Hello everyone. I am a little concerned I have too many 2-night stops on my 2 week trip to europe next July (2012). The majority of these stops were implemented as a brief side trip on our way from AMS - PAR - CT.

Also, since this is a honeymoon, any feedback would be greatly appreciated in regards to the overall romance-factor of the selected stops.

2-Nights AMS
2-Nights Brugge
5-Nights Paris
2-Night Provence (Rental car in Avignon and return to Nice. Board Train in Nice for CT)
3-Nights CT (Vernazzo or Manarola?)

Additional comments for feedback:
1) Brugge - Would I be OK not reserving in advance for 2 night stay in Brugge?
2) Provence - 2 days to get from Avignon to Nice w/ rental car... Stay 2 nights in avignon or explore countryside and stay 2 seperate locations as we work our way from Avignon to Nice?
3) Vernazzo or Manarola?

Additional information:
Both my Fiance and I are in our mid-20's. Never been to Europe before.

Thanks everyone!

Struggling with the TLAs, first thoughts are a fair bit of travel (assume you lose half a day each time minimum).

Brugge 2 days in July. If it's a weekend I'd book it, if you want a good deal I'd wait a bit and book it.

I think I would drop Amsterdam (just catch a train to Brugge when you land unless you really want to see the museums) for longer in Provence or Cinque Terre.

You may be happy without a car in Provence, you can get to Arles, Nimes etc by train.

The early part of your plan looks fine.

However, I would choose EITHER Provence or the Cinque Terre.

If Provence, then 5 nights in Provence.

If Cinque Terra, then 3 or 4 nights in CT and the other day or two back onto Amsterdam and/or Paris.

And, of course, fly open-jaw: into AMS and home from either MRS or PSA.

One thing I find myself wondering is if you will be embarking on this honeymoon immediately following your wedding. If so, many couples find the wedding and especially the months of wedding planning exhausting, and honeymoons need to include lots of rest and recuperation.

The other thing I find myself wondering about is your remark that suggests that Provence and Brugge were not part of the original itinerary, which was simply Amsterdam, Paris, le Cinque Terre, but now one or both of you wants to squeeze in these other places.

I say put your heads together and discuss what you really want for a honeymoon, in terms of pace, climate, sightseeing (if any) and forget what you said before.

Honestly, the itinerary sucks. You fly into Amsterdam, spend 1.5 days there (jet lag, jet laggish, leave) so you have no real time to explore and you won't see much.

Next, go to Bruges for two nights because . . . why? It's pretty? So are lots of places -- why Bruges? And the whole Provence/CT thing is unwieldy because you will lose a full day traveling and then it means two days in Provence and two days in CT. Sounds like short shrift for both places.

The Paris part I understand, but spend a whole week. It's not like you'll regret the extra time.

Ultimately, you need to prioritize. If you want to see Amsterdam, then fly in and SEE Amsterdam. Don't just run from city to city and town to town to check items off a list. You're in your 20s, you'll be back -- wife and I have been to Europe 7 times since 2001, among other trips.

And if you're leaving for Europe the day after you get hitched, Zeppole's concerns are dead-on. That said, you should heed Z's comments completely.

You should really save Cinque Terre for another trip. It isn't worth going all that way for what will amount to a day and a half. If it were my honeymoon (and it surely isn't) I would fly to Paris and spend a week there with day trips - perhaps to Brugges - and a week in Provence.

Ditto mamcalice!

Fly into Paris and out of Nice (for example). Forget all the other stuff. You're hopping around way too much.

After an exciting week in Paris, Nice would make a very relaxing complement. Nice makes a great base for the Cote d'Azure, you have public transport for day trips, the beach, restaurants on the beach, good shopping.

This may sound simple, but IMHO it would make for a fantastic honeymoon.

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I can definitely respect the thoughts and opinions of everyone who has the traveling experience I do not yet have.

So after consulting with my fiance (who has been echoing the group's concerns since Day 1), I've adjusted the proposed itinerary.

