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5 days in Italy is not a lot at all. I would recommend stopping in either Florence/Venice and Rome, no more. Take the train or bus. Honestly, we spent 4 days in Rome and felt it was far too short.
14 days is not a lot of time for so many places. I'm assuming that you are flying in at Amsterdam and out at Rome. Given that, I would make the following suggestions:
Amsterdam: it's a beautiful city and the museums are crowded. Spend some time walking around the Jordaan and take lots of pictures of the canals. If there are a couple of sights you really want to see, ask at your hotel when to go in order to avoid lines and see if you can pre-purchase tickets. I spent three full days there at the end of a trip this winter; it's great, but I was satisfied with that amount of time. Know, however, that jetlag can really make the first city or two difficult as you adjust to the new timezone.
Munich: honestly, with this amount of time I would skip it. If you want to stay there to see family and save on accommodations, then go for it, but I would minimize my time here if I were you.
Italy: If I were in your position, I would fly from Amsterdam to Venice and do a whirlwind of Venice, Florence/Tuscany, and Rome (if you are flying out of Rome). If you do go to Munich, I would fly to Munich, and fly from Munich to Florence. I don't think you'll have time to go to all 5 cities at any reasonable pace. So I would suggest you pick four. Because you say that you like wine, I'd suggest Florence over Venice. Tuscany is one of Italy's most storied wine regions, and you can rent a car to travel to other Tuscan towns and visit wineries. Rome is a huge city with tons to see, and you could easily spend an entire 2 week vacation there. I would pick the two things you most want to see there and do them in two full days.
My suggested itinerary:
Amsterdam - 4-5 days including arrival day
Florence/Tuscany - 6-7 days
Rome - 3 days including departure day
5 days in Italy is not a lot at all. I would recommend stopping in either Florence/Venice and Rome, no more. Take the train or bus. Honestly, we spent 4 days in Rome and felt it was far too short.
I completely agree. No more than two places in Italy if you have only 5 days.
Okay, this is what we plan on doing now that vacation days are approved for both of us. Decided to just skip Rome and fly into Amsterdam and fly back home out of Munich. We're buying the tickets and hotels tonight. The train tickets we'll get 1 month out as it won't let you this far in advance.
17 days of vacation days which includes traveling so we'll lose one day going there due to time zones changes and 10hr flight.
Amsterdam 4 nights
Dusseldorf/Munich/Germany in general 7 nights
Venice 4 nights
This lets us enjoy each place to have plenty of time to check out the small towns to sight see.
We decided to take a plane from Amsterdam to Germany and sorry, no skipping this time. Life is guaranteed so not going to take a chance as this is one of the places we've wanted to visit among for a long time.
You really need more than 2 weeks, but maybe you can use the trip to identify your favorite places (2, max), and come back another time to focus on those 2 spots.
From Munich you can get a bus (or maybe there's a train, not sure) that travels what they call the "Romantic Road", through breathtaking scenery and castles in Bavaria. That would definitely be worth seeing. From there, fly or take a train to Italy.
Google Eurail pass. A 2 week pass does not cost anywhere near 2k. A few hundred, max.
You're lucky to have a free place to stay outside of Munich! The area is gorgeous.
Yeah, that's what I was wondering, too. And why 4 nights? If you feel you must do Amsterdam, OP, why not just 3 nights, and give an extra night to the Munich area? There's so much to see in that region in general, you won't regret having extra time there.
BTW, I know someone who went to Munich last May, and she said it was overcast and a little rainy much of the time.
It's full of history, museums, canals, great architecture with plenty to do. It has more to offer than most European cities. But again, I've answered that same question before so please anyone else, stop asking why or suggesting I leave it off. I'm not guaranteed to ever come again and we've always wanted to go.
Is it possible for an American to rent a scooter in Amsterdam? Please just a yes or no without an opinion on why I shouldn't if I can.
Yeah, that's what I was wondering, too. And why 4 nights? If you feel you must do Amsterdam, OP, why not just 3 nights, and give an extra night to the Munich area? There's so much to see in that region in general, you won't regret having extra time there.
BTW, I know someone who went to Munich last May, and she said it was overcast and a little rainy much of the time.
Why not? I won't be staying in the city center my entire stay. I will go out of the city and do some sight seeing and go to other towns.
I was told 4 cities was to much for 2 weeks and now 3 cities is to much? Yes they aren't close together but neither train ride is very long except to Munich from Amsterdam but we're staying a week there.
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