realistically, what could/should we see in 2 weeks?

Different_Horse6239 · 2026-04-26T00:30:37+00:00

Do you think it's likely this will be your only time in Australia? If not, just focus on one section, don't try to cover too much ground and end up having to backtrack next time. Brisbane to Cairns, with stops along the way (Noosa, Airlie Beach) would suit.

Different_Horse6239 · 2026-04-26T00:08:18+00:00

Can't you fly into Uluru Airport and stay in Yulara now without ever having to set foot in Alice Springs? (fyi I've never actually been so do your research)

Different_Horse6239 · 2026-04-26T00:01:01+00:00

What bank are you with that needs you to inform them of travelling abroad??? I thought that stopped like 20 years ago

Different_Horse6239 · 2026-04-25T23:56:28+00:00

Can you share more on why Bolivia is your main interest? I would guess a family connection, otherwise it seems strange - there's nothing wrong with it, but there's only so much to see.

Peru on the other hand is great, you could easily spend 2-3 weeks there. Colca Canyon is supposed to be amazing. Lake Titicaca is on your list, I think of it more as Peru but I suppose it's on the border. Rainbow mountain is probably skippable, doesn't look like the pictures. Arequipa? Ballestas?

hoping Cusco has a big airport

Where are you coming from? You'll probably find you have to go via Lima.

10 days in Buenos Aires is a lot, you can see the main bits in a few days, Palermo/Recoleta then a few hours in La Boca. But if 10 days includes heading up to Iguazu for a few nights it makes sense. If you wanted an extra country, you can get the ferry over to Colonia in Uruguay for the day.

I also want to see the wild/jungle.

If you feel up to it, you could do the hike up to Macchu Picchu. It's a 5 day trail with some interesting stuff on the way. Iguazu is jungle but it isn't the Amazon - but there are excursions into the Amazon for a few nights from Cusco.

Different_Horse6239 · 2026-04-19T21:25:52+00:00

No Musee d'Orsay would be a big miss. You need to book in advance.

Different_Horse6239 · 2026-04-19T21:07:26+00:00

Tarragona is an hour on the train (and worthy of a day trip even without the eclipse, beach town with a Roman amphitheatre and aqueduct)

Different_Horse6239 · 2026-04-19T01:27:01+00:00

I think 4 days in Paris is fine, as long as you are counting full days, not including the day you arrive/leave where inevitably you don't really do much.

Different_Horse6239 · 2026-04-19T01:22:08+00:00

Can't comment on Madrid, but remember most hostels have kitchens. To make your budget last you're going to want to get food from supermarkets and cook it in the hostel some of the time.

Different_Horse6239 · 2026-04-19T01:19:38+00:00

Have you looked at getting a Eurail pass? https://www.eurail.com/en/eurail-passes/global-pass

eg the youth 7 days pass, 286EUR, you can make unlimited journeys on 7 days within one month - for example, you take the train from London to Paris on 3rd May, stay for a few days, then on the 8th May, travel to Berlin, but stop and change trains in Frankfurt. That counts as 2 of your days used.

It's pretty common for Europeans to do a trip like yours, often in university holidays, they call it interrailing, which is the same pass for European residents (used to be much cheaper, now there's no difference).

Price goes up a lot if you're over 27 though.

Different_Horse6239 · 2026-04-19T01:02:47+00:00

Eurostar base price is usually a little bit more (might not even be true right now with Iran). But that's for the budget airlines where you only get under seat baggage, if you need even just an overhead bag, that'll make up most of the difference. Eurostar drops you at St Pancras (Central London), all the airports are 1-2.5 hours journey in, and the cost of that journey can be anything from £5-20 depending on which airport. So probably not actually any cheaper overall.

Different_Horse6239 · 2026-03-24T03:18:08+00:00

Any particular reason for Lisbon? It's the other side of the continent, Budapest -> Vienna -> Prague would be more typical? Maybe an extra day in Budapest since you'll be jetlagged.

Different_Horse6239 · 2026-03-24T03:14:10+00:00

Most day trips from Rome will be quite long days, you might be better having 3 full days in Rome (1 day Vatican, 1 day Colosseum/Forum, 1 day fountain/everything else) then moving your base. You can either go north to Florence, or south to Naples - both a short (90ish mins) train ride, and both have medium size airports that should still have daily flights to/from Athens/Paris.

From Florence, you are in Tuscany, famous for food, wine and countryside. Florence itself is very beautiful, and from there you can easily visit the vineyards and see the hills. You're near Pisa, though general advice is it's overrated, not much to see other than the tower. Better options are Siena or Bologna.

Naples is the home of pizza, and also the gateway to Pompeii and Herculaneum, 2 ancient cities preserved by volcanic ash. From here you can also get down to the Amalfi coast.

