umairabid

Hi all,

I will be getting married this december after which I am planning a Eurotrip for my honeymoon. We are planning to visit Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. We will be visiting these countries for the first time so any help would be highly appreciated. We also had Slovenia in the list but took it out as couldn't plan an itinerary around it.

I have been doing a lot of research these past few weeks to find out what the top destinations in these countries are and how much time should be allocated to each. Please find below the itinerary that I came up with. I would highly appreciate it if you guys could let me know if I can improve on the below.

11th September – Prague
12th September – Prague
13th September – Prague
14th September – Prague
15th September – Prague
16th September – Cesky Krumlov
17th September – Cesky Krumlov
18th September - Salzburg
19th September - Salzburg
20th September - Salzburg
21st September - Vienna
22nd September - Vienna
23rd September - Vienna
24th September - Vienna
25th September - Brno
26th September - Brno
27th September - Brno
28th September - Bratislava
29th September - Bratislava
30th September – Bratislava
1st October – Lake Balaton
2nd October – Lake Balaton
3rd October – Lake Balaton
4th October – Pecs
5th October – Pecs
6th October – Budapest
7th October - Budapest
8th October - Budapest
9th October - Budapest
10th October - Budapest

I want thinking of doing some day-trips from Prague( Kutná Hora, Karlštejn Castle and Karlovy Vary), Vienna (Nothing confirmed yet, Please suggest), Brno (Nothing confirmed yet, Please suggest) , Bratislava (Not sure but was thinking of Devin castle etc? Please suggest) and Budapest(Please suggest).

I want to see as much of these countries as I possible can without making it tiresome. I obviously want my honeymoon to be as relaxing as possible but I also want to make sure I see as much as I can as I don't think I'll be able to visit these countries again.

We are planning to move via public transport. We both don't drink so vineyards etc will be of no interest.

I would be very grateful if you guys could help me improve this itinerary and possible give your suggestions as to how I can make it better.

Highly appreciated!

nytraveler

First - I don;t think your order makes much sense - you seem to be bouncing around. Suggest getting a good map and looking at the train schedules between cities (going first to Salzburg, then back to Vienna and then Brno doesn't seem to make a lot of sense.

Second, you are going in winter and will have very short days, cold, sleet and/or snow in places that can delay travel. You need to be sure you have appropriate wardrobes including warm coat, hat, scarf, gloves, warm lined winter boots with non-skid soles, warm pants and sweaters.

Salzburg is the only place you will be in near the Alps - are you planning on winter sports near there? Or just want to see the city (that won't take 3 days unless you head up into the mountains).

adrienne

Mid September to mid October will not be winter. I visited Poland at the end of September & the beginning of October and the days were warm, short-sleeved shirts in the day, a light jacket in the evenings (if you get cold easily then a fleece vest or warmer jacket). The outdoor cafes had blankets and propane heaters. This is a great time to travel.

Rethink Brno. I was there for a day and thought it was boring and the main square was not the prettiest. I can't imagine 3 days there. The main thing of interest for me was
Tugendhat Villa (outside Brno), designed by Mies van der Rohe but sadly it was closed for renovation when I was there.

Unless Karlštejn has changed, there's not much inside the castle. Again, there are better places in the Czech Republic.

Add Melk Abbey for a Vienna day trip.

Would you consider renting a car? Driving in the Czech Republic is very easy and you could see many smaller towns rather than taking day trips from Prague. You could pick up the car in Prague and drop it in Brno and then go on from there.

If you decide to do this do not drop the car at the Brno airport. Drive into town. The Brno airport is a ghost town (I know from experience). Nothing is open, no car rental agencies, no information, no arriving nor departing flights.

If you keep Brno in the itinerary I would change the order to

Prague
Brno
Bratislava
Budapest
Salzburg
Vienna

Again, getting a car in Austria would enable you to see the countryside.

From Salzburg, consider a trip to Hallstat (you can get there via public transport).

<< We both don't drink so vineyards etc will be of no interest. >>

This gave me a chuckle (call me quirky) - how many people actually go to vineyards on vacation, even if they drink?

nytraveler

Sorry -

OP says they are getting married in December and then going on honeymoon. I assumed the dates listed were wrong.

