New to Europe beginning of Sept. 2 weeks

Yes, 4 major destinations in 2 weeks is too much. I think you already knew that......... You are falling into a very familiar trap that happens to first time visitors. They worry that this may be their only trip and there is so much that they want to see. Focus your trip on fewer locations. It will increase the time that you have to actually enjoy your vacation by taking away several days devoted to travel.

I would purchase an open jaw ticket (also called multi-city) LAX to Paris and then the return Rome (FCO) to LAX. I would start in Paris with 4-5 nights there and then fly to Naples on a low cost European Airline. Take train to the Amalfi Coast and spend 6 nights there. Use the train to return to Rome and spend your remaining nights in Rome. Have your husband try "Premium Economy" if the business class cost is too high, which I think it will be at this point.

Save Amsterdam and Switzerland (both great places to visit!) for another time.

The hotel, Air BnB decision is certainly a matter of personal choice. One reason why a hotel might be a good choice for a first-time visitor is that you can take advantage of the local knowledge of the hotel staff.

TWO WEEKS, forget going to 4 places with so much travel.
In fact, if you do Paris, skip Amalfi Coast and do nearby Amsterdam.

I live the Amalfi Coast, with nearby Sorrento and Capri. Not sure about renting a boat, that sounds expensive and inefficient.

If you go to Switzerland, recommend Interlakken, close to the center of the country. It is wonderful. Note, Switzerland is more expensive than the surrounding countries, about as much a Scandinavia.

You need minimum of 5-6 days to do Paris right.

Air B&Bs are good if you have a large group, but frequently the locations are not as close to city centers as hotels.
Use Kayak.com or Booking.com. TripAdvisor is great for reading reviews and checking the locations on a map.

Is 4 destinations in 2 weeks too much?

With as spread out as your choices are, trying to do all 4 in 2 weeks, has you spending a lot of time 'traveling' versus 'being there'

I would suggest add more time or one less location

How do we get from one place to the next

You can use -- rome2rio.com -- to give you an overview of options. Go to the actual provider's site to do any pre-booking

Packing

I have spent 4 weeks with a 21" rolling carry on and a 20 liter backpack ( 'personal item' for the plane) Some stuff went unused.

Great tips! Two destinations it is! Will look into the rail app. Thanks everyone!

To put things in perspective, I did a 4 city 2 week trip of the U.K. in 2019 and wished I’d picked one fewer city. Keep in mind I was only in England. Way too much time on trains, waiting for trains, walking from hotels to train stations and checking in and out of hotels.

Pick two destinations and fly open jaw is my advice.

For very detailed information on train travel in Europe, look at a website called man in seat 61. He gives very good information on how to find train tickets and even has pictures of what the trains look like. And, you'll find out that the earlier you buy your tickets the lower the price usually is. September is going to be here very quickly. (We've already totally planned our trip in September).

Agree with staying in hotels. The desk staff is usually very helpful with everything from how to find a taxi to where the closest pharmacy is.

Passports: Are your passports current? How long until they expire? Someone else on here will know, but I think that many countries require that your passport is good for at least six months before your trip.

passport is good for at least six months before your trip.

it is actually 6 months past the end of your trip

Amalfi Coast is a bit of a pain to get to, even from Naples. Will require a train + bus, ferry, or a private car transfer. Definitely want enough time with the travel required on either end to not feel like all you're doing is transiting between places. And make sure you take some sandals for the beaches - they are mostly small pebbles and really hurt to walk on!

Paris and Amsterdam would work well together as a 2 week trip.

I am more open to starting at a step up in seating and trying to upgrade to business or first if available the day of (knowing it might be less expensive)

Don't leave it till the day of departure as the upgrade price usually rockets. I wait until a couple of weeks before departure before upgrading as the prices usually fall during that period. As your dates are not set in stone it might be worthwhile looking at prices for business/first on different departure dates as these can vary, flying on a Saturday can be cheaper than a Monday.

