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Suggestions: Continental Europe vs Islands

Hi eveyone!
Greetings from Argentina :)
I'm going on a trip to Europe for about 25 days and I'll be visiting a friend in Amsterdam. We were thinking of going on a 9 day journey either to London-Edinburgh-Dublin or something like Berlin-Prague-Brusells-Bruges (At least those are the options we have in mind).
We'd leave Amsterdam on March 15th at about 20.00hs and come back on March 24th as late as possible.
After those 9 days, I have another whole week in Amsterdam and I thought I could always go on a rush trip somewhere

So, What would you recommend? I've never been to any of those places. Any advice would be really helpful!

One of my biggest 'problems' is that when looking at photos, I seem to love Edinburgh just as much as Prague. And they seem to be so far away from each other.

Thanks a lot!

Leandro.

Posted by
8159 posts

Do the Berlin To Bruges trip then continue to London by train and Edinburgh skip Dublin. Fly back home or to Amsterdam from Edinburgh.

Posted by
99 posts

Fly to London
2 days in London

Fly to Edinburgh
2 days in Edinburgh
1 day in Dublin

Fly to Prague
2 days in Prague
2 days in Berlin

Since you are going to be spending 9 more days in Amsterdam, from there you can fly to Brussels.
Hope this helps, have Fun!

Posted by
4656 posts

Good grief. There seems to be confusion in what we should advise on.

Trying to combine the 2 itineraries you are considering makes no sense in 9 days.
I think what might be a little confusing is this phrase <> Are you also considering heading somewhere once you arrive back in Amsterdam? that is sort of how it reads.
With Belgium so close to Amsterdam, I might suggest holding those for some potential day trips and using your 9 days for London-Edinburgh-Dublin.
Sometimes if I can't make up my mind, I check logistics, costs and if any place has something of particular interest happening during the timeframe - music concert, art showing, something related to a hobby - that sort of thing.

Posted by
5 posts

Thanks a lot guys!!!

Dear Maria:
Perhaps I didn't explain myself properly, that's probably because English is not my first language, lol.
So, let's see if i can clear up the mess.

During the first 9 days i'm traveling with a friend of mine. After those 9 days, I'm staying 7 more days at his place in Amsterdam but he goes back to work so I'm on my own.
Given the fact that we could only travel together for the first 9 days, we were thinking of either going to the UK + Dublin OR going to Berlin-Prage-whatever.

So the question was: If you had to choose between those two options, what would you do?

Posted by
4656 posts

.....which is what I understood but answers didn't reflect that other did. So, my recommendation still stands. Be sure to pack woolies. Either location is going to be nippy compared to Argentina.
Enjoy

Posted by
6113 posts

How are you getting around?

Presumably you don’t want to spend the whole time travelling, so in 9 days, you can sensibly see Berlin (5 full days here) plus Brussels and Bruges or Berlin plus Prague.

London - York - Edinburgh (5-2-2 nights) would be less travelling (use the train about 2 hours per journey).

I am not a Brussels fan, but love Berlin and of course the UK! Belgium could be covered from Amsterdam.

Posted by
920 posts

Hi, is there a particular reason for Dublin? I think it takes time away that you could reserve for another couple days in the UK or another location on the continent. Unless you really want to go to Ireland and this is the only chance in your life you’ll be able to go, I would consider dropping it off of the itinerary.

Posted by
8176 posts

Brugges is not far from Amsterdam, spend a day there. Then consider London and Edinburgh with a stop in York on the train.

Posted by
3050 posts

Wow not only is no one reading the original post carefully, but also not the replies! So sorry, Lenadro, sometimes people here get ahead of themselves.

With 9 days you're right to choose one itinerary other the other. It's a tough choice! However since you're spending a week in Amsterdam by yourself, you could visit Brugges and/or Brussels from there, so I'm leaning towards the UK suggestion (which kills me because I LOVE Berlin).

I've spent 9 days just in Yorkshire and it's one of the best trips I've ever taken. I'd be inclined as suggested to even skip Ireland and focus on England/Scotland. With 9 days you won't get bored. Minimum 3 for London and 2 for York and 2 for Edinburgh already has you at 7. You could simply add a day to two locations or add one more on. I spent 3 nights in the quiet village of Pickering using it as a base for steam railway fun (don't ask, my husband is into trains) and hiking the nothern York moors, then 2 nights in the charming seaside town of Whitby before 2 nights in York, which wasn't enough so two years later we returned for another 2 nights in York.

That said, you could easily do 3-4 nights in Berlin, 2 nights in Prague, and 2 nights in Brussels or Brugges for an equally wonderful trip. It really depends on your interests!

Posted by
4744 posts

Either option would be wonderful, so I agree that it just depends upon what calls to you the most. London and Edinburgh or Berlin and Prague are both doable. As either Sarah or Maria said, maybe you want to sit down with the actual logistics of both to help you decide.

Posted by
5 posts

Hi Everyone!
I cannot thank you guys enough, you've been really helpfull!
After lots of thinking I ended up choosing the UK trip. So far I'm thinking 5 days in London, 2 in York 2 in Edinburgh (Perhaps 4-3-2) Dublin is definitely out and I'll probably go 1 or 2 days to Bruselles-Bruges from Amsterdam as you guys suggested. I'm also thinking of spending a whole day crying for missing Prague and Berlin, but that's life.

Posted by
3050 posts

Choices are the worst, aren't they? Prague is great but I think your decision makes sense as does your itinerary. And the great thing about having the extra time in Amsterdam is you can reach SO many cool places as day trips, but not so much the UK.

I think your itinerary as now is good but if you decide you want to see the moors without renting a car, I'll present to you England's most scenic bus ride. We got to sit up top in the front from Morton to Pickering, and again to Whitby and it was the most fun I've had as an adult probably in years.