Help to plan a 3 weeks initiary in europe

Quy, I agree with spending more time in Paris. Also, you want to go from Fussen to Venice, then Florence then Rome then Cinque Terre. Venice is way north, Florence is Mid Italy, Rome is south, and then CT is near Florence. Will need to rearrange that part so you don't backtrack so much.

Quy: You've chosen some good destinations but you don't have enough time in some of them. You have almost no time in Paris, Florence, or Venice, to speak of. I think your weakest destinations are Haarlem and Fussen and they should be cut. Here are my suggestions - I think they'll help:

Paris Sep 7-9: I don't like Paris, but if you don't spend at least 3 nights there, you won't have time to see anything.

A'dam: Sep 10-11: Not very much time. Don't waste time going to boring Haarlem.

Rhine: Sep 12-13: Cruise in the afternoon on 9/12 as planned, but first, drop bags at a hotel in St. Goar. St. Goar is a better base than Bacharach. You don't need a whole day to explore Bacharach! On 9/13, you should tour a real medieval castle - Marksburg - www.marksburg.de . It's much better to see than Neuschwanstein, IMO. It's in Braubach. Take the ferry from St. Goar across the Rhine to St. Goarshausen (the ferry runs every 10-15 minutes) and then take the train north to Braubach. In the after noon you can return to St. Goar by train and also see Bacharach.

Sep 14-15: Drop Fussen and the castles - it's atourist trap. I would instead suggest that you fly straight to Venice and spend 2 nights. There is a flight from Frankfurt Hahn at 10:50 on that date with Ryanair for 5 Euros. Book it NOW. Probably best to stay in Koblenz on 9/13 to catch the 7:10 shuttle to the airport, or stay near Hahn airport; this is a good place:

http://www.advance-hotel-zum-hahn.de/en/index.php

Sep 16-17: Florence. You might have time to see a few things.

Sep 18-20: Rome

As planned from there on.

Hi Quy,

Your itinerary does seem ambitious with little time to relax and enjoy your destinations. Plus, you will need to plan for travel times between the cities you'd like to visit. Here's a post that will help you with planning: Trip Planning

Review your plan, and look at deleting some of your destinations. Try to spend at least 3 nights in the major cities (Paris, Amsterdam, Rome.) Determine your sight-seeing priorities and then decide what will work best logistically.

If you can, try to get a copy of Rick Steves "Best of Europe." or other good guidebook to help you with your planning.

Others may have suggestions about the best way to use your EurailPass and whether or not that's the best option.

Best wishes--I'd really like to visit your country!

I neglected to give you the page for shuttle services to Hahn airport:

http://www.hahn-airport.de/default.aspx?menu=by_bus&cc=en

1) As others have noted, yes, too ambitious. See less to see more.

2) Yes, you can visit these destinations without a car, which would be superfluous.

In terms of your itinerary choices, don't underestimate the drain in time and energy of moving from place to place, especially in Italy. That includes packing, traveling, locating a room, unpacking (not necessarily in that order of course), and getting oriented.

Some of that may seem trivial (like unpacking), but it ads up especially if you change venues nine times in three weeks.

One of Rick Steves' most-valuable lessons is how advanced planning can minimize the drag of changing venues.

Don't fail to account for jet lag on your first day, however that affects you.

Do give these great destinations enough time to justify the time and expense of getting to them.

Do be brutally honest with yourself about the things you enjoy and what is important to you. Base your trip on your priorities.

Thank you very much for your advises. I've revised my initiary & extended it a bit as below. Any other advises on this one?

Sep 6: flight to Paris, arrive 7am
Sep 7-9: tour Paris
Sep 10: train to Amsterdam, arrive mid afternoon
Sep 11: tour Amsterdam
Sep 12: train to Rhine (St. Goar)
Sep 13: tour Rhine - night at Koblenz

Sep 14: flight to Venice from Franfrurt, arrive at noon (team)
Sep 15-16: tour Venice
Sep 17: train to Rome
Sep 18-20: tour Rome
Sep 21: train to Florence
Sep 22: tour Florence
Sep 23: train to Cinque Terre
Sep 24-25: tour Cinque Terre
Sep 26: train to Swiss Alps
Sep 27-28: tour Swiss Alps
Sep 29: flight to VN fr Zurich

I feel a bit tight on Amsterdam & Rhine. not sure if it's manageable. Is it ok OR should I skip Rhine & spend more time in Amsterdam?

Quy

Skip extra time in Amsterdam and spend more time on the Rhine. Just got back from a river cruise which started in Amsterdam and I was very disappointed in the city. But, we enjoyed the Rhine portion very much. I have also spent time on the ground in the Rhine gorge and enjoyed that as well.