brook33003

We are celebrating a special anniversary and will have four precious nights away from our young kids. We live in DC. We are considering Europe (Amsterdam, Prague or Vienna) and possibly Buenos Aires.

BA appeals to us because we won't have to deal with jet lag. But the 10-hr flight sounds rough for such a short trip.

Amsterdam/Prague/Vienna sound amazing, but I worry about suffering from awful jet lag the whole time.

Help! Where should we go? By the way, we love gorgeous cities, great museums, great food, luxury hotels, interesting sights. Don't care about night life that much.

We'd love to hear other ideas, too, if you've got them.

Thank you!
Brook33003

brook33003

Oh, forgot to mention that we'll be traveling in LATE MARCH. Thanks!

thursdaysd

I was going to suggest Montreal, but perhaps not in March! That really isn't much time, does it need to be outside the US?

Once you pick a continent you should post on the relevant board - this one doesn't get much traffic.

MarnieWDC

We go yearly to Argentina from WDC, but with the consolidation of United with Continental, there is no longer an 11 hour, direct flight. There is at least one stop/plane change.

I would consider London as it is one of the shorter flights to Europe in your short time frame,and it is one hour closer to US time. But Amsterdam might also be a direct flight and so a consideration. Direct, non-stop flight would, IMO, be a very important consideration to allow you to have the most time to celebrate and enjoy your trip.

thursdaysd

Another possibility is Lisbon - it's a good bit further south than London, so will be warmer! Click on my name for my Lisbon TR. I was there again in March last year.

suze

I'd look at which cities in Europe you could get the best nonstop flight times. For me personally South America would be WAY too long of a flight for only a 4 day stay, I'd save that until I had more time to spend.

Amsterdam is a great city and has everything you ask for. But it's pretty far north so won't have great weather in March. What about a city more south than any you have mentioned? With hopes for a bit milder weather?

thursdaysd

"South America would be WAY too long of a flight for only a 4 day stay,"

Depends on where you go. It's 8 hours from Washington to Cartagena, for instance. That's only an hour more than Washington to London. And Cartagena is high on my list of places to visit.

Aladam888

Stick to Europe for now. You could consider taking a river cruise from Amsterdam to Vienna. March will be a pleasant month to vist Europe, there will be strong winds but full of colors too.Prague has got great historic building sites that will interst you.

thursdaysd

Amsterdam to Vienna? They have <b>four</b> nights! did you bother to read the OP?

suze

Well thrusdaysd, The OP said they wanted Buenos Aires Argentina & you mentioned Cartagena Columbia... I think we're all just tossing out suggesions here.

thursdaysd

Suggestions still need to make some sense. You said SA involved too long a flight, I offered a SA option with a shorter flight. The OP said four nights, Aladam suggested something that takes three times as long.

brook33003

I think we're going to be able to do 5 nights now! Suddenly Amsterdam is looking better, I think. Is late March a terrible time to go to there?

suze

I loved Amsterdam. I think 5 nights would be perfect. The airport is great and so easy/close to get in and out of the city, will help maximize your time. I'm guessing the weather will be cool rainy late-winter/early-spring like, right?, but somehow Amsterdam seems a city that would be OK even if it's a bit cold or dreary out.

Please do get read & post on the Europe forum for more input.

thursdaysd

On the other hand, I thought Amsterdam overrated. Rather seedy, the buildings less interesting than I expected, and you have to stay constantly alert to avoid the silent bikes whose riders pay no attention to traffic rules.

Gardyloo

One way we've found to minimize jetlag is to take a morning departure from the east coast to Europe. From DC, you can take a United flight to London that departs at 9:30 AM or so and arrives at 9 PM or so. Stay in a hotel at Heathrow (we use Priceline and have never paid more than US$90 for a 4-star hotel near the airport) and sleep in a real bed. You wake up much more rested than the zombie state you get with an overnight flight from the east coast.

You can take a morning flight to Amsterdam or anywhere else in Europe the next day, and have a full day <i>without</i> joining the walking dead, or you can just stay in the UK and have a great few days. If you don't want to spend it in London, just get a car at Heathrow and you can be in the Cotswolds or the West Country (lovely in early spring) by lunchtime. Find a nice B&B or pub with rooms, take walks in the country, drink cider... how bad is that?