, but so worth it. Not enough people go there, considering how beautiful it is. Can even snowboard on a glacier called Folgefonna.
I backpacked Europe with a bunch of friends after high school.
The cities I would highly recommend visiting are: Rome, Venice, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Prague. There were some great places in Portugal and other countries as well, but those mentioned were the best of the bunch, in my experience anyway.
Spain was my favourite country for sure. Such a cool country with so much to see and do. I wasn’t a big fan of France but I can see the appeal.
I’d really like to get back to Europe sometime soon.
I’m going around the same time. Going to see a travel agent on Saturday to get a better idea of the things we have planned already. Pretty pumped. 
I’ll let you know how it goes.
Yeah, I’ve never been to Europe yet, but Croatia and Ireland would def be on the list!!!!!
Wales, Austria, Germany, Italy and Switzerland would also be on my places to see!!!!!
For some reason, France (unless its out in the sth of the country maybe) just doesn’t appeal to me?????
And yeah, the Nordic region would be cool if there was time/cash flow!!!!!
Is there room in your bag for me to stow away, Billy????? I’ll promise to be good!!!!!
I really enjoyed Italy and Greece both places I went to on a tour that weren’t high on my list of places to travel to but loved. Like Rider is was underwhelmed by France as a whole but loved Avigon.
I also loved Switzerland in the summer (although it snowed very heavily at the top of Joun Frau end of August so maybe thats why i enjoyed it!)
What are you plans in terms of travelling around? Are you actually going to backpack or will you be a Flashpacker?
Depending on how you travel you can def just wing it! Especially if you really only have two place on your must visit! Get a rail pass and go where the wind takes you!
Spain is awesome! I loved Andorra and the Pyrnees (cheap booze and Free poring!! got very 
there!! )
I loved Madrid and Valencia and went to La Tomatina!
I really really enjoyed Turkey as well as a teacher i reckon you would love Gallipolli!
Oooh thanks for the advice kids! Keep it comin’! 
Funny you guys say that about France. My mate just got back from Europe and she said the same thing. I’m also really keen on Spain and Switzerland - seeing the alps. I might be a flashpacker, Oz - just depends on funds
what is a flashpacker? excuse the ignorance.
Yep I liked spain way more than france. Madrid was amazing. So much nicer than Paris and I wasn’t expecting that at all. Toledo in Spain was also epic.
Rome, Assisi and Capri were my picks of Italy!
Cords - this sums it nicely!
http://ezine articles.com/?What-is-a-Flashpacker?-10-Traits-That-Separate-Flashpackers-From-Backpackers&id=1714748
(delete the space after the “ezine” - stupid spam blocker!)
Billy
if you go to croatia make sure you see places such as
dubrovnik
hvar
Makarska (if you want to party place never sleeps day/night beach parties
anyways let me know what u want to do and i will let you know where to go since that is my home town.
Paris i would definatley go there, when i went for my honey moon i though oh geee why am i going there but i love it.
From Paris you can drive and see this place and you will not go wrong
Lyon—>Monaco—>Marseille—>Versailles
there is few more places but all in all they are all good, i can ask my wife more if you want.
but i would go paris for sure and travel around paris.
Oooh thanks for the advice kids! Keep it comin’!
Funny you guys say that about France. My mate just got back from Europe and she said the same thing. I’m also really keen on Spain and Switzerland - seeing the alps. I might be a flashpacker, Oz - just depends on funds
It all really depends on what you do in france and where you go and what you see, but like i said in my post bellow if you go and see those places you will definitely love it.
Thanks lano!!
My friend is actually from Makarska and his family and mates are still there so I have all Croatia sorted 
beautiful place, can’t wait.
Yep I still want to give France a go, for sure! My mate stayed in Paris for a week and she said that was far too long, she wishes she spent more time in the ‘country’ parts instead.
Thanks for tips!! 
You can go to the usual places, if you haven’t been to Europe before, but if you want something a bit more out of the way, here are my suggestions:
Romania: Sibiu, which is one of the main cities in Transylvania. The old Saxon towns are very interesting, the landscape peaceful, and getting around is pretty easy (by train, bike, or car).
Krakow: Worth about 5-7 days, you should also visit the various sites outside the city for a taste of history, Auschwitz, the Wieliczka Salt Mines, and also the Tatras mountains south.
Croatia is great, really, Dubrovnik is a gem. Just don’t go during the height of summer, maybe wait until September, or start there in June. I would take a bus to Mostar, Bosnia, it’s a wonderful old Turkish-style town with a famous bridge, and a lot of ruined structures from the civil war.