3- Nights Amsterdam (We are flying Delta, and really just want to use AMS as an opportunity to overcome jet lag, introduce ourselves to Europe, and minimal sight-seeing).

7-Nights Paris. I am really hoping that if we base ourselves in Paris, day-tripping to Brugge will be a viable option (. Belgium Sour Ales and Dark Chocolate are something we are both passionate and excited about. Not to mention I am intrigued by anything with the UNESCO tag on it)??

Does it make sense to go all they way to Brugge (from Paris) for only 1 day?

4-Nights Cinque Terre. Fly out of Paris to possibly Pisa(?) + Rail to CT. Since we only have 2-weeks, I think we need to minimize our travel time and therefore take the flight over rail.(Leaning towards Vernazza because of its nightlife, although I hear it can be a bit touristy).

So what do you think? In your opinion, does it offer enough balance to be both exciting and romantic?

** Revision. The more I think about it, instead of day-tripping to Brugge from Paris, why not just spend one night in Brugge on the journey from AMS to Paris?

There are times when less is more and this is one of them. Have no stops less than 3 nights - and give yourself time to relax and actually learn something about the places you're visiting - not just fin hotel, check in, see a sight eat, sleep, see a few more sights, fall down of exhaustion, sleep then head to the next town and begin again.

Rushing around in all directions is NOT romantic. Romantic is long. leisurely dinners with a romantic stroll home afterward (and not having to get up at 8 am), breakfast in bed, sitting in a cafe in the late afternoon having a drink and watching the world go by, exploring surprise spots you just happen to come across - rather than seeing we have to b back on the road in 10 minutes.

I would never go to Bruges without reservations. there are several very charming old canal houses that are VERY romantic and have lovely rooms/suites that are all unique with wonderful furniture in charming, quixotic buildings. They have few rooms and tend to sell out early. The best ones have a wonderful restaurant and will require that you eat there one night.

jpopp24,

Your revised plan looks just fine and is well balanced.

Yes - stay the night in Bruges en route from Amsterdam to Paris (and, yes, reserve a room well in advance). That means 6 nights in Paris in lieu of 7 - which is OK.

A flight from Paris to Pisa followed by a quick train to CT is also an excellent idea.

nytraveler - I appreciate your input. We do not plan on doing much of anything once we get to our destinations, except just walking and cafe sitting (with the exception of the Louvre).

I was particularly interested in:

Suggestions for a B&B in Bruge. Your description is almost exactly what I am hoping to find (albeit for only a 1-night stay).

Hmmm, the revised itinerary looks much better, but now I'm going to poke you a bit about Amsterdam.

(1) Delta flies lots of different places in Europe (including Paris). I wouldn't fly all the way to AMS just to recover from jet lag and get acquainted with Europe.

(2) Of all of the places you've mentioned, it seems like Brugge is the place that has you most excited -- "passionate" you say. (Is that why you're actually flying into AMS as opposed to Paris, to be near to Brugge?) So why not spend more time there and less in AMS? Or skip AMS altogether and go directly to Brugge on your first day? Granted, it will be a little bit of schlepp to get there on the train, but do-able. Bear in mind that the morning after you arrive on a trans-atlantic flight from the US is going to be a bit of a "dead zone" anyway -- you probably won't be able to check into a hotel in AMS until the afternoon, but you'll be too tired to do any real sightseeing in the morning.

I agree with the overall theme of the advice above that you are better off picking fewer locations and seeing them well. Your honeymoon, obviously, but I'd say follow your passion. Good luck!

"Delta flies lots of different places in Europe (including Paris). I wouldn't fly all the way to AMS just to recover from jet lag and get acquainted with Europe."

I second this! DL/KL/AF/AZ (all Delta partners) fly direct from the US to many different European cities. You haven't expressed any particular intestest in AMS, if so I wouldn't recomend wasting your precious vacation time on it. You're going to have to recover from jet lag somewhere, it might as well be in a city that excites you. There is a nonstop ATL-BRU flight as an option ....

