I'm facing my favorite type of dilemma ...Can you help me?

I would skip Roma. With 16 nights, Paris, London and Prague will give you plenty to do and July is the hottest month in Roma.

Fly into London, spend 6 nights.

Eurostar to Paris, 5 nights

Fly to Prague 5 nights and fly home from Prague.

If you want to avoid a flight, skip Prague and consider Amsterdam, easy by train from Paris.

I might keep Roma and skip Prague. You could fly to London (look for accommodations in the Bayswater area, I found a single for about £93/night).

After Paris, you could spend a few days in the south of France to break up the city-city experience (although I love cities), and end in Roma. Visit Ostia Antica (there's s beach) and Orvieto. I think your son would love Roma. Look at hotels/apartments in the Monti area (some apartments during your trip might be a nice break from a triple room, although some hotels have suites that might work for you).

Much better skipping Rome in July, it will be miserably hot and crowded. I like Rome most at the end of October to early November.

I'm not much for an all cities itinerary. Cities cost more than smaller towns and people in smaller towns are easier to talk to. Have you asked him what he would like to see, maybe cities with museums won't excite him at all?

When my sons were 16 and 12, I took them on a Trip from Amsterdam, through Germany, Austria and Italy, ending in Rome (about this time of year). I asked them what they were interested in? In typical boy fashion, they replied in as few syllables as possible. What do you want to see? Castles. Ruins or restored castles? Ruins. The highlight of their trip was climbing and crawling through Rheinfels Castle.

I would agree with the last post. Once I was in Rome in July...To be honest it was so hot that I cannot say that I have enjoyed this trip. But it depends on the person.

Go with London and Paris. Easy access from the US and to each other.

Agree with London and Paris. Both cities offer great day or overnight trips to smaller cities or beach areas , which might make a nice break for your trip. We did Bayeaux (Normandy) from Paris and York from London . But there are other places as well.

July in France means the Tour de France bicycle race. Not sure whether you are bike raceing fans at all, but being at the side of the road, with a parade of vehicles tossing out free stuff to the crowd before the racers come by, then cheering on the cyclists as they pass, is something everyone should experience at least once! Then there are the ceremonies at the starting and finishing town each day. For 2018, the race is starting in Brittany, in northwestern France. They don't arrive in Paris until Sunday, July 29, so you'll be gone by then. Thought I'd throw this out, though. Brittany feels different than the rest of France, but there's still lots of great pastry!

Our visit to Prague years ago was combined with a visit to Vienna and Austria, which might at least be cooler than Rome in July. Not sure if the costs or logistics would work for you this trip, however. there's some great countryside to visit, not "City-City" at all!

Thank you very much! I think we will cut out Prague... again!

Your choice of Rome in July seems driven mostly by that great airfare. Are you sure you can't find something comparable from Paris or Prague or Amsterdam or nearby? Keep in mind the added cost of getting to Rome from elsewhere in Europe.

I wouldn't worry about the big-city focus, a teenager is likely to appreciate that more, and you can throw in a couple of day trips to let him see the countryside.

London and Paris seem ideal to me -- London's a little less disorienting because a version of English is spoken there, and Paris is --- well, you know.

I think you'll have trouble finding rooms in July on your hotel budget, but try booking.com. Or consider apartments (VRBO.com or other sites) for the longer city stays, where you can spread out, sleep different hours, save money with some "at home" meals.

How exciting for you to be planning a trip with your son included.

Some thoughts ...
•4 destinations in 16 nights seems about right.
•You are right in thinking 2 internal European flights in this time frame is best avoided.
•London and Paris top your list, so build from there.

My options would be, by train ...
A) London >> Paris >> Belgium >> Amsterdam
B) London >> Paris >> Provence >> Barcelona

Or with a single flight ...
C) London >> Paris >> fly to Prague >> Berlin
D) London >> Paris >> fly to Venice/Florence >> Rome

I am a euroaholic too, and love both Paris and London , enjoyed Rome and Amsterdam a lot too, but both times I've been to Rome were unfortunately summer and I swear NEVER again , its really just too damm hot ! My 11 yr old was almost heatstroke there last time we went .

We almost always take 4-5 weeks and visit several countries so do use inter European flights often , sometimes 3-4 times per trip , EVEN with extra fees for luggage we find the flights so cheap and fast , the trick is to book flights as soon as you have dates ! The sooner the better .

We've trained too( and same thing there booking in advance gets you some great deals ) so book your Eurostar tickets as ski as they release your dates .

As for hotel costs , London is brutal , then Amsterdam, after that Paris and Rome will seem more reasonable ( I too aim for 100 euros or less per night )

No matter what you do , pay for a hotel with ac , in Paris and Rome at least . I seriously would not even consider no ac in Rome in summer !

‘Europhile’ is the actual word my friends.

For me, the classic July trip would be London-Amsterdam-Paris and avoid Italy (way too hot). These all offer great sights and experiences for all interests and ages and each is very different from the others.

If you can manage without AC in London, you could stay in university dorm rooms. They are singles and twins and rent out pretty cheaply so 2 rooms may not be more dear than a hotel triple. It's basic, usually no breakfast but communal kitchen facilities, private bathrooms and central locations.

You could fly into London, then take the train (Eurostar) to Paris, then train to A'dam and fly home from Schiphol. Or fly from London City Airport to AMS, then train to Paris and home from CDG. All things being equal, I'd opt for flying out of AMS just because it's easier to get to than CDG from the city center.

July 14 is huge in France, so consider if you want to be there then or not. Hotel prices may be high around that date and certainly there will be crowds for the parade and fireworks.

If you are bike riders, you can rent bikes to ride around Versailles and/or the Bois du Bologne in Paris. And using bikes in A'dam makes you really feel like locals.

Considering all your helpful ideas and information ...Thank you very much!

interesting, no mention of Switzerland ... London and Paris alone (with a few side trips from each) could easily eat up the 16 nights ... but if you want more than just those 2 cities, after Paris take a train to Zurich, cross Switzerland (train to Chur then the Bernina Express to Tirano), then either go down to Milan or over to Munich and Bavaria, flying home from either of those 2 cities.

You are focused on big cities that are really very interesting, but if you can have more time I suggest local tradition, nature and time to relax, e.g. Bristol or Cambridge added to London and Table Mountains (part of Sudetes) not far away from Prague
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sto%C5%82owe_Mountains

You could keep it just England and France, but add countryside to both cities. Maybe spend either 4 or 5 nights each in London and Paris, then add 3-4 nights in in the Cottswolds and 3-4 nights in Normandy, or Loire Valley or Burgundy, even Alsace is great. Many choices :-)

We love cities, but prefer counrtyside. It feels good to have a break from crowds.

Sounds wonderful, whatever you decide!