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Best timeframe to see a new country?

Posted on 4/28/24 at 1:22 pm
Posted by Falco
Member since Dec 2018
1258 posts
Posted on 4/28/24 at 1:22 pm
Let's say you are headed overseas and plan to visit one country, would you say 10 days? 14 days? 21 days? 30 days? Would be appropriate?

Figuring each country is different here is a list for your proposal:

Portugal-
United Kingdom-
France-
Spain-
Vienna -
Budapest -
Amsterdam -
Germany -
Poland-
Netherlands -
Belgium-
Sweden-
Czech Republic -
Hungry -
Austria-
Australia-
Japan-
Switzerland -
Denmark -
Norway -
Ireland-
Argentina -
Brazil-
China-
Croatia -
Cuba-
Egypt-
Fiji -
Finland -
Iceland -
Indonesia -
India-
Italyperu-
Poland-
Korea -



Posted by redfish99
B.R.
Member since Aug 2007
16477 posts
Posted on 5/2/24 at 9:46 am to
We’ve done 8 of those . I think the most important thing is going in “shoulder season” . It masters most because you get more done in less time. We’ve always gone for at least 14 days onsite. There’s so much info online, get a semi flexible itinerary together of must do’s and head out in a different direction everyday. Planning is a must to maximize your time. Enjoy the entire experience.
Posted by GOP_Tiger
Baton Rouge
Member since Jan 2005
17905 posts
Posted on 5/2/24 at 8:11 pm to
quote:


Portugal-
United Kingdom-
France-
Spain-
Vienna -
Budapest -
Amsterdam -
Germany -
Poland-
Netherlands -
Belgium-
Sweden-
Czech Republic -
Hungry -
Austria-



You might want to fix the above issue, but to answer the main question, I don't think that there's an answer. I've been to 43 countries, and I'll give a few examples.

Iceland works great as a Reykjavik stopover for 2-4 days on your way to or from another European country, but driving the Ring Road really takes 9 days or so. I personally don't think visits of 5-7 days really make sense.

You really don't have to see all of a country to have a great visit. When I went to New Zealand, I just spent a week in the southern half of the South Island: Queenstown, Mt. Cook, the Routeburn Track, and Milford Sound. And that was an awesome trip.

I spent 17 days in Peru and visited Lima, Trujillo, Chiclayo, Cuzco, Urubamba, Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca, Iquitos and the Amazon, and Tarapoto. And that was an awesome trip. But I missed Arequipa, Nazca, and Kuelap; and I think that all those areas are worthwhile.
Posted by AUFANATL
Member since Dec 2007
3910 posts
Posted on 5/2/24 at 9:45 pm to
I guess it kind of depends on what you want to do and what type of travel style you enjoy (move fast and check off boxes or relax and soak in the ambiance). For something in between I would suggest:

