Good Eurotrip backpacking routes?

Hi all. I am planning a trip to Europe with one friend during the month of April. We want to be gone for a month and were hoping to hit (maybe in this order)

Ireland

Amsterdam

France

Barcelona

Italy

Greece



Is this a feasible route? We are looking for both nightlife and sightseeing. Do you think a eurorail pass would work best for us? Also I've seen flights from Greece-%26gt;USA are not cheap. Is there a cheaper city to fly out of? Does anyone have recommendations of hostels, things to do, different cities to visit, transportation systems. Also, how do u think traveling in April will be? Will most things be open (touristy) and weather be okay? Also, should we be okay in the countries as far as mostly speaking English. I speak spanish moderately enough to cope but that is about it.



Any advice would be helpful!Good Eurotrip backpacking routes?
Greetings. I teach a college seminar in planning and executing independent European trips. You have an exciting itinerary, but you need to know a few things:



1) You have listed a bunch of destinations but they are sprawled across the continent. You will have a munch more meaningful experience if you limit your explorations to one section of Europe. Once you travel Europe the first time, it will be in your blood and you will certainly return again and again and can then expand your experiences to other places.



2) The euro is the currency. Eurail is the railpass. Visit www.raileurope.com to learn about the many different railpasses available. The Eurail Selectpass with the Saverpass option is a good choice for you and your friend. The Selectpass limits your travels to several contiguous countries, and the Saverpass reduces the price when two or more passengers travel together.



3) Visit kayak.com or farecompare.com to get an idea of fares in and out of Europe. RyanAir, as another answerer recommended, is a good discount airline for travel within Europe, but doesn't offer intercontinental service to the U.S. Usually London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Paris are the least expensive cities to fly into from North America.



4) April is a good time to go to Europe because flights are less expensive than summer. However, it will be a touch cool to downright cold, depending on the moods of the weather and where you are. Greece might be pleasant, but it would still be too cool for the beach. With Greece's recent political and economic unrest, I'd avoid the country myself until things stabilize a little. It's also a bit out of the way for your itinerary.



5) Get a good guidebook to learn about the places that interest you. You'd be surprised at the number of people who don't mind shelling out thousands of bucks on a backpacking Eurailling adventure and won't spend $12.95 for a good guidebook. I love "Let's Go: Europe" for its candid descriptions and its useful introductory chapters to the joys and techniques of independent travel. I also like Rick Steves' "Europe Through the Back Door" for its great insider's tips. Go to a bookshop like Borders or Barnes %26amp; Noble, sit down in the travel section and find the guidebook that best "speaks" to you. Then buy last year's book dirt cheap on Amazon.com. The prices and times may change a little, but the techniques and descriptions of landmarks won't.



6) Hostels are great places to stay, especially if you want to meet fellow student-aged travelers and get their first-hand recommendations for things to see and do. But "pensiones" (kind of like B%26amp;Bs) are the places to stay if you want to meet the locals and get insiders' advice and suggestions. Guidebooks like "Let's Go" list favorite places to stay. Where ever you decide to go, you should add Interlaken, Switzerland, to your itinerary. It is a wonderful town in the Swiss Alpine region and is a great place to explore mountains such as the Jungfrau and the Schilthorn (which was the major location for my favorite 007 film, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"). In Interlaken, stay at Balmer's Herberge, considered by the backpacking congnoscenti to be Europe's best hostel.



7) Also, don't get real focused on pinching pennies. Even if your budget is tight, allow a couple good splurges, such as riding first class in an overnight hotel train, and spending the night in a really cool place like a castle overlooking the Rhein River in Germany. (Germany needs to be on your itinerary list, by the way.)



I could go on and on (that's why my seminar is taught over three nights!). But I hope these ideas help you with your planning. Have a great trip!Good Eurotrip backpacking routes?
April would be a great time to go. The weather will be really nice and it won't be crowded. I only speak English ( a bit of French) and I got along fine when I backpacked Europe. I was gone for 3 months and went from Western Europe, down South to Spain, Portugal and Morocco. From there I flew to Italy and continued my journey to Greece, Eastern and Central Europe. I did a lop and ended up back where I started in Western Europe. I booked my flight as a round trip to save money. Ryan Air is a great airline to book cheap flights with ( although, you will need to pay for checked luggage and most airports are an hour away from the city). It might make sense to do a EuroRaill pass for Western Europe only ( or a flexi pass, not sure of it's exact name) and then fly to Ireland and Greece. Western Europe is the cheapest to fly in and out of and you'll same money if you do a round trip. I've never done a bus tour but I hear they're cheaper