Am I cramming too many places in 14 days?

I believe you will be running and seeing little. Travel days are not sightseeing days. Concentrate on no more than 3 areas. Skip Prague due to distance.

I haven't been to Belgium yet, but I believe most people suggest staying in a different city (perhaps Antwerp or Ghent if you don't want to base in the intensely touristy Bruges). I think you'll find hotels in Brussels more expensive than those in Antwerp and Ghent, and the consensus seems to be that Brussels just isn't all that wonderful. (Obviously, I stand to be corrected by folks who have, you know, actually been there!)

I wouldn't be inclined to fly across Europe for just 3 days in Prague. From what city are you flying home? London? That means another flight to get back there. I'd be looking for a place I could reach from Belgium or the Netherlands without getting on a plane--perhaps northern France or western Germany. Or you could include Paris right after London by taking the Eurostar under the Channel.

Two days in London seems light to me, but as you say, it's a convenient gateway city and comparatively easy to return to. There's infinitely more to see in Europe, or even in most countries in Europe, than most Americans have time to see in a lifetime, so there are always trade-offs. To me, the main things is not to waste too much time traveling between destinations.

I too believe, if you can, save Prague for another time and concentrate on London and the Low Countries. We spent 10 days in Belgium, based mostly in Brussels, and found plenty to do. We didn't make it to the Netherlands so I can't comment there but we absolutely loved Belgium. I think you will find the transportation system very efficient and you will be able to daytrip to many places(Paris, Cologne, Aachen for an example) as well as Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp in Flanders, and don't forget the Walloon region to the south(which we never even made it to) with cities like Namur, Dinant, etc. Just my humble opinion.

You have a busy schedule as soon as you arrive in England. Are you planning on staying in Cambridge the first night and then heading to Stonehenge? I would give Cambridge two nights to get over jet lag and spend time with family and see the city. Its well worth a visit. If you plan on seeing London for a few days - I would head there next and then take a tour out to Stonehenge. (There are many that you can pick up from Hotels in London). From Cambridge to Stonehenge you will have to go into London to head west - By car from Cambridge it is about 150 miles but traffic on the M11 and M25 to the M3 is going to add a lot of time to your journey. By Train you will still need to get into London and get trains to Salisbury which will also be time consuming. I think you may need to take Belgium or Prague off your list. Otherwise you will spend too many days traveling - which always takes more time than expected and will eat into sight seeing days. (I also have family near Cambridge and travel the journey often).

when you're looking at plane vs train, you have to consider the time it takes to get to and from an airport, and the time for check-in, security etc. So even though the flight might be an hour or less, it will still take up half a day or more to change locations.

I would take Prague off the list as well; it's an outlier.

Then I had planned to fly next am to Amsterdam and do 3 days there,
then an AM flight or train to brussels and do 3 days in Brussels +1
day trip in there to bruges

Take the Thalys train from Amsterdam to Brussels; WAY quicker than dealing with an airport. Belgium is a great little country (fantastic beer, if you're a fan) and easy to get around by train. I'll be the dissenter about Bruges; we loved it and if you don't spend all your time hanging around the Markt where all the tourists congregate, you'll find breathing room in interesting, less-visited corners. But some RS posters are big fans of Gent as well so... Personally, I'd base in either, instead of Brussels, and day-trip to the other +Antwerp, if you had time.

I was considering staying in Brussels and day tripping to Bruges only because planes from London into Brussels is significantly cheaper. And I thought it'd be easier to fly in and stay there. But I guess I could fly into Brussels, spend the day in Brussels then train to bruges over night? I would love t have more than a day in bruges. I suppose I could cancel Prague (even though I was extrememly excited about Pragues!!!!) and add a day to London and a day in Belgium. My dad and brother may wayt to keep prague in which case would it be worth it to cancel Amsterdam and add a day in Prague? Any thoughts? Thank you all so much for your responses! Also, I will be taking a 1 way into London and a 1 way out of whatever our last country is. So either a 1 way out of Prague or a 1 way out of Amsterdam or Brussels. So we would not be flying from last country to London. Also, in regards to the comment about Stonehedge. The only reason I considered only having one day to rest is because my friend will be in stonehedge the day after I fly in.

You need to look at a good map. The train distance between Brugge and Brussels is s couple of hours, at most. Overnight train? Or did you mean an overnight train to Prague?

I love Brugge, but Gent is high on my favorites list, too.

I would follow advice above re: daytrips from Belgium. Or stick with Belgium and Amsterdam.

Michele, you do not want to buy two one-way flights--at least not without pricing a multi-city itinerary that lets you fly from your home airport (where is it?) to London and then from whichever other city you choose back to your home airport. That is likely to be cheaper than two one-way tickets, possibly much, much cheaper. Just check the "Multi-city" box on a website like Google Flights to examine your options.

