don't "do" Europe | "experience" Europe

just sitting ...  (c) 2017 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

I confess to being a regular "lurker" on the fodors.com Europe forum. I find it interesting to read the questions posted by travelers thinking about a European vacation and find that there are some quite knowledgeable fellow lurkers who provide great insights. But I'm — is "amused" the right word? — interested by some of the questions that people ask.

One traveler asks if his itinerary is "too much." My rule of thumb is, if you think there's too much crammed into your itinerary, pay attention to that feeling. You're probably right. One traveler posted the following itinerary for feedback. (They plan to get from place to place by RailPass.)

Athens - 2 days
Capri - 1 day
Naples - 1 day
Rome - 2 days
Milan - 1 day
Cinque Terre - 1 day
Vienna - 2 days
Prague - 1 day
Budapest - 2 days
Krakow - 2 days
Berlin - 2 days
Copenhagen - 1 day
Amsterdam - 2 days
Barcelona - 2 days
Madrid - 2 days
Lisbon - 2 days
Porto - 2 days

"I'm concerned that we have too many stops," he writes. Um, yes!!! ... This is an insane itinerary. Here's what I wrote:

This is crazy busy... You're seeing places, "doing" places in the parlance of some, but not really experiencing much of anything except seeing the countryside through the window of a train. You will be tired, frustrated, and disappointed at the end of this vacation.

I totally agree with what another poster wrote: 

You're high as a kite if you think you can do 17 cities in 27 days, especially ones as geographically distant as these.... Cut the number of destinations in half. Then halve that. 4 or 5 locations in 4 weeks would be awesome.

Don't "do" Europe ... experience Europe. The photograph at the top of this article shows what a European vacation should be like. This couple in Paris is sitting at a table in a café, watching the world pass by. Slow down. Less is more!

copyright (c) 2017 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell Travel. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.