Advice Please: Arrival into London, Departure from Amsterdam, with 15 Days in Between

Given that you are leaving in a month book the trains London to Paris and Paris to Amsterdam as soon as possible.

That division of days seems reasonable. It seems to me you have enough cities. Once you get comfortable after you arrive you will know if you want to make a dash to another city. Get a guide book and read it while you are there to get ideas where else you might want to go from your three base cities Paris London and Amsterdam.

The train services are Eurostar London to Paris and Thalys Paris to Amsterdam.

Paris to Amsterdam by train takes 4 hours 30minutes. You can fly there as well sometime for cheaper than the cost of rail if you are looking to save money. The time to fly is about the same considering that you have to get to an airport and go through the security.

The London Paris leg leaves from St Pancras arrives Paris Gare Du Nord.
Paris to Amsterdam leaves from Gare Du Nord Paris to Amsterdam Centraal.

You don't really need a day trip from London. But read a guide book to see where you might be interested in going from London.
Most go to Versailles from Paris or Chartres depends on your interests.
A daytrip from Amsterdam depends on what your interests are.

London, Paris, Amsterdam
14 nights

July
1. ARRIVE London (4N)
2. Tower of London / Tower Bridge (photo stop) / St Paul's Cathedral / Tate Modern
3. Buckingham Palace (photo stop) / Westminster Abbey / Houses of Parliament & Big Ben (photo stop) / Trafalgar Square & National Gallery
4. Hyde Park / V&A Museum / Piccadilly Circus (photo stop) / Covent Garden / British Museum
5. EUROSTAR to Paris (6N)
(4 day Paris Museum Pass: 6th-9th)
6. Sainte-Chapelle / Cluny Museum or Panthéon / Luxembourg Gardens / Musee d'Orsay (Closes late Thu at 9.45pm)
7. Arc de Triomphe / Palais Garnier Opera / Tuileries Gardens (Orangerie) / Louvre Museum (Closes late Wed,Fri at 9.45pm)
8. Notre-Dame de Paris / Picasso Museum / Place des Vosges / Centre Pompidou (Closes late at 10pm - ex Tue)
9. Versailles
10. Eiffel Tower / Sacré-Coeur & Montmartre / Evening Seine Cruise
11. THALYS to Amsterdam (4N)
12. Amsterdam
13. Haarlem / The Hague
14. Amsterdam
15. DEPART Amsterdam

What lovely trip!

You seem to have things well in hand. Specific activities, including day trips, should rest on your own personal tastes. I would not choose Versailles over Chartres or Rouen, but that is just me.

My only advice that might not repeat the very good suggestions you have from others is to plan in particular your arrival day. If you take morning trains you will have afternoons in all cities, though of course you will be coping with jet lag in London.

A good plan for that afternoon and evening can help get you into the swing of things and get the most out of your trip.

Your first day maybe scratched if you suffer any jet lag, so I would take a day off Paris and add it to London.

You ideally should have booked your Eurostar tickets in January for the best deals, so book asap.

I agree that you might want to take a day away from Paris and add it to London. There's so much to see and do in London that I doubt you'll have time for day trips, unless there's something that's really important to you.

And yes, get those train tickets booked ASAP. We booked our Oct Eurostar tickets back in April.

You may want to do one day trip in Paris, depending on your interests. But there's certainly enough to do in the city, without venturing further afield.

The Netherlands is so small, and train travel so easy, that day trips like the ones already mentioned are very easy to do.

Finally, may I congratulate you on avoiding the number one mistake I see by first time visitors - trying to cram too many places into too few days. Have a wonderful time.

I have a different take on museums. I like the Imperial War Museum, the RAF Museum, and the Natural History Museum. And, of course, the British Museum.

When arriving fatigued and jet lagged it is good to have a plan. I would suggest tea at Fortnum and Mason or at Harrads. Shopping the food courts are plenty entertaining also.

Thanks for all the great advice Jazz+Travels, djp_syd, Adam, Jennifer, CJean, and michaeltipton. We really appreciate it!.

We booked the train ticket, and will be using most of the advice to finalize plans. I like the suggestion to plan for the jetlag on arrival in London. Tea at Harrods sounds delightful. David, thanks for the itinerary, an excellent base for our adventure!

Have a wonderful trip then. Safe travels.