But perhaps they are waiting until 9 months are the wedding to do the honeymoon?

adrienne

I thought they were waiting for their trip since the months were so clearly spelled out and they could not have confused December with September as September ends with day 30 (rather than 31 as December would).

kja

In general, your allocation of time for the places that I've visited (Prague, Salzburg, Vienna, and Budapest) makes some sense to me -- at least once re-ordered. ;-) But it really depends on your interests. For example, as a lover of art, I found 5 full and very, very busy days in Vienna insufficient for my interests -- and that time didn't include any time for day trips other than Schoenbrunn.

I also think you are wise to aim for public transportation. IME, having a car would be a decided disadvantage in many of these locations.

Congratulations and best wishes!

umairabid

nytraveller,

Apologies for the confusion, the marriage will take place on the 6th of September and we will then head out in a couple of days.

It was a mission for me to sort out the order. I will be getting a Schengen visa from Czech Republic so I will have to start my trip from Prague. I need to make sure my last stop is one of the main cities as I will be flying emirates. I tried making a map on google to the best of my ability making sure I don't spend long hours on the train/bus. If you guys can suggest a better plan to move from one city to another, I'll happily alter my itinerary.

adrienne, I just read a few articles online which suggested Brno which is why I added it to my itinerary. I can take it out from the list if there are better places to visit. I would be very grateful if you could suggest some and I would then start researching those areas.

I will add Melk Abbey for a day trip from Vienna as per your suggestion. Thank you. I don't think I'll be very comfortable driving in a foreign country, have never done it before but if you think that will make a major difference to my trip, I will do it. Should Hallsat be a a day trip from Salzburg or should I spend a few nights there?

Re the vineyards bit, I read a lot about vineyards and areas with famous breweries where they serve the best wine and beer respectively while doing my research so thought best to point that out before someone spends their valuable time informing me about one of those!

Thanks again adrienne!

kja,

I will definitely add Schoenbrunn as a day trip from Vienna. I now have two day trips from Vienna (Melk Abbey and Schoenbrunn). Thanks guys. I feel as if those two would be enough and I should spend the rest of the time exploring Vienna itself.

nytraveler

Schoenbrunn is not really a day trip outside Vienna. It can easily be reached by the city's underground train transport. And I believe there is also a direct bus route.

Do leave enough time to explore the grounds as well as see the palace.

umairabid

I will definitely keep that in mind. Many thanks!

adrienne

Hallstat is a very small town. It's a couple of hours from Salzburg so an overnight would be good.

I've not been to Bratislava but you might want to research it more and reconsider 3 days there in favor of less time.

There's another palace in Vienna - Belvedere, different from Schoenbrun. Each would take about 3 to 4 hours at most. As stated above, Schoenbrun is not a day trip but just on the outskirts of the city proper.

Regarding the car - you should do what you're comfortable with but driving in a foreign country is not much different than driving at home. You don't say where you're from but the only part that might be a problem is if you normally use a right hand drive as in the UK, etc. I'm from an area with lots of traffic and stressful driving so the country roads in Europe are a pleasure for me.

Use this web site for calculating train distances. You can only book with this site for trips to, from, and within Germany but it's the easiest to use to see duration and departure times and any transfers.

http://www.bahn.de/i/view/USA/en/index.shtml

umairabid

I'm from Pakistan and here we have right hand drive. Apologies for not mentioning that earlier.

So from what I have gathered above:

Prague - 5 Nights with day-trips to Kutná Hora and Karlovy Vary
Vienna - 5 Nights with day-trips to Belvedere, Melk Abbey and visiting Schoenbrun
Salzburg - 3 Nights (Still not sure about this one)
Cesky Krumlov - 2 Nights
Lake Balaton - 3 Nights in Siófok with trips to Tihany Penilsula and the city of Balatonfüred.
Budapest - 5 Nights (still not sure about which day-trips to make)

Have taken out Brno (Day trips to Telc and Oloumoc) and Bratislava for now as didn't get a lot of good reviews from you guys.

Can you guys please tell me what the best route would be for me? Cesky Krumlov is right on the border with Austria which is causing the main problem!

Can you guys also suggest other possible cities/towns to visit? I can easily add 5 more days I prefer spending at least 2 nights. Having a base city then roaming around to avoid the hassle of shifting hotels.

If you guys feel I should add/remove days in some city, please let me know.

Thanks again for all your help!

adrienne

The plot thickens...you never mentioned Telc! It's a wonderful small town with the prettiest square I've seen, although there's not much to do there. It's a long trip from Brno, not a day trip. You should stop there between Cesky Krumlov en route to Oloumoc, if you go this route.

