First time Europe trip!
 

Hi, my family and I (4 adults) are planning our first ever Euro trip this September and are super excited about it. We plan on spending around 2 weeks in Europe. Since it's our first trip, we have been advised to travel to the major European cities/capitals regardless of the distances between them since we can always use those cheap no frill airlines like RyanAir, without wasting our time.
So far, we have shortlisted the following cities:
1- Rome - 3 nights
2- Barcelona - 3 nights
3- Paris - 4 nights
4- Amsterdam - 3 nights
5- Prague - 2 nights
Is the above mentioned itinerary doable for a 15 day trip or should we drop a city? Also, any suggestions/feedback on the itinerary is welcomed as well. We could change the sequence of the cities or add/reduce no. of days.
Thanks in advance!

It's doable but sounds like a tour of major European airports.

I doubt you'll get much support here for this itinerary, especially for a first-timer.

Do-able? Sure. Fun or enriching? No, not unless you're doing a thesis on airports.

Cheap, no-frills airlines will waste plenty of your time.

Just my 2¢ . . . That would be really REALLY hectic and a lot of time /money to see a blur and a LOT of time in airports.

What you would have is:

1- Rome - 2 days plus a few jet lagged hours on your arrival day.
2- Barcelona - 2.5 days
3- Paris - 3.5 days
4- Amsterdam - 2-ish days
5- Prague - 1 day

I would cut probably two cities --

I even think janisj's time estimates are a bit generous.

I was giving then the benefit of the doubt ;) . . . and figuring early AM flights.

I guess I need to completely revise our trip. After reading your comments, I realized how dumb the itinerary looked as it would have just covered the cities on paper, without truly experiencing anything. Thanks a lot for the advice, everyone!
Any quick suggestions or recommendations for a first time trip would be very helpful though.

On reason Ryan Air is so cheap is that the airports it uses are far far from city centers requiring long connection times by bus. Check the locations you've selected and then check Ryan Air's serving airport for that location. You'll see how your time is wasted.

>>Any quick suggestions or recommendations for a first time trip would be very helpful though.<<

You have two weeks -- you could comfortably fit in two major cities and maybe 2 or 3 days in a third smaller place. There is no 'best' first time trip -- that depends on what you and your family wants (and remember -- 4 people traveling take more time than a solo or even a couple - more time for everything, meals, museums, whatever).

MY favorite 1st timer trip would be London and Paris taking the Eurostar train between the two and with a day trip out of London and maybe a day trip out of Paris. But that is just me - decide which cities call to you -- could be Paris and Amsterdam with maybe a couple of days in Bruges. Or Rome and Florence with some time in the Tuscan countryside . . .or anything . . .you need to study up and pick

I agree with everything already said and am delighted that you are open to reconsidering. :tu:

My advice would be to decide what you MOST want to see and then work around that. For example, if Rome is your highest priority, do some research on Rome -- figure out what YOU most want to see and experience there, and at what pace. Check opening / closing hours. Decide how many days will suit your purposes. (5 or 6 is not uncommon for a first visit to Rome.) Then consider whether there are other high priority destinations that you can easily combine with that place. (Continuing with the example of Rome, many people choose to combine it with Florence / Tuscany and Venice for a first 2-week trip.) Get a rough sense of transportation times using rome2rio.com and mark your transportation on a calendar. Add a few hours to either side for getting to / from your hotel, packing / unpacking, checking in / out, getting lost / oriented. Continue.

Personally, I would NOT work around the major city / capitals as they are the ones most easily incorporated into future trips (because they have international airports).

Hope that helps!

If you have about 2 weeks, I'd pick one country or, if you must, two major cities in different countries and fill in with some days in smaller towns or time exploring the countryside. A first-time visitor to Rome or Paris could easily spend 5 full days in each and not run out of things to do/see. Two weeks in Italy, Spain or France (one, not all three) would be a great trip.

FYI, September is still very much high season in most of Europe, so the big cities will be packed with tourists.

To help, please provide your and your family's interests. You picked these cities for a reason. Why? Is it a certain landmark, museum? Food and wine? Nature (if applicable)? Music?

It is very hard to recommend people to go to certain cities without knowing their interests or why they chose them. You will have to do some legwork on your own.

With two weeks, depending on location between them, choose 3 cities maximum, allowing time in transit and day trip opportunities. I even question if 3 is too much, too but it depends on what you decide.

Just a heads up to everyone helping the OP: S/he is a brand new member (welcome to Fodors :) ) so are limited in how often they can post - so offer more ideas and suggestions for sure . . . but maybe we needn't overload them with options until they can actually dialog back and forth with us in a couple of days.

September is a really great time to visit Europe. I envy you your excitement and anticipation for your first trip there!

I agree with the other posters that two cities would be ideal. Get a few guide books (check them out from your library) and explore the possibilities in the cities you are interested in - then narrow your choices down. Every one of the cities you listed has its own charms - it's a good idea to take some time to wander around and make discoveries that will be memorable for you and your family.

Remember - as you wrote, you are taking your first trip to Europe - not your last. Europe will still be there when you're ready to return. No need to rush through and have it be a blur.