CNN has a recent article on new rules limiting highway access to the Amalfi area.
http://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/amalfi-coast-traffic-ban/index.html

I add another vote for Paris and Amsterdam. While every where else you mention is wonderful, concentrate in one area. Gives you an excuse to go back.

When planning your dates, keep in mind that Paris Fashion week starts on Sept 26. Hotels will be full and expensive. Might want to visit before then. I agree that first timers would benefit from having the front desk at a hotel vs being on their own in an airbnb.

Book the seat category you want for your flights. Most flights are flying full. If your husband wants a comfortable seat, book premium economy. Getting an upgrade to BC may be possible, but at a good price? Maaaaaaaybe; but don't bank on it.

Pick the 2 places that you MOST want to see, and stick with that. 6 nights in Paris will still leave many sights left unseen. Realize that you will lose a whole day to travel if you go from there to the AC; but that's OK if that's what you want to do. But you will need to spend your last night in Rome for your flight home. Assuming you book a multicity ticket.

A bit of a contrarian here. A month ago, I flew into Amsterdam on a Friday, stayed there the weekend and took the monday morning train to Paris and was in Paris until Friday morning. That is 1 week for Amsterdam and Paris (with a toddler mind you). Did I do everything? No. Did I feel like I was rushed? Also No. Sights seen - Anne Frank, Amsterdam Canal Tour, Amsterdam Zoo, Versailles, the Louvre, the Orsay, Orangerie, Montmartre, the Eiffel Tower (both during the day and to watch at the lights at night), and many memorable meals with family and friends.

I agree getting to the amalfi coast if tough, but with one annoying travel day (think of how nice that Aperol Spritz overlooking the water in amalfi will be your first night after taking the plane to the train, to the ferry, to the bus), I think you could definitely do Amsterdam, Paris, and Amalfi Coast if those are all things you would like to do on your trip. If you just want to do two of them, I think you will also have a great time.

Whatever you choose, have a blast!

You State Paris and Amalfi Coast are must see- So see them! We have done trips with both destinations and so glad we did. With two full weeks (14 Days) you have plenty of time and I do not agree that getting to Amalfi is a pain, I call it an adventure.
For Paris- There is a good YouTube series from Jay Swanson where he has a series and goes over each arrondissement and what to see/eat and markets. I have gotten fabulous ideas from him. For your must see's in Paris find the official website for each and follow the instructions. The days they are closed of any will help you determine your schedule.
To get from Paris to the Amalfi Coast you will need to go through Naples (I used the website Seat61.com)
Fly Paris to Naples : 2 hours 15 min, add in getting to the Airport from central Paris (+1 hour), getting there 2 hours before, your looking at 5-6 hours travel. But this option would get you into Naples at around 11:30AM, you can hire private car to get to Sorrento.
Train Paris to Naples: morning departure from Gare de Lyon at 7:26 AM, change in Milan arrive in Naples at 20:10 . At that point I would hire a private car to drive you to Sorrento as your home base for Amalfi or spend the night in Naples, grab some pizza and continue your journey to Amalfi the next day.

I think in 14 days you can do a lot. I would Do Paris (5day), Nice (travel day+2 Days) Then train to Amalfi (Travel day+4 days) then train to Rome for departure.

You mention hotels with pool, You can go to a pool at home! We really do not spend much time at the Hotel, just eating breakfast and maybe a cocktail at night. There are fabulous beaches in Amalfi and you can rent chairs, something we want to do next time.

I would recommend looking at travel vlogs on you tube to get more ideas.

Yes. If Paris and Amalfi Coast are your top two choices, see them. You’ve already been given great advice for getting around. I would also suggest flying out of Rome and spending some time there. We found three days on the Amalfi Coast to be about right. I could spend endless time in Rome and Paris so would allot those two more time - especially Paris for you since it’s a priority and your first stop (plan for jet lag and build it in to your itinerary. Enjoy

I appreciate your questions and concerns and the first suggestion is look at all the suggestions for planning and then after a lot of research you will still have a few focused questions and the Forum is better for that then a general; what do I do sort of thing (but you are off to a good start).

