Prague and Amsterdam - how many nights?

[sm12]

Hi there,

H and I are planning a trip in October, and plan to visit Prague and Amsterdam. I was originally planning on 3 nights in each city, but I'm wondering if 2 nights is enough.

Any thoughts on how long to be in each city? I don't want too feel rushed, but I also just kind of want to hit the high points.

(We have a total of 12 days, and we are starting in London and southern England. So the less time in Prague/Amsterdam, the more time in England...)

I'm also up for suggestions of what to do in each city.

Thanks!

[sm12]

Thank you for the information.

Yes, we plan on flying between the cities (easyjet flights are pretty cheap), and the 12 days does not include travel.

Is Prague really that far out of the way? We aren't really interested in Paris.

[hz80408]

We did Amsterdam and London earlier this year (check out blog posts if you're interested). We had 3 full days in Amsterdam. It was our first city, so we had a bit of jet lag but we did most of the items pp rec'd as well as Keukenhof, the flower "park" trip. I think 3 nights/days in Amsterdam is the perfect amount of time. It's not a huge city so you can get a pretty good feel for it in 3 days; shorter than that and I don't think it's worth it.

[definitelyO]

I loved Prague and just wandering around. We got in Friday afternoon from the states and toured around Friday afternoon/evening, Saturday, Sunday - worked Monday - Tuesday morning hit the Jewish Quarter/Cemetary. I could have used another day or 2. But to hit just the high points I think you can do it in 2 full days. we were just wanderers and one afternoon didn't even have any destinations in mind but found a great beer garden that overlooked the city and spent 5 hours there.

[ILikeSloths]

My H and I stayed in Prague for 5 nights in April and it was a good amount of time. However, it rained for a couple of days so we took things a lot slower. We also walked everywhere and spent some time at the Easter Market. It's a beautiful city so I'm inclined to say the more time you have the better especially so you won't be rushed, but to be more specific I think you should stay at least 3-4 nights so you have 2-3 full days. There is so much to see and do and opportunity for day trips also.

I've never been to Amsterdam so I can't comment on it.

[marytini]

So I haven't been to those places *yet*, but I will agree with PP about not trying to squeeze in too much. We are going to Amsterdam/London/Paris for 12 days (not including travel). I had originally thought we would do London, Amsterdam, and then southwest Germany, but the more I thought about it, it just seemed too spread out for me. We crossed off Germany and added Paris. I figured Germany would make more sense to combine with either Switzerland/Northern Italy, or Austria on a future trip.
If you aren't interesting in Paris, you could do Belgium, or maybe Scotland? You almost kind of sound like you aren't *that* interested in those cities anyways, and like you would prefer more time in England. So why add in all that travel and lose time to go to a city you aren't that interested in?

[pittpurple]

I wouldn't stay anywhere fewer than 3 nights. As PP have said, by the time you get out and back from the airports, check into the hotel, etc you'll spend more time travelling than actually in the cities. I would consider doing Prague OR Amsterdam or like others have said, picking destinations that are closer together so you can do one bit by train. London/Paris is a really easy combination and there are tons of things you can add to it (Brussels?). Or just take the 12 days and explore England, there are tons of lovely towns and pretty places to visit.

Prague is one of my favourite cities though - I've been there twice, first time for 7 nights and the second time just a few months ago for 3 nights. There's a lot to see and it's just a fantastic city for wandering and spending time in cafes.

I'm curious what doesn't interest you about Paris as well and what is drawing you to Prague and Amsterdam. Maybe there's a better solution?

[sm12]

Thank you everyone, for the feedback. I discussed with DH, and we'll do 3 nights in each city. Including travel, that should give us 2/2.5 days in each city. Not enough to get totally immersed in the culture, unfortunately, but we'll hit the high points.

We have a limited time we can take off work, and I have family in England, so we are making that a priority over other cities.

Re Paris: Dh has been before, and was just "meh" about it. I'm not opposed to going some day, but there are just so many wonderful places we have yet to visit, so we just have to prioritize.

Thanks again! I really appreciate the information, and I cannot wait to go! I'll come back with pictures.

[sm12]

Aug 23, 2012 16:29:01 GMT -5 hz80408 said:

We did Amsterdam and London earlier this year (check out blog posts if you're interested). We had 3 full days in Amsterdam. It was our first city, so we had a bit of jet lag but we did most of the items pp rec'd as well as Keukenhof, the flower "park" trip. I think 3 nights/days in Amsterdam is the perfect amount of time. It's not a huge city so you can get a pretty good feel for it in 3 days; shorter than that and I don't think it's worth it.

Thanks for sharing your blog! Lots of good info.

[msamyfarrahfowler]

I was in Prague for 4 nights and it really wasn't enough for me. I absolutely fell in love with the city and wanted to stay the entire week. For me, it's everything that Paris isn't, but should be. I know that's an unpopular opinion, but that's how MH and I sum up Prague.

If you do go, I highly suggest spending a morning in the Jewish quarter. It was somber and quite depressing, but it was the highlight of my trip.

[hz80408]

Thanks sm12! Feel free to contact me if you have any questions I can help with!

[catmt]

I just got back from a vacation that included Prague. It was great, one of my favorite cities we saw. I'm glad you decided to stay three nights. That was our plan but we liked it so much we stayed five nights instead.

I also recommend Prague Castle. There are different levels of tickets. We purchased the second level one because we wanted to see the exhibit about the history of the castle. (It also included the history of the Germanic Empire.). We felt it was worth it but we were very glad we hadn't rented the highly overpriced audio guides. In St. Virus Cathedral is St. Wenceslas (of the Christmas carol) if you're interested.

The changing of the guards is listed as a tourist attraction and they do it often enough that if you go to the castle you'll probably see it. However, don't go out of your way; they were pretty sloppy.

We also went to the Kafka museum. It was good but only if you're interested in Kafka or his books (one of which was written in Golden Lane in Prague Castle).

One thing I highly recommend is the WWII in Prague walking tour. It was fantastic and well worth the money.

We also liked the Museum of Communism.

Otherwise I second all the other Prague recommendations. Food there was delicious and inexpensive.

The Czech Republic is not on the Euro.

Sorry for the novel. I just wanted to share how great it is. I'll answer any follow-up
questions or you can check out our blog.

[catmt]

One other thing around Prague especially in the Jewish Quarter, you may see brass cobblestones with names and dates. These are placed in front of buildings where Jews had lived. It has their names, year of birth and deportation and what happened to them. Many were murdered in Auschwitz. They are in the groundso you have to lower your head to read and remember them.

[sm12]

catmt- Thanks for all the info! The castle is definitely on our list. The Kafka museum was recommended to us by a co-worker - we might play that by ear.

+v+ - that's kind of what I was thinking. we're booked for only 3 nights.