Itinerary for June in Europe 2-3 weeks

Yes, it's rushed. Rick's itineraries are great but are based on his tours, which move quickly and efficiently. It's really hard to move that fast on your own. We once followed Rick's itineraries for a few days, but at 2/3 speed. It was great but we were really pooped afterwards. You can see a lot, and have a great trip, in 21 days, but I think you and your son should set some priorities and scale back a bit.

Adam is so right, it seems too rushed to even begin to see anything. Several questions come to mind. What is a mid-range budget, how do you plan to go from one place to another, car or public transit? Every time you transfer from one place to another you lose time with check in and out of hotels. I suggest you decide what your budget roughly will be, airfare, how much do you plan to spend a night in hotel. That at least gives you a starting place. Then the two of you need to pick two or maybe three must see countries and go from there. Get a map of Europe and pick your must see places and at least you have are narrowing things down somewhat. It is hard as you want to see it all but you really want to enjoy. Keep posting here, get several tour books.

Yes, have a number of travel books. They are like candy and one wants to see it all. We think Germany, Austria and Switzerland would work nicely flying into and out of Frankfurt and staying and hotels in Rick's mid-price range.

With a schedule like this, all you will see is the inside of trains. Is it 2 weeks or 3? That will make a big difference. You're right that you aren't spending enough time in Paris, or anywhere else for that matter. Keep in mind that if you spend 2 nights in a location, that is only one full day. At this pace you won't be taking in "the culture; smells and sights of small towns and villages." The trip will just be a blur of passing landscape as you speed through on the train. It takes at least a half day, if not more, to change locations. That includes leaving your hotel, getting to the train station, taking the train, then making your way to your next hotel. Many people have unrealistic expectations of how much they can do on their first trip. They just have to realize that it is unrealistic. To really enjoy and experience your trip you will need to scale way back. Decide what your priorities are. You can't see it all. Good that you plan to fly open jaw. I'm sure you will be able to revise your schedule to enable you to have a fantastic trip. Then you can start planning your second trip to see things you didn't see the first trip.

I like to travel the way you describe yourself, see all the things I'm interested in before moving to the next place. If this were my trip and my first to Europe, I might split the time between two big cities, like London or Paris or Berlin or Rome. Or maybe three cities if I had three weeks. Or maybe two cities and a week in between exploring, by car, an area I was interested in like Normandy or the Loire or Dordogne or Yorkshire or Tuscany or the Alps. I'd pick a few bases to stay in, minimizing changes of lodging and transportation costs, saving my time and money for the sites of interest and slowing down to enjoy the cafes, concerts, strolls, and street life. I might take day trips out of the cities to see worthwhile places nearby. I'd assume that I'll return to Europe and maybe even to the places I'm visiting if I like them. You might also consider staying put in a city you like and letting the 22-year-old explore some on his own, if he wants to cover more ground than you do. The RS itinerary you describe isn't one he really recommends for a great travel experience. And if you decide to do one like that, then I'd suggest a tour (RS or other) so someone else handles the driving and logistics. Anyway, have a great time!

oh dear, that's way too much for a first time trip on your own. Yes, 2 weeks or 3 weeks means a lot. Especially if you are trying to shoehorn 3 weeks into 2. And as said above, that is what can be done in 3 weeks if everything pans out perfectly, you have a bus driver at the door, everybody's on at the right time, all the stops are organized, you have a leader taking you by the hand (often with another person also taking you by the hand), and local guides waiting as you get off the bus; never having to look at a map or check a timetable, with all the hotels pre-registered with a pile of keys ready every night. You will never meet your goals like that, IMHO. Every 2 night stay, not counting the wrench of upping sticks so often - and all the time lost in travel, you only get ONE DAY at your destination. Please reconsider the trip you and your son will take and make it memorable - not remembering the insides of train stations, the lines at check in desks and check out desks, and the the insides of all those trains...

