Hi everyone! I am an American girl(19) and I am planning on studying abroad in Prague next year(I'll be 20), for the entire academic year! I am extremely excited for this, even though it is 7 months away, it will be my first time ever leaving the country, and it will be for around 9 months, since I'll be studying at Charles University for my entire Senior year.

Now, in between the Fall and Spring Semester there is an approximately 3 week winter break. Since I have never been on any sort of vacation other then a weekend getaway with family, I decided to plan myself an epic European vacation! I'm planning on it being around 2 weeks, maybe a little longer. At first I had a list of like 7 countries, but eventually narrowed it down to three countries after realizing that quality time spent in less countries will be more fun. I plan on buying a 40 or 45L travel backpack for my belongings so that I can take it as a carry on, and so I won't have to lug around a suitcase in the middle of winter. Here is my tentative itinerary that I have come up with, it will probably change a few times, since I only just started researching and it's a long time away, but I think it will look something like this:

Italy - Venice, 3 days, 2 nights

Italy - Florence, 4 days , 4 nights, ( I will take a guided day trip to Tuscany fo the entire last day)

France - Paris, 5 days, 4 nights

Scotland - Edinburgh, 3 days, 2 nights

Scotland - Highlands? 3 days, 2 nights

Originally I wanted to have a longer trip, close to 18 days, so I may tack on another destination, or add a couple nights to some places, or I might just leave it as is. There is a question mark by the Highlands, becouse I am not sure where in the highlands I want to go, I was thinking about doing the Isle Of Skye, or Glencoe, but I'm not sure. I asked for advice on a couple of UK based subs, but would really appreciate any advice you've got! The reason it was so easy for me to narrow my trip down to only a few locations, is because I know I will have other times for travel. Although this is the longest break I have from Uni, it is not the only one. At Charles University there are never any classes on Friday, so I have 3 day weekends every week. Since the Czech republic is in Central Europe, there are lots of countries super close by. Berlin is only a 4 hour train ride away, and I have a cousin who lives there, so I definitely plan on taking a few weekend trips there.

I also really want to take weekend trips to Barcelona and/or Madrid, and Greece, during the spring, just two nights each. I'm not sure if I'll end up doing that, but I'm seriously considering it. I think there is a week long break in the spring semester, but I'm not sure. If there is, I plan on taking a 3 or 4 night trip to Iceland. I know this seems like a giant amount of traveling, but really this will be spread over 8-9 months, except for the 2 weeks during winter break.

I am very fortunate to be able to find the finances to fund my dream trip, I'll be using a combination of personal savings, money raised by relatives though a GoFundMe, and a student loans refund check. I'll be spending most of my savings, and taking out a couple thousand dollars of extra student loans, but I really think it will be worth it for me. The reasons I think so are, one, because this is a once in a life time experience where I can travel Europe without worrying about a job I have to get back to or any other personal responsibilities. Two, because I am saving money by studying abroad in Prague, I know it sounds crazy, but it is cheaper for me to attend college abroad them in my home state, because of the Czech currency exchange rate with the US dollar. So by taking out some extra student loans to get a refund check, I will still be taking out less or the same amount as if I were attending boring old US college.

I will still keep to a budget of course, I just won't have to skimp on things I want, like slightly nicer hotels and nonstop flights. The total amount of money I will hopefully be able to spend on travel will be up to 5k, I never really spend any money from savings (Grew up having to be very frugal and only just started training myself to be able to spend money on myself), so this trip is me finally indulging myself for once in my life. I did some math and calculated a tentative cost for my main 2 week trip. The Total should be around 2.6k. I did some research on hotel prices, flight/train prices, average food and attraction prices, ect.

Italy - Venice - $500

Italy - Florence/Tuscany $500

France - Paris $750

Scotland - Edinburgh $400

Scotland - Highlands $400

I hope to spend around this amount, but I am open to spend a little more, and of course have emergency funds if anything goes wrong. The rest of my travel money will be spent on weekend trips and hopefully one 4-5 day trip later in the year. There are also a few school led trips scattered across the year that are a very affordable price, and usually only overnight, which I will probably go on. I am truly going to take total advantage of being in Europe for almost an entire year, since I probably won't get the opportunity any time soon once I go back home. I do plan on contenting to travel, I just know I'm addicted even though I haven't even gone yet. I've wanted to travel even since I can first remember, and I am overjoyed at finally having the change, much earlier in life them I ever thought I could.

Thank you for taking the time to read my super long post! I would really love any advice, recommendation, kind words, ect. that you have to offer on any part of my trip, including things to pack/buy for traveling. And don't be afraid to critique my itinerary, I can't wait to hear from you!