Help with Itinerary
 

I am trying to do a visit to Europe in May 2009. I have already been to Paris, Brugge, and London. Here is what I am planning for this trip. I need your assistance in figuring out the best value for the buck in terms of organizing everything.

May 25 - Frankfurt (Arrive)
May 26 - Frankfurt
May 27 - Amsterdam
May 28 - Amsterdam
May 29 - Amsterdam
May 30 - Zurich
May 31 - Zurich
June 1 - Frankfurt
June 2 - Depart Frankfurt

Thank you and looking forward to hearing from you soon...

Timewise this looks reasonable to me. I've been to Amsterdam and really enjoyed the city and the wonderful museums it has to offer and think that 4-days/3-nights there is fine.

The only downside I see is the need to travel from Frankfurt up to Amsterdam and then back down south of Frankfurt to get to Zurich. But I'm guessing that there are things of interest to you in both of these cities.

One alternative that may be more time effective would be to just head south from Frankfurt and do the Rhine Valley, and maybe south Austria (Munich and Ludwig's Castles) on your way to Zurich. However, this means that you lose Amsterdam which is a real treat.

If you let us know what your traveling interests are I'm sure that others on this board would provide additional helpful information.

Hi Raj,

I think that it will be easier if you go Amsterdam-Frankfurt-Zurich or the reverse.

((I))

Why are you flying to Frankfurt? Are you planning to spend 3 full days in Frankfurt? Why? It's a modern/business city that lacks any sort of "charm". And why Zurich?

With about 8 days, I would personally spend my entire time in Netherlands. You can easily spend 4 full days in Amsterdam itself, and you can do day trips/overnight trips to surrounding towns.

If you really want to see Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Zurich (sorry, just odd choices), please fly open-jaw; ie, fly into one city and out of another. You can book it by using the "multi-city" option on airline websites.

yk,
I'm guessing he's getting a good airfare deal flying in/out of Frankfurt.

Stefka - you do realise advertising is not allowed on Fodor's don't you. Both your postings are for the same organisation and reek of advertising.

OP are you going by train or rental car (or bicycle)? If by train i'd add itinerary suggestions and talk about possible railpasses like the Germany-Benelux pass (paying for short journey to Zurich from German border by itself)

Hi,

I just looked at Frankfurt because of the lower farefare and thought it would give me options to other cities as well (maybe). I would like to take in museums and love nice scenic drives. Hope car rental is a smart idea for getting to Amsterdam and Zurich. I am not sure if is a smart idea because of the option to take in some sighseeing or give me more flexibility. Please advise...

Thanks,

Raj

Car yes if you want to meander thru countryside in between Amsterdam and Zurich - if just wanting to see these cities mainly then cars are a liability in each - amsterdam especially - $30 minimum a day there to park - and large areas of both cities are off limits to private cars.

Trains will quickly take you between cities and also you, obviously, see the countryside in between - you could take the train:

Amsterdam to Cologne - see the great Cathedral right next to the train station - continue on to the Rhine Gorge area and stay there a few days - take the K-D boats thru the famous Rhine Gorge and make a leisurely day out of it - get off and on to trek up to ruined castles or intact castles like Marksburg and to stop in a cute riverside wine town for lunch, etc. www.k-d.com for boat info - even if driving you may want to hop the boat - the only way really to see both sides of the river - from the middle of the river.

then take the train to Heidelberg - one of the few cities in Germany not blitzkreiged in WWII - super old town and castle of your dreams looming over it all

then take train to Freiburg and take a scenic train ride up into the Black Forest to Titisee (i have done all this by rail) and next continue on to Zurich.

Investiage the Germany-Benelux railpass or perhaps the cheaper online discounted tickets for Germany at www.bahn.de - German rail web site - pay the little amount to go from German border to Zurich. For lots of trains in these countries and passes and a whole lot of great useful info even if not going by rail: www.ricksteves.com; www. budgeteuropetravel.com and www.seat61.com all have tons of useful info and specifically detailed info on rail travel in those areas.

