Itinerary HELP

It would be best to use "open Jaw" or multi-city flights. Fly into London (or Rome), then home from Rome (or London). It saves time and money not to backtrack.

Joan: With your proposed itinerary, you're just going to be hitting the high points. There's just so much to see and so little time to see it at each destination. You should fly into London and take the Eurostar train down to Paris. Then, fly to Rome by budget air carrier. Then, catch another budget air carrier over to Madrid, and fly home from there.
Better yet, skip Madrid and spend more time at London, Paris and Rome.

I appreciate your advice about the open-jaw flights. However, my sister would not be pleased with me if I left my niece in France or Italy. However, that did get me thinking. Maybe I could fly her back to England when I fly back to the US. Or . . . would it be feasible to end up in Paris and take the Eurostar back to London so I could catch a return flight to the US and she could catch a train back to school on the same day?

Skip Madrid. Focus on London, Paris, Rome. Given your sister's concern about leaving your niece anywhere but London is going to dictate her travel, the answer to your 2nd question is yes it is feasible to travel from Rome (go by air) and return to Paris and take the Eurostar back to London. Costly but doable. If you use the search engine on this website and type in Eurostar you'll get all sorts of information such as better to book in advance to get the cheaper fares. There air carriers from Paris that will fly you to Rome. CDG to FCO are the airports since these are the main airports in both cities (Charles de Gaulle and Fiumincino) I suggest the main airports simply because it's your first trip. Flights are probably more costly but as you're going as an overview it'd take convenience over cost. Grab a copy of Rick's Europe Through the BackDoor. Chock full of pertinent info. Also take a look at Ron in Rome website. VERY helpful! Lastly, you could also fly into London, spend 3 days there, fly to Rome, explore, fly to Paris, explore, then take the Eurostar back to London, spend a few more days, then fly home. 3 spectacular cities to see during your time frame. Be prepared for heat and crowds, it's summer. Give yourself time to rest.

Skip Madrid,, you only have 2 weeks .

You don't say when you are going. Do be sure to take into account the dates of the Olympic games in London. If you book (noncancellable) Eurostar tickets far enough in advance, they are pretty inexpensive.

Rome, Madrid, Paris and London in 15 days is too much, let alone Prague. Is she university age, or younger?

She's 20 and fears this may be her only chance to get to Europe. Also, I'm going the middle of April 2012.

"shes 20 yrs old and fears this may her only chance to get to europe". Well unless she dies suddenly at a young age, then that is a either a preposturous presumption or a self fulfilling prophesy. I wouldn't indulge either.

Joan, Could you provide a bit of further information. You mentioned that you'd be "meeting" your niece. Where is she travelling from, and where is her "comfort zone"??? As you're leaving in mid-April, have you pre-booked Hotels or budget flights between cities??? Also, is there a reason why your 20-year old niece won't be able to return to Europe, especially as you mentioned "This is an overview trip in anticipation of returning"??? Cheers!

@Pat, It's not necessarily preposterous, and lots of people treat their first trip like it may be their only. You never know with life. And I know Rick Steves' philosophy is to assume you'll return, but that's not feasible for everyone and acting like it is is naive. I think planning a reasonable trip is best regardless of the girl's feelings, but acting like she's ridiculous for thinking that way is inconsiderate. Yes. Where there's a will, there's a way, but who knows what obstacles she might face? I don't think it's indulging to let her believe that. With that said, a reasonable trip is still in order so she actually wants to return... And Ken, I think she meant in anticipation of returning herself, not her niece returning. Overview for aunt, "the ONLY trip" for niece. Right, Joan? Whatever you do, have fun!

Joan... I would go to all the cities she wants to see and indulge her on this. If she is lucky enough to return to Europe, great. But, just because most of the people here are 'repeat travelers' there are thousands that are not. I took my daughter at age 21 and we did a whirlwind car trip and loved every minute. She would love to return someday but as of yet it hasn't fit in. Life took over... grad school, marriage, kids, job, moving. (She lives in Orland too and teaches at UCF :) I prefer to assume I might not be able to return, so I want to come home with ' no regrets.' Then, it's just a bonus if I can. Lots of people simply cannot afford it, no matter how much they save. Have a wonderful time no matter what you decide.

First, be honest with yourself. How many full days do you have in Europe? Your OP says it's a "15 day trip". Do you really have 15 days? Most people who post questions like this here are actually counting the number of days they have blocked out of their work schedule at home - which is not how many days they have in Europe: you always lose at least one day flying over and another flying back - possible more depending on your connections and the timing of the trip. To be honest, count the number of full days you will be in Europe, not including the day you arrive from the US, or the day you depart for home. This may seem picky, but unless your trip is more than a few weeks long, the 2-4 days lost in transit make a big difference (the difference between a "15 day" trip, and one that's actually just 11 or 12 days is significant). OK, that aside...the shorter your trip (and yours is very, very short for a trip to Europe whichever way you count), the more critical it is to fly open jaws. Not because it's a religion here, but because it allows you to avoid wasting a couple of your precious days backtracking (it also often saves money, but in your case time is your shortest commodity). I agree with others who say you have too many cities for a trip so short. Madrid's great but you have to cut something. Fly into London, take the train to Paris, discount flight to Rome. You'll only have a few days in each city but it's better than nothing. Fly home from Rome, but first put your niece on a plane from Rome to wherever she needs to get (that's unclear from your post) from there. If she's 20, she's old enough to manage that small journey. DON'T backtrack. Hope this helps.

