Trip help

Is that 12 days after your travel time or does that also include your flights to/from the States?

Rome is the out-lier, but still possible if you flew into Paris and out of Rome and took a discount flight from Berlin to Rome. You lose almost a full day traveling between cities. So if you skip Rome, it will give you more time for the other 3.

12 including travel could probably make it 13

I suggest deciding on 3 --- all 4 having you too much on the run, for your available time

Which one you eliminate is something you have to decide based on what you want to see and do. There is no 'wrong' answer/choice

Great choices. I say go for it. Try to fit in all 4. Fly into Berlin, then train or fly to A'dam, then train to Paris, then fly to Rome and home from there. Use rome2rio.com to find transportation options. You won't have a lot of time in each city but you'll get a feel for them and have memories for years to come.

If you are willing to slow down a little, I'd drop Berlin. The other 3 are "classic" European cities with centuries of history that you'll see at every turn. Berlin is mostly post-WWII. On the other hand, in mid-December there will be great Christmas markets to explore.

I'd split time equally between all the cities, then adjust by taking one day from A'dam and adding it to Paris.

Count nights on the ground rather than days; your arrival day is a crapshoot and your departure day will be at the airport/flying home. So you really have eleven days for sightseeing.

I would fly into Berlin, fly to Rome, fly to Paris and train to Amsterdam, departing from there.

If you drop a city, I would drop Betlin.

Berlin has large and excellent museums, plus many 20th century historic sights, so lots to do indoors. Which is a good thing, because it could really be quite cold there in December. (Amsterdam, being damp, might feel about as cold, though.)

I'd choose two or three of your cities. Amsterdam is the one where I'd feel most comfortable with having only 2 or 3 days for sightseeing. I'd feel cheated in the others with only 3 days.

Always, always, always add more days if you can. As you do more planning for the trip, you'll be very glad of the extra time.

I lived in Germany for four years. It is cold in December and it gets dark about 4:30. Unless you love cold weather, go when it is warmer.

If you still go, make sure to bring a heavy overcoat, hat and gloves. Museums are a good idea, since it will probably be warmer inside.

I think those four cities are too much for just 12 days. Paris and Amsterdam are reasonably close and you could add Berlin or Rome. I have been to Paris five times and spent the equivalent of three weeks there and still haven't seen it all. Amsterdam, you can do in three days. Rome is another place that needs a week.

I would do 3. Fly between them as others have said. Take a central location. In most cities, you can find a hostel centrally. These days, hostels have bunk rooms (for cheap) and private rooms (for more). At that time of year, you might be able to get a private room for 60-70 EUR. When you go from one city to another, you lose a day. So, I would sketch out your plans for each city. Do you like museums, parks (in Dec, museums are better). In Germany and Netherlands, there are the Kristkindlmarkts (christmas markets), which are quite nice and seasonal. These are PRE-Chrismas only. Will you fly in and out of the same city? If possible, try to fly into one and out another - into Berlin, out Paris - this avoids a special trip back. Rick calls this "open-jaw"

If your goal is bucket list travel, then yes 12 days (including the time you will lose traveling in between all 4 cities) will suffice.

If your goal is to VISIT and EXPLORE these cities, then, absolutely not.

Pick 2 of the 4 and really take the time to see the cities to which you're traveling so far from Florida. This allows you the opportunity to enjoy day trips from the two cities as they really enrich your trip to visit other places outside the big cities whether it's Chartres Cathedral outside of Paris, Delft or Haarlem outside of Amsterdam, Leipzig or Potsdam outside of Berlin, etc.

Four cities would be too many for your short time. Berlin out of your four cities is the most similar to America so I would drop it. Fly to Amsterdam, train to Paris, fly to Rome and back home from Rome. Open jaws to save time.

This is a trip that is determined given your time limit mainly by priorities. For 12 days three places are the max. You could choose proximity ,ie Paris, Amsterdam and then dropping either Rome or Berlin. My choice would be to drop Amsterdam, which apart from its invaluable museums does nothing for me. Go to Paris, Berlin, and Rome