Itinerary help Rome/Venice/Amsterdam/Paris/London

I think I would fly Venice to Amsterdam. It is at least a 14 1/2 hour train ride during the day with several changes, or an 18 hour ride with a night train and still a couple of changes. Other than that, looks great.

4 countries, 5 cities in 3 weeks. You have to take into consideration how much time you will lose city to city. It’s not just how long the train or plane takes but also finding your hotels, checking in and out of them, time to get to and from the airport or train station. Generally, you lose almost a full day for every move.

The order of the trip is logical. However, I would either eliminate Amsterdam Paris or London and add the extra days to your other destinations. To me, seeing what scenery there is between Venice andAmsterdam is not worth a 14 hour rail journey.

Have a great, memorable family tour!

I think the order is logical and consistent with the season, starting south and going north. I agree with Philip that it's a high-energy trip, but you must be a high-energy family. If the kids like some or all of the cities they'll have time to return for longer visits.

Fly from Venice to Amsterdam to save time and keep it simple. Thalys train to Paris, then Eurostar to London.

With four full days, you could build in a day trip from Rome, Paris, and/or London, but there's plenty to keep you busy in each city. You'll be spending enough time in transit without adding more.

I agree with the PPs. Keep the itinerary as is and fly to A'dam. The only thing I would change is Venice: to add another day, stealing a day from somewhere else if necessary. You will only have a day and a half there, which is too short IMO.

I posted on your other thread, but this looks fantastic to me. I've been to all those places and I think it's the "right" amount of time in each place, especially with those ages. (I took my daughters, 13 and 16 and/or my 18 year old son to the places on your list.)

I think the earlier you are in Italy the better as it will continue to get more crowded and London is more organized and easy to get around in large crowds in my opinion.

I don't think you should switch Amsterdam and Paris. I think you should consider taking the Eurostar from Amsterdam to Paris, then Paris to London.

I would not spend 12-18 hours and multiple station changes in multiple countries taking the train from Venice to Amsterdam. If you book now and don't have a lot of luggage, flying will cost less anyhow.

And yes, I think you have enough time for a day trip in each of those places, but there is also enough to do in each of those places to keep busy without it. (Paris is much, much smaller than Rome and half the size of Amsterdam, so that would be the first place I'd think of a day trip.)

I'd try for a hotel in London and consider an airbnb in Rome. Paris, you could go either way, but I don't find the Eiffel Tower/Arc de Triomphe areas are nice areas to stay overall... a pretty neighborhood with cafes will suit better and you won't fight the Eiffel tower crowds and street vendors every single day to see those things once.

Almost anywhere in Amsterdam is a cool place to stay, in my opinion.

In Venice, if budget is any concern at all, you'll want to stay in Mestre/Marghera and take the train or bus in. It will cut the cost in half or possibly more. Staycity Aparthotel has huge clean rooms for a very reasonable rate and there are coin laundry facilities, which you will need at that point in your trip. (There are very affordable laundrettes in Amsterdam that charge almost the same to wash and fold as it would cost you to spend hours waiting and doing it yourself, so I suggest you drop off on your way out one morning and pick up your clean folded laundry on your way back in the early evening.)

I have a suggestion that my young travelers enjoyed. In London and Rome in particular (due to size and number of sites), leave your last day loose and make a list of "that would be interesting" or "oh, I'd love to see that/go there!" as the week goes by... use the final day to see those things and/or return to your favorite gelateria/cafe/pizzeria. (This is not practical for major sites where tickets will sell out, such as the Coliseum, but I doubt you'd leave that til last minute anyhow.)

We also found that choosing restaurants ahead of time including casual dining/pizza (based on what attractions we'd be visiting) greatly reduced irritation as there was less time spent fiddling with phones, trying to get everyone to agree, etc... The trick (especially in italy) is to make sure you choose at least one backup nearby as lines can be long, places can be unexpectedly closed, etc. You'll want to make reservations wherever possible with a party of your size if you are planning to sit down or have particular places you want to eat. In Rome, you could wait hours or be turned away entirely at many places and the same could happen in the other cities depending on the restaurant.

This will be amazing... absolutely amazing.

great information, thank you!