I'll be meeting my niece in London. She is doing a study-abroad program in Exeter. She is a brilliant, focused and driven girl. She has saved up for this trip by working hard. She is also practical. I plan to return, but am also planning to visit other parts of the world after having visited every state except Alaska (cruise coming). She hopes to return some day, but is practical enough to know that sometimes things happen. Besides, she will be saving up to do her next study abroad program in Latin America. (Right, Pat!)

I'm not sure if you intend to spend some of your travel time in London, or just meet your niece there. If your niece is 20, she's an adult, and I would think she could handle getting herself to the airport and to pretty much anywhere to meet you. Especially if she's already doing a study abroad program. Have you talked to your niece about this, or only her mother? For example, when your niece completes her study abroad program, won't she be getting herself to the airport for the flight home? (Everybody's different, and I went to university in the US, but I definitely got myself to the train station or the airport when I was going from school to home.) If you have 15 days (or nights) for Rome, Madrid and Paris, I think that's easily doable; you could spend five days/nights in each of those wonderful locations. Take lowcost airlines, such as RyanAir, SpanAir or EasyJet, between each of those locations (though the Eurostar train would be the best option, most likely, from London to Paris). So either meet your niece in London, then take the train to Paris, or meet in Paris. Fly from there to Rome, then fly to Madrid, then home (London for her, Orlando for you). Or go to Madrid first after Paris; whichever airfares and travel times work the best for you. If your trip is in April 2012, you don't have much time left, especially as it sounds like you haven't yet booked your air from Orlando to Europe. Enjoy your trip; no matter which locations you end up, you and she will have a wonderful time.

Joan What a great opportunity to spend time traveling with your niece in Europe! I suppose you can't tell your niece's Mom to "get over herself!" However, this girl is paying for this trip on her own, I think? As others have said, your niece can definitely fly on her own. The open jaw flights mentioned are perfect for both of you. Check SkyScanner.com for the European Discount Airlines. These are definitely reliable and safe and used by Europeans all of the time. Much Much cheaper than international airlines. Caveat: Read the fine print on their websites. Big restrictions on luggage size, weight and number. Also no amenities: extra for seat reservations, boarding early, a drink, etc. But perfectly fine. Also check to see what airport they use in major cities as they sometimes are far out of the city center. For instance, Ryan Air uses Beauvais & has no easy access to Paris. Great Value for Discount Airlines when you think of saving $300- $400. Now you can see, anytime you change destinations and fly To get a sense of how much your travel time will eat into you destination time, get a calendar from wincalendar.com. You can make this into a Word doc and share it with your niece to finalize your itinerary. Continued Below

Continued from Above Add your international flight times. Keep in mind, that the actual inter European flight time is not the full travel time. For flights, include packing time, checking out, time to get to the airport, security, airport waiting time (2 - 3 hours?), flight time, immigration and customs where needed, time to get to hotel, check in, unpack, get oriented, etc. You can just check SkyScanner.com to see how long the flights for the purpose of estimating time for your itinerary. But you better pick a flight soon! The lowest prices go fast. Now you can see, anytime you fly , you are taking 5 - 6 hours! If I am calucuating this correctly, with 6 hours per inter European flight and 4 flights (including Prague), you are spending 24 hours of your 13 or 15 days In Europe in the air! And travel time is so frazzling (is that a word?). I would go with 3 stops Madrid (although I would do Barcelona), Paris, and Rome. Let us know what your itinerary looks like as you tweek it. And there are some great posters here who will help you as you move along! Bobbie

Sorry , I guess its priorities,, many people CAN do another trip ( from 20 on, not referring to perhaps an older couple ) IF they make it a priority.. no new couch every five years, not remodeling a functional ( but maybe not beautiful ) kitchen etc. Keeping same car till it dies, not trading it in for nicer one every 5 years etc. Alot of people who say they can't afford at trip have simply made other choices. which if of course their right. I did all the other stuff too, work, kids, marriage,, but I knew from a young age that somehow, sometime, I would make it back,, and I did. I am not rich either. Daughter sounds like she will have a great career, so I assume she will not be broke. If she chooses to travel later in life for fun, then I am quite sure she would be able to ( not withstanding something horrendus happenings, illnesses etc) . It will be up to her.