amritathakur123

I am planning a Europe trip in the month of May or June( not too sure which month is better weather and budget wise) from 20 days. We plan to fly from Auckland to Paris and then return from Amsterdam to Auckland. The list of cities I want to see
1. Paris
2. Rome and Venice
3. Prague
4. Amsterdam
Do you guy think this is a good list for the amount of days we have. If yes, what is the best way to travel between these places. If no, which place do you guys think I should remove from the list. I would also appreciate if you guys can tell me how many days I should be spending in each city.
Suggest any other city to consider.

Thanks a lot guys!

Andrew

Personally, I would not do these six cities in only twenty days. I'd do either Paris + Amsterdam (and add Belgium in between) or Italy. That way, you would have time to see more than just the huge cities, and you wouldn't waste so much time just traveling from place to place.

Prague is wonderful, but I would save it for another trip.

Peter_S_Aus

You say “ Rome and Venice”. These cities, while both in Italy, are about four hours apart by train.

So you have five places in twenty days. For me, that is too many places. If it were me, I would drop either Prague or Amsterdam, maybe both.

janisj

They really can't drop Amsterdam since they are flying home from there.

Is it 20 days total including travel? If so Paris, Amsterdam, and one other city would be about it.

marvelousmouse

Well...
5 nights Paris
4 nights Prague
2 nights Venice
6 nights Rome
3 nights Amsterdam


I think it's actually doable. It depends a lot on your interests and on how much money you want to spend. It also depends on when you think you'll return, and how badly jet lag affects you.

Traveler_Nick

Train between Venice and Rome. Flight between the rest.

Personally I'd want one less city. each move will cost you better part of a day.

Jean

Since the date of the trip is still under consideration, I'd say the air tickets haven't been purchased...

I'd skip two out of the five destinations and plan on making excursions from each of the remaining three and possibly spending some nights in one or more smaller towns.

fuzzbucket

I would drop Rome, because at that time of year, it will be insanely crowded. Keep Venice and fly EasyJet.

Traveler_Nick

Because Venice won't be crowded during the day? The larger size of Rome makes it easier to find sites with a smaller number of tourists.

FuryFluffy

If you don't plan to go to the beaches, May is better than June. Less crowded, less pricey, the weather is nice and not too hot.

Your list of cities is doable, but will be better if you could cut out one city. If you plan to fly to Paris and return from Amsterdam then these 2 cities are must. Rome + Venice make a nice trip too. So, I would cut out Prague if it was me. It just doesn't fit in.

You may see another city (Brussel?) on the way from Paris to Amsterdam.

StCirq

I think you guys have one too many places. I think if I were you guys I would drop Prague.I don't think you guys will find much difference between May and June except that June will be a bit more crowded and a bit warmer. If you guys drop Prague the best way for you guys to travel between places is by train, and you guys should buy tickets online early (as in 90 or so days in advance) to get the best prices.

Good luck, guys.

neckervd

Venice and Rome will be extremely crowded around Ascension - Whitsunday (tons of tourists from Northern Europe), Paris, Prague and Amsterdam a bit less.
You may save some time by taking the overnight train (sleeping cars with beds) from Paris to Venice and a easrly evening train from Venice to Rome.
The flight from Rome to Prague will cost you almost a whole day (door to door), as most Prague bound planes leave Rome around noon/early afternoon.

PalenQ

i'd drop Prague too - an outlier and you have to spend a day getting there and back from other places.

Now for trains - the best way to go if going to large cities where cars are useless - check www.bahn.de/en for train schedules - other neat sources of info for planning the rail part: www.seat61.com - sage advice on booking your own online discounted tickets - www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

why not fly into Amsterdam and out of Rome - would make a nicer itinerary - Amsterdam - Paris - Venice - Rome.

janisj

Just to clarify marvelousmouse's suggestion:

>>5 nights Paris
4 nights Prague
2 nights Venice
6 nights Rome
3 nights Amsterdam<<

Would require a 22 day trip. So if you have 22 days -- then yes, it is 'doable'.

But two nights in Venice would net barely 1.5 days there.

marvelousmouse

20 days implies 21 nights to me. But they could shave off a night in Rome and a night in Paris. You can see the stuff that most tourists want to see in Venice in one day.

It's not what I'd pick, but for most of my friends, that would be what they mean by "slow travel". And assuming this is an rare opportunity, I get wanting to see a variety.

bvlenci

I would drop Prague, because it's the least convenient to reach. Assuming you do this, and if you haven't bought your air tickets, I would advise flying into Rome, proceeding by train to Venice, from there to Paris (by air), and finally to Amsterdam (by train).

If for some reason you can't fly into Rome, you should travel Paris->Prague (or Rome-Venice)-> Amsterdam.

I'm not convinced you can't visit all five cities in 20 days. If your twenty days includes travel from Aukland, you're going to lose three of them with that trip. You'll probably be exhausted on arrival, so that day is a bit of a loss, too. Let's say that leaves you 17 nights.

You could spend 4 nights in Paris, 5 nights in Rome, 2 nights in Venice, 3 in Prague and 3 in Amsterdam.

Rome isn't impossibly crowded in any month, especially if you're willing to spend a lot of your time searching out the hidden gems, rather than slavishly following a "top ten" list. It's a big city with at least a dozen world-class museums (of which most people see only the Vatican Museums); half a dozen breathtaking archaeological sites (of which most people see only the Colosseum); innumerable beautiful fountains and piazzas (of which most visitors see only Trevi Fountain and Piazza Navona). If you spend all your time visiting those super-famous sights, you'll indeed spend most of your time in a crowd, even in the off season.

PalenQ

There is an overnight train between Venice and Paris (www.thello.com) that would be the ultimate daytime time saver and you don't have a whole lot of time for a fairly wide-ranging itinerary. Get a private compartment and bring and food and drink onboard- having a relaxing meal and hit the hay - wake up in Venice.

Or fly and flying takes much of a day really no matter how far.

mjs

I too would drop Prague. Does your 20 days mean 20 nights and does this include traveling to/from NZ? I too would fly to Rome, train to Venice, consider a stop In Florence instead of Prague if you have the time. Fly to Paris and train to Amsterdam.

Andee01

I too am assuming this does not count your arrival and departure days. As suggested I would fly into Rome and spend 4 nights there. Train to Venice and spend 3 nights. Again as already noted Prague seems to be the hardest destination to neatly fit into this plan, so I suggest you fly from Venice to Amsterdam for 4 nights. Then possibly train to Belgium and spend 3 nights ( if that interests you) before carrying onto Paris and spending 6 nights.

I am not sure if this is your first trip to Europe, or not. So am unsure what other destinations you have visited. You could also consider a short stop in London between Amsterdam and Paris instead of visiting Belgium. In terms of flights to Europe And back to NZ, you may find Rome and Paris easier destinations to enter and exit from ( more flights and better deals). This has been our experience flying from Australia anyway.

We were in Paris in mid May in 2016 and it was quite cool and wet. If you like to travel in warmer/milder weather you may have better luck travelling in June.

janisj

Some of you are assuming this is a 22 day trip with 20 nights 'on the ground'. That may be, but most of the time when someone posts they have 20 days they mean home to home and haven't factored in the 2+ days in transit to/from Europe.

Maybe the OP can clarify that for us . . .