irinaxox

Hello fellow travellers,

My husband and I are 29 years old foodies, planning a 16 day (15 night) trip in May 2016.
This will be our first trip to Europe, and we are flying in to Paris and out of Rome.
We need your advice with our itinerary, specifically on how to split our time!

Option 1:
Paris - 5 nights (train to Amsterdam)
Amsterdam - 3 nights (fly to Venice)
Venice - 2 nights
Florence - 2 nights (train)
Rome - 3 nights (train)

Option 2:
Paris - 4 nights
Amsterdam - 3 nights
Venice - 2 nights
Florence - 2 nights
Rome - 4 nights

Option 3:
Paris - 4 nights
Amsterdam - 3 nights
Venice - 2 nights
Florence - 3 nights
Rome - 3 nights

Keep in mind we will be travelling light, and love staying busy!

Advice welcome

vincenzo32951

Be aware that when you have five destination, you have four changes of venue, and that takes time -- dead time that subtracts from your enjoyment time in each place.

I'd drop one destination if I were you. Which one depends on your preferences and priorities.

Kathie

i, too, recommend that you drop one destination. You'll have a better trip - less time lost in transit. Remember that 2 nights in Venice is just one full day, and your three night stays yield just two full days. Indeed, if it were me (and it isn't) I's choose three destinations for your 15 night trip. You will have no difficulty staying busy, and wouldn't even if you spent all 15 nights in Paris.

If food is your focus, I'd drop Amsterdam.

StCirq

Too many venues in too short a time. Drop one. Amsterdam would be my recommendation if you're "foodies." (I hate that word - it's puerile and means nothing).

nytraveler

Agree that you have one destination too many. IMHO for a first trip the minimum is:

Paris 5 days ( 6 nights)
Amsterdam 4 days (5 night)
Venice 3 days (4 nights)
Florence 3 days (4 nights)
Rome 4 days (5 nights)

I think you need to really look into what paces you want to see and also what days you will be there (for instance Monday is a bust in Florence since a ot of places are closed).

This IS moving fast once you deduct the time it takes for you to get from one city to another.

pitt2015

I agree that you should drop a destination. I would probably lose Amsterdam or Venice. Of the options you listed I would pick #2. Is ur airfare already book? If not, have you considered limiting the trip just to Italy? Other than food, what type of activities are you most interested in?

kja

Another recommendation to cut at least one destination. You will NOT have trouble staying busy even if you cut two destinations! Only YOU can decide which trip you want; personally, I would keep your 3 destinations in Italy as they make sense as a group and are so different that you'll get some nice variety. So that would mean cutting either Paris or Amsterdam (or both) from this trip. JMO.

globe_traveller

To me, the options are all similar, but it all comes down to this: Do you split 8 nights between Paris and Rome 5-3 or 4-4? There's tons to do in both cities. From a food point of view, Paris has more variety, thus you might want to spend the extra day there. However, if you do that, make sure that you take an early train from Florence to Rome. You don't want to be stuck with just an evening plus two days there.

This trip looks fast-paced, but it is doable. You will have to accept the fact that you won't be able to see everything in these cities given the time constraints, but if you are ok with that, go for it. You can get a taste of each of these cities based on this itinerary.

mjs

Another vote to cut Amsterdam.
Paris 5
Venice 3
Florence 3
Rome 4