Better Itinerary - 15 days in Europe

Plan B is better than plan A, but still leads a lot to be desired. I don't think you realize how much time you will be spending in airports. I would plan on spending your time visiting only 3 or 4 cities in 15 days. Don't race thru Europe to check off cities on your bucket list. You will just be throwing your money away.

The usual advice is to count nights, not days. When you're spending only one night in a place, that means the day before and the day after are both travel days with limited time for sightseeing. That's not necessarily a bad thing when your destinations are smaller cities or towns that are only an hour or two apart by train. But to fly from Barcelona to Rome, only to spend just one night in Rome, is not something I'd want to do.

Not enough time and too spread out. Take a look at transportation between desired cities then add on time to get out of hotel/hostel get to the train or airport, arrive at destination, find hotel- then you begin your sightseeing. It takes a lot more time than you think. Plan how many full days you want to spend at each location and know that two NIGHTS is only one full day. We always spend at least 3 nights for small cities and 4 for large and we generally only travel 4 hours or less between cities, and that is by car so no waiting for transport. I think plan B isn't too bad, but how many nights are you planning? You say you want to immerse yourselves in each culture? With plan B are you counting travel time? If you have 20 nights and the days you are counting are time of actual site seeing then plan B seems ok, I still think you are way too spread out.

I think even plan B is too much in too short a time. I'd cut Rome for sure; it isn't worth it to fly there for just 1.5 days.

If you really want to see this many places in such a short time, take an escorted tour. They can move much faster and more efficiently than you can on your own. They already know the way, whereas you have to figure it out on your own - not only between cities, but also within them. Do not underestimate how long this can take, and how tiring it can be to do day after day.

If you want to go on your own, PLEASE cut some destinations (yes, even from your plan B). As people have said above, don't underestimate the time (and effort) it takes to check out of a hotel, get to the airport, allow time for security and check in, fly to your new city, get in from the airport, and check in to the new hotel. By the time you do all that, you will have almost no time in Rome at all, for example.

And don't just allow 1 day for the Swiss Alps. It takes a lot of time to get to them, and mountains make their own, unpredictable weather. So, with only one day, you have a possibility of going a long way, and spending a lot of money (wait till you see Swiss prices) just to have your views of the mountains clouded over or rained out. Particularly in May, you will want to stay at least 3 days in one Alpine location to give yourself the best chance of good weather and visibility - or save this for another trip, and put the time toward other places.

Trying to do that many places on your own in 15 days would be difficult at best - so much time involved in transportation from one place to another and not enough time to really see and enjoy these large cities. Plan B is doable, although still too rushed for me, but I would definitely drop Prague and/or Lisbon, they are the outliers. Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona and Rome would be about right for 15 days but still rushed and you'd have to fly from Barcelona to Rome. If Lisbon is a must, then do Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona, and Lisbon - drop Prague and Rome.

I understand having a bucket list, I have an enormous one. But I don't understand spending time and money traveling long distances to spend a day and 1/2 in a city like Rome or Paris (or any of your others) just to 'check it off your list and say you've been there'. Spending that little time in these cities qualifies as 'having been there' about as much as changing planes or trains there, or diving through on your way to somewhere else.

Cut your places in half and enjoy what you see, not constantly traveling.

One day in Rome is a crime, Rome needs a week. Same with Florence.

Also, why include Lisbon and Barcelona that are far from the other places. Same with Amsterdam.

Suggest sticking to Italnd and perhaps Switzerland and Munch (also perhaps Prague)
Go back and see Iberia on a separate trip. Madrid and Seville should not be missed as well as Porto, Portugal.

You list days, but the better way to plan is how many nights will you spend in each location. Remember that 3 nights is really 2.5 days. By the time you arrive in town, find and check into your hotel, you have .5 or less of a day. Have to agree with the others that even Plan B is too much traveling but it is better than Plan A. You say you want to immerse yourselves in each culture but 2.5 days in Prague and Paris and 1.5 days in Rome will not allow that. But, as we often say, there are many ways of traveling and maybe this one is suited to you. Planing and imagining the things you will see and do is always fun. The hard part is getting a workable and enjoyable itinerary. In the end you will come up with a plan that suits you and your friends. Have fun!

For 15 days I would try and pick places that are geographically a little closer together to minimize the time spent traveling. All these places are worthwhile and need more time than they have been given. All of these are large cities, except maybe the Swiss Alps, you don't say where you actually wanted to go. You might consider adding a smaller village location somewhere for a little bit of down time.

I hope on this trip you are planning on packing light because it is hard to carry lots of luggage when you are moving this fast. However, packing light often means you might want to do some laundry. Make sure you leave some time for that too. My husband and I can do underwear in the sink but anything else we prefer to have the hotel wash or take to a laundry mat which can take some time.

