Europe

How long a trip? Focused on one or two places, or is this a “grand tour” kind of thing?

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How long a trip? Focused on one or two places, or is this a “grand tour” kind of thing?

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Approx. 5 (not including travel days) focused on really one place

Any of those would work for a 5 day trip. But if you only have 5 days, just pick one and do that country only. Trip reports are in the stickied thread.

Agents: I haven’t ever used one. It is very simple to book travel directly with airlines, hotels, Air BnB, etc. I can see the value in using an agent if you’re attempting to put together a complex itinerary for a larger group, but as an individual independent traveler, an agent isn’t really doing anything I can’t do myself. Caveat: educate yourself about your destination(s): guidebooks, message boards, etc. A little research helps you to plan effectively.

Guides: depends on where you’re going & what you’d like to see/do. I strongly prefer NOT to tour with a group, and I have had any number of experiences where the guide was poorly informed, annoying, or attempted to be entertaining/funny rather than focusing on the place/museum/materials at hand. Maybe you like that sort of thing....but my least favorite thing to do on vacation is to be herded about with 20 other Americans as a guide tries to humor them in hopes of earning tips. I’d rather read eight books about a place in advance, show up & experience it directly, then read some more about whatever I saw/did on the plane ride home. I don’t need someone verbally telling me about X as I look at it. I can prepare, experience, then recall later.....I know some folks just absolutely have to hear a schpiel and won’t read/research or know absolutely nothing about the place/culture/destination. You figure out what works best for you.

July is peak tourist season in many parts of Europe, so think about whether you want the crowds and lack of A/C in cities & major tourist destinations. I like the idea of Norway in July....

I've always used Viator app to buy tickets for what I want, you can also book guides if you wish

Ireland, you can cover the whole place in 5-7 days

Really depends on what you intend to do? History; nightlife; nature; culture; restaurants; or active?

I know people here sometimes hate on London as a beginner's trip. Honestly though, you have to do it at least once, so do it now. 5 days is perfect, especially if you add in a day trip to Windsor, Bath or Cambridge.

Stay at the Nadler Soho. You are in the middle of everything -- in the most interesting area of London.

Take the significant other shopping on Oxford Street (especially Selfridges). Go see Book of Mormon. Eat at Hakkassan Hanway Place.

Take the hop on hop off bus. See the tower; the London Eye; the British Museum; the Churchill War Rooms; Buckingham Palace. Once you get the lay of the land, take the bus or tube, or black cabs (London taxis are best in the world -- they destroy Uber).

Buy the Lonely Planet Guide to London. Use that to plan your itineraries. No need to go on a guided group tour.

Viator is an OTA -- so they sell tours from various vendors. Good overall source for tours.

Salzburg is well centered in Europe. You could do a couple of days there and then take a train to quite a number of places that would be 3 hours or less. So it would allow you to see more than one city/country. I would strongly consider that. If you go to Ireland then you will only be seeing Ireland would be my bet.