Hello, I’m from Orlando, Florida. I have 2 route ideas and I’m not sure if it’s too much or even realistic.
First plan was to fly into London, and make my way to Amsterdam. I think I’m not being realistic but flights into the UK are significantly cheaper.
London
Paris
Brussels
Amsterdam
I really want to do an entire UK trip over 2 weeks because the culture has always interested me, especially Wales for some reason. Can Cardiff be a day trip from London? My husband doesn’t have much interest in visiting the UK.
The other plan is flying into Lisbon, and making my way to Brussels.
Lisbon
Madrid
Paris
Brussels
We’d likely be traveling by train or plane, whatever is faster and cheaper.
Should I be cutting one of these cities out of my itinerary?
@Payne
My first trip abroad I did the big 3 - London, Rome, and Paris. I spent 5 days in each. It was wildly enjoyable, though I have been back to each city multiple times and will continue to return!
The travel hack is to never measure successful travel by maximizing the number of countries or cities.
It’s an American thing to want to do this as we get such limited vacation time.
But resist, mix up your trip but don’t deny yourself the ability to enjoy where you are.
Two weeks doesn’t do justice to even one country. There’s always more to do, and going deeper into the travel is more rewarding than skimming the big tourist sites before rushing to the next destination.
Jules said:
If you’re trying to do a thunder run, I would probably do the Baltics over a week and then maybe Italy, France, and Spain for the other week.
Not going to be enjoyable though.
Wow, wow, wow. France, Italy, AND Spain in 1 week? Pick one, and even then it’ll be rough deciding what to scratch off the list.
How many countries in 2 weeks? 1. One country can be covered in 2 weeks, visiting all the major landmarks and immersing in the culture, food, and history. This is still a bit rushed, but good for a superficial exposure.
How many cities in 2 weeks? 4-6 cities can be covered, staying 2-3 days in each. If you do one city per country, you can technically cover 6 “countries” lol.
@Leith
I would similarly pick one country or 2 major cities (with day trips from those cities). If your partner isn’t interested in the UK, I’d do Paris and Amsterdam or spend the whole 2 weeks in France or the Netherlands, exploring some of the other cities and countryside too. (I’m currently planning 2 weeks in Belgium.)
One advantage of staying longer in one place is that you can often get cheaper accommodation prices if you stay for a week, and you cut down on your transport costs.
I think your first itinerary is more realistic; the travel times are shorter, and the places are closer together. The second itinerary requires at least two more flights. I think flights are more cumbersome than a train, so the first one is better in my opinion.
I would, however, cut out Brussels. It’s not that interesting, and the other cities offer much more to see. If you want to stay in Belgium, visit Bruges or Antwerp; they’re prettier cities.
Cardiff is not a realistic day trip from London. Consider some other cities like Windsor, Brighton, Cambridge, and Oxford, which are closer and easier to reach. I also really liked Hampton Court Palace in London; it’s a bit outside the center but a beautiful palace still within London.
It’s better to stay in fewer cities longer and add some day trips here and there. London, Paris, and Amsterdam have great options, and the cities themselves have more than enough to offer, especially London and Paris.
As for Cardiff being a day trip, that’s unrealistic unless you plan to just mark it as ‘visited.’
Personally, I would keep it at 3 cities at most: London, Paris, and Amsterdam. Even if it’s short distances, it’s still travel days, regardless of whether it’s a 3-hour or 6-hour travel time.
Optimally, I prefer to do 10-14 days in just 1 big city and really see it than jumping around and hardly seeing anything.
London, Paris, and Amsterdam are absolutely doable in two weeks, especially if you’re leaving on a Friday and not returning until Sunday 15 nights later.
Consider Brussels as a one-day stop. Nights 1-5 in London, 6-10 in Paris, 11 in Brussels, and 12-15 in Amsterdam.
I like having a single day in Brussels! There’s a lot of beautiful architecture, and you can walk a GORGEOUS circle for a few hours (including great buildings and gorgeous parks) not far from the train station.
Don’t miss Grand Place; in my opinion, it’s one of the most beautiful plazas. Skip Manneken Pis; it’s not the real one since the original was lost in the war, and the new one is a reproduction that is usually mobbed. Don’t forget to try the Belgian fries, which were invented here and are sold as street food in a paper cone with various sauces. Also, enjoy some lambic (Belgian fruit beer in flavors like Kriek and Framboise) and, of course, Belgian waffles and chocolates.
I can DM you a sample one-day itinerary for Brussels if you’d like.