With 2 trips out of Prague you should add an extra day here. It's an interesting and beautiful city. Even if you don't do a lot of sightseeing it's a wonderful place to walk around and look at all the building facades with their interesting decorations.

You could do Prague, Ceske Budejovice, Cesky Krumlov, Salzburg, (perhaps Linz), Vienna, etc. Bratislava is only an hour from Vienna so if you add an extra day in Vienna you can take a day trip to Bratislava. That would eliminate the need to pack up and change hotels.

Just outside Cesky Krumlov is a monastery that was very interesting and pretty. Tours are mandatory but they gave tours quite often. You'd need a taxi (perhaps there's a bus) to get there as it's way too far to walk.

You can read about my Czech Republic trip and you may get some ideas about what to see/do. There's also a link to photos.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rip-report.cfm

umairabid

From what I understand, the must places to visit in Czech Republic are Prague, Cesky Krumlov, Telc and Oloumoc. Brno is in the middle of Telc and Oloumoc so one can even stay there. What I'm confused about is what route to take?

5/6 nights in Prague
Telc and Oloumoc I understand are not places where you would want to spend the night and owing to their location, you can stop by during the day and leave in the evening for the next destinaton
2 nights in Cesky Krumlov with a trip to the monastery you talked about. I can research about the best way to get there
Brno I would ideally like one day to experience

So it gives me two options:

Prague - Oloumouc - Brno - Telc - Cesky Krumlov

OR

Prague to Cesky Krumlov - Telc - Brno - Oloumouc

You suggested going to Salzburg after Cesky Krumlov so I think doing route one makes more sense but what do you reckon would be the best way to do it?

If I leave Prague in the morning and go straight to Oloumouc and then head out to Brno in the evening. Spend the night there. Experience Brno the next day and spend that night in Brno. Next morning I can leave for Telc in the morning and then take the bus in the evening and head to Cesky Krumlov? Then I can go to Salzburg?

What do you guys reckon?

adrienne

<< Telc and Oloumoc I understand are not places where you would want to spend the night >>

I loved Telc so much that I had planned to stay 1 night but stayed for 2 nights.

The best way to set up an itinerary is to firmly decide where you are going then plot the best route according to train/bus times.

umairabid

Thanks a lot for your help.

I have changed my itinerary a little bit to make it easy for me and see as much as I can. Please advise on the below:

Date: City: Area: Country: Day trip:
11th September Prague Czech Republic
12th September Prague Czech Republic Day trip to Karlovy Vary
13th September Prague Czech Republic
14th September Prague Czech Republic Day trip to Karlstejn Castle
15th September Prague Czech Republic
16th September Prague Czech Republic Day trip to Kutna Hora
17th September Ceske Budejovice Czech Republic
18th September Ceske Budejovice Czech Republic
19th September Cesky Krumlov Czech Republic
20th September Cesky Krumlov Czech Republic
21st September Salzburg Austria
22nd September Salzburg Austria Berchtesgaden
23rd September Salzburg Austria Cable car Untersberg
24th September Hallstatt Salzkammergut Austria
25th September Hallstatt Salzkammergut Austria
26th September Melk Wachau Valley Austria
27th September Melk Wachau Valley Austria Cruise on the Danube down to Durnstein and Krems
28th September Vienna Austria
29th September Vienna Austria Schonbrunn
30th September Vienna Austria Belvedere
1st October Vienna Austria Hofburg palace
2nd October Vienna Austria Bratislava
3rd October Siofok Lake Balaton Hungary
4th October Siofok Lake Balaton Hungary
5th October Siofok Lake Balaton Hungary
6th October Budapest Hungary
7th October Budapest Hungary Szentenre
8th October Budapest Hungary
9th October Budapest Hungary Esztergom
10th October Budapest Hungary

I also have an alternate plan where I miss Ceske Budejovice and do one night in Olomouc, followed by one night in Telc and then head to Cesky Krumlov. What do you reckon? Any other changes you think I should make?

Thanks again!

adrienne

Ceske Budejovice and Cesky Krumlov are less than an hour apart. Why not stay in one of them and take the train to the other for the day.

I think you can do the Abbey and cruise in one day.
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rom-vienna.cfm

kja

With all those day trips, you aren't leaving much time for the cities themselves. But maybe that's your preference.