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15 days in Europe starting and ending in Amsterdam

15 days in Europe starting and ending in Amsterdam

Old Oct 21st, 2016, 06:15 AM
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15 days in Europe starting and ending in Amsterdam

Hi! We are two friend travelling from Mexico City to Europe in late March, our trip begins and ends in Amsterdam, could you please give me ideas of must-visit places and tips to get cheap flights or trains, since we're only there for 15 days we want to make the most of it, we read that overnight train is affordable and a good way to switch cities. Obviously we want to save as much as possible so hostels or Airbnb is an option, we have friends in Prague, London and Vienna and we could stay with them in these cities but i really want to see Paris.

Please guys help!!!

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Old Oct 21st, 2016, 06:32 AM
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With Paris a must, I'd limit myself to Amsterdam, Paris and London. Not counting the arrival and departure days, you only have 13 full days. I wouldn't spread them over too many destinations.
The three cities are linked with high-speed trains. The Thalys between Amsterdam and Paris, and the Eurostar between Paris and London. They take each some three hours, from city centre to city centre. Advance buying saves you loads of money. Look at www.seat61.com/ for reliable practical information.
Have accommodation in hostels. Amsterdam and Paris are getting tough on Airbnb accommocations which do not comply with local regulations.
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Old Oct 21st, 2016, 06:47 AM
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I am assuming you are going into Amsterdam either because you want to see Amsterdam or because you got really cheap flights there. Since you want to go to other places, look closely at the cost of backtracking to Amsterdam for the flight home. Don't look at one-way tickets. Look at multi-city or multi-destination. In the end, by time you add the cost and all the time of returning to Amsterdam, you might be better off departing from another place or arriving in another place.

If you really want to see Paris, why go to Amsterdam at all?
Arrive London, train to Paris, train or fly to last destination, fly home.
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Old Oct 21st, 2016, 10:47 AM
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<have friends in Prague, London and Vienna and we could stay with them in these cities but i really want to see Paris.>


How much do you want to see the friends in Prague, London, Vienna? I always think it's more fun when you are staying with a local, rather than visiting as a tourist.

It sounds like Amsterdam and Paris are your "must do" cities, right? You can add one, or maybe two, more, but not all three (5 would be too much for 15 days).
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Old Oct 27th, 2016, 09:36 PM
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there are now almost no night trains left in Europe. but there are high speed trains. night trains are not really a viable option for transport between European cities anymore.
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Old Oct 27th, 2016, 10:28 PM
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If there is a decision, train or flight between Paris and Amsterdam, no question the train takes less in total time spent from one city center to the other.
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Old Oct 28th, 2016, 02:01 AM
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Well, if you bought RT tickets into and out of Amsterdam you either must want to visit it or you didn't take into account the costs and time of backtracking to get home. Must-sees in Amsterdam and elsewhere in Europe are detailed in guidebooks and the official websites of every city, so that's where you should be looking to figure out what it is you consider must-sees. We don't know - you didn't give us any information to go on, so it would all be guesswork.

If you haven't bought the plane tickets and want to visit Paris and perhaps other places in Europe, you'd be well advised to take the advice above and buy multi-city tickets to avoid the expense and hassle of backtracking to A'dam.
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Old Oct 28th, 2016, 05:43 PM
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If you are stuck with Amsterdam at the start and at the end of the trip, then use www.skyscanner.net and www.whichbudget.com to find cheap flights (sometimes V_E_R_Y cheap) within Europe.

It seems to me that you are underestimating the distances - look at some train schedules at www.seat61.com and ww.bahn.de and such, then compare to the flights I suggested.

However, as others have said - if you can avoid flying into and out of the same city, book what they call an "open-jaw" ticket - arriving from home in one city and leaving for home from another city. Saves time, money, hassles...
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