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12 days trip to Amsterdam, Paris, germany and Swizerland

12 days trip to Amsterdam, Paris, germany and Swizerland

Old Jan 15th, 2017, 07:10 AM
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12 days trip to Amsterdam, Paris, germany and Swizerland

Hi,
I am planning to travel with my family by April to Amsterdam from Mumbai. We would like to visit Amsterdam, Germany, Paris and Switzerland in 12 days time. Please suggest me a good route plan by car. We are interested to see 2 or 3 places in one country and would like to travel by car. Let me know good rental car and stay options (decent not expensive).

Johnson
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Old Jan 15th, 2017, 07:22 AM
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A car would not be practical for Amsterdam or Paris. Both of those cities are much more easily navigated with public transportation or by foot. Car rental companies charge a hefty fee to rent in one country but drop it off in another. Switzerland's rail system is so good that a car simply is not necessary. However, depending on what you want to see in Germany, renting a car may be a good idea.
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Old Jan 15th, 2017, 07:41 AM
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A'dam (3 nights) - train to Paris (4) - car or train to Strasbourg (2) - Black Forest (day trip from Strasbourg by train or car) - Freiburg (stop on way to Luzern by train or car) - Luzern (3 nights)

That's not really enough time as it is, and if you take the car into Switzerland, you may need an extra night if you want to return to France to drop it and then fly home. Without the car, you could just go to Zurich to fly home.

As Edward says you shouldn't use a car before leaving Paris, and you shouldn't drop the car anywhere but France if you pick it up in France - or you'll pay a hefty fee.
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Old Jan 15th, 2017, 07:53 AM
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Look at Autoeurope.com or kemwel.com for a car rental. Both companies are reliable brokers.

You can travel by train from Amsterdam to Paris to Strasbourg. If you buy your non-refundable non-exchangeable tickets three months ahead of time, prices will be considerably lower. Rent a car in Strasbourg for seeing parts of the Black Forest and parts of Switzerland. You could return the car in the Basel or Geneva airport as long as you return it on the French side to avoid a cross-border drop-off fee. Check if you can return home from either of these airports to avoid paying for a train trip or a flight back to Paris or wherever else you need to go to get back home.

If driving in Switzerland, be aware that you should buy a vignette for the motorways unless you plan to never drive on them--a difficult proposition for anyone unfamiliar with the area.
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Old Jan 15th, 2017, 08:12 AM
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I think Michael has a good plan
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Old Jan 15th, 2017, 08:24 AM
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Trains are great and much faster than cars on long-distance routes. cars are useless in cities. If going to countryside great but most folks want to go to Paris, Amsterdam, etc where cars are completely useless and must be parked in often expensive lots as they are simply impractical to tour around cities these days.

For lots on trains check www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

If going by car cut down your expectations of how much to cover.
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Old Jan 15th, 2017, 08:45 AM
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When will this trip take place> How many family members will be in your party? There comes a point where a car becomes more ecinomical than trains when you multiply the ticket prices, even with the estra cost of one-way drop-off or - worse - cross-border one-way drop-offs

Since you emphasize your desire to go by car, but "not expensive", I encourage you to research that aspect of your trip and compare.

To cover so much distance in so few days, neither mode of transportation will be "not expensive", but you can mitigate some of that by planning ahead.

As far as itinerary goes - I would encourage you to look at the Rhine area below Mainz, down to about Cologne. Whether traveled by car or boat or train, it is very special.

Just so you know - the Black Forest is neither black nor really a forest, it is a pretty area with hills (they call them "mountains" but wait until ou get to Switzerland...) and villages and lakes, and to the east of it lies a region with wonderful targets like Tübingen and Ulm.
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Old Jan 15th, 2017, 08:55 AM
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En route from Amsterdam to Paris you can stop a few hours in Bruxelles.
Very nice and it will one more country visited.
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Old Jan 15th, 2017, 09:03 AM
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Very nice and it will one more country visited.>

especially if it's a Tuesday.
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Old Jan 15th, 2017, 10:07 AM
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There comes a point where a car becomes more ecinomical than trains when you multiply the ticket prices, even with the estra cost of one-way drop-off or - worse - cross-border one-way drop-offs>

maybe maybe not
large cars cost more and consume more gas
parking fees, etc

some countries have steep tolls or mandatory stickers to buy to use motorways or go into cities

and discounted train tickets like those 29 euro deals in Germany for long-distance trains and dirt cheap Lander Tickets and regional train passes - but usually without careful planning yes the more the people in one vehicle the cheaper.
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Old Jan 17th, 2017, 04:47 AM
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Thank you very much for all replies. We are 4 members in our family. 2 adult and 2 teenagers. Prefer to take rent a car from Amsterdam and return to same place as we fly back from Amsterdam only. As you all suggested, travel will be difficult by car in Paris and Amsterdam, suggest me more options using car, metro and train. It seems to be difficult to travel 4 countries in 12 days. I think I should drop one country (Switzerland).
All suggestions welcome.
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Old Jan 17th, 2017, 07:44 AM
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suggest me more options using car, metro and train.>

well like Paris you can easily drive to hotels/motels on the periphery and take the metro in to sightsee.

Germany makes a nice driving area -again a Cologne-Rhine-Mosel-Luxembourg-Bruges, etc circle would be an ideal motoring trip.
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Old Jan 17th, 2017, 10:18 AM
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No need to use a car in Amsterdam -rent it when leaving -parking can be problematic and awfully expensive and again cars are completely useless in Amsterdam -one reason so many locals bicycle around.
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