$3000 dollars gies you about 153 euros per day - which is not a large budget. I fyuo consider a basic hotel will be at lest 100 euros a night - you have 53 euros a day to play with - for transportation between cities (which could eat most of it) meals, local transit, sights etc.

If you are willing to stay in small B&Bs with shared bath, have a lot of picnics/eat sandwiches from markets on park benches, do alot of walking and avoid sights with major price tags this may be possible. (But my 19 year old daughter spent $9000 for 5 weeks last summer, living modestly, but including rail travel between cities in the budget - sharing a triple room with 2 friends.)

If you want a more upscale exprience - sit down dinners for instance, I think you'll have to increase you budget.

And if you're not interested in seeing Paris - why land there - go directly to Benelux? And Eurorail is just a travel agent that resells rail tickets and passes at a higher price. To buy tickets directly - at lower, often much lower, prices if you buy in advance - go to the rail line of each country.

To make your money go further I would fly into where you are interested in being. If it's the Netherlands then fly into Amsterdam rather than Paris, for example.

Paris to Belgium to Amsterdam would make lots of sense in 2 weeks. You can take the Thalys to get there. The fare will be a little pricey being a spur of the moment trip though... It could look like this: Paris>Brussels>Amsterdam>Paris for departure

Even if Brussels isn't your ideal destination, it's conveniently located within a 30-40 minute train ride from the following: Bruges, Antwerp, Ghent, and Leuven. It would make a great base

would you consider flying into say Amsterdam and work your way to Paris? That way you could save the best for last and wont have to retrace your steps. Have a look at www.europeandestinations.com We got a good deal on a fixed budget

Good points. I especially like reading that it's cheaper to buy rail tickets directly. I'm not quite familiar with the cost and I could raise it higher but prefer to keep it reasonable and avoid the hotel chains. I'm not picky and I've traveled to London and stayed in a modest hotel with a shared bathroom. I was pleasantly surpised at the cleaness and charm. I'm also willing to forego France for Italy if it may be cost wise. We can always go to Paris another time once my wife finishes her PhD and gets a job.