Delta only has only 2 non-stop flights from Seattle to Europe - Amsterdam & Paris.

And don't get me wrong, I DO want to see Amsterdam. I just don't have much interest beyond 3 days given our time in Europe. Additionally, I would kind of like to build up the suspense - if you will- for our arrival to paris via train.


MoonGirl - I've been asking myself that question as well. Excluding the first day/night (AMS), I need to decide how to split up 3 nights between AMS & Bruge. Although the intrigue is higher for Bruges, I realize their is more to do in Amsterdam. This is the part I am undecided on... 2-AMS & 1-Bruge, OR 1-AMS & 2-BRG?

You cannot begin to AMS in one day. It is possible to much of Bruges in one day.

We spent a whole vacation in just Amsterdam and Bruges. I'd be hard pressed to decide how to split 3 nights as well, though I suspect most would tell you to take the extra time in Amsterdam as it i the bigger location. You won't be disappointed either way.

If you stay in Bruges look into "Number 11 B&B" (http://www.number11.be/). Beautiful rooms/building, great hosts, great location. very popular, book ahead.

I would stay in Vernazza over Manarola. Personal preference as I think the harbor is beautiful adn the town just spoke to me a bit more.

uflecku - Your post was incredibly helpful - on all accounts! Thank you for the link to Number 11. It is exactly the type of B&B I am looking for - especially as I see it is located on a Pedestrian only street.

What did you think about the Breakfast? Not just the food, but the ambiance and entire experience. I've never been to a B&B before, but I can't help to think how romantic it will be to experience one in Bruge on our honeymoon.

I also like your take on Vernazza. It's not everyday you have a chance to wake up to a beautiful harbor.

Everything about No 11 was great. The ambiance was wonderful. The common room was very warm and inviting. Not overly large but good enough to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee or read a little if you didn't want to sit in your room (though the rooms were fantastic). I don't recall the names of the innkeepers, but they were wonderful people. The location was very quiet but also very close to the main square. If I recall correctly they also let you keep bikes at the house. We rented bikes for the few days we were there and used them quite a bit, not just in Bruges but also biking into the countryside (I think the next town was Damme). Everything is FLAT, so it's pretty easy going. You won't be disappointed.

I'm going to modify my previous comment about how to split your time. Frankly, I wouldn't split it. I think you will have a much better time picking one or the other. Amsterdam for one night, particularly coming off of a red-eye flight from the west coast, is not a good use of time. You'll be beat the day you land and then will leave the next morning. Two nights is better but even then it's hard to get the feel for a great city like that. And one night in Bruges results in the same problem. Either land in Amsterdam, stay there and enjoy it or immediately take the train to Bruges. Yes you'll go home wishing you'd seen the other, but that's the beauty of travel. For me a good trip is one from which I return wanting to go back and see more, not one where I feel like I "saw it all". You're young, you'll be back.

We stayed in Monterosso when we were in the CT last May. We liked it a lot as well. The towns all have their unique charm. I will say this, however. Accomodations are not easy to come by and will fill up quickly. You MUST plan this ahead. They are also usually "simpler" than you'll find in Paris/Bruges/Belgium. Don't expect luxury. There are a handful of very nice places (La Mala in Vernazza is one), but many are simple and clean apartments or inns. This isn't a criticism at all, just a heads up. Often websites are lacking and almost none have on-line booking mechanisms, so you'll be doing a lot via email or phone.

One question - where are you flying home from? Your itinerary has you ending up in Vernazza but you mentioned Amsterdam and Paris as the only direct flights home. Are you taking a connecting flight back to Seattle? Pisa is an international airport. I know Delta has a direct flight to JFK (NY) a few times a week, maybe that will be of use to you.

You don't give your budget, but here's where we stayed in Bruges: www.bruges-bedandbreakfast.be It has a canalside courtyard where you can eat breakfast outside. We had a wonderful view of the garden and canal in a very nice room. Definitely honeymoon-y.