Hey guys, so next summer im planning a trip to europe and trying to fit in a good amount of things to do because im not sure when we will be back! So im looking for some advice on the itinerary i've got sketched out.
London 4 days,
A few hours stop in Bruges,
Amsterdam 3 days,
Prague 3 days,
Italy 7 days, not sure what cities to prioritize here, and
Santorini 3 days to end it with something more relaxing!
Any suggestions?
Unfortunately your wish list means lots of flying.
Give yourself an extra night in Greece to make it worth it.
Arrive London (4nts)
Eurostar to Brussels, then Bruges (1nt)
Thalys to Amsterdam (3nts)
Fly easyjet to Prague (3nts)
Fly Czech Air to Bologna (3nts)
Train to Rome (3nts)
Fly Vueling to Thira, Greece (4nts)
Thanks! I planned on doing a lot of trains, would flying be better due to distance?
Instead of flying you do have the night train option going from Amsterdam to Prague, changing once in Duisburg, even though CNL will be abolished, presumably, night service will continue.
10.5 hours min by train from Amsterdam to Prague.
12.5 hours min by train from Prague to Venice.
It seems like too many stops and not enough enjoyment. IMO it will be very expensive with all these changes of location. I would like to clarify: are you spending 4 nights in London, 3 nights in Amsterdam? This is important because if it is only 3 nights in London, your 4 days is really 2 full plus bits of the others. Counting nights helps establish the pace a bit better. I understand you are trying to fit a lot in, but by bouncing about so much, you spend more time in transit and less time seeing and doing.
I would at least drop Prague and Santorini and add the time to Italy. Fly from AMS to wherever you like in Italy. In Italy you can get that relaxation part without going so far. Try a small town on the Amalfi Coast instead. And if you manage to squeeze out 12 nights in Italy, think 3 locations maximum: Perhaps Venice, Rome and the Amalfi Coast?
Do you have a good guidebook that can answer questions like how to get from A to B? Rick Steves' guides do a great job at that, and more.
Long travel legs lead to grueling vacations.
My rule of thumb is no more than four hours of travel in a day. When you add getting in and out of lodging, meals, making connections, etc. four hours of travel will be a full day. Using that rule of thumb I set the cut off for trains at four hours. If it will be longer, I'll consider air options. Alternatively, I'll break up a twelve hour train ride with multiple intermediate stays along the way.
Yeah I have a Rick Steves guide book which is helping me plan the specific details!
I had planned on all of those being days not nights but I do have a couple extra days to play with, I planned on making this 3 and a half weeks!
Good to know about the travel time though, ill keep that in mind
