2 weeks- Prague, Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona? Days per city?

Prague is more similar to Paris than to Amsterdam. I think you will find out that 3 days is not enough for Paris. Are you counting your arrival day into 4 days in Prague?

Besides Amsterdam and Paris, your cities are quite far from each other. Unless you fly between them, a lot of your time will be spent in transit. I think you will be surprised at how fast 12 days go by. Is this your first trip to Europe? One thing to keep in mind is that 2 nights in a place equals one full day there, etc. I like to think of how many nights I have somewhere to better plan my time. I have not been to Prague, and my first trip to Barcelona is in September. If you must go to all 4 cities, I think 2 nights Amsterdam is okay. I would give Paris more time. Have fun with your planning!

Your plan seems OK.
Based on my 30 years of European travel and my personal interests I would reduce Barcelona to one day and use the two days for travel and rest.

Masa, You're covering a considerable distance from Prague to Barcelona, and it's important to allow adequate travel times between locations. In most cases you'll require at least half a day for travel, and sometimes more (ie: Prague to Amsterdam by rail is ~11-hours!). For the trip from Paris to Barcelona, budget air is the best option, but even for November you might consider booking soon to get the best prices. With such a short trip, I'd probably drop one day from Prague and provide a bit of time for travel between cities. Happy travels!

Masa: Hopefully you have not yet purchased your ticket, so you can fly "multi-city" or "open jaw". That would mean, for you, arriving in Amsterdam on Day 1 (remember, the next day after you leave the US) and staying there until Day3. Train to Paris, arrive afternoon of Day 3 and Days 4 and 5 (this is too little, IMHO). On Day 6 either fly to Prague, or if you are doing trains, take the 19:05 to Mannheim, transferring to City Night Line sleeper leaving about midnight and getting in at about 10 the next morning. Do Days 7, 8 Prague. Now if you fly home on Day 14 from Barcelona, this gives you days 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 to get TO Barcelona and to enjoy it. I haven't checked the DB schedules, I'll leave that for you to do, but for sure it won't be a short trip. As you can see, Prague and Barcelona are both remote. I would suggest cutting one of them, and adding a day or two in between Paris and whichever one you choose, flying back to the US from that city.

Thanks for the great tips. Already booked an arrival into Prague and departure out of Barcelona. Maybe cut out Amsterdam or take a day off of a city or two. How's the weather in November in Europe? Cold, rainy? Any suggestions on flights? Easy jet, Ryan, etc? Thanks!

Thanks for the great tips. Already booked an arrival into Prague and departure out of Barcelona. Maybe cut out Amsterdam or take a day off of a city or two. How's the weather in November in Europe? Cold, rainy? Any suggestions on flights? Easy jet, Ryan, etc? Thanks!

I'd cut a day off of Prague and add it to Paris. We got tired of Prague after 2 whole days there. I spent a week in Paris and still wanted to see more.

Yes, since you are flying into Prague and out of Barcelona, Amsterdam becomes the most remote location. But really, Paris is almost as remote. If you look at a map and draw a straight line between Prague and Barcelona, that is the approximate route you should follow to maximize fun time and minimize travel time. Essentially you would pass through southern Germany, Switzerland, and Provence on your way to barcelona. Given three days in Prague including arrival day and three days in Barcelona including departure day, that leaves you 8 days to make the very very long train trip, breaking it somewhere in the regions I mentioned above. The only other possibility is to investigate discount airline flights, which might perhaps make possible a Prague-Paris-Barcelona trip.

Four days in Prague would be too much for me. If you've never been to Paris three days is not enough. EasyJet will be your friend. As much as I love Amsterdam, save it for the next trip.

Over lunch today we decided to remove Amsterdam from the plans. Those two days will be travel days. With that said, maybe the new itinerary will be: 3 days - Prague 1 day travel to Paris 4 days - Paris 1 day travel to Barcelona
3 days Barcelona Does this sound more reasonable for a romantic getaway? :) Any suggestions for websites on finding lodging in Prague, Paris, and Barcelona?

Lodging: Prague - I got a double room in the Hilton EAST (not in the center, but an easy metro ride) for 3 nights a year ago May with a bid of $100 on priceline.com (total $325 with tax). Paris - my fave is the Sevigne Hotel (they have their own website). Very well located and budget-priced. I always use tripadvisor.com to check out hotels, though sometimes you can get a better price directly through the hotel. Read the reviews carefully, with a tinge of skepticism (some phony ones creep in and many reviews are colored by the guests' expectations). The reviews on sites like Venere.com and hotels.com are monitored more for actual hotel guests, but they are often very short and not informative.

I think 4 days in Prague is too much too. I would add a day to Amsterdam I would look at flights between Prague and Amsterdam and from there train to Paris and overnight train to Barcelona.

Your updated plan of July 10 is a big improvement. I think that you'll enjoy your trip. Given your timing, you should be able to find centrally located, romantic, lodging at reasonable prices. Consider a guide for at least part of your visit to Paris - it has so much to offer and really is (to me, at least) the most romantic of destinations.

Take the Ellipsos overnight train from Paris to Barcelona if you are interested in such an experience. Private rooms are available and the price includes your meals in the dining car. It's not necessarily a "must do" but I thought it was fun. And it definitely save you time as you don't have to spend a day traveling. I think there might be an Overnight train from Prague to Amsterdam as well. go to bahn.de/english to find out more re: available trains

One suggestion during your time in Barcelona. We were there a couple years ago, and took a train to Montserrat. This is where they discovered the Black Madonna. It is tucked up in a mountain and you can access it from a cable car in the valley. We took a train from Barcelona to Montserrat, think it took maybe an hour? maybe 90 minutes each way? We done some wonderful things during our holidays over the years, but honestly, that may have been the absolute coolest thing we have ever done....

Hi Masa Check out www.skyscanner.com for discount airlines from Paris to Barcelona. Very economical and perhaps less than the train. Just read the fine print about everything. Large penalties when luggage size and weight restrictins are breached. Remember they charge for everything, including seat assignment! And check which Paris airport you fly out of since there are several. Bobbie