Portugal- never been but let's say a week.
United Kingdom- including Scotland and Wales I would say anything between 20-30 days. That's assuming you want to get the full experience and soak up some of the country, castles and charm outside of the main cities. But you could probably finagle a one week itinerary hitting the London hop on hop off bus plus some other highlights.
France- kind of a tough country because there's Paris, which is overwhelming, and everything else is pretty spread out. I would say 16-22 days devoting 4-5 days to Paris and then add (3-6) three day stops in your choice of Normandy, Loire Valley, Provence, Annecy/Chamonix. Burgundy, the Riviera, Alsace, Brittany and Bordeaux (listed in the order I would prioritize)
Spain- 14 - 17 days - Barcelona - Valencia - Madrid - Andalusia. Maybe substitute Basque country for Valencia or add time for a visit to an island.
Germany - 5 - 6 days in Munich/Bavaria with day trips. Honestly you could leave it at that but Berlin is also worth a visit as are some places in between. But it's a big country so over two weeks to see all the highlights.
Poland- 4 or 5 days in Krakow with day trips to Auschwitz and the salt mines. Maybe add some days if you really want to see Warsaw and Gdansk.
Netherlands - 4 or 5 days in Amsterdam with a day trip
Belgium- 5 or 6 days in Ghent with day trips to Bruges, Antwerp, Brussels/Leuven and Ypres. Maybe add a few days if you want to see the WW2 sights in Bastogne/Luxembourg.
Sweden- 3 or 4 days in Stockholm. No idea about the rest.
Czech Republic - 4 or 5 days in Prague with a day trip to Cesky Krumlov and maybe the castles in the country.
Hungry - 4 days in Budapest. Don't know much about the rest of the country. You could split a long week between Budapest and Vienna as they are only 4 hours apart by train..
Austria- 7 days - 2 days in Salzburg - a stop in the Alps - then 4 days in Vienna
Australia- 21-30 days. Long arse flight, big time change and very spread out country with limited public transport. Sydney - Melbourne - Great Ocean Road - Adelaide and Queensland/Great Barrier Reef would be my top spots. After that I would add Perth, Uluru and Brisbane/Gold Coast. The Whitsundays are also popular but we have the Caribbean in our back yard so I;m not sure I would prioritize white sand and palm trees. And if you're going to take that much time to travel that far it would be hard to ignore New Zealand right next door. I would give NZ 10-20 days and focus on the South Island.
Japan- 14 - 20 days. Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and maybe a few other places.
Switzerland - 5 - 10 days, focus on the Alps - Interlaken area, Lucerne and Zermatt. I might build some slack into the itinerary because you go there for the scenery and hiking but a few days of rain and clouds can mean you sit in an expensive hotel room. And if you're traveling by train, the length of time might by influenced by rail passes available. That's an entire can of worms for which their are websites dedicated to.
Denmark - a few days in Copenhagen maybe.
Norway - this one is tough. It's incredibly beautiful but not easy to get around because of the mountains and fjords. Lots of bad weather too. It's also insanely expensive. Some people just say screw it and watch from the deck of a cruise ship. I would say 9 -12 days in a rental car or camper van after spending a day in Oslo just move along the west coast hitting the scenic highlights. If your pressed for time or money you could do Norway in a Nutshell which is a 3 day itnerary that includes Oslo, Bergen and a scenic train and fjord boat cruise in between.
Ireland- great country but it takes longer to see than most realize. I would say 10 - 15 days - 4 days in Dublin with day trips to Kilkenny and Belfast then down to Killarney and up to Cliffs of Moher and Galway. Maybe more if you want to add Kinsale and Donegal. Lots of charm and character throughout.
Argentina - big damn country so it depends. I would think at least 15 days - Buenos Ares - Bariloche - Patagonia during their summer. Or if it is too cold down South you could go north Buenos Ares - Cordoba - Salta - Iguazu Falls. Same applies to Chile.
Brazil- no idea. Also sh*thole.
China- f--k them
Croatia - 7-10 days (but I would also add time to that and combine it with nearby Slovenia) Zagreb - Plitvice Lakes - Split - Dubrovnik and another stop along the way. You could also do a cruise along the Dalmation Coast to make things easier.
Cuba- f--k them
Egypt- sh*thole but the pyramids are worth a visit.
Fiji - no idea but it's a long flight and a Honeymoon type destination.
Finland - no idea.
Iceland - 4 - 7 days to do the Golden Loop, Blue Lagoon and waterfalls/scenic highlights of the southern coast. Add 3-5 days if you want to drive the complete Ring Road.
Indonesia - maybe a week in Bali. Not sure about the rest.
India- 1 day for Taj Mahal - 20 days in hospital with dysentery and typhus.
Italy- 15-20 days - Venice/Verona - Florence/Tuscany - Rome - Napoli area. You could cut it shorter if you want to move quick or add time if you want to do the Dolomites, Cinque Terra, Lake Como, etc.
Peru- no idea but it's a big country and you have rain forest, beach, mountains/Machu Pichu plus Arequipa/Lake Titicaca so I would guess 10-20 days.
Korea - a week maybe.
Posted by Tigris
Mexican Home
Member since Jul 2005
12364 posts
Posted on 5/3/24 at 7:01 pm to
quote:

Italyperu-


Probably 3 months - the internal flights are really long and expensive. The whole country is very interesting and spread out. I'd visit the northern hemisphere in one part of the trip, and the southern hemisphere in the other. You don't want to be flying Lima - Milan - Cusco - Rome, etc., like a lot of unsuspecting tourists end up booking. If you get a chance be sure to try the Cuy Lasagna.
Posted by GOP_Tiger
Baton Rouge
Member since Jan 2005
17905 posts
Posted on 5/3/24 at 7:14 pm to
quote:

If you get a chance be sure to try the Cuy Lasagna.


That actually sounds amazing.
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