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15 days in Europe Itinerary Check (Early Oct)

Hey everyone,
Been going through a lot of topics here and gained a lot of helpful information. My wife and I just booked our first European trip and will be flying in and out of Amsterdam.
Here is an itinerary that we thought might work for us
Day 1: Amsterdam (land early in the morning at 7)
Day 2: Amsterdam
Day 3: Morning train to Paris (~ 4 hrs)
Day 4: Paris
Day 5: Paris
Day 6: Morning train to Lauterbrunnen( Need help here to find the best way to reach there, Should we start in the morning or can we do a night train the day before? Are the views on the train ride good from Paris to Lauterbrunnen)
Day 7: Lauterbrunnen (visit Murren/Wengen)
Day 8: Train to Venice (Either a train from interlaken or flight from Bern)
Day 9: Venice
Day 10: Train to Pisa(My wife really wants to see Leaning tower of Pisa)
Day 10: Evening/Night train to Rome
Day 11: Rome
Day 12: Rome
Day 13: Morning flight to Munich
Day 14: Munich
Day 15: Morning Munich, Evening flight to Amsterdam
Day 16: Fly back home from Amsterdam

Please let us know your thoughts and any suggestions on tweaking our itinerary.

Thank You!
-Neo

Posted by
1443 posts

I think you may be trying to do too much. You will be staying in 7 cities in 15 days, so that is little more than 2 days per stop. Keep in mind that changing cities eats up about 1/2 a day assuming no delays. So really, you'll have about 1.5 days per stop. Consider scratching two cities. But I do have a few suggestions on the itinerary as-is.

When you arrive in Amsterdam on Day 1, consider getting on the train and heading straight to Paris. You'll have jet lag so that day is kind of shot already. Then you can focus on Amsterdam at the back-end of the trip.

Be flexible with your itinerary. For example, if the weather is bad on days 6&7 there won't be much point in going to the alps. Have back-up destinations in mind that aren't so dependent on the weather to enjoy.

Posted by
86 posts

In my opinion, this is too much. My rule of thumb is 3 night minimum, allowing at least 2 full days of sight-seeing per city. You are going to feel like all you did was sit on a plane or train. Also, your destinations are pretty spread out. I get the excitement of a first trip to Europe, but to really enjoy it I would recommend to rethink your itinerary. I would probably skip Munich and Lauterbrunnen. I would agree to taking the train from Amsterdam to Paris on day 1.

Day 1: Land in Amsterdam, take train to Paris.
Day 2: Paris
Day 3: Paris
Day 4: Fly to Venice
Day 5: Venice
Day 6 Venice
Day 7: Early Train to Florence
Day 8: Florence
Day 9: Florence - day trip to Pisa
Day 10: Early train to Rome
Day 11: Rome
Day 12: Rome
Day 13: Fly to Amsterdam
Day 14: Amsterdam
Day 15: Amsterdam
Day 16: Fly home

Here is a rough idea for an itinerary.

Posted by
2 posts

Awesome feedback..Thanks a ton Kevin and Eddie..
We will definitely go about skipping Munich(wanted to drive an M5 on the autobahn but there's always a next time) but really want to do Switzerland so will probably drop some other place.

Will take the train to Paris immediately on Day 1, it makes sense when you guys laid it out.

Will rework on the itinerary and post it here for further guidance.

Thanks again!

Neo

Posted by
86 posts

If Switzerland and Pisa are a must, then I would probably skip Venice.

Posted by
7175 posts

You have x2 Day#10.

I would leave Italy for a more in depth trip.

Arrive Amsterdam
Train to Paris -4 nights
Train to Dijon/Beaune -1 night
Train to Lauterbrunnen -3 nights
Train to Luzern -1 night
Train to Munich -3 nights
Fly to Amsterdam -3 nights
Depart Amsterdam