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Any Feedback on Itinerary?

We are planning an 18 night trip to Amsterdam and France in April. We already have our plane tickets flying in and out of Amsterdam. I think that a flight from Amsterdam to Strasbourg, France would be the best option as suggested previously. I would appreciate any feedback/suggestions on our itinerary. We are a retired couple (67 & 70 years old) and move a little slower than we did a few years ago. My husband has traveled quite a bit in Europe and is comfortable driving when it makes sense. We will take the train when that is the most economical/practical.

We tend to prefer small towns over large, crowded cities, but I can't be this close to Paris and not spend a few days there. Here is the itinerary at this point:
Night
1 Thursday, April 18 - Arrive Amsterdam Airport, Hotel ibis Schiphol Amsterdam Airport
2 Friday, April 19 – Keukenhof Gardens, Hotel ibis Schiphol Amsterdam Airport
3 Saturday, April 20 – Travel Day/Flight to Strasbourg – Rent Car/drive to Colmar? Hotel Le Rapp
4 Sunday, April 21 – Colmar, Hotel Le Rapp
5 Monday, April 22 – Colmar, Hotel Le Rapp
6 Tuesday, April 23 – Travel to Verdum, Epernay, Reims – Hotel in Reims?
7 Wednesday, April 24 – Hotel in Reims? Return Rental Car?
8 Thursday, April 25 - Travel Day to Paris
9 Friday, April 26 – Paris -
10 Saturday, April 27 - Paris -
11 Sunday, April 28 - Paris -
12 Monday, April 29 – Travel Day to Normandy
13 Tuesday, April 30 – Normandy
14 Wednesday, May 1 – Normandy
15 Thursday, May 2 – Travel Day to Amsterdam
16 Friday, May 3 – Amsterdam –
17 Saturday, May 4 - Amsterdam
18 Sunday, May 5 - Amsterdam
Monday, May 6 Flight home

Things to Do:
2 nights in Amsterdam – Keukenhof,
3 nights in Colmar – Unterlinden Museum, Dominican Church, Bartholdi Museum, Route du Vin
2 nights in Reims – Reims Cathedral, (Verdun ½ day– WWI sites, Epernay)
4 Nights in Paris – Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, Louvre, Orsay Museum, Versailles
3 Nights in Normandy – D-Day Beaches, Mont St-Michel,
4 nights in Amsterdam - Anne Frank House, canal tour, Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum

I have a hotel booked near the Amsterdam airport for our arrival, visit to Keukenhof the next day, and probable flight to Strasbourg the following day. Any hotel, Airbnb (we have never done this, but are interested)) recommendations are appreciated. I have Rick Steves' France and Amsterdam 2018 books and am working my way through them, but I am a little overwhelmed right now.

Thanks for any suggestions.
Kathy

Posted by
11247 posts

Too much moving for me at the front ends, but if it is what you want to do, do it.

I would take one night away from Amsterdam and add it to Paris. IMO Paris has much more to offer, more atmosphere than Amsterdam.

Posted by
116 posts

Laurel, you make a good point about a lot of moving around at the beginning of the trip. I am just not sure how to adjust it to flow better. I really want to try to catch Keukenhof at the beginning of the trip since from what I can determine it is probably the best time to catch the tulips in bloom. I have been debating with my husband about taking a day away from Amsterdam to add to Paris. He doesn't like large cities and crowds, and he is more familiar (comfortable) with Amsterdam. I may just tell him that I have made an "executive" decision! Thanks for your comments.

Posted by
5507 posts

I think your itinerary is generally good. I think you are allowing ample time and in some cases you might find you have a bit too much time, but I'm sure you'll find enough to do. I would not mind your lengths of stay in the very least. From my perspective, traveling in Europe is not like going on a "winter vacation" where you might go to a resort for a week. If you want to see things, you do have to move around. We all have different opinions on "how long is necessary" in various cities. Some people desire more of a mix between big/small cities. I hope that you will have time in Alsace to see some of the smaller, half timbered villages. I also would suggest time in Arromanches in Normandy. There are still parts of the artificial harbor just off the pretty beach and there is a wonderful, small museum to provide context for the harbor and provide more WWII information. I also highly recommend Honfleur and Etretat. The cliffs at Etretat are gorgeous and often painted by the Impressionists. There also is remnants of the German bunkers there. Some people visit town of Etretat, we did not. It looked pretty busy and we didn't have time anyway.

