Better Holiday Planning

Planning your own extended trip takes some work but can give unique and unforgettable experiences. Having a clear idea of what you want these experiences to be from the start makes organising it all much easier.

My partner was keen to tour Europe. She had a taste of UK, France and Iceland several years ago and has wanted to dive a bit deeper into some other countries since then. After accruing annual leave it seemed like the time was right so we set to work figuring out what we could do in a 2 month visit.

1 Year Prior

We did an extended tour of the Western USA, Alaska and Canada in 2010 which gave us a good starting point of what we enjoyed doing on an overseas holiday. After reflecting on that trip and what we expected Europe could offer we decided to prioritise how to get a solid taste of European:

• Sport – hiking, running, climbing, and mountaineering
• Culture – art, food, conversation and events
• Sightseeing – walking, driving, views and unique experiences

Hiking and running won out over skiing so we scheduled time off to visit the European summer (Aussie winter). For this trip we wanted to get stuck into experiences and be well organised given how difficult and time consuming it can be to plan ahead while on the road.

After an unsuccessful attempt at using Pinterest to share ideas between us, we settled on using Google Maps to compile places and events we could potentially visit. After a few weeks of surfing the net and saving locations to a shared map an image started to form of where to go, with Italy clearly being the center of attention.

9 Months Prior

Locking in a final time-frame and touring route came together pretty quickly. At one stage it looked like a summer events calendar for a sponsored ultramarathon runner, and at another it was more like a coastal island hopping beach combing jaunt. In the end we settled on linking places which gave a good spread of the sporting, cultural and sightseeing experiences we had identified early on.

Elouise registered in the lottery for the highly sought after TDS race, a 120km run from Aosta in Italy to Chaminox in France. She managed to snag one of the 1,600 places so that was a fixed place and time to plan around. I found out about a social group of young professionals who were organising a camp at Derwentwater Hostel in the Lakes District of UK so booked in to meet some people from throughout Europe.

Before long we had connected the dots and ended up with a quick look at the UK followed by a trip up through Italy from south to north, across to Chamonix in France and finishing with a lap of Switzerland.

The rest of our planning included:

6 months prior

Booked flights, got maps, started booking accommodation and luckily each of our managers approved extended leave! Visa were not needed for the countries we planned to visit.

3 Months Prior

Estimated a budget and converted money into an International Travel card. Booked internal transport (buses and trains). Got travel insurance and used a spreadsheet to track costs, bookings and contacts.

1 Month Prior

Got an international drivers licence (cheap cardboard job from NRMA), put together a packing list and did a trial run. Sorted out automatic bill payments, postal redirection and registered in Smart Traveller. Downloaded podcasts and translation apps for the phone.

1 week Prior

Printed off all booking documents, confirmed flight details, let the bank know heading OS, and put together an emergency contact list (friends, family, embassies, bank, etc)

Experiences

Wondering how it all went? Overall it was spot on what we were hoping for. Lots of increasingly big mountains, great coastal touring, food and local events. There was only a day or two we would have changed but given we were planning it all from the other side of the world it came together better than we had hoped.

Upon landing in a new town our typical ticklist went along the lines of: 1) Check in, 2) Go to the local tourist info centre, 3) Get to the highest vantage point, 4) Explore whatever else takes our fancy.

UK

The deep history of the UK was immediately on show, especially compared to Australia where a building that has been around for 100 years is considered old. I was struck by the lack of variety in architecture though, especially in the smaller towns. Stacking rocks for houses and fences must have been a popular profession back in the day.

A birds Eye view was first on the agenda

Sightseeing in London

Topping out on Scafell peak, Lakes District.

Intense focus to win a pub quiz

Scotland had a strong vibe that they intend to be independent of the UK. It was good to see their culture on display and the countryside looked inviting.

A typical coastal escarpment in Scotland

Italy

The Amalfi coastline was stunning. The mountains were just as big as those in the UK except plonked right next to an aqua blue sea. The change in temperature was a shock going from the cool humidity of Scotland to a baking salty heat. As beautiful as it was it was difficult to relax in public areas with the constant hoard of Honda scooters buzzing around.

Top of Capri looking back toward the Amulfi Coast and Sorrento

Touring the cities of Italy in mid summer meant contending with heat, crowds and pushy street vendors. Our strategy of getting up early and running through the city including local landmarks was a great way to cover any big distances early then allow more time for relaxing activities in the afternoon.

A cat in a shady spot at the Colosseum, Rome

Crowds of tourists exploring Venice

Hiking the Alta Via 1 through the middle of the Dolomites was a highlight of highlights. There were great trails, huts, food and people along the way. The area is one of a kind and made for stunning sunrise and sunsets. Seeing so many families hiking together was a great insight to European culture.

