London to Rome in 14 days are we crazy?

Yes, you are crazy! I'd say cut it down and give more time. Give at least 3 nights, preferably 4 nights to the bigger cities. That may sound like more than just an intro, but it really is just an intro. Spending two nights gives you only 1 1/2 days to see anything. I'd say London 4, Paris 4, St. Goar 3, and Lauterburnnen Valley 3 OR Rome 4, Cinque Terre 3, Venice 3, fly to Paris 4.

If you travel too fast the whole trip can become a blur and you won't even have any distinct memories. Just my two cents!

Because of the distance between these places, you will spend much of your 14 days traveling between them. I would cut some locations. You can see places like Venice and CT in two nights (although that still only gives you one full day to explore), but many people will recommend more time in London, Paris, Rome... one full day doesn't let you see much in those places! I would consolidate and choose a maximum of 3 or 4 locations. And remember - the first day you arrive you are likely to deal with some jetlag and may not feel like being as active, seeing as much. So what I would do is something like fly into London - 3 nights, Eurostar to Paris - 3 nights, train to Switzerland - 2 or 3 nights, Rome - 3 nights. You maybe could squeeze in CT or Venice, or just give yourself more time in Rome/Paris for a day trip or two. You are smart to see it as an intro, and knowing that you will be back - therefore, feel the freedom to cut some of these locations knowing that you will come back and get to visit them another time.

Where is the advice of 2 nights in each place? His tour groups can do two night in each place because the time consuming hard stuff - checking in/out, transportation, orientation, etc., is taken care of so that you can totally focus on sightseeing BUT when you are doing all that work yourself, then you lose productive sightseeing time. Two nights at best give you about a day in each location. You can certainly do London to Rome in 14 days but it is not convenient to make all of the stops that you are suggestion. Too much travel time.

I have to say, I find your itinerary rather impractical (maybe impossible!). Since you note that you hope to get back, how about enjoying this time around. Maybe stick to London, Paris, and Amsterdam OR Italy.

I agree with the others, this is too rushed. You will spend most of your time in transit and see very little of each destination. Two nights = one full day in a place. Ask yourself this - would you go to NYC for 2 nights, then Washington DC for 2 nights, followed by Hilton Head for 2 nights, Orlando for 2 nights, New Orleans for 2 nights...? You get my point. If that is the kind of trip you envision then go for it. If you wouldn't advise someone to travel around the U.S. that way, why would you do it with Europe? Rick does not advise only spending 2 nights in a place, and his trips are very fast paced. As Frank pointed out, you can't replicate one of his tours on your own without adding more time.

If you have 14 days (does this include your travel days?) I would confine it to just Italy or just London, Paris, St.. Goar area and maybe Switzerland. Check to see how long it takes to get from one place to the next. Fly open jaw - into one place and home from another. Give yourself enough time to really see where you're going. With one day in each place you won't have enough time to tourist type things, walking tours and explore on your own.

One of the hardest things when planning a trip for me is coming to terms with the fact that you can't do it all on any trip, and deciding where to cut.

I am the warrior traveler and this is too ambitious for even me!

Does the 14 days include travel from/to US?

If not you could add a two night stop in a small town - CT OR two nights in Venice

For me as an intro trip I would do London, Paris, small town Germany OR Lauterbrunnen (harder to get to), Rome

The travel time between some of these place can take a good portion of a day - do you have methods selected - fly/train?

I am not sure why some folks say checking in/out of new hotel eats up time - we usually take the train and select hotels within 5 or 10 mins of station - check-in and drop bags - 20 - 30 minutes max - about the same for checking out.

But everything will be unfamiliar so will take more time just navigating thru airports/train stations/cities

To be fair - 4 people seem to move slower than two for some reason

Really - you will enjoy more if you do less

I appreciate the goal you've set, but this needs a little reality check. As mentioned, you cannot do on your own what the RS tour member has done for them in the same amount of time.

Since this is a graduation gift, I suggest letting the graduates each choose two cities snd then work in what you can around those. The saddest thing would be for them to come back thinking they've seen Europe in one or one and a half days per city. I also think people dislike spme of the places they visit because they don't have enough time to appreciate them, try to accomplish too much, and get frustrated.

I am usually okay with a quicker pace but this is a bit much, as others have said. I would go with London, Paris, and Rome as "home base" cities and do a day trip or two our of each city. At least that way, you don't need to pack up all your things every time you go to a new place?

Thanks for all the great advice! I think focusing on 3 cities with day trips seems like a good option.

Three cities with day trips within (presumably) 12 actual days in Europe is still too many, I think. I would think two cities and maybe a day trip or two from each. London and Rome, or London and Paris, or Paris and Rome, or whatever, but gosh it takes me a lot longer than Christi mentions to get my bearings, find my way out of the train station, get my metro ticket, figure out which way on the metro, make my way to my hotel, check in, drop my bags off, and head out again. I believe her when she says she does it much quicker, and you may be able to as well, but it's different for every person, and the number of people in your group is a factor too (it takes longer to get 4 people corralled than it does for you to handle just yourself and one other person). Please don't underestimate that "changing-out" time, or you may be in for a rude surprise. (Of course if you find you ARE among those who are able to do it quickly and efficiently, you'll have the pleasant surprise of more time at your new destination!)

Here is where you'll just have to prioritize and contemplate your preferences. While Kim thinks that 3 cities is too many for 12 days, I say that it is definitely do-able if you want to do that. You can either see fewer cities but more in each, or see more cities but not see as much depth in each of them. 4 nights in 3 places each does work, but so does 2 cities plus day trips. (Personally I'd probably go for 3 cities, but that's just my personal style of travel and no one can tell you what's best for your group!) Maybe have this conversation as a group and see what everyone thinks. London, Paris and Rome, for example, is possible - but I would recommend flying from Paris to Rome to save time. The good thing is that you are planning this far in advance, so you have plenty of time to make this decision on where to go.

Two nights is a minimum recommendation in many places, but three nights is really the minimum for London, Paris, or Rome. We would cut a couple of things, probably Germany and at least one stop in Italy. You can estimate train travel time using the Time & Cost Map and see How to Look Up Train Schedules Online for more detail. There are no overnight train options on your stated route, except for Venice-Rome. Trains from Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland to Monterosso, Italy take 8 - 8.5 hours with three or more connections; the best departures (three connections) depart at either 7:00 a.m. or noon.

I have traveled with a few teens and do find they like to see the highlights of a number of different places, so I agree with seeing as much as possible, however, I think you are wise to cut down the initial itinerary. I can also get in and out of hotels rather quickly... I pack light, try to keep my stuff organized so I can leave without spending too much time. I just throw my bag in the room when I arrive someplace new and get out in the town... .I tend to look at moving from place to place as a part of my trip... I certainly don't look at it as 'lost' time... I still have that time... I just might be spending it learning a new way of travel, looking out the train window, catching up on my journal, etc. or spending some down time with my travel friends. One of the favorites of teens I have traveled with..Paris:) You could do a great trip by doing London, Paris and Germany. You might consider flying into London, then to Paris, go to Germany and rent a car for a few days for a change of pace and fly out of Frankfurt. Whatever you choose you will have a great time.

Re:overnight train Venice-Rome: This trip is only four hours by Freccia trains.