Posted by
5507 posts

I agree that it does make sense to take a day from Amsterdam. I don't think I'd necessarily add it to Paris.

Posted by
3217 posts

I would take one of the Amsterdam days and move it to Normandy. The D-Day beaches, could easily take up all of your time in Normandy.

Posted by
2700 posts

I agree with the others who suggested taking a day from Amsterdam and adding it to Paris. There’s just so much to do there. But since you don’t enjoy large cities, the suggestion to add a day to Normandy may make more sense for you. Normandy is really spread out and there is a lot to see there. You won’t be able to cover a whole lot of the WWII sights if you want to see Mont Saint Michel.

You are going to need a car in Normandy, unless you want to rely solely on organized tours. So you might want to put Normandy before Paris and keep the car until you leave Normandy or get to Paris.

Otherwise, I like your itinerary. I don’t think it’s too much moving around.

Posted by
38 posts

Eguisheim on the Route du Vin is the cutest half-timbered village I have ever seen, with most homes adorned with flowers. If you drive, part of your parking fee goes towards the purchase of all those blooms. If you like wildlife, Hunawihr has a stork and otter park (and some other animals too) and we spent a leisurely morning there. Neither Hunawihr nor Eguisheim was crowded when we went (September 2014).

I don't know about public transportation there. We were based in Colmar and drove. The roads were easy to navigate and a joy to drive (but I really enjoy driving).

Posted by
1825 posts

You should save Keukenhof for the end of your trip, land at Schiphol and immediately fly to Strasbourg. That way you save the transfers to/from the airport which is added time and expense. The park is still open so the Tulips should still be there. Yes, add a day to Paris.

Posted by
5507 posts

Another vote for Eguisheim which is where we based ourselves for our Alsace adventures. It is far less busy than some of the other wine villages. I think a car would be optimal.

Posted by
7731 posts

Save Keukenhof to end so you see more in full bloom if it spring arrives late temperature wise.
That is one of my favorite Ibis Hotels to stay at

Posted by
15560 posts

Day 1 - I understand splitting A'dam for the tulips. The truth is one never knows if they will bloom early or late. If that is a high priority, then leave it in.
Day 2 - Air France has two 1-hour flights at 4.30 and 8.35. If you take the second one, you have a full day for the tulips, then can spend the night in Strasbourg, sightsee for the day, then get the car and drive in the evening to Colmar area.
Day 3 - If you take the 8.50 flight (getting up pretty early), you could still spend the day in Strasbourg and get the car in the evening. There are luggage lockers at the train station. Presumably you could also leave your luggage at the rental offices for the day. Either way you'll have the day to see Strasbourg, and it would be a shame not to.
Day 4 - Easter Sunday. Probably a good time to see some of the villages. You may need a reservation for dinner. I also loved staying in tiny Eguisheim. I stayed at this B&B. Colmar is a city, and it takes 10-15 minutes just to drive in or out when there's no traffic to get to the main road. From Eguisheim it's a couple minutes. Monkey Mountain lets you get up close and personal with a large colony of macaque monkeys (Barbary apes). Look for the nesting storks everywhere in Alsace, except Strasbourg where the only storks look like this.
Day 6 - How much time do you want in Verdun? Both google maps and viamichelin.com estimate net driving time from Alsace to Reims via Verdun at around 5 hours. You won't have time to visit Epernay.
Day 7 - Take the TER train to Epernay, it's easy and Epernay is walkable. You won't want to drive and drink anyway. The Mercier tour is the most fun.
Day 8 - spend most of the day in Reims and take late afternoon or evening train to Paris. If you are interested in WWII history, be sure to visit the Musée de la Reddition. I liked the Basilica even more than the Cathedral.

I spent a couple of weeks in Paris, 2nd half of April. All the trees were in bloom as well as the lilacs. Tell your hubby he needs to give Paris more time. What you have planned for A'dam needs 1.5 days at most. What you have planned for Paris will fill all your time there - there's so much more, including simply absorbing the city. There are great walking tours with Paris Walks.

Check what is open on May 1. It's a national holiday in France.