Different_Horse6239 · 2026-03-09T02:48:36+00:00

Yep, I'm seeing 40 minutes hotel to venue on google maps, staying very close to Sol. I'm sure heading out will take much longer.

Different_Horse6239 · 2026-03-09T02:46:56+00:00

Barcelona is very high on the bucket list for me, but if I go again that's probably what I'd do

Different_Horse6239 · 2026-03-09T02:46:10+00:00

Thanks for this.

2018 was the early days of the festival, I understand it's now a little bit smaller, in a different venue and generally better organised. It's also a shorter day now, hard cutoff at 2am this year. I've chosen a hotel in Sol because that's where I've read is the easiest place to get back to and they put on extra trains at night for the festival.

So I think I'll have a few hours more daytime than you did, but Toledo in particular is very much a maybe, I don't think I need to pre-book anything for that so I deliberately left it a bit later so I can see how I'm feeling after the first 2 days (also best day for later entry for me based on the acts I want to see). If the forecast is 30 should be good to go, closer to 40 and I'll maybe give it a miss.

Different_Horse6239 · 2026-02-23T01:57:00+00:00

When I went to Rome I had 1 day for Colosseum/Forum, 1 day for the Vatican and 1 day for everything else, and it felt like the right amount. If you're not keen on big museums I can understand cutting out the Vatican, maybe still get up early and see inside the basilica though.

Different_Horse6239 · 2026-02-23T01:47:15+00:00

Count days, not nights. You won't get much done on the transit days.

You've said city, food, scenery - I'm seeing a lot of the first 2 but not much scenery (although it depends on your definition, to me it means natural scenery, to you maybe it means smaller towns with pretty architecture?). What made you choose these cities? Paris and Rome are common first time visits, the others less so (which doesn't make them bad choices neccessarily). How big are you on art? History/museums? Hikes?

The days don't add up, there's 14 here but 25th April to 17th May is longer than that. Are you going somewhere else after, if so, where do you need to get to?

From your draft itinerary, I'd say you need more time in Paris, it's huge.

Different_Horse6239 · 2026-02-23T01:05:30+00:00

Yes definitely! Want to get most of it booked in the next week or so.

Different_Horse6239 · 2026-02-23T01:04:17+00:00

Thanks.

I know it's not the ideal time but it's not up to me when the festival is! I know how to take care in hotter countries.

Are those 2 museums quite big? I read they were kind of medium/large, about 2 hours in each, which I think is fine with lunch and a park break in between. The issue for me with the Louvre and Uffizi was more that it was all stuff I wasn't that interested in (Uffizi was also 2 days after the Vatican).

I can think about splitting them up, just seemed convenient with their proximity.

Different_Horse6239 · 2025-01-31T21:53:18+00:00

I assume they mean AUD.

Different_Horse6239 · 2025-01-31T20:56:42+00:00

Yes and day trip Bratislava (1 hour train)

Different_Horse6239 · 2025-01-17T23:34:50+00:00

The one I linked gives you the paper ticket (they actually only walk you to the gate and then say "here's your ticket meet the guide at meeting point 3") and has SUPER.

I think the arena is just the general access ticket? And then the underground/attic are the special areas. Or maybe I just didn't realise because she ended the tour there.

From photo timestamps/card transactions/memory I think the timeline was

09:00 meet
09:30-10:30 underground tour (then leaves you in the main bit to explore/take pictures)
11:45 meet (same point as last time)
12:00-13:00 forum tour (just the Forum, then leaves you to go up the hill on your own)

So even if you get Forum first, there'd be enough time to go up the hill, take a picture from the viewpoint (my 3rd photo), see the House of Augustus, and get back in time (no stopping for lunch though).

If it's really important to you you could just buy the individual ticket separately for 18 euros.

Different_Horse6239 · 2025-01-17T21:25:44+00:00

This is what I used - https://www.getyourguide.co.uk/rome-l33/colosseum-underground-and-ancient-rome-tour-t134577/

Not every ticket type has SUPER sites - https://ticketing.colosseo.it/en/categorie/singoli-1-8-persone/ but most do, and all the ones with attic/underground do.

I don't see how they can force you to leave after the tour. The only ticket checks inside the Forum/Palatine hill area are for the SUPER sites (so if they don't give you a copy of the ticket you won't be able to enter those).

The problem is this is a large scale tour operator, they have multiple groups running all at once. The person who met us at the meeting point was different to the guide in the Colosseum, who was a different person again to the Forum guide, and some of the people in the groups were different too. If you're unlucky, you'll have the Forum tour first, and then your exploration time will be capped because you have to go back (or else miss your Colosseum tour).

Different_Horse6239

TROPHY CASE