Trip to Europe with Amsterdam as start/finish

Posted by bk9net on 05/14/18 01:03 PM

My wife & I are flying to Amsterdam in mid-September and will then fly home to the U.S. 2 weeks later. Our first thought is to rent a car and do a sort of loop, traveling to places we've not been to before, i.e., Normandy, Alsace-Lorraine, and then back up to Amsterdam. We are also looking at the Orleans area as a stopover between Normandy and Alsace-Lorraine plus the Rhine Valley in Germany.

Our "bases" of operation in which we plan to spend the most time are in Normandy and Alsace-Lorraine.

This may be too wide open a question, but, does that sound like a sensible vacation with plenty of things to see? Perhaps too much driving (I realize that that depends on the driver!)?

I'm consulting Rick Steves' France book, as well.

Thanks for any thoughts.

Posted by Jazz+Travels

Chicago

05/14/18 01:29 PM

7836 posts

Take the train to Normandy. Maybe Just rent the car in the France part (in Normandy) since that is where you are planning to spend the most time. You lose time and energy driving from Amsterdam and France and Germany. Fly back or take the high speed trains to Amsterdam from Alsace or Germany. The trains go faster the cars in Europe in general

Posted by Jessica

05/14/18 01:35 PM

1226 posts

I did something similar a few years ago.

Amsterdam - 4 nights
Bacharach - 2 nights
Cochem - 2 nights
Paris - 4 nights
Normandy - 3 nights

You could substitute 3 nights Alsace for the 4 in Paris. Thats IF you have 14 nights 'on the ground'. We did it all by train, which is what I suggest. Driving takes way longer, and you don't have the time. Plus, why. I do think it is quite spread out for the amount of time you have and that you will take up a lot of time with travel between places, especially getting to and from Normandy. Depends on how you like to pace things and what you want from each location/visit...

best,
Jessica

Posted by Southam

Windsor, Ontario, Canada

05/15/18 09:17 PM

4044 posts

Multi-destination itineraries -- fly into one city, home from another -- are often about the same price as a simple round trip and can save lots of time as well as the cost of looping back to the city of arrival. They must be obtained through a multi-destination search; they're not a pair of one-way tickets.

Posted by acraven

Washington DC

05/16/18 05:15 AM

27106 posts

A car is nice to have in Normandy and Alsace-Lorraine, although I've visited both areas using just buses and trains. I'm traveling and don't have access to my notes from last year's trip, but I think I spent about a week in Normandy alone. I stayed in Rouen, Caen (logistical reasons) and Bayeux (the D-Day tour pick-up point), and I also visited Honfleur, Deauville, Cabourg, and Falaise (for a WW II museum). In addition, I really enjoyed my stops in eastern Brittany (St.-Malo, Dinard, Dinan, Rennes, Fougeres, Vitre), which areeasiky combined with a visit to Normandy. I still haven't gotten to Mont-St.-Michel. For sure, having a car would save some time in that area.

If your plan for this trip includes seeing Amsterdam, not just using it as a transportation gateway, I think you can easily fill all your available time without going into Germany. Or you might consider Amsterdam, Normandy and the Rhine. Really, it depends on what pace you prefer. For me, a major city and the three regions you mention would be too much for a two-week trip (which I'm guessing is twelve full days in Europe).