Horses on the trail in the Dolomites

Topping out on a Via Ferrata (Iron Way) route at the top of the Dolomites

Recovering from the trail in James Bond style at Villa Del Balbianello

Who painted that? A random building passed which looked like the sky had been torn open.

France

The mountains just kept getting bigger with Chamonix framed by a series of imposing peaks, one of which being Mont Blanc which is the highest in Europe at 4800m. Upon landing I immediately got butterflies about the adventures to come. It did not disappoint.

What better way to explore than taking to the skies! The peak I climbing is on the skyline directly above the paraglider.

A local glacier to practice ice techniques

Getting instruction on double axing (he wasn’t belaying!)

Heading up Cosmic Arete near du Midi, 3800m

An epic comes to an end after a long day of vertical ice and mixed climbing.

At the finish line for the Tour Du Mont Blanc 160km running race

Switzerland

We certainly saved the best til last. Switzerland does look just like a Toblerone bar with sharp peaked mountains often filling the scenery. It is also quite expensive! The organised, tidy and refined culture was a stark contrast to the chaos of driving and exploring in Italy.

A gentle introduction to the Eiger

Saving the best for last

Ice sculptures carved from inside a glacial cave

Bond!

All down hill from here. Mountain scootering under the Matterhorn

Recommendations

What would we do differently? Not much really. Our planning really paid off and meant we got to experience exactly what we wanted. If anything some connecting trips could have been done more efficiently, and we probably wouldn't have bothered hiring a car in Italy and instead could have spent more time in Bellagio instead of the Brenta Dolomites. Shopping seemed to take up a bit of time so it would have been useful to have a clear idea of what clothes or souvenirs we would like before setting off.

Europe was a great adventure with the only downside being the volume of crowds given it was mid summer. Getting into the mountains showed just how attuned the locals are to living at altitude and being ready for when the weather turns bad. Also there is a deep sense of history, especially far north Italy which could easily pass for Austria.

Schedule

This is a run down of what we got up to each day:

Day	Location	Activity	Notes
1	Sydney	Drive to Sydney	Excited
2	Sydney	Fly to London via Dubai. Watch movies.	Sitting in last row at the back was nice and private.
3	London	London Eye, Tower, Thames and Picadilly.	Linking transport was easy.
4	Keswick	British museum in London then train to Keswick	Missed the Natural History museum...
5	Keswick	Run to town rtn from hostel, then Castle Crag hike.	Local topo map to made planning hikes easy.
6	Keswick	Hiked Gamarama Mountain from Seatoller, then bus to Windemere.	Good to visit tourist lake for taste of UK summer.
7	Keswick	Hiked Scafell (highest peak in Lakes District) from Seathwaite.	Got buzzed by fighter jets!
8	Keswick	Mountain biking tour behind Keswick, late night of cards at the hostel	Good change of pace and semi urban exploring
9	Keswick	Paintball then British Parliamentary Style debate workshop	Got within shooting range of enemy respawn area, carnage ensued!
10	Keswick	Indoor climbing, hosted juggling workshop, pub quiz	Gave the legs a rest, on winning team for pub quiz
11	Glasgow	Said farewell, bus north, toured Glasgow	Fairly industrial city
12	Isle of Skye	Bus trip to Isle of Skye, shorts walks along the way	Long days in summer
13	Isle of Skye	Lap of Isle of Skye, Dunvegan Castle tour	First day of rain, felt sleepy on tour bus
14	Edinburgh	Tour from Isle of Skye, via old castle	Tour guide was a great story teller
15	Edinburgh	Hiked Arthurs Seat, Edinburgh Castle	Views good from local peak.
16	Sorrento	Flew to Naples, got oriented to Sorrento	Bit late getting to the airport
17	Sorrento	Boat tour of coast to Possitano rtn	Very hot weather and salty water
18	Praiano	Boat tour to Capri and chair lift from Anacapri. Swimming, pizza, bus to Praiano, amazing seafood.	The perfect mediteranean day
19	Praiano	Early 2hr run to sea cliffs, over headlands and through villages, then a relaxing day	Great exploring small laneways. Cats everywhere. First rest day of the trip.
20	Sorrento	Bus to Sorrento, shopping.	Lots of traffic on the Sorrento side.
21	Rome	6am bus to Rome. Collusseum, Roman Forum tours. Watched movie.	Very hot and dry weather.
22	Rome	Walking tour of cultural sites – Pantheon, Vatican, other squares. Clothes shopping.	Found a bizarre underground gymnasium. Old sculptures.
23	Rome/Florence	Early 20km run through Rome parks and along river. Bus to Florence	Very hot day.
24	Florence	Early 20km run through city to Michaelangelos Park. Statue of David.	More hot weather. A more refined city than Rome.
25	Venice	Bus to Venice, then quickly got lost! View from St Marks Tower were great.	Nearly missed obscure bus stop from Florence. Thankful to taxi driver.
26	Venice	Ferry around outside of Venice to St Marks, wandered streets back to hotel.	Murano glass sculptures are high quality.
27	Dobbiaco	Bus to Cortina to drop excess gear and shop, then to Dobiacco Hotel.	Absolutely blown away by views on bus ride to Cortina.
28	Rifugio Senna	Bus to Lago De Bray then ~12km hike up steep gully to Rifugio	Great hike, awesome food!
29	Rifugio Scotoni	Hike ~18km down to trailhead then up into plateau and across to popular hut.	Dinner with a nice German couple, got local history.
30	Rifugio Sciotolli	Foggy start for uphill, craggy hiking. Viewed outdoor WWII museum at end of ~14km hike.	Climbing routes on Cinque Torri look great.
31	Rifugio Venezia	Long wooded descent, over a steady pass and final tough scree slope. ~16km for the day.	One of the rougher huts. Stunning views today.
32	Cortina	Hiked back down off the mountain to nearby town and bus to Cortina.	Feeling very familiar with the area now.
33	Cortina	Guided Via Ferrata route to great peak in upper Dolomites	Busy on the route and limited support from guide.
34	Trento	Bus to Venice, drive to Trento	Italian drivers are crazy
35	Trento	Lazy walking tour of Trento	2nd rest day of the trip!
36	Trento	Brenta Dolomites tour. Drive was longer than expected.	Not as extensive as Cortina side of the mountains
37	Bellagio	Drive to Lake Como, wandered around town and headland	This is where the rich and famous hang out.
38	Bellagio	Tour of Villa Del Balbanio (must do for any adventurer), ferry tour of Lake Como	While costly the extra tour of the Villa and Lake are very worthwhile.
39	Turin	Drive to Turin, toured the city and markets.	Italian cities starting to look the same.
40	Chamonix	Train to Ivrea then Aosta, bus to Coirimayer then Chamonix. Did tour of town and booked climbing guide.	Mountains just keep getting bigger. Great active vibe in France, and shopping.
41	Chamonix	Gondola to Du Midi, then other side of valley to Brenta. Went paragliding, then train to Du Glace ice cave. Watched Elysium in English.	A busy day of exploring. Craved watching an English movie.
42	Chamonix	Ice climbing on Glacier. A long hike in and out, good fun doing vertical double axe climbing.	Glacier is rapidly receding. Need strong calves to use crampons when climbing.
43	Chamonix	Mixed rock and ice Cosmic Arete route from top of Du Midi (3800m) with American couple.	Mixed route was easy, feel confident
44	Chamonix	Goulotte Chere + sommet Mont Blanc Du Tacul: Epic multipitch vertical ice then mixed climbing on lower cliff and slopes of Mont Blanc	Biggest day of the trip. Way beyond my ability but puckered up and made it
45	Chamonix	Clothes shopping in Chamonix, watched start of Tour Du Mont Blanc running race	Legs sore from yesterday! Good chance to check out the European gear
46	Chamonix	Watched finish of the TDMB	Town is buzzing with runners and support crew
47	Lausanne	Bus to Geneva then drove to Lausanne	Great views of the largest alpine lake in Europe.
48	Lauterbrunnen	Drove to hotel, did hike from top of Gondola to Mauren, and took the lift to Stilhorn and James Bond museum.	More clear weather made for great views. This could be the best easy access hiking in Europe?
49	Lauterbrunnen	Train to Wengen and did the Eiger Trail on other side of the valley.	Steep sections felt difficult (altitude) then easy descent. So many train/bus/walk options!
50	Zermatt	Drove to Zermatt, cable car up Matterhorn.	This must be the best of Europe.
51	Zermatt	Early train and 15km (with 1500m descent) run.	More clear skies, beat the crowds.
52	Zermatt	Descent from mountain peak on scooters, then relaxed	A fun change of pace
53	Geneva	Drove from Zermatt to Geneva. Caught up with friends.	Starting to wind down. 2nd day of rain for the trip.
54	Sydney	Flew from Geneva to Sydney via Dubai.	Lots of movies. Good to have Aussie staff on QANTAS flight.
55	Home	Checked work email and reflected on holiday on the drive home.	Straight back to work, what a change of scenery!

Do you have any travel tips for better holiday planning? Please share them in the comments below.