Note: I’m currently traveling and may not be able to respond to comments/emails immediately.
At the moment, my family is on vacation in Costa Rica. But in just a few weeks, I’m going to Europe with my daughter to fulfill my dream of seeing Norway. My husband couldn’t get the time off from work to join us, and both of my sons didn’t want to go. So, it’s just a mother/daughter trip this time.
This might be the most ambitious itinerary I’ve ever planned. I usually don’t like to move around so much on a trip, but this time we are packing in a lot of different places.
Europe Itinerary
Day 1: Board flight from DFW to Madrid (we’re flying Iberia business class using miles–see this post)
Day 2: Arrive in Madrid, Spain. Explore city in late afternoon/early evening. Hotel stay using Hilton free night certificate from credit card.
Day 3: Fly from Madrid to Amsterdam, Netherlands (cash flight). Take 1-hour train ride to ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands. Staying at local hotel on cash for 3 nights.
Day 4: Take 30-minute bus ride from ‘s-Hertogenbosch to Efteling amusement park.
Day 5: Another day at Efteling amusement park.
Day 6: Take 1-hour train from ‘s-Hertogenbosch to Amsterdam. Explore city. Staying two nights in hotel on points from a Hilton credit card.
Day 7: Amsterdam all day. Planning day trip to Zaanse Schans to see some windmills, also stopping in Edam (cheese!)
Day 8: Board train from Amsterdam to Hamburg, Germany (~5 hours). Arrive in Hamburg in early afternoon. Plan to explore Speicherstadt warehouse district and visit Elbphilharmonie. Staying in hotel in Hamburg using IHG free night certificate.
Day 9: Take train from Hamburg to Kiel, Germany. Board MSC Euribia cruise.
Day 10: Port stop: Copenhagen, Denmark. Exploring on our own.
Day 11: Day at Sea
Day 12: Port stop: Nordfjordeid, Norway. We have tickets to the Loen Skylift.
Day 13: Port Stop: Alexund, Norway. Exploring on our own.
Day 14: Port Stop: Flaam, Norway. We have tickets for boat ride on Nærøyfjord and a visit to Viking Valley in Gudvangen, Norway.
Day 15: Day at Sea
Day 16: Disembark cruise at Kiel. Take train to Hamburg. We have tickets to Miniatur Wunderland in evening. Hotel stay using IHG free night certificate from credit card.
Day 17: Explore Hamburg in the morning/early afternoon. Fly to Amsterdam in early evening (on miles). Overnight hotel on points from Hilton credit card.
Day 18: Fly from Amsterdam to Houston to DFW (on miles–see this post). Home sweet home.
Summary
In total, our trip spans 18 days and 5 different European countries. We used miles to book flights from DFW to Madrid (business class on Iberia) and from Hamburg back to DFW (economy on KLM). For one short flight (Madrid to Amsterdam) we paid cash. Overnight stays: 1 on airplane, 6 nights using hotel points, 7 nights on cruise ship, 3 nights at hotel on cash.
This epic trip is definitely not free. But, using miles and points saved us several thousand dollars on flights and hotels.
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
And I thought my last trip schedule was aggressive………..
@Chris Yes, it’s gonna be exhausting, but hopefully in a good way.
Day-to-day said AMS to DFW flight, but in summary it’s Hamburg to DFW – seems like last-minute change of plans 😉 I suppose you found Biz tickets to fly home.
Overall looks like a wonderful travel plan for both of you – lots of places to cover, but can takes breaks as well. Palace of Fantasy looks intriguing.
Happy Travels!
@Aleks We’re still in economy. Our flight on KLM that we booked for 20k last year (or 17k with transfer bonus) is from Hamburg to AMS (with an overnight) and then AMS to Houston. I tacked on a very short flight from Houston to Dallas with United points. I don’t normally like to fly with 2 connections, but the price was way too good to pass up.
On these types of itineraries, I measure the “whirlwind” factor by the number of one night stays. A total of 4 one-night stays on an 18 night trip is pushing it, but doable. Having two of them on the back end of the trip may be especially daunting.
@Pat That’s a good way to look at it. I don’t love 1-night stays, and if my entire family of 5 was traveling we’d have a very different itinerary. But, my daughter is a trooper.
I read Iberia now supports TSA PreCheck and flying business you can get into the AA Flagship Lounge.
That’s a busy itinerary so just the two of you sounds good. Are you driving those small boats in the canals of Giethoorn village?
@Peter I didn’t know that Iberia joined TSA PreCheck. Yay!! Unfortunately, I don’t think we will be visiting Giethoorn.