Great suggestions Palenque !!! I've never travelled in this area and would be very interested in seeing what your trip itinerary looked like. If you could post it that would be great. I'm going to do some additional research on the Rhine Valley and Black Forest to plan a potential future trip there, I wouldn't mind spending a couple of weeks visiting this area.

gatorbill

Thanks for all your suggestions. I am trying to fly into amsterdam and then make my way through to Zurich.

in any event, frankfurt is worth at least two days. the city has much more than the airport and bank towers. for example the museums along the main river ("museumsufer", st. pauls church, cathedral ("dom"), famous römer, palm garden, main tower observation deck, etc. so if you're flying into frankfurt (which i guess will give you the cheapest airfare), there is plenty to see. if you're opting for schiphol, you should make a stop at frankfurt when traveling to zurich.

All,

I made some modifications to my trip plans:

May 23 Leave Dallas
May 24 Arrive Amsterdam (8:10 AM)
May 25 Sightseeing Amsterdam & other areas
May 26 Signtseeing Amsterdam & other areas
May 27 Sightseeing Amsterdam & other areas
May 28 Leave Amsterdam to Cologne
Can I incorporate Luxembourg into it as a day trip?
May 28 Arrive Cologne
May 29 Depart Cologne;Arrive Frankfurt
May 30 Sightseeing trips to Rhine Gorge area \Black Forest
May 31 Signtseeing trips to Rhine Gorge area \Black Forest
Jun 01 Sightseeing trips to Frankfurt
Jun 02 Depart Frankfurt for Dallas

Any suggestions? Thx. Raj

May 28 Leave Amsterdam to Cologne
Can I incorporate Luxembourg into it as a day trip?>

No - not feasible unless you just want a quick look at Luxembourg - but i guess since Lux is only about 3 hrs by train from Cologne (via change of trains in Koblenz) i guess you could go Cologne to Koblenz - put bags in train station locker then take train up the Mosel area to Luxembourg City and back to Koblenz - retrieve bags and go on to Frankfurt.

Ok. Thanks.

If I follow this itinerary, is this a good thing? Also can I get hotels in Cologne at reasonable rates?

May 23 Leave Dallas
May 24 Arrive Amsterdam (8:10 AM)
May 25 Sightseeing Amsterdam & other areas
May 26 Signtseeing Amsterdam & other areas
May 27 Sightseeing Amsterdam & other areas
May 28 Leave Amsterdam to Cologne
May 28 Arrive Cologne
May 29 Depart Cologne;Arrive Frankfurt
May 30 Sightseeing trips to Rhine Gorge area \Black Forest
May 31 Signtseeing trips to Rhine Gorge area \Black Forest
Jun 01 Sightseeing trips to Frankfurt
Jun 02 Depart Frankfurt for Dallas

We are taking a trip to Germany and Holland in September. We found 2 websites Hotels-Europe.com and EasytoBook.com. Both had lots of hotels and lots of information as well as generally reasonable prices. I compared the same hotels on these with Booking.com and found the prices on Booking to be considerably higher for the same accomodations. Frankfurt is only a short trip from Mainz which has much to see, and where you can also get a day trip on a boat up the Rhine River to St. Goar or Koblenz past all the castles and the Lorelei. Breathtaking views!!! You can take the train back

If you picked Frankfurt based primarily on airfare cost, I understand that, but Munich is more interesting (IMO) than Frankfurt, and the Rhine/Mosel and the Romantic Road are far better than the Black Forest. I'd minimize the time you spend in Frankfurt.

I wouldn't stay in Frankfurt at all if i landed there but head directly from the airport to a Rhine or Mosel town - no more than an hour by train right from the airport you will find a romantic riverside town - rather than rather modern Frankfurt, which though does have great museums is very lacking IMO in the romantic view of Europe you may have etched in your mind's eye.