This is my first time travelling in Europe

September is a good time to be in Europe, better mid to late September, but still all good.
Amsterdam to Marseille in the south of France is a mere 14 hour train ride. You can fly it non stop in 2 hours for about $200. Barcelona is a mere 7 hours further (or 1 hour on a non stop flight for under $200).

If you want the "romance" of the train then maybe you break up the trip into 2 overnight trains with a stop along the way for a day or two. Two weeks is enough time; although it is a little spread out. Me? I would fly.

With two weeks on a first trip, I'd probably stick with no more than three destinations and leave Croatia for another visit. You lose a day on each end traveling and then a partial or whole day each time you move to your next destination, getting settled in, etc. Even three or four days in a place goes by quick when there is a lot to see and do!

I believe that France is cutting back on overnight trains so that might making flying out of Amsterdam a more attractive option.

James E, where are you seeing that Amsterdam to Marseille is 14 hours by train? A search for the fastest routes on captaintrain.com is showing plenty between 7 and 8 hours, with a connection in either Brussels or Paris. That's still a lot of time on the train in one day, but it does mean that flying isn't quite the slam dunk you're making it out to be..

No way you've got time for any more than this ...

Arrive in Amsterdam - 3 nights
Fly to Nice - 3 or 4 nights
Train to Provence - 3 or 4 nights
Train to Barcelona - 4 nights
Depart from Barcelona

Easyjet flies from Amsterdam directly to Nice.
http://www.easyjet.com/en?lang=en
Book trains with sncf directly for Nice > Provence > Barcelona.
http://en.voyages-sncf.com/en/

khbuzzard, I just did a quick Google Maps search. doesn't surprise me that there are better options. Didn't say flying was slam dunk. Some people love the trains. Just not me. I use 3 hours more pre & travel time to fly vs train and if it comes up the same I fly. Just my preference.

I agree with an earlier poster to save Croatia for another trip. It's a bit "far flung" and off the path of travel from your other destinations. I think you'll really enjoy the train travel--so much to see in France--I don't think you can go wrong.
Have a great time!

khbuzzard, I looked at those trains. the TGV would be an experience. But did I see correctly and its a 200 euro ticket?????

In my opinion Croatia is way too far flung to tack on to this trip. I now it is tempting as a less experienced traveler (I have been there) to combine destinations that are way far apart, but trust me (as a veteran of ~15 Europe trips) you should resist the temptation. Croatia is wonderful, but an advanced topic as travel destinations go. Not that easy to get to/from, sometimes especially expensive to get to/from too (though I have seen that loosen up based upon recent searches). It's not a destination to include on an otherwise tight itinerary. Amsterdam to Barcelona is quote a stretch too—surely there are places in between that interest you? Any time when it makes sense, for your itinerary, to get on a plane—which it might in this case—question your itinerary. Getting on a plane kills the better part of day, not worth it in most cases. There is so much to do that's great, close to Amsterdam or Barcelona, or Croatia. You don't have to do all of your must sees in one trip. Unless you have special circumstances like this will be your one and only trip etc. that is.

James E: As is fairly typical for high-speed train tickets, the price can vary a lot depending on (1) how far in advance you book, and (2) the exact day and time you want to travel. Thepickyeater's trip isn't until mid-September, which is so far in advance that tickets aren't even available yet. But I checked some dates in early September and found a good number of routes priced between 60 and 80 euros, which strikes me as a pretty good deal for a trip of that length.

It looks like there are a lot more of the cheaper tickets available mid-week than on, say, a Friday or Sunday - which again is typical.

These are advance-purchase tickets valid only for one specific train, though. So if thepickyeater wants to get a good deal, I'd encourage them to firm up their itinerary in the next few days to figure out exactly where and when they want to travel, then go ahead and book the train tickets as soon as they become available (exactly 3 months in advance of the travel date).

France is expected to cut back on overnight trains. But even if they don't, the only portion of this route that currently offers an overnight train is Paris-S. France, not across any country borders.

