Itinerary - Amsterdam-London-Bruges-Rhine-Amsterdam?

Your trip is completely do-able. It would be easier if you flew into Amsterdam and out of London-Heathrow (open jaw or multi city). That way, you wouldn't be backtracking which costs you a day of travel and substantial money. As far as taking a trip up the Rhine River, I would suggest you visiting Cologne, a trip of just less than 3 hours by train from Amsterdam.
I love the restaurants of Amsterdam, especially the Indonesian Ristoffels and Argentinan steak restaurants. It's also a great city for bicycling.

Thanks for the input! I agree about the travel and backtracking. I had enough Delta miles for a free ticket but unfortunately, the open jaw didn't work. So if I want to see London, I will have to get back to Amsterdam.

Maybe do your time in Amsterdam, go to Bruges (make it 2 nights definately), make your way across the channel on the Eurostar, then fly from London to Frankfurt, hang out in the Rhine region, then take train back to Amsterdam. Another thing you can think about is to immediately get to Bruges, then spend your time in Amsterdam at the end of the trip....I think that would make back tracking more worth it.

sue, I just started traveling recently on my own. The first time was via work and i wasnt able to do any sightseeig so i decided to do it on my own. Back to your questions. Im not sure if you planning to go back, but i prefer to plan my trips somewhat in detail so i dont get any surprises or minimize any surprises. IE. I plan on what i want to do and where they are in the city. Then i try to group those things in areas so im not crossing the city back and forth. that planning includes open times/days too. it can be time consuming, but i enjoy the research. the travel via Plane or train is up to you, but if you can i would look at the trains if possble since they put you usually in town and from my last time traveling via train, the security lines were smaller/shorter. also, try looking travel via a route. IE go furthest out or in a loop and try not to cross your paths. SOmetimes its not possible, but i try to make the most of my time on the ground since you cant do/see anything when in the air. Just an fyi, for us Americans, some of the European train schedules are only available upto 3 months out. w/RE to your London, 6 nts in London is enough. I was there last Mar 2012 for 4 nights (3 days) and saw/did what i had planned on for that trip. Im going back this Sept. i dont work for RS, but i would get/look into some travel books to get an idea on what there is to do and see. Some web sites offer the same too. if you just like to wonder the city then thats an fine way to do it too. for me, i try to make the most of my $$ since it costs alot of $$ to make it over there. good luck

Thanks very much for the good tips! I am a bit worried about the backtracking but since I got a free (first class) airline ticket, I can't really complain about the extra hassle. I am a bit worried about train costs. I like staying in reasonably nice accomodations and I like eating at least a few nice local meals so I would prefer to spend my money on those things rather than spending a lot on train/plane travel. But obviously, I have to get where I want to go. I am fairly set on staying in Amsterdam for three nights at the beginning but I could definitely switch up the order of things from there. And I agree about having things planned out if you are a solo traveler. It is one less thing to worry about if you are trying to relax and enjoy your vacation!

hi again, w/re to train travel. sometimes it can be expensive, but it will depend on where you are going. this sept, im planning to be in that same neck of the woods. But travel adjacent countries is easier imo. SInce youre travel to Germany (rhine), belgium (Bruges) and Amsterdam, you could probably do those via train, but i would look at the travel time. If you want to do a sleeper car, it could save you some time. Dont know if any of the legs would be long enough for a sleeper tho. also, depending on where you want to go, you may not find direct service either. you will probably have to fly to london tho. if you use the RailEurope and look at fairs, you will get an idea on cost. I would avoid using spring break dates if you can, but FYI, you can only go 3~4 months out. happy trails.

I think the plan as stated by Kelly to be the one that makes the most sense. Spend 3 days in Amsterdam, then go to Brugge, then take the Eurostar to London, then train to Cologne, do the Rhine and then train back to Amsterdam. The trains leaving from Frankfurt to Amsterdam may be your best bet. This way you are making sort of a giant loop, without back tracking. A non-stop ICE will take about 4 hours and cost 89 euro if you get your ticket 3 months before you travel. For train information, do NOT use Rail Europe. Use either the Deutsche Bahn or the TGV websites for accurate, and cheaper train fares. If you book your trains ahead of time, they won't be expensive. None of these routes are so long, that you need a sleeper train either, which would cost you more money in the long run. Besides, seeing the landscape is a fun part of travel.

Thanks for all of the good advice! I've had trouble with train websites in the past so I plan to see if I can get help at a travel agent. Once I see how the trains look, I can figure out my itinerary beyond my first few days in Amsterdam. If I go to Amsterdam and then Bruges, I will just have to change my dates slightly at my Bed and Breakfast in London. I do like to have everything planned out so I can relax and enjoy! :-)

Sue, your travel agent will probably know less of the specific detail than you can get here with some of our experts (present company excluded). Before trusting them or giving them money check what they know. Remember that a travel agent makes money by selling you stuff.

Good point! I actually looked on some of the train schedules and it seemed easier than I remembered my last time. Maybe I will actually be able to navigate it myself!!