Looks very good. Fly to Amsterdam. I have not stayed in apartments in any of those cities but I would certainly look for one or two if you can find them.

I'd cut a day or more from one of your 5 night destinations and add to Venice. It's the most unique of all those places. Unless you are absolutely sure you won't like it.

I agree with those who said to add a night to Venice. It is such a fun city to explore, and so different from all the rest. I suggest finding out if Alessandro is still doing his cicchetti tour. He is a very entertaining and knowledgeable fellow!! (email and book directly with him at www.schezzini.it). He won't take payment before the tour; you just pay in cash when it's over! I think that your time in London and Paris both allow for a day trip. Of course, it depends on what you want to see in the cities themselves. My family spent 6 nights in Paris and did two day trips: Versailles (wow!!) and Disney Paris (we are big Disney people!!). Both of those were easily planned on our own, via train. We still had time for the major sites, as well as a half day strolling around Montmarte. Another fun thing we did, recommended in Rick's Paris book, was to shop for picnic items on Rue Cler and found a spot to eat at the base of the Eiffel Tower before our (reserved) trip to the top. From London, we did Stonehenge, Bath and Winsor Castle in a (long, but worth it) organized bus tour. There are many to choose from if you only want to do one site, and it would take up less of your day. Oh! And getting back to Italy...we did an excellent food tour of Trastevere with Eating Europe. This group does food tours in other cities (as the name suggests!) so you may even want to check them out for your other stops. All in all, sounds like a wonderful vacation for your family! Enjoy!

I would also switch Paris and Amsterdam and add a night somewhere between Venice and Paris. That way you'd be able to see the Alps and spend some time in a smaller town, during what is otherwise a very city focused trip.

1) Why skip Florence (between Rome and Venice.
2) Might need three days in Venice.
3) Fly into Rome, train to Florence and Venice, then take the overnight train from Venice to Paris or Amsterdam.
4) Rail to Amsterdam or Paris, the Rail to London.
5) Fly home from London

Fly into Rome, train to Florence and Venice, then take the overnight train from Venice to Paris or Amsterdam.

That "overnight" train to Paris or Amsterdam. Paris actually takes 15 1/2 hours with a night train to Stuttgart, then a train to Paris. Or 18 1/2 hours to Amsterdam with a night train to Stuttgart, then train to Amsterdam with a connection in Cologne. Save yourself some grief and a grumpy family by flying.

You’ve all convinced me to add a night to Venice …but where to steal the time from 🤔 I’m thinking one less night in London??? By the end of the trip, 5 nights in one spot might feel long…and I think we could do without a day trip from London.

Unless you're wanting to spend a lot of time in museums, I think Amsterdam could be 3 nights. 5 nights is not too long for Rome and London.

Could take a night from Amsterdam 🤔 That leads me to another question…Haarlem vs Amsterdam? We’re low key. Want to do the ten Boom tour. Want to bike to the beach. Want to see Amsterdam and Katten Kabinet museum (we’ll be 3 weeks without our beloved cats!) .

Leaning toward Haarlem base.

You've gotten good advice. I agree with another day in Venice with a flight to Amsterdam. The flight is 2 hours. Even with departure/arrival I think you'll make up a lot of time. If you could get an evening flight it would be even better.

However, I'm here to comment on the high energy aspect of the trip, especially for the 4 children. You can do it and they'll have a great time!

I speak from experience. Way back in 1966, when I was 15 1/2, I took a 21 day People to People tour of Europe. We started in Belgium, then traveled to Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France and England. There was a cute freckle-faced 14-year-old girl in our group. By the time we got to Florence we were an item and I had worked up enough courage to kiss her. We've been going steady ever since.

Since then we have returned to Europe several times, including all the places you listed.

Love this! Thank you

I'd highly recommend staying in Venice , not in Mestre., (which is on the mainland.) You come to Venice to be there, experience the mornings and afternoons, ( maybe return to your lodging midday for a break,) then wandering and exploring again. We like the Cannaregio area, which is very quiet on the back canals, yet only 15 minutes from all the sites. And, yes, add time to Venice.
Enjoy your wonderful family adventure! Safe travels!