Hey all,

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I've been putting together an itinerary for my first solo trip; a summer Europe trip for my college graduation. I have a list of specific questions that i'll leave below. I'm also really interested in other general feedback, advice, or tips for the areas I am interested in seeing.

The current plan is 59 days, which I have "subdivided" into three sections. The sections are separated with the thick black line in the excel sheet. I recently had another thread on r/solotravel asking about strict planning vs. winging it where a lot of people encouraged me to really try and step outside of my comfort zone. I figured that I can subdivide the trip into three sections of planning to increase the freedom I have along the journey as my comfort with solo travel increases. The first section I will plan out in great detail (hostels, day plans, etc), the second in lesser detail (just hostel stays), and the third I want to "wing" (except for Rome).

One side note. I have intentionally avoided Munich because I think I will want to come back in October sometime in the future. With that in mind, I think that trip will be Frankfurt, Munich, Slazburg, Vienna, and Bratislava, so I am not worried about missing those cities. Same logic applies to Portugal, Spain, and the rest of France as well as the Nordic countries and the Balkan peninsula

I haven't booked anything yet but I want to lock down the flights and some of the hostels (not in post) sooner rather than later. I'll probably make another massive post asking for hostel/activity recommendations in the future once I lock-in the flights.

Thank you all so much in advance. This sub is such a hidden treasure-trove of great travel information and experiences. I'm really happy I stumbled upon this community.

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Best,
Q

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Specific Questions:

• Will I need a laptop at all? I've seen people recommend traveling with one but I think that a proper smartphone should be able to handle anything I would need.
• Which cities would you recommend renting a bike in to explore?
• Best daytrips from London, Berlin, Prague, and Budapest?
• Is Brussels worth stopping in for an afternoon on my way to Ghent? Is Antwerp worth stopping at on the way from Ghent to Amsterdam?
• Are the Tatra Mountains best explored on the Polish-side (Zakopane) or the Slovakian-side (Zdiar)?
• Is Plitvice Lakes National Park a daytrip or overnight adventure? Is it even worth it for how "out of the way" it is? I'm questioning if I should considering I have a few nature spots before and after. I could just save it for a different trip to the Balkan's.
• Should I try and fit either Bologna, Milan, Como, or Naples? What then should I remove?
• Is there anything "must-see" that I am missing?
• Is there anything I have that you would leave out? If so, what would you replace it with?

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Additional Notes:

• All daytrips will be entirely optional. This should allow me enough rest if/when this itinerary wears me out.
• I tried to get to Amsterdam, Berlin, and Budapest for at least part of a weekend to experience the nightlife in full.
• As I stated before, the third section I will try and completely wing. I'm making the guide to give me a rough idea of where I think I will want to go and how long it will take me.
• I have two nights in Bled because I think I will want to relax and check out Bohinj, Vintar Gorge, and Bled
• I tried to show days in which I anticipate a significant amount of travel by using this weird "City/ModeofTransportation/City" format. If a city is listed first, it means that I think I will spend a bit of time in the city before heading out. If transport is listed first, then I am anticipating an early wakeup to get moving for the day.

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Itinerary:

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https://i.redd.it/62gsw9ci9q621.png