It's true that any time you change locations, suitcase in hand, you lose many hours. You have to deal with hotels on both ends of the trip and travel to and from an airport or train station (airports typically taking much longer to reach). At airports (and to a lesser extent for the Eurostar train) you have to arrive early for security checks. So if you have seven days in total for your original plan of Belgium and Prague, you certainly do not have 3 days in Brussels, one day for a day-trip Bruges and 3 days in Prague. You are counting the time you will be spending in transit, which is substantial.

For flight schedules, check Skyscanner.

For rail schedules, check Deutsche Bahn.

For buses, start with Rome2Rio then drill down to the name of the bus company serving the destination. Or just Google "Bus City X to City Y".

king,

As this is your first trip to Europe, I would highly recommend reading Europe Through The Back Door prior to your trip as that provides a lot of good information on how to travel well in Europe. After that use the country-specific guidebooks to plan sightseeing, transportation, hotels, etc.

It would help to know where you're flying from? Some of the group here may be able to offer tips on good airline solutions from your area. Once you have your Itinerary more-or-less settled, book open jaw flights. You might want to use a travel agent to do that. When planning flights, keep in mind that you'll generally arrive in Europe the day after you depart your home airport and your last day will be required for the flight home. Therefore you'll only have 12 days for touring.

If you'd really like to visit Prague, that's certainly possible but IMO it will have to be at the expense of one of your other destinations. In this case, limiting your trip to England, Amsterdam and Prague would be the best idea. Leave Brussels / Bruges / Ghent until your next trip. IMO, Prague would be more interesting than Brussels.

One thing to keep in mind when planning Itineraries, is that it often takes longer than expected to get from one city to the next. Even if going between cities in the same country, each change of location will often take about four hours when all is considered.

A few thoughts and questions.....

• How are you planning to get from the airport (LHR?) to Cambridge?
• Is your plan to spend one night in Cambridge or two nights and one full day?
• How are you planning to get from Cambridge to Stonehenge?
• How are you planning to get from Stonehenge to London?
• YES, 2 days for London is too little time!
• Be sure to read the "Terms & Conditions" for European budget airlines carefully, as the baggage limits are often very restrictive and expensive. My preferred airline in Europe is easyJet and I use them whenever possible. If you buy the cheapest seats with them, you'll only be allowed ONE carry-on item per passenger of the approved size.

The book mentioned above will get you up-to-speed on things like avoiding pickpockets, travelling with technology, money and credit cards, travel by train etc. If you haven't seen any of Rick's TV shows, you might enjoy watching these....

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz0UCZkPqbA
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZPjdzZ_9bQ
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd6tgY681e4

One other point to mention is that Europe will likely be hot and busy in August as that's peak travel season. Therefore be sure to book hotels in advance and plan adequate time for travel between destinations. Finally, be open to the differences you'll find in Europe as things won't be the same as at home.

While I understand that you would like to squeeze in as many cities as possible, I'm afraid the others are right. You would be spending a lot of time traveling vs. actually enjoying where you are. As others have noted Prague is the odd man out in your list. So save it for a future trip. Perhaps tack on an extra day in Cambridge, another in London, the choice is yours.

Here's how I would roughly organize the trip. Start with Cambridge, London, Eurostar to Brussels. Save Amsterdam for the end and fly home from there.

Eurostar London to Brussels is only two hours plus another 1 hour for security and check in. So three hours total. It gets you from city center to city center. Flying, let's see two hours for checking in, one for the flight, Tack on transit time to and from the airport and flying takes longer to get there.

I agree with Kathy. Say in Brugge. Brussels does NOT need three days. Day trip from brugge if necessary but I would skip Brussels. Slow down, too much train time. I would spend at least two full days with family instead of one.

I would stay in Ghent for all the time in Belgium. It's between Bruges and Brussels (and Antwerp), so easy to day-trip to both and it's cheaper than either for rooms and has enough sights for a day there. It's probably only a few minutes longer to the Brussels airport than wherever you'd be staying in Brussels.

If you can find a good flight plan into London and home from Prague, that would be a good plan. It would be better to take Eurostar to "any Belgian station" (2 hours to Brussels, then transfer to a local train) and then train from Belgium to A'dam, then fly to Prague - if you are still going to Prague.

I agree with mpaulyn, you should spend a minimum of two nights in Cambridge. If you are flying in from the US that first day in England is going to be all train travel and trying to stay awake to overcome jet lag. Any sightseeing that you will do will be limited on the first day and then you will be headed to Stonehenge the next morning. At a minimum visit King's College Chapel and take a punt tour down the Cam to see the backs of the colleges. The so-called "backs" are the most scenic views of Cambridge.