Four destinations in two weeks? I have discovered that that I am not the world, and the world is not me so if that works for you; do it.

You will know if it works for you a bit better when you are deeper into the planning.

I have an upcoming trip of 3 weeks with four destinations, one base and three side trips for a few nights a piece; each for a definite activity (sightseeing, fishing, debauchery).

Some people demand trains, me, I prefer a plane and there are a number of very inexpensive discount airlines in Europe that do a good job at connecting things quickly and efficiently; so with a lot of stops desired, start with figuring out the most time effective route and that may help you decide where to go.

For instance Paris to Switzerland (Basel, or Zurich or Geneva) can be about an hour and under $125; then to Naples can be under $100 on a 2 hour flight (I just did a quick check on Google Flights); a bit hurried but if you are doing City Stops, then maybe not bad.

Eiffel Tower: if you can't plan an exact time, think about walking up. I think it is still the same after Covid. No reservation needed, short line of <10 people. Entrance is at a different leg of the tower. My daughter and I thought it was fun.

Paris is a great choice, always. I've had good luck with Airbnb's, small hotels, old hotels, business hotels and hostels in Paris. Airbnb's generally won't be in the ideal location, most hotels aren't either, but can be a significant savings. A small studio apartment generally beats a hotel room. Location is a big deal. Nothing beats lodging walking distance from Notre Dame cathedral. If you can walk to that, you can walk to about two-thirds of the sights you will want to visit. The Eiffel is, to me, too far from most sights. I'd rather take a longer trip (on the Metro) to see the Eiffel than stay near there and take a longer Metro trip every day. I stayed up by Montmartre once and felt completely isolated, much more so than even a hotel in Pigalle.

Trying to see multiple places in two weeks only works if the transportation between the two is easy - not time consuming. Paris and Amalfi coast don't really fit. Amalfi would work if it was Rome plus Amalfi. Paris is better with something that's a convenient train ride. If cost is no object, a Chunnel ride to London (or a short hop on an airplane) would be an option. A week in both, flying home from London would be a full trip.

Multiple inconvenient stops would consume way too much of your limited vacation time getting from one place to the next. A train ride can be a fun way to spend one day of your twelve on the ground. Spending four full days on trains or planes won't be very fun and will leave you with little touring time.

A train to Amsterdam is possible, though I'd be more likely to visit Brugges and/or a different Dutch city (personal taste). Forget the pool. Any hotel with an indoor pool will be drastically expensive. The worst part is you will likely never see the pool because, with only two weeks, you will be on the go constantly rather than lounging. I'm usually up early, to beat crowds, and go all day. I go to bed pretty early because I need the rest for the next day. The only time I see a pool or spa is when I plan it as a specific sight as part of my itinerary. An outdoor pool in Amsterdam would be pointless. It rains, on average, every other day in A'dam (a little less in summer, more in winter).

There are 2-4 flights/day from Paris-Orly to Naples, so combining Paris + Naples & Amalfi Coast is very doable.
Adding 2-3 days in Amsterdam at the end is feasible too if you really want to: if you book "open jaw" tickets in the same alliance, for example, Air France to Paris and KLM back from Amsterdam, the flight will not be more expensive than a round-trip, and since there are no direct flights from Naples to LA, it does not add any extra flying to your trip.

Assuming you have 14 nights on the ground, you could spend 6 in Paris, 5 in/around the Amalfi coast, and 3 in Amsterdam, for example.

Switzerland, however, would really throw things off; spending fewer than 5-6 days there does not seem worth the effort.

Not tied to itinerary, but I did want to mention that now is the perfect time to take stock of your credit and debit cards. You will want to make sure your card(s) have no foreign transaction fees. Even better if no ATM fees for the debit cards. Contactless cards make things a bit easier.

If you check these out now, you have time to make any necessary adjustments prior to your trip.