Need help on my itinerary to Northern Europe and Italy
 

Hello...

I have plan an itinerary but I wasn't sure is it just right or it's too tight? My brother and I are planning a trip to Europe and Italy this coming April 2016. I need some kind hearted soul to help me with this itinerary or at least your opinion on how I should go about. Your advise is very much appreciated.

Here is my plan :

April 9, 2016 Arrived in LONDON ( 1 night in London )

April 10, 2016 LONDON to ROME ( 3 nights in Rome )

April 13, 2016 ROME to FLORENCE - arriving Florence at night, practically 3 full days in Florence ( 4 nights in Florence )

April 17, 2016 FLORENCE to VENICE ( 1 night in Venice )

April 18, 2016 VENICE to PARIS - night train arriving Paris next morning ( 4 nights in Paris )

April 23, 2016 PARIS to AMSTERDAM ( 3 nights in Amsterdam )

April 27, 2016 AMSTERTDAM to LONDON ( 5 nights in London )


What do you people think? Is it too rush??

Please leave your comment. I appreciate very much because it's our very first trip and we want it to be right. Thank you!

Why fly into London at all> Much better to fly directly into Rome and put all of your London time together at the end of the trip.

Or, if you want London as a soft landing spend all of your London time up front and fly back from Paris.

Flights should cost no more - if you look at multi-destination they charge 1/2 of the round trip to each city.

Also - if going in April to get the best weather I might want to start in Rome and then head north.

And would not bother with 1 night in Venice - which will really be only 1/2 a day and IMHO not worth the trouble. And I would fly Florence to Amsterdam to have a chance to see the flower fields, then train to Paris and finally London.

Have you purchased your flight tickets already? If not, look for multi-city flights, perhaps into Rome and home from London.

Try your itinerary showing it day by day to see if it looks too tight to you:

April 9 -Arrive LONDON

April 10 - fly LONDON to ROME

April 11 - Rome

April 12 - Rome

April 13 - Rome day; late train ROME to FLORENCE

April 14 - Florence

April 15 - Florence

April 16 - Florence

April 17 - train FLORENCE to VENICE

April 18 - Venice day; night train VENICE to PARIS

April 19 - arrive Paris

April 20 - Paris

April 21 - Paris

April 22 - Paris

April 23 - train PARIS to AMSTERDAM

And so forth. Does it look good to you or rushed?

Without knowing your interests, I'm not sure if your balance of days in each Italian city is best.

Hi again...

We haven't purchase any tickets yet. We are still in the planning stage. Initially we wanted to cover London, Paris and Amsterdam only. But later on, my brother asked me to put in Italy as well. I wanted to go to Florence. It has been my bucket list for many years. He wanted to visit Rome. So, we put Rome and Florence in it. Venice is just a stop, by taking a look at the scenery because a friend of us told us one night is more than enough to spend in Venice.

We started in London because it's cheaper to fly in and out from London. Moreover, we have an aunt who stay in London. We thought we can leave our luggage bag at her place and leave to Italy with our backpack only. That's why I put London at the very last stop to visit.

I am still very unsure about my itinerary. That's why I needed help. Tentatively, we are planning to fly back home on the 2 May, 2016. The trip will be 24 days in total.

I need more feedback especially those who frequent travel to Europe and Italy. Please help.

I agree it makes no sense to have the one night in Venice, you'll spend a lot of time and money to make that stop and won't have time to see/do/experience anything of the place.

Your London time doesn't make sense to me, either. Buy an open jaw ticket so you don't waste time coming/going from London. Have all of your London time at one end or the other. Ultimately, it will very likely cost less to do it that way because you won't have the added expense of another flight/train to get from London to your first destination.

The balance of days is up to you, but I think I'd add the night you gain by cutting Venice to either Rome or Paris.

"We started in London because it's cheaper to fly in and out from London."

For me, this is false economy. Don't forget to add in the costs to get to your aunt's and back to the airport the next day just to leave immediately for Rome, as well as the lost time from your vacation to navigate an airport an extra time.
Other combinations may be possible, per nytraveler, into Paris, home from London, or the like.

Many would disagree (me among them) that one night is more than enough for Venice. It all depends on your interests. For example, if you are not interested in Renaissance art, Florence, may be disappointing to you.

"We thought we can leave our luggage bag at her place and leave to Italy with our backpack only." Just wondering why you think you will need MORE luggage for the last five days of your trip.

Hi again...

Finally I knew what is an open jaw ticket. True enough, it's cheaper. I just found out from Emirates if I fly to Rome and then out from London back home, it's actually cheaper.

I love you people. Thanks for teaching me something new. I have to redo my itinerary again.

Thank you @nytraveler, @ellenem and @Kathie.

Anyone has more advise for me, please do so. :)

you need two nights in Venice, the best bit is when the ship visitors have gone back to their floating micky mouse homes and left the city to the few locals and those visiting. Get up early and watch the city wake up. During the day take the vaps to the islands or visit museums. 1 night just doesn't make any sense.