I agree that you you should put your heads together and ask everyone what their priorities are. On my first trip, I decided I HAD to see Paris and Florence before I died, then added some other places in between for a two week itinerary. Some people seem to do Instagram/Selfie tours, you know, the picture holding up the Leaning Tower, and never appreciate the city they are in. I don't think many Fodorites are like that. ;)

Also, IMHO, going by train or driving between places gives you a much better feel for the land and makes the transfers between your stops part of the adventure. Of your 5 choices, I would stick with Rome, Paris, and Amsterdam at most and leave the others for another time.

1- Rome - 3 nights
2- Barcelona - 3 nights
3- Paris - 4 nights
4- Amsterdam - 3 nights
5- Prague - 2 nights?

2 weeks yes gotta cut - and try to get places easily reached time wise from the other. Like Paris - overnight train to Venice - Florence and Rome.

Or London-Paris- Belgium- Amsterdam.

For lots on trains check www.sea61.com; BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com. Or, fly between all except Paris-Rome but then you see only airports and tarmacs and a few big touristed cities.

It's doable but according to me you will be jetlegged because of so much travel and your one day in each cities will go in that so I recommend that you should deduct atleast one city.

Yup, I would also advise trading some flights to trains in Europe, not only it would be easier as the train stations are located right in the city centers, but you would also see so much more of Europe while traveling comfortably on a train altogether.
1- Paris - a few hour train to Amsterdam
2- Amsterdam - overnight train to Prague
3- Prague - flight to Rome
4- Rome - either ferry (for a unique experience) or flight to Barcelona

<<2- Amsterdam - overnight train to Prague>>

AFAIK, those trains were all canceled in 2016.

Yes direct overnight train scrubbed but you can leave Amsterdam around 8 pm and transfer in Frankfurt to a night bus to Prague. Not as comfy as train but an option and probably cheap. Maybe go to Frankfurt early in day and look around and head for bus.

It takes time to change cities. Doesn't matter if that is by train, bus, car, or cheap airlines.

I would prioritize from those 5 cities, which 3 are the most important and of interest to your group. Maybe take a vote among the four of you. Also check flights because if there is a substantial price difference flying into one over the other could be a swing vote.

I would do:
1- Amsterdam - 4 nights
2- Paris - 5 nights
3- Barcelona (or Venice) - 5 nights

September is our favorite month to travel in Europe. No matter what cities you choose to visit be sure to fly open jaws so you do not have to backtrack for your flight home. Also be careful counting the days/nights. If you are flying from North America that's adding a night to your trip. You may arrive mid-day and by the time you clear immigration and travel to your hotel there's not much left of your first day in Europe. If you will be doing a bit of train travel or flights between cities you do not want to lug around big heavy bags. Choose centrally located accommodation so you are not spending time and money traveling from your hotel to what it is you came to Europe to see.

If you drop Prague from your list you still have long distances between Rome & Barcelona, Barcelona & Paris. Think about flying into Prague, then flying to Paris and finally high-speed train Paris to Amsterdam. Paris and Amsterdam are good rail and air hubs.

I think trying to cover multiple countries in one Europe trip means that you are not really seeing any one place. We did one trip with just Italy and another one with Austria and Switzerland and a third trip with Croatia and Slovenia. And in each of those countries I felt I could have used more time. So my suggestion is to think beyond just the big cities and focus on 1 or 2 countries in Europe. I share details at my blog site https://www.diyfamilytravels.com/

2 cities would be perfect, but 3 would be OK. I would simply take a vote among the 4 people traveling and just see which ones win.

My personal trip vote would be Paris & Amsterdam. Or Paris & Venice. Or Paris & Barcelona :-)

My two cents for a first timer...visit the big three:

• Fly into London
• London - 5 nights with a day trip (Hampton Court?)
• Eurostar to Paris
• Paris - 5 nights with a day trip (Chartres? Versailles, which is close but takes a whole day to see)
• Fly to Rome (or sleeper train with a 4-bed compartment @45€/person - must change in Turin -- arrives Rome around 10 am Seat 61 Website)
• Rome - 4 nights with an overnight or day trip to Florence (which is only 1:40 by train)
• Fly home from Rome

ssander

Or take the overnight train Paris-Venice and then go straight to Rome - night train saves a day of travel even if flying.

PalenQ...

Good idea -- since going to Venice allows you to avoid changing trains in Milan (I mis-spoke in my previous post and said change in Turin.) . Spend a day (and overnight) in Venice...then on to Rome for 3 nights. If you catch an early train, you effectively get 2.5 days in Rome. If you wanted more time in Rome, you could cut a day off London or Paris, depending on your tastes.

ssander

"Rome - 3 nights
2- Barcelona - 3 nights
3- Paris - 4 nights
4- Amsterdam - 3 nights
5- Prague - 2 nights"

How about Amsterdam first, then take train to Paris. Fly to one other city to finish. Discuss what the 3rd city would be.

You lose 1/2 to a full day when you change venues. Have a super time!

uh.. I was checking raileurope and I saw that they have a train leaving Amsterdam daily at 19.00 and arriving in Prague at 9.00
Checking again and it looks like I have been mistaken

Another reason not to use the Raileurope site for information on trains in Europe.

BETS-European Rail Experts site you mention looks way worse than Rail Europe. are you really advising us to use this instead?

No, I have never used BETS (and it wasn't I who mentioned it). I tend to use www.trainline.com. For trains in France I always use the official SNCF website. There is also Bahn.de for general information, and the marvelous Seat61.com.

Rail Europe is a middle man that marks up prices and isn't always accurate. Fine if you want to buy one of their usually overpriced passes, but for general info and pricing, not fine.