Hello!
I am looking for travel planning advice! My brother (20) and myself (30) are looking to take a trip through Europe this summer with multiple stops. This will be my 6th trip (4 planned on our own and 1 tour group) so I am comfortable getting around on different means of transportation etc. This will be Jarrod’s (brother) first trip and he basically wants to “see it all” our time frame is no more than 3 weeks. Below is the list I compiled of “major” stops we would like to make. We will fly into Dublin (for cost sake – its SO CHEAP!) and out of Italy (suggestions welcomed). We will be joining up with my step mom at the end to “do” Italy. She can spend about a weeks’ time there – I’d love to hear suggestion on what to see. She is interested in the coast (after seeing pictures from my trip that included Naples and Capri) so We will try to stick more around that region.
1. Dublin (fly into)
2. London
3. Paris
4. Amsterdam
5. Berlin
6. Prague
7. Vienna
8. Munich
9. Switzerland (probably Oberland Valley area)
10. Italy – will spend a weeks chunk here (will fly out of Italy)
So is this doable? I would like to coordinate out time in Paris to coincide with Bastille day – I have done that before and it was well worth it! Also, I would prefer to spend extra time in Paris to take some small day trips. I have been to Munich (and LOVE it) but if I had to have an extended stay either there or in Berlin, which would be better?

>>So is this doable?<<

not even in TWICE the time. You only have 2 weeks available for nine destinations in 8 countries.

>> . . . I had to have an extended stay either there or . . . <<

you don't have time for an extended stay <i>anywhere . . .

>>spend extra time in Paris to take some small day trips<<

What extra time???

As Janis says, completely impractical.Have you worked out just how long it will take you to get to each of these destinations? You won't have any time to do or see anything...

No, it's not. You clearly have not plotted out the actual day-to-day/night-to-night logistics. Let Jarrod go off on his own and fly around and you do something that actually makes some sense, like 3-4 places (preferably close together) at most.

I don't understand the appeal of "Bastille Day" (it's called La Fête Nationale or Quatorze Juillet in France, not Bastille Day) unless you like military parades, but if it floats your boat, go for it. You have NO time for daytrips, big or small, from Paris.

Flying into Dublin, whether it's cheap or not, makes NO sense to me. With your proposed itinerary, which is impossible, you would more than make up for any savings on getting a cheap airfare to Ireland.

Back to the drawing board on this one.

I agree with everyone else. It surprises me, if you've been before, that you are even entertaining the possibility of trying to see all those places in two weeks.

Flying into your first city and home from your last is a good strategy to save time, especially when your time is limited and you are planning an aggressive itinerary (although it DEFINITELY needs to be significantly less aggressive than you are proposing!). However, if I understand you correctly, you are planning to buy a one-way fare into Dublin and will be looking for a one-way fare out of Italy. Do some looking with Kayak and ITA, but I think you will find that it will be cheaper, probably a lot cheaper, to fly on a combined fare for both directions than on two one-way fares.

When retooling itinerary try to a more realistic form get places within train shot of each other - for lots on European trains check www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

3 weeks no more than 6 different areas that are close together. you have currently 10 places in three weeks with no time factored in for traveling between.

Even as an attempt at trolling this is so outlandishly over the top and not even doable from a purely technical point of view ... come on, use your brain before posting something like that.

No more replies needed. Good grief, I get it. It was a bad start.

Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater and retool and come back as the same folks above who were rather blunt in their assessments are also some of the most knowledgeable folks on the web.

Your arrival city should be some place you actually want to see, so you are not wasting time and money traveling to another place.

Lay out your plan with actual time in places and with travel time, allowing time to get to train stations, etc. This is not intended as any kind plan for specific places or days in places (those will be up to you), and is fast paced. It is just a suggested approach to reasonable planning.

Day 1, depart home
Day 2, arrive London
Days 3 & 4, London
Day 5, train to Paris
Days 6, 7, 8, Paris
Day 9, train to Amsterdam
Days 10 & 11, Amsterdam with one day trip
Day 12, fly or train to?
Days 13, 14, where?
Day 15, travel to Naples and Amalfi Coast
Days 16, 17, Amalfi Coast (Positano by ferry one day and Capri another day)
Day 18, travel to Rome
Days 19, 20, Rome
Day 21, depart Rome

You won't see anything but hotel rooms and trains, or planes.

I would suggest you cut out Naples and the Amalfi Coast - you probably won't have time for either.

I'd suggest you spend more time in London - it's a large, spread-out city.
Paris is a more walkable city, and easy to get around in.

London is user-friendly for apartments, but Paris is not.
Look for the 13-digit registration number on any website in Paris.

Which to include and which to leave out is very much "your" decision. You have time for anything you want, Amalfi Coast if that is your choice. You just don't have time for everything you want, so you choose what you want most.

With 3 weeks, pick three major places for 4 or 5 days (or more) each. Add in travel days. See what else you can comfortably fit in between those.

It will be interesting to follow your planning decisions. Hope you return.

I disagree with all of the posters, and my wife and I HAVE tried it and FOR THE RIGHT PERSONS, it CAN work. Yes, my wife and I also have spent weeks at a time in such places as small corners of Italy, and there is a lot of merit to immerse oneself in a local culture. BUT, the idea of seeing a lot in a short period of time is DO-ABLE, and we have done it successfully. In 2015, we wanted to introduce my wife's sister to Europe, and her vacation of a lifetime was memorialized in our blog: https://16countriesin30days.wordpress.com

Because of some glitches such as border closures, and thanks to our flexibility, we missed a couple of countries. The point is that we did visit 14 countries and had some remarkably wonderful experiences, as well as the time to write about them. Front row with the Pope, being run off a sidewalk by bicycle riding Arnold Schwarzenegger, watching Jessica Chastain filming a movie scene, meeting dozens of fake Cardinals in Rome for another movie and a special Sound of Music experience were just some of the many things, most unplanned, that we were able to see in a short period, in addition to most of the major sights. And, you should see the perfect photo of Lake Hallstatt as well as the thousands of others we took. And, few were taken from the window of a plane, train, bus or automobile. We met family and friends, made some new friends and still had time to go to find some new olive oil, visit a chocolate festival and much much more. Read just our last post that summarizes what can be done in a short period of time. We are not spring chickens, but you do need to be "on the move" to make it work. The web is full of one and two day suggestions for making the most of any city in the world. Follow them and you can pack a lot in. You can also sleep in when you get home.