How I Travelled to 6 European Countries, 12 Cities in 5 weeks

I know - the title sounds super hectic, and you're probably wondering 'how did she do that!?', which is why you're now reading this blog.

This 5 week trip was the first time I travelled overseas, and I was worried after planning this huge trip, that I bit off more than I could chew. After my second semester of my first year of university, I had time before starting my summer job. My dad travels for pleasure quite a lot, but prior to this trip, he had never been to Europe either.

I called him one evening and asked him, "Would you want to travel to Europe together?"; he laughed at the idea and the conversation pretty much ended there. The next morning, he called me with a full 5 week itinerary and flights all picked out. Without hesitation, I said let's book it!

So, what was our itinerary? How much did it cost roughly? How did we survive? 

In order, we travelled to:
Rome, Italy
Venice, Italy (this was our hub city for our itinerary)
Naples, Italy (visited Pompeii)
Sicily, Italy (visited Taormina)
Zadar, Croatia
Kotor, Montenegro
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Paris, France
Corfu, Greece
Mykonos, Greece
Santorini, Greece (Saw the famous Oia town)
Olympia, Greece

My dad first saw a flight from Montreal, QC to Rome, Italy (with a quick layover in Paris), on itravel2000 for around $750CAD round trip. Not as good as my flight to Thailand... if you haven't read my Thailand blog, click here. After booking the flight, he looked on VacationsToGo to look for cruise ship itineraries. Cruise ships are an awesome way to see a lot of destinations, especially in Europe, during a small amount of time. He first found the 7 day cruise leaving Venice towards Naples, Sicily, Zadar and Kotor, then back to Venice. The price per person for 7 days, with a sea view, food included and drinking package? $429 USD. An offer we couldn't resist. BUT, then he saw another 7 day cruise leaving Venice a few weeks later to all the Greek islands for $700 USD. So my dad decided "why not book both cruises, then travel somewhere in between each cruise (since there was a block of 6 days).

Exploring Italy

Venice was absolutely stunning. I took this photo at St.Mark's Square during sunset. What I found most incredible about Venice were the little alley ways, where you would walk through and find huge Basilicas carved out of marble hiding away. The architecture was unlike anything I had seen before. If you haven't heard of St. Marks Square, check out this video for historical information.

Next stop was Sicily, which is 'at the bottom of the boot' a.k.a. Southern Italy. My photo of the water did not do it justice. We explored the old town named Taormina, with typical cobble stone walkways, historic building, clothes hanging across the alleys and too many Italian restaurants to count. We did some sight seeing, had pizza for lunch and did some hiking.  The weather in April in Italy was great, averaging at 27 degrees Celsius. 

The cruise finished off with a day in Naples, Zadar and Kotor, then back to Venice. 

Amsterdam, Netherlands

To date, I still think that Amsterdam has been one of my favourite cities to travel to. I have been twice, and both times I had great encounters with locals (Dutch people are so friendly!) We flew to Schiphol from the Marco Polo Airport in Venice. When we arrived at the Centraal station downtown Amsterdam, it was definitely a lot chillier than Italy... pack sweaters and pants if you're going in April! On our way to our hostel, a few locals informed us that King's Day was tomorrow (April 27th) and asked us if that is why we were visiting. We had no idea about it; the city turns into a huge party, where boats practically cover every inch of the canals, and you are the odd one out if you aren't decked out in orange ( I wish I had bought more orange-coloured gear). The hostel I stayed at called the Flying Pig was so much fun, I highly recommend if you're travelling to Amsterdam and looking for a hostel. I met a great crew to spend King's Day with at the hostel!

The rest of the trip flew by...we stayed in Amsterdam for 3 nights, then flew to Paris for 2 nights, then back to Venice to catch our last cruise. Greece was gorgeous, and the food was the best of all countries. I think I will post a blog on my Greece trip alone! If you have any questions about my destinations, feel free to email me and ask.