Self-Launched European Grand Circuit: Rome to London in 19 Days

Land at Fiumicino or Ciampino and take the Leonardo Express train into Termini (~£12) or the cheaper regional FL1 + metro combo (~£7). Check into a hostel in Monti or near Termini — centrally located so you can walk to the Colosseum in 10 minutes, unlike the coach tour's airport-edge hotels. Spend the afternoon easing in: a free wander through Piazza Navona, the Pantheon exterior and Campo de' Fiori, with a £5 pizza al taglio dinner.

🚌Airport train to Termini, then on foot

🛏Hostel dorm in Monti or Termini (approx. £22)

• →Leonardo Express transfer
• →Piazza Navona and Pantheon wander
• →Campo de' Fiori evening

Book a Colosseum + Roman Forum + Palatine Hill combo ticket direct from the official Parco Colosseo site (~£16, timed entry, sells out — book weeks ahead) and use a free audio guide app. Optionally join a GetYourGuide small-group walk of the Forum (£25-35) for context. Afternoon: walk to Trastevere across the river for aperitivo and a trattoria dinner, or add the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel (£28 booked direct / £22 on the first Sunday of some months).

🚌On foot and local metro/bus (£1.50 per ride)

🛏Hostel dorm in Monti or Termini (approx. £22)

• →Colosseum, Roman Forum & Palatine Hill (direct ticket)
• →Optional Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel
• →Trastevere evening stroll and street food

Take an early Frecciarossa or Italo high-speed train from Termini to Firenze S.M. Novella (1h 35m, ~£20-30 if booked 2-3 weeks ahead; regional trains are cheaper but slower). Drop your bag at a hostel near Santa Maria Novella, then walk to Piazzale Michelangelo for the classic panorama. Evening free walking tour of the historic centre (pay-what-you-want, ~£10 tip) covering the Duomo, Piazza della Signoria and Ponte Vecchio.

🚌High-speed train, approx. £25

🛏Hostel dorm near Santa Maria Novella (approx. £25)

• →High-speed train Rome to Florence
• →Piazzale Michelangelo viewpoint
• →Pay-what-you-want historic centre walking tour

Morning at the Uffizi if you're a gallery person (book direct, ~£22) or the Accademia for David (~£13). Then a regional train Florence to Venice Santa Lucia (2h, ~£20 via Frecciarossa or £14 regional to Mestre plus a local ticket). Check into a hostel in Mestre or Cannaregio to keep costs down. In the evening, ride vaporetto line 1 down the Grand Canal (~£8 for a 75-minute pass) instead of the coach tour's private boat transfer.

🚌Train Florence to Venice, approx. £20; vaporetto £8

🛏Hostel dorm in Mestre or Cannaregio (approx. £28)

• →Optional Uffizi or Accademia
• →Train to Venice
• →Vaporetto ride down the Grand Canal

Do St Mark's Square early (basilica entry is now ticketed ~£3, the Campanile ~£10). Take vaporetto line 3 or 4.2 to Murano (~£8 return with a day pass) and visit a glass workshop independently — several Murano furnaces run free showroom demos, so you skip the tour-operator commission stop. Add a shared gondola ride if you want it (~£28-35 via GetYourGuide for 30 mins shared, cheaper than a private £80). Dinner in Cannaregio's bacari with cicchetti and a spritz (~£15).

🚌Vaporetto day pass approx. £18

🛏Hostel dorm in Mestre or Cannaregio (approx. £28)

• →St Mark's Basilica and Campanile
• →Public vaporetto to Murano glass workshops
• →Optional shared gondola ride
• →Cicchetti crawl in Cannaregio

Train Venice to Innsbruck (4h, ~£25 with an early booking on ÖBB or Trenitalia), two-hour wander of the Golden Roof and old town, then hop an ÖBB Railjet Innsbruck to Salzburg (1h 50m, ~£15). This replaces the coach day that also squeezed in Kitzbühel — instead, take a short detour if you have energy on the S-Bahn to Wörgl/Kitzbühel (~£8 each way) or just enjoy Innsbruck. Hostel near Salzburg Hauptbahnhof keeps onward travel easy.

🚌Two trains, approx. £40 total

🛏Hostel dorm in Salzburg (approx. £25)

• →Golden Roof and Innsbruck old town
• →Optional Kitzbühel detour
• →Railjet to Salzburg

Morning in Salzburg: Getreidegasse, the fortress exterior (funicular ticket ~£12) and a Sound of Music self-guided walk. Midday take the regional train Salzburg to Gmunden on Lake Traunsee (1h 20m, ~£12) for a lakeside walk and public ferry ride (~£10, instead of the tour's private cruise) with castle views towards Ort. Then continue by train Gmunden to Vienna (2h 20m, ~£22). Evening stroll in Vienna's Innere Stadt.