Hike in the Alps. ‘Nuff said. I spent a few days at Zermatt in the summer, and was able to go hiking and snowboarding in the same day.
Lyon: I really like the city. It’s on a manageable scale, be sure to explore the various mini-courtyards and passages in town, get a map. Eat, eat, eat, the food is a cut above Paris, at a better price.
Budapest: grandest central European city, hands down.
Riga: grandest Baltic city, hands down. A bit out of the way, but it’s architecturally stunning.
Malta: not on many non-Europeans’ lists, but this is an awesome group of islands. Check out the vintage buses before they completely disappear, and be sure to visit the oldest structures in Europe.
Stay in small villages in Switz. we spent 6 weeks there, and there are some wonderful guest houses in such odd places. I would LOVE to do the across Alps walk from France through to Italy via Switz…..takes a couple of weeks I think.
If you want to go to any galleries etc, good idea to look into whether to book tickets early, and avoid those long long lines.I’ve only been in winter, and Europe was amazing. All of it, even France, but travelling with 3 kids is always an interesting experience. Only thing I was underwhelmed with was Disneyland, but there you go.
BDenny is over there, give her a holler, she’s been doing some cool stuff.
I just spent 11 months backpacking/flashpacking through Europe (in Canada for the winter now) and I’ll throw my 2 cents in.
Good to see you are set on Croatia as it’s amazing but don’t expect it to be cheap. If you have to go to Zagreb make sure you go to the museum of broken relationships it sounds weird but is one of the best museums I’ve been to. Make sure you do go to Mostar in Bosnia and go to the waterfalls. This can be done in a day trip from Dubrovnik so you don’t need to stay there. Sarajevo is also a cool city in Bosnia and I loved it there and it’s really cheap if you decided against the day trip.
As others have said Spain is amazing San Sebastian is so beautiful and a lot of fun. Barcelona is just one massive party and there is heaps of cultural things to do as well. The Alhambra in Granada is well worth a visit there is a reason it’s the most popular sight in Spain. Try to get to a festival as well I did la tomatina and you can really explain what it was like you just have to experience it. Depending on your scene Ibiza is the most insane place I have ever been party wise.
Portugal is beautiful and really interesting. Lisbon is really nice and Sintra a town 30km out is amazing. It was the royal residence for a fair while and the castles and parks are stunning. Lagos is quite tacky but the beaches are some of the best in Europe in my opinion.
Scotland is really good too and if you can get there in August you can make it to the fringe festival which I never got to but everyone I know who has raves about it. The city itself is easily my favourite in the UK not too big and it has everything you need.
If you are still around at the end of September Oktoberfest in Munich is unbelievable. I’ve done it twice and would go every year if I could. Berlin is a must if you do go to Germany you will never hear a bad word about it. Also Heidelberg is a cool little town and the castle there is really good.
Prague is the most beautiful city I’ve been to (Brugge in Belgium is meant to be better but haven’t been there so can’t comment). You can just walk around all day and never get sick of it. ?eský Krumlov is also worth a visit.
Budapest is a great place as well. The thermal baths are one of my favourite things I’ve done travelling. The ruin clubs are great to go out to in the evening.
Turkey is great and going to Gallipoli is a must. Pamukkale is just amazing as is cappadocia. Hot air ballooning there is up the top of my list of favourite travelling experiences. Sleeping in treehouses in Olympos was really cool as well and there are ancient Roman ruins there that are basically in a jungle and going through them is a fun adventure. There are also the chimaera which is these natural eternal flames.
Krakow is good and cheap. I can’t really say more than that I was ether drunk or really really hungover when I was there and didn’t see much expect Auschwitz which is a rewarding experience.
I’d have to disagree with worldtripper on Romania I wouldn’t waste my time on it. There a fare better places to see. I had Romanians asking why the hell would you bother going there the whole time I was there and it was the only time I was robbed on my trip also.
As others have said France is overrated. Paris is just a filthy city full of gypsies harassing you all day. Nice and Monaco are good however as are the breads, cheese and wine.
Hope I haven’t crapped on too much and have helped a bit.
I am gonna have to disagree with everyone about France, I though it was awesome. I only spent a few days in Paris and that was plenty, the rest of my time was spent along the coast and in the South, highly recommended. France is so quirky as well, it is the only place where I have filled a jerry can with wine from a bowser and walked to the next stall in the market and bought cheese and foie gras, The country markets were amazing!