I've personally traveled the routes I plan most - London and Salisbury, the French Riviera and Loire Valley, Santorini and Mykonos, Rome, Florence and Tuscany, Barcelona and Madrid. 

The most common mistake in a self-planned European trip isn't a bad hotel. It's a schedule that looked completely reasonable in a spreadsheet in January and turns out to be three hours of transit every other day in June.

How many cities can you realistically visit in a 10-day European trip? As a general rule, plan on 3-4 cities for a 10-day trip, with a minimum of three nights in each -fewer cities with more time in each almost always beats a longer list.

Fixing that - before you've paid for any of it - is most of what I do.

We start with a conversation, not a destination list. How many days do you actually have, door to door? How much walking is comfortable, honestly? Do you want two anchors and day trips, or do you want to keep moving? Is anyone in the party going to be miserable at a third cathedral?

Then I route it. The order matters more than the list. The right sequence can eliminate an entire internal flight, save you two hotel changes, and put your longest travel day on the day you'd have wasted anyway.

Then I pace it. My general rule: a minimum of three nights in any city worth going to, and a travel day is not a sightseeing day no matter what the train schedule says. I would rather send you home wanting to return than send you home needing a vacation.

Then the hotels. Neighborhood over star rating, every time. A four-star hotel twenty minutes from anything you came to see is worse than a three-star two blocks from it. Location is the amenity.

Then the bookable pieces. Timed-entry tickets, guided tours where a guide genuinely changes the experience, transfers, rail, internal flights, and the reservations that need to be made months ahead.

Then you get a document. A day-by-day itinerary with confirmations, addresses, transfer details and times, plus an app-based version you can pull up without a signal.

"Package" makes people think of something prebuilt - a shelf item you either take or leave. A custom European package is the opposite: the same pieces a prepackaged tour bundles together, but chosen and sequenced around your trip instead of someone else's.

Here's what's actually in it:

• Flights — international air to your first city, and any internal flights only where they genuinely beat the train.
• Hotels — picked for neighborhood, not star rating, in each city on the route.
• Rail and transfers — city-to-city train tickets, plus airport and station transfers arranged in advance so arrival day isn't the hardest day of the trip.
• Timed-entry tickets and tours — the reservations that sell out months ahead, and the guides worth having versus the ones you don't need.
• Travel insurance — including "cancel for any reason" coverage if you want it, and its purchase deadline.
• The itinerary document itself — day-by-day, with confirmations, addresses, and times, in an app you can pull up without a signal.

A prepackaged tour bundles all of this too — you're just choosing from their route, their hotels, their pace. Building your own means every piece above gets chosen for your trip specifically. That's the whole difference, and it's also the whole job.

For example - here is a trip that I put together for a couple's honeymoon to Italy.

Two Cities, One Week: Rome + Florence

The classic first-timer pairing, and it works because the two cities are opposites. Rome is ancient, sprawling, and a little chaotic. Florence is compact, walkable, and calm by comparison. Seeing both in one week gives you real contrast without wearing you out.

• Days 1–4: Rome. Four nights, not three — Rome rewards the extra day. Ancient Rome, the Vatican, and at least one day with nothing scheduled, because you will want to just wander and eat.
• Day 4: Travel day. A little over an hour and a half on the high-speed train from Rome to Florence, center to center. No packing three bags through an airport, no arriving thirty miles outside town. This is exactly the kind of leg where the train beats the plane, and it's not close.
• Days 5–7: Florence. Three nights. Base yourself walking distance from the Duomo — in a city this size, that one choice does more for your trip than any upgrade in star rating would. Day trip options to Siena or the Tuscan countryside if you want one day outside the city; otherwise, Florence rewards slowing down more than it rewards a packed schedule.

This is where self-planned European trips generate the most last-minute panic, and all of it is avoidable.

• Your passport must generally be valid at least six months beyond your travel dates for many destinations. Passport requirements vary by destination. For most Schengen travel, U.S. passports must be valid at least three months beyond your planned departure from the EU, although six months may be recommended for some destinations. I verify the requirements for your actual itinerary before travel. 

• Renewals take time, and processing windows change. Start early.

• Some destinations require visas depending on your nationality and length of stay.

• The EU Entry/Exit System now registers eligible non-EU visitors at the external borders of participating European countries, including facial images and fingerprints

• Entry requirements change. I verify current requirements for your specific itinerary before you travel, and I'd encourage you to confirm independently at travel.state.gov as your departure approaches.

Travel Insurance

Your U.S. health plan very likely does not cover you in Europe, and medical evacuation can run into six figures. I'll explain your options — including "cancel for any reason" coverage and its purchase deadline, which is usually tied to your initial trip deposit and passes quickly.  Read more: Is Travel Insurance Worth It? 

I'm a certified seller for Travel Insured International and Allianz. I'll walk you through the options and make sure you understand what each one covers before you decide.  I will make sure you understand the options before you decide, and I'll ask you to accept or decline in writing.

Travel Protection Insurance is available through the booking supplier or third party insurance companies.  I will offer you several options.