tnagz

Hi everyone,

I really enjoyed reading everyone's posts about your adventures in Europe. My wife and I are planning our europe trip and would like your help. We are going to be there Sept 25 - Oct 6. (12 Days)

Here is my plan so far.

- Fly into Amsterdam (9/25)
Immediately hop a train to Bruges (3.5 hrs)
- Bruges (9/25 - 9/27)
- Overnite train to Salzburg ?
- Salzburg, Austria (9/28-10/1)
- Train to Prague (10/1-10/4)
- 10/4: Smart Wings flight to Amsterdam in the morning
- Amsterdam (10/4-10/6);

The only things set in stone at this time are the flights into AMS, the flight from Prague to AMS, and the flight home from AMS.

What do you think? Anything I should skip or change? Any logistical issues that your experience can help me get around? Any suggestions on places to stay? Lodging budget is from 60-80 euros a night. Thanks everyone!

bobthenavigator

Four diverse destinations in 4 countries in only 12 days has never appealed to me--too much travel time. Why not just do Benelux and maybe Copenhagen.

Kristinelaine

I just wondered if you have checked for trains between Bruges and Salzburg? When I went to DeutscheBahn site, that trip is between 11 and 15 hours and involves alot of changes, some in the middle of the night. The site is reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/e
Maybe a plane trip would work better.

Also doing four cities in 12 days and doing the trips between them doesn't leave you much time to enjoy the places or even get comfortable in them. This is just my opinion and could possibly not be true for you. I would consider dropping off one city. I guess you can't drop Amsterdam or Prague (due to your flights) so you might need to drop off Bruges or Salzburg.

I would also say that your budget for accommodations is fairly low and you will need to work on looking at cheap hotel sites to try to find places in these cities for this amount of money.

tnagz

Yeah, I have to admit, the 4 cities in 12 days has sort of been haunting me as well. Thanks for both of your responses. I knew it was on the edge of too much in a short span of time, plus a rather large distance to cover. I have thought about dropping Bruges off the plan. So then, it would be AMS to Salzburg to Prague to AMS.

For the AMS to Salzburg leg, anyone have any suggestions? I imagine this would be a fun train trip, so a stop over might be cool on this route. When we originally started tossing up ideas for our trip, Munich (Oktoberfest) was a part of it. Ah, too many beautiful places to choose from!

ira

Hi tn,

For 12 days, I would leave Salzburg out.

You can then visit Amsterdam, Brugge and Prague.

You can take an overnight train from Brugge to Salzburg, but it will be on 4 trains.

The 16:38 (1 change) arrives in Amsterdam at 19:38. The 20:05 from Amsterdam arrives Munich at 07:16, and then you take the 07:26 to Salzburg.

bobthenavigator

I do love Salzburg, but Ira is right--as usual. It just does nor fit this itinerary. And, you can use more time in Prague. Good luck !

Dukey

I'd really like to weigh in especially since you seem to be giving all of these <b>more or less</b> equal weight which is, IMO, a possible mistake.

I say &quot;possible&quot; because we have absolutely no idea of why you are planning to do any of these cities.

You can make a lot of places fit in if you fly between them but knowing your desires and expectations about the places themselves might help us determine whether or not to spend more or less time in any one of them.

suze

If it were me with 12 days flying in and out of Amsterdam, I'd probably choose to stay nearby... like amsterdam, harleem, bruges, etc.

But it's not my trip &amp; since you chose Salzburg and Prague, well obviously you have interest in those two cities? That said, I would choose one or the other, not both and check plane as well as train for transportation.

tnagz

Dukey,

You asked a good question, in that I have failed to explain why I have chosen the following cities so far. Let me try to shed some light.

Prague
1. Because I have heard so MANY wonderful things about the architecture, scenery, and people.
2. Seen so many beautiful pictures of castles and square.
3. Looks like a fun place to explore.
4. The tastey beer!

Salzburg
1. The mountains and scenery in Sept/Oct.
2. WWII history, such as Eagles Nest, Obersalzberg.
3. A smaller town change of pace as opposed to Vienna.

Bruges
1. Heard it was nice from friends who have been there.
2. Close to Amsterdam.
3. Heard it was more interesting than Brussels (opinions vary and are taken with a grain of salt.)
4. Have also heard it's a little touristy though.

Amsterdam
1. Heard it was beautiful and never been there.
2. FF miles, so free flight.
3. Interested in exploring it (cafes, not included.)

The main things to get out of our trip:
1. Some travel by train sounds fun, and a little romantic (I know, kinda cheesy.)
2. Have fun and see some cool cities; meet interesting ppl; drink good beer!

Germany was a big interest originally. But we decided that Oktoberfest isn't our scene. Any recommendations maybe from AMS to Prague through Germany, skipping Bruges and Austria? I know there are terrific places to stop on that route.

tnagz

Thanks for everyone's help. We have toned down our itinerary, saving Austria for a different trip.

So here is our newest itinerary, please let me know your opinions.

- Arrive Amsterdam (9/25), train to Bruges.
- Bruges (9/25 - 9/27)
- 9/27- Evening train to Amsterdam
- Amsterdam 9/27-9/29
- 9/29-Flight to Prague
- Prague 9/29-10/3
- 10/4: AM Flight to Amsterdam
- Amsterdam (10/4-10/6);

How does this sound? Thanks!

bobthenavigator

Much better !You will love prague and you do seem to have ample time there.

beanweb24

If you're after tasty beer, I'm glad to see you left Brugge on your itinerary. We've been to Brugge 3 times so far (always in winter) and are heading there for a 4th trip in February...by far my favorite place to quench my thirst.

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