Is this too much? Arrive Amsterdam; Rijkmuseum & Van Gogh museum, Anne Frank House, Canal cruise, red light district (not to partake, just the cultural experience), Haarlem Germany: Rhine Valley (blitz tour, St. Goar, Bacharach Rothenburg: Night Watchman's tour, town walk, St Jakob's church, Crime & Punishment museum, Walk The Wall Austria; Fussen: Hohenschwangau & Neuschwanstein castles Munich : Dachau (maybe) Baden-Baden: The Black Forest hikes, a bath Switzerland: Ebenalp, Luzern, Berner Oberland considering Glacier Express Open jaw into Amsterdam, out of Zurich
Have three weeks

The type of travel you describe is also much more expensive than a more limited itinerary. If you are traveling on your own, it is also difficult to shift gears frequently with respect to language, customs, currencies, etc. In Italy they have a saying: Roma non basta una vita - for Rome, one lifetime is not enough. Some people would say the same about Paris.

"We are interested in... castles such as Neuschwanstein... Looking forward to talking in the culture; smells and sights of the small towns and villages." My tips for seeing more... Amsterdam: 4 nights. Don't bother with Haarlem. I WOULD daytrip to Zaanse Schans. Rhine: No blitzing. 3-4 nights. On the way, stop in Cologne and put bags in locker; see cathedral (next to station) and maybe a museum. St. Goar is a good base. See Rheinfels Castle in town and Marksburg Castle in Braubach. Take a train to Bingen one morning and a 1.5 hr. river cruise back to St. Goar. Take a train up the Mosel River Valley for the old-world village of Cochem (cool chairlift and falconry show at Reichsburg Castle.) See nearby Burg Eltz. Rothenburg: 2 nights in area. Consider 1 night in Würzburg first to see the Residenz (palace) and take a detour to fabulous old-world Bamberg (next morning prior to Rothenburg.) Linger in Rothenburg the next day before moving on to Munich.

(cont.) Munich: 3-4 nights including Dachau. Or if you only plan to see Dachau, 1 night and go to Salzburg for 2-3 nights. Fussen: 1 night is enough. Can be done as a daytrip from Munich too. H'schwangau & N'stein "castles" are both palaces. N'stein was built in the late 19th century to LOOK like a castle. Real castles, which by definition are fortified residences from the Middle Ages, are better seen in the Rhine Valley and in/near Salzburg, Austria (Hohenwerfen is reachable by train.) Baden-Baden: Not in the Black Forest. Smells like money. Give it a miss. Switzerland: Spend ALL of your remaining time (6 nights?) here.

Thank you for the helpful suggestions and advice, especially Ross (narrowing down the number of nights is helpful). Now, Switerland. . . .3 nights in Gimmelwald. Is that too many? For the culture, hikes. What would one recommend for 3 more nights?

As many people have pointed out before, Rick's Germany book may be the weakest of the lot. There are several folks on the helpline who live in Germany and most of us disagree with a lot of his recommendations. So if you plan on spending any considerable amount of time in Germany, I'd buy another guidebook. If you're short on time and want to see several countries, Baden-Baden and the Black Forest should be nixed from the list. They're pleasant enough, but not highlights. For your purposes I'd focus on the Rhine/Mosel and Munich. I'd also say there's no real need to go to Rothenburg if you're visiting other quaint small German towns, as it's quite out of the way via public transit (on a spur line)and very touristy. Other people here love it. Often I suspect that's because they haven't visited comparable old towns in Germany, however.

In Amsterdam we went on a canal cruise out of Boom Chicago run by an ex-pat. Small boat, brought our own wine, cheese and was great, two years ago was about fifteen euro. I personally loved Haarlem for a half day from Amsterdam. Am WWII buff and enjoyed Ten Boom Museum, the lovely square by the church, was great. If going to Anne Frank museum, we were there off season but have heard you can get advance tickets to avoid crowd. We enjoyed Ludwig castle from Munich. Think Dachau is a must see. It is not something you enjoy, it is something or any other concentration camp is to be visited.