Have you booked your flight yet?
I had a FB alert today from AER LINGUS for great fares good only in Sept and Oct. They don't fly from SeaTac but SF to Amsterdam was listed as $719 RT.

Ah the trains.. I warned my daugher that there was not much fun to be had in overnight trains.. but she wanted to discover it for herself.

She did.. she discovered how much it sucked.

My train limit is about 5-6 hours max .

Its still sitting on your butt all day.. maybe some folks are good with that.. but eventually I need to get out and walk around.. its not all earth shattering Swiss Alps scenery .. sometimes its just boring fields and industrial sections of cities.. 5-6 hours is enough.

I would do one through the Alps though... even 2 days ( broken up )..

Take a flight for longer journeys.. so cheap booked well in advance.

Three destinations for 2 weeks.

pat, we agree. Actually my limit is 4 hours.

Yes, but for a one hour flight you have to arrive 2 hours early and it
takes an 45 minutes to get out of the airport and then the RT to the
airport is about 45 minutes longer than the RT to the train station
and ..........................

A minor detail is that most tourist will show up at the train station an hour early; especially in a new city; so now the delta is 2.5 hours. That's where I know I will choose the plane. TWO HOURS sitting in the airport! No, I have lunch or breakfast as the departure time dictates. So one hour of that isn't wasted at all.

Recently my daughter took an overnight train from Germany to Switzerland. She wasn't impressed either.

I love the freedom of being able to hop on a plane and $119 and 2 hours later I am at the other end of the continent.

I think that "most tourists" who are accustomed to taking trains anywhere will know that showing up an hour early is overkill, even in an unfamiliar city. Even in a large train station, it rarely takes more than 10-15 minutes to find and get to the right platform. Add another 10-15 minutes if you need to purchase or collect your tickets. And if you do find yourself at the station earlier than you need to be (which sometimes happens to me when I'm not sure how long it will take to get to the station), you can have breakfast or lunch there just as easily as you can at an airport.

khbuzzard, okay, I will give you that; at the second train station. But the title is "This is my first time travelling in Europe"

Train travel is wonderful if you enjoy it and a lot of people do. Cant argue that at all. Personally not my cup of tea; that's all.

Now, if you are leaving from one of the train stations in Budapest; do arrive early because they both have very, very interesting restaurants:

Keleti's Barros restaurant is like stepping back 150 years to another world. This place has "good" food, not great, but for the setting while waiting for a train it will be very memorable. This is what Budapest is best at, putting you in another era. http://www.eletstilusmagazin.hu/gasztronomia/idoutazas-baross-etteremben

Nyugati's claim to fame is, well..... if you absolutely must; at least do it in style and elegance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-RcuyPgvNc

I'm with Pat's train limit of 5-6 hours maximum, unless I want a particularly relaxing day, or the scenery is to be enjoyed.

I wouldn't skip Paris, especially if this is your first trip. It would break up the journey South and offer several high speed train (TGV) options. Amsterdam- France- Barcelona would be an excellent trip and logistically easy to travel.

Amsterdam-Paris, 3 hours.
Paris- Avignon 3 hours.
Avignon -barcelona 4 hours.

I would rent a car for Southern France.

I try to keep a daily limit of four hours travel on my travel days, regardless of mode, often with a stop along the way to see something mid day and get some lunch.

Four hours of travel keeps the day manageable. You will also have to get meals, pack, check out, check in, unpack, change, make connections, etc. It's just better, more relaxed, to plan your day a little lighter than absolutely necessary. If you miss a connection or take a wrong turn, you're still okay rather than arriving at your next lodging well past dark and exhausted.

If a train ride is longer than four hours, I'm looking for flight options that may work better. If I can't find a better option, I consider splitting the travel into two days by adding an intermediate stop.

Along that line, I keep my itinerary compact. I think you can plan a two week trip that starts in Amsterdam and ends in Barcelona, but I don't think you have time to make a swing to Croatia. It's better to plan that as part of an itinerary with destinations in that area.

Let's hope the weather is good in Paris this September; I'll be there for a few days too.