kitelessPNW

Hi there

Looking for some feedback on this European itinerary. It will be 3 people in their 40s, and 1 active senior in their 70s. For one person in their 40s, this will be their first and possibly only trip to Europe.
.

• Fly Seattle > Amsterdam
  4 nights in Amsterdam, 1 day trip to Rotterdam and 1 to Haarlem

• Train from Amsterdam > London
  2 nights in London

• Fly London > Dublin
  2 nights in Dublin, 2 nights to somewhere in south Ireland, like Cork or Waterford
  Possibly rent a car in the south

• Fly Dublin > Iceland
  2-3 nights in Reykjavik
  Rent a car, drive the golden circle, Vik, etc.

• Fly Reykavik > Seattle

There has been a bit of discussion about this intinerary, but I want to present it without comment to get other people's input and impressions.
Nothing has been booked yet.
Thoughts?

janisj

Welcome to Fodors -- just some quick comments for now -- you'll get lots of help here

IMO/IME this is extremely (too) fast paced.

"Fly Seattle > Amsterdam
4 nights in Amsterdam, 1 day trip to Rotterdam and 1 to Haarlem"

This leaves you just three full days for Amsterdam and you plan on being out of the city two of those. Is one day (and maybe some jet lag) enough for Amsterdam? Probably not.You are allowing yourselves just one day for London -- that is almost 'why bother territory'

Assuming you've already booked flights in to A'dam and home from Reykjavik -- I'd do JUST Amsterdam/Haarlem/Rotterdam, London with maybe a day trip somewhere outside of the city (MANY options once we know your interests), and Iceland

OR do just the Netherland/Ireland/Iceland.

HappyTrvlr

Just do one day trip from Amsterdam, Rotterdam to visit Kinderdijk and it’s windmills by river boat.

KTtravel

Too busy! I would choose either London or Dublin since it sounds like you plan to arrive in Amsterdam and depart from Iceland.

bilboburgler

WoW, I mean wow

Seriously, choose a country and visit it. I recommend

The Netherlands and Belgium
or
England and Wales
or
The Isle of Ireland

when do you plan to have this route march?

hetismij2

When are you planning this? There are not direct trains from Amsterdam to London from June until next January at the earliest.

I hate your itinerary, too busy too many moves, and I am someone who enjoys moving on a lot. You have not allowed for jet-lag, after an overnighter from Seatte at least some of you will have have jet-lag.
Just because it may be one persons only visit to Europe doesn't mean you have to cover so much ground. Slow down, and you will have a more enjoyable time which doesn't involve endless airports, hotels and trains. It will also reduce the chance of snafus and the group getting tetchy with each other.
If the flights in and out are booked then do Amsterdam and Iceland. There is more to the Netherlands than Amsterdam.

bhuty

I'm not surprised about there being a bit of discussion. For some it's too fast paced and for others it's not and for some it's too much time here and others not.

I only have one advice for you and that's use the knowledge of others as research but don't use the preferences of others and how they travel as a rule for how you travel.

nonconformist2

* For some it's too fast paced and for others it's not and for some it's too much time here and others not.
*

Literally no one has said it's not too fast/too much time.

As people ARE saying, two nights somewhere means one day, which isn't enough for any of the destinations.

What is personal taste, is why Amsterdam for someone's only ever visit to Europe? It certainly wouldn't be my choice (which doesn't make it wrong necessarily). Why have you picked the places you want to go to?

KayF

Too much moving on and not enough time anywhere. I'd suggest not visiting Ireland and Iceland. Go with the rest but extend the number of nights in each place left on the list. Four nights minimum in London.

Jetlag could mean your first day or two (depends a bit on arrival time) are spent in a fog of exhaustion. Some travellers are fine but you won't know ahead of time how each of you will feel. Also it takes longer than you think to move from place to place. A one hour flight can end up taking half a day or more.

kureiff

We fly from the western US, and the first two days in Europe are tough. We just got back from a trip and the first two nights, we were in bed by 9 pm.

We visited Amsterdam this last trip but stayed in Haarlem. Honestly, I far preferred Haarlem to Amsterdam.

janisj

So far eight 'waaaaay too much - are you crazy' - and one 'Uh -- not too bad'.

OH -- Now I see nothing has been booked yet! Missed that when I first read your OP. If that means even the flights are yet to be booked -- then you can reconsider EVERYTHING

KarenWoo

I agree with janisj. Since you haven't booked your flights, reconsider the entire trip. The way your trip is currently planned you are all spending a lot of time on planes, trains, and automobiles. Two nights in London and 2-3 nights in Iceland doesn't make any sense at all. I know this sounds corny, but stop and smell the roses! You want to remember what you saw and did, right??? You don't want your trip to be a blur, right?

One possibility could be 4 nights in Amsterdam, 4 or 5 nights in London, and 4 nights somewhere in the English countryside. Or as Bilbo suggests, spend the entire 2 weeks in Ireland (to include Dublin and the Irish countryside). Or two weeks in England, to include London and the English countryside.

Or combine London with Paris. So you have two great European cities, both very different from each other.

What are your interests? What month? Of the countries that are on your list, what are your top 2 favorites?