My husband and I are planning a 9 day trip to Europe in April, and would like to visit Paris, parts of Germany, and Switzerland. One problem I've already encountered is that Berner Oberlund is not a good place to go in April, so we are bummed about that. But, my question is, is it even possible to do Paris for 3 days, Rhine area and Bavaria for 2-3 days, and possibly Switzerland for 2-3 days? Or am I overshooting? The travel time by train seems a little long between each place... Suggestions? (P.S. Our only windows for travel are April or August since I'm a teacher.)
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
Paris, the Rhine, Bavaria and Switzerland in 9 days? Too much. Narrow it down to 2 destinations first.
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
Leslie: One key to good itinerary planning is making your best guesstimates about actual travel time between your destinations, which you've already been trying to do; a website that will help you do that more accurately is this one:Europe Rail SchedulesAnother key to good itinerary planning is to start out by being precise about how many days you actually have on the ground to do the things you came there to do; in other words, you mention 9 days but is this the actual number of days you have "on the ground to see things"--or is it more like 8 or 7 days, after you subtract partial days for flying in and flying out (for example, if you depart CDG at noon for the flight back to the US, then that doesn't count as a day on the ground)?These and other itinerary planning tips are discussed at this link:Itinerary Planning Tips
Posted by
Ojai, CA
591 posts
I think you would enjoy Switzerland and Bavaria more on an August vacation; they're just more scenic that time of year and you don't have bad weather to worry about.
April is a great time to visit Holland since it's peak time for tulips. You might think about doing an open jaw trip (outboutbound to Amsterdam & return from Paris) which will save some time. You could visit Amsterdam & Keukenhof Gardens, then go down to the Rhine area of Germany (see the Rhine Gorge south of Koblenz) and then to Paris. Trains take about 4 hours from Amsterdam to Koblenz/Frankfurt and then another 4 hrs to Paris. 3 nights in Holland, 2 in Germany & the rest in Paris might work for you.
Posted by
southwest, Missouri, U.S.A.
1717 posts
Hello Leslie. If you want to see the Alps mountains in Switzerland, you certainly can do that in April. Your "9 day trip" -- does that include the day you depart from California, and the day you return to California ? If yes -- you will arrive at an airport in Europe on Dday 2. On all of day 9 you will travel from an airport in Europe to an airport in California. Thus, you would be in Europe 6 whole days. In six days, I suggest : go to two countries in Europe, maximum. You could fly from the U.S.A. to Paris. And fly from Zurich to the U.S.A.
If you want to fly to Paris in April, I recommend that you acquire your airline tickets very soon, if you do not have the tickets now.