Flying into and out of Prague/Amsterdam for a Germany itinerary? Crazy?

Not crazy. But...work our your itinerary FIRST before buying the plane tickets!

How many nights in each place?

How much does it cost to get from Amsterdam to where you really want to go? How much time does it take away from the 10-11 nights you have? Look into cheap flights too not just trains and buses.

Work out the numbers say for two itineraries:

Option #1: Fly into / out of Germany or Prague
Cost of flights US

Option #2: Fly into/out of Amsterdam, then get to/from Germany and Prague
Cost of flights from US
Cost of travel between Amsterdam and Germany/Prague
Time to get from Amsterdam to starting city
Time to get to Amsterdam to ending city (need an extra night in Amsterdam before flying out?)

--

Use Google Flights to find flight deals. (I assume you are pricing open jaws into/out of Germany not one way trips or round trip tickets right? Fly into Frankfurt out of Berlin on one ticket? "Multi-city" flights?)

Try these sites:

www.bahn.com - German trains
www.FlixBus.com - European buses
Rome2Rio.com - how to get place to place
www.google.com/flights/

Ferrin, what are your specific travel dates?

Especially if you're willing to tweak where you spend some of your time, it's not crazy at all to take advantage of an opportunity to save a lot of money on the airfare. It's when folks try to maintain their original packed itinerary despite needing to spend two days traveling to and from their gateway airports that things get really hairy.

Am I crazy to try to use other cities to fly in and out to save some
$$?
We will have 10-11 nights to travel and my family wants to see Bavaria
and some WW2 stuff

No, it's not crazy if you keep in mind that Germany is more than Bavaria, beer and WW2. If you travel by train Germany is less than 2 hours away from Prague... it's just not your Germany.

Not a bad idea at all, I'll consider doing this as I'm planning my trip for May/June 2018. The difference is I'm going over solo.

With your interest in Prague and Amsterdam, fly into one and out the other? One way travel eliminates the wasted time of back tracking. Really depends on what your 'extra' ground transport costs are and what you want to see.

Thanks everyone who has weighed in so far-my specific travel dates are May 20-May 31 (Or could extend to May 19/June 1 if good deals). I am willing to change our itinerary to include Prague and/or Amsterdam as I have interests in both and we have never been to either. The only requirements are that we spend at least some days in Germany and see at least one concentration camp (grim, I know) and some of Bavaria and maybe Cologne. I have lots of research to do still. But I am so anxious about flights since I have to buy 4 tickets...I have looked into all kinds of open jaw tickets too. Germany airports seem to be just really expensive for my dates. Open to all suggestions though. Currently considering into Prague and out of Amsterdam...

I use google flights mainly but I will look at other sites.

Thanks!

Hi joe--yes I I will try to avoid a round trip if at all possible. I have learned so much here at RS, and open jaw is one of the best lessons! I am actually looking at exactly what you propose :)

Martin-I know Germany is a large country and there is much to see. We will only scratch the surface, which I am ok with for now. do you have recommendations on stops in Germany that would make sense if we are traveling from Prague? Thanks!

OK so I am looking at a flight arriving in Prague on May 20 and leaving Amsterdam on June 1. It is ~$1,000, which I think is good from Nashville. I'd love to get recommendations on an itinerary for a 12 night trip between the 2, with probably 4 about main lodging stops and mostly public transportation. Family of 4 with 2 teen/tween kids interested in WW2, and happy to see anything interesting... thanks!

Your easiest way to Europe in the future wi!l be from BNA to London Heathrow non-stop on British Airways. Last time I looked, the airfares were $900ish.
From there, you could catch a bus over to Gatwick where the budget airlines can get you anywhere you want to go in Europe--most well under $100 per !eg.
You would do best to fly into and out of the cities on your itinerary. While I love Amsterdam, it is just too far from the other cities of interest. I would suggest flying into Munich and making that the center of your travels by train. Within a couple of hours, you could visit Salzburg, Innsbruck and the Austrian Alps, or Fuessen to see King Ludwig's Neuschwanstein castle. Or you could rent a car in Munich and go to many places including Prague. I have found enough sights in Munich worthy of 4 days, including Dachau.
We have changed our mode of travel over the years from frantic driving to traveling slowly. We now see so much more.

The train from Amsterdam to Frankfurt goes right through Cologne so your idea is fine. We did this a couple years ago. Flew to AMS. Train to Frankfurt. Picked up a car. Drove romantic road then to Bavaria finished in Munich and went to Dachau. Dropped our car at Munich Train station. Train/Bus to Prague. Flew out of Prague.

I have a feeling you won't need a car at all. Depending on what your first stop is in Germany, The first travel leg might work better by bus than by train. You'll potentially save some significant money on your longer train trips by buying the tickets early, once you've got your itinerary locked down. Within Germany you may be able to take advantage of some very good deals on tickets for people traveling together.