Thank you all for the suggestions. Thoughts on the following itinerary and if this is still not practical enough:
- 3 days in Lisbon
- 3 days in Barcelona
- 3 days in Rome or Prague
- 3 days in Amsterdam
- 3.5 days in Paris

To keep in mind: We already booked our flights flying into Lisbon and home from Paris and one of my friends traveling with me is leaving from Amsterdam 4 days before we head home from Paris. So our ending has to be Amsterdam and then traveling to Paris for 2.5-3.5 days.

Looks like you want to party so I'd nix Rome. Two flights in 15 days is the most I'd plan and I hope you got a great deal on airfare because it makes for difficult planning. I'd do Lisbon, fly Barcelona, fly Amsterdam and train to Paris. That would be a fun and relatively easy trip. More time on the ground and less traveling. You sound young and will probably have many years to return.

Your last itinerary makes more sense but you might have to ditch either Rome or Prague based on travel times. Take a look at https://www.rome2rio.com/ to get an idea of the travel options and times between your locations. Also remember that to get cheap or reasonably priced flights you may need to commit to a specific non-refundable flight and buy tickets in advance. This will help you plan which locales are reasonable in the time you have.

With 15 nights you are best restricted to 5 destinations (at 3 nights each).

Your plan B involves flights between all destinations, except Paris and Amsterdam. This would be just a total nightmare for you, with so much time spent at airports.

So I would lock in Paris and Amsterdam, and then add 3 other destinations that are all easily linked by rail, making for (at most) just one internal European flight.

A) Venice > Florence > Rome
B) Seville > Madrid > Barcelona
C) Budapest > Vienna > Prague
D) Vienna > Prague > Berlin

Option (D) could all be done by train.

How many nights do you have on the ground, not including the last night?

Even the first day doesn't really count as a full day since you have to land, get to hotel, get situated and and then tiredness from the trip will slow you down. You might be able to plan a half day for your first. Just try to be realistic about the time you will have it will make for better planning.

I like your last revised version spending three nights in each location. Each time you change hotels, you lose at least 4hours if not more. My first trip to Europe 24 years ago was rushed as your first itinerary is. I have since slowed down and enjoy it more.

15 days?

Let me just look at Plan B:
You could put together a great itinerary connecting Lisbon to Barcelona. Or, Rome to Prague, or Prague to Paris, or Rome to Amsterdam, but not all of them.

Or, Plan A:
Munich to Rome including Florence.

Unless you have a magic teleport device to transport you from place to place. Which would be great.

Zach,

Your latest itinerary is logistically feasible, but I would argue not optimal.

Because of travel times, you really have one less day than you say in all of these great places (a half day less in Paris, if you are arriving the night before, and arguably really only a day in Lisbon because of jet lag etc.).

If this does not worry you, then okay. Not everybody needs to travel the same way! But your itinerary is so tight that a single travel hiccup could throw the whole thing off. Also, 3 newbies are not going to be very nimble or move very fast.

I think you'd have a better trip if you save one of the places for another time, then redistribute the time to the remaining destinations, where there is plenty to do. I mean, you are not going to say, after 2 full days in Amsterdam, "Done this, boring now, we should leave."

It's hard figuring this stuff out when there are 3 of you and where nobody actually knows exactly what will be great. But brutal honesty about priorities and limitations now will give you a better trip.

I think you can do whatever you want ...
2 years ago me and some friends went on a 2 1/2 week tour.
Auckland to Doha 8 hour stop over then to Athens 8 hour stopover.. got a taxi for the day ticked off Athens sights and dinner.
Then from there....
Santorini 3 nights
Venice 1 night
Split 2 nights
Rome 1 night
Paris 2 night
London 3 nights
Brussels 1 night
Amsterdam 1 night
Istanbul 2 nights
Home
All were flights except Brussels and Amsterdam
Key is to get flights late at night or early morning so it doesn't cut into your day.
We are planning another trip and fitting more in in the same time. Great way to see a lot and no time to get bored or miss our kids!

Um, Wiremuandheidi, the OPs trip was in May. He might be back home by now.

wiremuandheidi planned the last trip with as much forethought as was used to read this thread before posting.

Agreed, Richard. That "tick the box" itinerary is insane and not recommended for anyone at all.

Why not? It's a great itinerary for people who don't need any sleep ("Key is to get flights late at night or early morning so it doesn't cut into your day.") Travel at night, do sightseeing during the day. Sleep is overrated these days.

And when you return home, take two weeks of vacation to recover from your trip. :D