shane411

My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon for August of this year, and I could use some help in planning.

Here is our basic itinerary. Could you let me know what you think about distribution of time, any activities you would recommend, etc? Thanks again!

Sunday - Leave NYC
Monday - Land in Amsterdam, pick up rental car, drive to Bruges, check into room
Tuesday - Day and night in Bruges
Wednesday - Drive to Luxembourg, check into room
Thursday - Lunch in France, drive to Germany, check into room
Friday - Day and night in Germany
Saturday - Day and nigh in Germany
Sunday - Drive to Amsterdam, check into room
Monday - Day and night in Amsterdam
Tuesday - Fly home : (

In Germany, we know we want to spend some time on the Rhine, and stop in Celle. Otherwise, we are wide open for suggestions!

nytraveler

For me, you're trying to cover too much territory in too little time. For a one week vacation I would stay in no more than 2 places. Why not fly into Frankfurt and out of Brussels? You could stay in one place on the rhine and do a couple of day trips and then move to Bruges for a couple of nights (and can see Bruges, Ghent etc.)

There's really no need to do all that to and fro to Amsterdam just to fly in and out.

Tulips

Personally I would skip Luxembourg, especially on such a short trip. I find it a boring place.
As suggested, can you not fly into Brussels? I would not like to drive from Amsterdam to Brugge after a transatlantic flight. If you arrive in the morning, you will go straight into rush hour traffic, and traffic around Antwerp is generally a nightmare too, with major roadworks planned for July/August. If you drive this, do take the ringroad around Antwerp that goes through the "Lievekenshoek tunnel"; Brugge is signposted there. This way you avoid some of the worst Antwerp traffic. If you arrive on a Saturday or Sunday, traffic won't be quite as bad.

Winnepeg

I'd consider flying out of JFK on Singapore Air to Frankfurt. Get your car in Frankfurt and go to the Rhine town that you want to see.

Driving from the Rhine to Amsterdam wouldn't be out of the question. The only problem with Singapore Air is that you will need to get back to Frankfurt for your return flight.

There is plenty to see and do between 3 days along the Rhine and a trip to Amsterdam.

yk

Shane411-

That is a lot of ground to cover!
Any particular reason you want to go to Celle? That is no where near the Rhine region (at least the scenic part). You will end up spending all your time driving and not enjoying the sights or your honeymoon.
Go to mappy.com to find out driving distances and time.

artstuff

Is there a reason you want to drive a rental car? Wouldn't you rather be holding your new spouse's hand, watching the beautiful scenery go by, instead of holding onto a steering wheel?

I would take advantage of the magnificent rail system throughout the BeNeLux/Germany region and utilize the new Benlux-Germany rail pass for couples. Check out www.bahn.de the German rail page, where you can do a point-to-point query for train travel (it gives you the time it takes to arrive at your destination).

When you land Monday - I'm assuming early in the morning if you're leaving from JFK - you can take the train from Schiphol to Amsterdam Central Station, stash your bags, activate your railpass, reserve seats to Brugge and enjoy the morning and afternoon doing a walk-about the Centrum. Check out the Market on the Waterlooplein, stroll through the Flower Market, have lunch at the pancake house (het Singeltje, Singel 494) and maybe stop for a "cup of cofee" at a cofeeeshop. By now, jet lag should be setting in, so you can rest for the next couple of hours as you head to Brugge. Relax, the train knows the way. (We recommend the Hotel Cavalier, Kuipersstraat 25 in Brugge).

On Wednesday morning, you can make your way to Luxembourg City (it's a neat city, in layers). We stayed at the Hotel Carlton, Rue de Strasbourg 9, conveniently located near the train station.

Thursday you could head into Germany via Trier, and, using your rail pass, you can cruise the Mosel to the Rhine, maybe stopping at Burg Eltz along the way.

This gives you plenty of time to explore the region of Germany between the Rhine and Celle, before making your way back to Amsterdam.

Our number one suggestion would be to read, learn, and plan. The more time that you spend now planning your vacation, the better time you'll have when you finally take it.