🚌Regional train plus ferry, approx. £44

🛏Hostel dorm in Vienna, ideally near Westbahnhof (approx. £26)

• →Salzburg old town and fortress
• →Traunsee lakeside walk and public ferry
• →Train to Vienna

Skip the coach panoramic tour and walk the Ringstrasse yourself with a free podcast or pay-what-you-want walking tour: State Opera, Hofburg, Parliament, Rathaus. Do the Schönbrunn palace gardens free (interior ~£20 if booked) and hop the tram to Grinzing for a heuriger wine-tavern evening — the tour transfers you there; the D tram takes you for £2. Optional cheap classical fix: standing-room tickets at the Vienna State Opera (~£4-10) or a Mozart/Strauss concert in the Kursalon (~£35).

🚌Tram and metro day ticket approx. £6

🛏Hostel dorm in Vienna (approx. £26)

• →Ringstrasse self-guided walk
• →Schönbrunn gardens
• →Heuriger evening in Grinzing
• →Optional standing-room opera ticket

RegioJet or ÖBB train Vienna to Budapest Keleti (2h 40m, ~£12-18 booked in advance). Check into a hostel in District VII near the ruin bars. Afternoon: free walking tour of Pest (Parliament, St Stephen's Basilica, Chain Bridge). Evening: public Danube boat — take the D11/D12 commuter boat (~£1.50) or a 1-hour sightseeing cruise (~£10 via GetYourGuide), which beats the tour's included cruise only by being cheaper and more flexible.

🚌Train approx. £15; boat £10

🛏Hostel dorm in District VII (approx. £15)

• →Train to Budapest
• →Free Pest walking tour
• →Danube river cruise at night

The tour gives Budapest only an afternoon — here you get a full day. Morning at the Széchenyi or Rudas thermal baths (~£13-18, book direct). Cross to Buda for Fisherman's Bastion and Matthias Church, walk the castle grounds (funicular ~£4). Optional folk dinner show in the evening (~£35 with a folk-dance pub instead of the £70 hotel show). Eat cheaply at the Great Market Hall (~£8 goulash and lángos).

🚌Metro and tram day pass approx. £5

🛏Hostel dorm in District VII (approx. £15)

• →Thermal baths entry
• →Fisherman's Bastion and Buda Castle
• →Great Market Hall lunch
• →Optional folk music night

Do it as the coach tour does, but on the rails: train Buda pest-Nyugati to Bratislava (2h 30m, ~£10) and store bags. Three-hour wander of the compact old town and castle hill. Then RegioJet or Czech Railways Bratislava to Prague (4h, ~£13). Arrive Prague in the evening and walk straight into Old Town Square at dusk. Sleeping in Žižkov or Vinohrady keeps costs low and it's a 15-minute tram into the centre.

🚌Two trains approx. £23

🛏Hostel dorm in Žižkov or Vinohrady (approx. £20)

• →Bratislava old town and castle
• →Train to Prague
• →Prague Old Town Square at night

Walk across Charles Bridge at 7am before the crowds, then up to Prague Castle (circuit B ticket ~£10 direct, less than the tour's bundled entry and no queue-herding). Cross back via Lesser Town, lunch at a Czech pub (~£9 for svíčková). Afternoon: free alternative walking tour (tip ~£8) or the Jewish Quarter if you want the history. Evening Vltava river — a public ferry to ZOO or a 50-minute cruise (~£10) replaces the included boat ride. End with a beer garden in Letná.

🚌Tram day pass approx. £4

🛏Hostel dorm in Žižkov or Vinohrady (approx. £20)

• →Charles Bridge at dawn
• →Prague Castle circuit ticket
• →Free walking tour
• →Vltava cruise and Letná beer garden

Train Prague to Pilsen (1h 20m, ~£7), a morning at the Pilsner Urquell brewery tour (~£12) and the old town square. Then the long leg: Pilsen to Nuremberg (~£16 with a Bayern-Böhmen ticket for up to 5 travellers, even cheaper shared), and the regional train to Rothenburg ob der Tauber (~£9). You'll cover two of the tour's three stops in one day — the classic walled town is best at sunset and after dark on a Night Watchman walking tour (~£9 direct).