Although I am a huge fan of Berlin (love the huge museums and the Cold War sites), I think if your trip is going to stretch from Amsterdam to Prague, you should not try to include Berlin on this trip. It sprawls, the sights are scattered, and it really benefits from more time than I think you can afford to spend there on this trip.

With your major German base in Munich you can see both Dachau and Nuremberg (Nazi Documentation Center) on (separate) day-trips.

There are several folks here who can make suggestions about pretty, smaller cities where you'll get a full dose of historic architecture, if you think you'll have time for some sightseeing of that type. I know Regensburg gets a lot of river cruises and has become touristy, but it sounds lovely, and it seems to be right on the path between Prague and Munich. Nuremberg is actually closer to Regensburg than to Munich, though I haven't checked train times. There are other options for picturesque stops where you wouldn't run into many American tourists if you'd prefer that kind of environment.

I can think of three good itineraries going from Prague to Amsterdam, north Germany, middle Germany, or south Germany. 12 nights each.

North: Prague 3 nights, Berlin 4 nights (including Sachsenhausen memorial), Hamburg/Luebeck/Lueneburg 2 nights, Amsterdam 3 nights

Middle: Prague 3 nights, Dresden 2 nights, Erfurt/Weimar/Eisenach (including Buchenwald memorial) 3 nights, Cologne 1 night, Amsterdam 3 nights. Include a trip along the Rhine between Frankfurt and Cologne, maybe by boat part way.

South: Prague 3 nights, Munich 4 nights (including Dachau memorial), Wuerzburg/Rothenburg 2 nights, Amsterdam 3 nights. Include a trip along the Rhine between Frankfurt and Cologne, maybe by boat part way, and a stopover in Cologne for a few hours.

Thanks Sam, acraven and Keith! It’s good to know that it’s not an unreasonable itinerary. I appreciate the information!

May 20 - arriving in Prague (3)
May 23 - Train to Dresden (1)
May 24 - Train to Berlin (4)
May 28 - Train to Cologne (1)
May 29 - Train to Amsterdam (3)
June 1 - leaving from Amsterdam

Amsterdam is worth a visit on its own so would be a good entry city for that reason alone Be sure to get tickets to Anne Frank online months in advance. The Anne Frank house really puts a face to the Nazi horror. I have not yet been to a concentration camp, but I think the story of one teenager might be more impactful than the somewhat faceless millions of victims at the camp. You should also introduce your children to the Indonesian cuisine available in Amsterdam and riding a boat around the canals would also be fun for the kids. If you're not going to the art museums, 2 nights(one full day) in Amsterdam should be enough.

Thank you everyone, I think I can work with these ideas! :)

I think this is roughly the itinerary I am planning on (Thanks Sam!)

South:
Prague 3 nights
Munich 4 nights (including Dachau memorial, day trip to Neuschwanstein? )
Wuerzburg/Rothenburg 2 nights
Amsterdam 3 nights (Anne Frank museum for sure)

Include a trip along the Rhine between Frankfurt and Cologne, maybe by boat part way, and a stopover in Cologne for a few hours.

Questions if anyone has easy answers...I will also do some research on my own but I figured you guys may know already! :)

1) best travel mode from Prague to Munich? Train or bus probably

2) How to get from Munich to Rothenburg?

3) Does it seem wise to rent a car in Rothenburg to drive to Cologne (or all the way to Amsterdam) so we can stop and do a Rhine side trip? Or can we take public transport the whole way?

4) Is Cologne worth a night? I would have to take one away from Munich (probably). I know 1 night stays are a RS no-no in general, but if it's on the way, maybe it's ok...?
Anything else to consider for this itinerary? It's 4 of us (my son (15) and daughter (12), both into WW2).

Thanks so much!

1) either. There are buses, usually A bit faster because of rail infrastructure issues, but there are a few direct trains. Usually cheaper bought when you are in the Czech Republic. Schedules at www.bahn.com.
2) Again, schedule at bahn.com. You can use a Bayern ticket, 26 EUR 1st person and 5 EUR each additional person. Any regional trains, after 9 am weekdays, anytime weekends.
3) Go by train and specify a stopover ( 0 time) in in Mainz and you'll see routes along the Rhine. You can work detail later. Boats every hour or 2 down the Rhine. End point can be many stations along the river, like St Goar, where it is a short walk to a station to get trains to Cologne.
4) I like Cologne and it is good place for a 1 nighter on the way to A'dam.

Or you could go at it the other way around -- keep an eye open for really cheap flights to anywhere in Europe (Scott's Cheap Flights recently noted flights to Germany through May 2018 in the range of $500 R/T from many U.S. cities) and then see how much of your planned trip you could fit in.