🚌Three regional trains, approx. £32 (less with group tickets)

🛏Guesthouse in Rothenburg old town (approx. £30)

• →Pilsner Urquell brewery tour
• →Pilsen old town square
• →Night Watchman tour of Rothenburg

Morning walk on the medieval walls and the Plönlein photo spot, then regional trains Rothenburg–Ansbach–Würzburg (~£12) and Würzburg to Rüdesheim on the Main (~£14). Take the KD Rhine ferry Rüdesheim to St Goar (~£18 for the scenic 1.5-hour stretch past the Lorelei) — exactly the cruise in the tour, but you buy the ticket at the dock. Then train St Goar to Koblenz and on to Cologne (~£16) for the cathedral at dusk and a Kölsch in the old town.

🚌Trains plus Rhine ferry, approx. £60

🛏Hostel dorm in Cologne (approx. £25)

• →Rothenburg walls and Plönlein
• →Public Rhine ferry Rüdesheim to St Goar
• →Cologne Cathedral and Kölsch evening

Thalys/ICE Cologne to Amsterdam Centraal (2h 40m, ~£25 booked ahead). Drop bags at a hostel in Amsterdam-Noord or near Sloterdijk (cheaper than the centre). Afternoon: take the Sprinter to Zaandijk Zaanse Schans (~£4) for the windmills and free walking routes, then the public bus 316 to Volendam and the ferry to Marken (~£8 total) — the exact trip the tour includes, using public transport. Back to Amsterdam for a canal-side dinner.

🚌Train and public bus/ferry, approx. £37

🛏Hostel dorm in Amsterdam-Noord or Sloterdijk (approx. £30)

• →Train to Amsterdam
• →Zaanse Schans windmills
• →Volendam to Marken ferry
• →Amsterdam canal evening

Early train Amsterdam to Brussels (1h 50m, ~£22 via the slower ICD or £30 Eurostar). Store bags at Brussels-Midi and walk 25 minutes to the Grand Place, Manneken Pis, and if you're willing to hop the metro, the Atomium (~£5). In the afternoon take the Eurostar or TGV Brussels to Paris Gare du Nord (1h 25m, ~£30 booked ahead). Evening in the Latin Quarter or Canal Saint-Martin — hostel dorms there run £30-35, or head to the outer arrondissements for £25.

🚌Two international trains approx. £55

🛏Hostel dorm in Paris (approx. £32)

• →Brussels Grand Place and Manneken Pis
• →Optional Atomium
• →Eurostar to Paris
• →Canal Saint-Martin evening

Take RER C to Versailles Château Rive Gauche (~£4) and book the palace ticket direct (~£18, cheaper than a guided excursion) — the gardens are free on most non-fountain days. Back in Paris, metro to Montmartre for the Sacré-Cœur and the artists' square. Evening: self-guided Paris by night along the Seine, or the Moulin Rouge if you want the splurge (book direct ~£120-160, considerably less than the tour's optional £190). Otherwise a £0 Eiffel Tower sparkle from Trocadéro.

🚌RER and metro, approx. £10

🛏Hostel dorm in Paris (approx. £32)

• →Versailles Palace and gardens
• →Montmartre and Sacré-Cœur
• →Optional Moulin Rouge
• →Trocadéro Eiffel Tower sparkle

Eiffel Tower second-floor ticket direct (~£20, or £11 to the summit stairs ticket if you're feeling energetic) first thing. Then a Seine river cruise (~£13 via GetYourGuide) before catching a regional train Paris Saint-Lazare to Rouen Rive Droite (1h 20m, ~£18). Evening in Rouen's half-timbered old town, the Gros-Horloge and the cathedral — free, and you'll see the Monet-cathedral spot without a coach schedule.

🚌Train plus metro, approx. £28

🛏Budget hotel or hostel in Rouen centre (approx. £28)

• →Eiffel Tower second floor
• →Seine river cruise
• →Rouen old town and cathedral

The cross-Channel day done independently: train Rouen to Paris or direct Flixbus Rouen to Calais (~£12 by bus), then the DFDS or P&O ferry Dover–Calais foot passenger crossing (~£25-30 one way, book direct) with a shuttle bus to Dover Priory, then a Southeastern high-speed train to London St Pancras (~£20). If that's too fiddly, a BlaBlaCar or direct Eurolines coach Rouen–London runs ~£30-40. In London, check into a hostel in King's Cross or Earls Court, walk Tower Bridge at dusk and end the trip in Soho.

🚌Bus and ferry, approx. £50

🛏Hostel dorm in King's Cross or Earls Court (approx. £32)

• →Cross-Channel bus and ferry
• →Tower Bridge and South Bank evening
• →Soho and Chinatown stroll