SalmaSh

Hi everyone,
My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon for next September,
We want it to include some nice sight seeing + some relaxation and romantic backdrops.. We're thinking about starting with 5 nights in Prague, 3 in Salzburg (we'll stop for a day trip in Cesky Krumlov on the way), and 4 in Verona, then a drive back to Prague for our flight.

Is that a good itinerary or could you suggest better options? or even an extra city for the remaining 2 days?
And I need to know if this is enough time for each city or do we need to add/subtract days in each city?
We're not interested in Vienna, and we'll be traveling between cities by a hired car so a nice route would be a plus.

Also advice about (things to do / good local restaurants / what to pack / weather / duration needed for each city / pocket money..) are really needed!
Thanks a lot!

Doppio

My only suggestion is to do an open jaw flight so you don't have to spend all that time driving back to Prague -

Sassafrass

Rather than driving all the way back to Prague, do a multi-city ticket and depart from Venice or Milan. At the very least, simply fly from Venice or Milan back to Prague.

I would find Verona boring after a day, would spend the time in Venice, which is much more romantic, IMHO. What about one of the Italian lakes for a couple of days? Or, perhaps 3 in Venice, 3 on one of the lakes?

One other option would be Tuscany (Florence) rather than Verona.

SalmaSh

Thanks for the amazing advice.. The thing with the flight though is out of our hands because we're on a budget so we'd rather spend the least amount of money on flight tickets (which are the cheapest from and to Prague).

@Sassafrass.. We were thinking about making day trips to Tuscany and Venice from Verona.. Would that be good?

Doppio

>>><i>The thing with the flight though is out of our hands because we're on a budget so we'd rather spend the least amount of money on flight tickets (which are the cheapest from and to Prague).

And you checked all of the open jaw flights? How much will you be spending for the car rental that day + gas + the all day (at least 7 hour) drive back?

SalmaSh

@Doppio Actually that's a very good point! I'll check the flights again, thank you!
Do you have any advice about the other stuff I asked for? We have to decide on those details very soon.

Doppio

@SalmaSh, I'm not familiar with that area of Europe, however I am certain other posters who are will be chiming in to help.

I do, however agree that Venice is far more romantic and fun than Verona. Is there a special reason you chose Verona as opposed to Venice or Florence?

You may be able to get an overnight train to Venice from Prague (other posters here can confirm)- That way you don't waste all that time driving. Then spend a few days in Venice and fly home from there..

Doppio

I mean I am not familiar with Prague and Salzburg. If you decide on Florence or Venice, I can help

Doppio

If you decide on Venice:

From Salzburg to Venice by Train -

http://www.visit-salzburg.net/travel...-to-venice.htm


The Austrian National Railway (ÖBB) operates a direct link between Salzburg and Venice called "Allegro Don Giovanni". The serves the route twice a day, departing from Salzburg once early in the morning and once late at night. The journey of the train, which actually starts at Vienna and travels via Linz and a few other stops to Salzburg, takes anything between a bit more than 6 and an impressive 11 hours.

However, this is due to extended stops and painfully slow progress on the Italian side, so that a train that has departed from Salzburg just before midnight arrives in Venice at 8:30 am the next day. There is a good train link that departs from Salzburg in the morning and arrives in Venice in the early afternoon.

There are seats and beds available on this train. In addition, there are other links that are (even?) less convenient. One reader of this website has e-mailed us with the suggestion to take the train via Innsbruck and stop by at the city. Innsbruck is indeed worth a visit and the compact city centre can be explored within a few hours. The route from Salzburg to Innsbruck and then Venice is more scenic (as our reader has pointed out correctly), but longer and thus more expensive.

Speaking of the price: The direct train link between Salzburg and Venice always has a stock of tickets that sell very cheaply at 29 Euros one way. You need to book well in advance to get these tickets, though; otherwise, the journey can be significantly more expensive. If you are under 26 or plan to tour Europe for an extended period of time using trains, Interrail tickets will probably be by far the cheapest option. The train journey from Salzburg to Venice runs via Villach, Udine, Aquileia and a bunch of other Italian cities; it arrives first at Venice Mestre (the "mainland" Venice) and then at the actual lagoon at Venice St. Lucia.

spaarne

<i>
Advice needed URGENTLY for a 12-14 days honeymoon
Posted by: SalmaSh on Feb 7, 13 at 12:58pm
My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon for next September,
We want it to include some nice sight seeing + some relaxation and romantic backdrops.. We're thinking about starting with 5 nights in Prague, 3 in Salzburg (we'll stop for a day trip in Cesky Krumlov on the way), and 4 in Verona, then a drive back to Prague for our flight.</i>

Holy cow. URGENTLY? That is seven months out. Calm down. Also, please make only one post on the subject. You have us looking in both directions when you double post.

I can't imagine what you would do for 4 nights in Verona. Romeo and Juliette are long gone. But in my mind Venice is an expensive Disneyland. For romance maybe try Lake Como or another lake, even one in Switzerland well framed by huge snow covered peaks, e.g. Zug. Prague is beautiful. For other sightseeing and romance try Rome. They don't call it the Eternal City for nothing. Closer to Salzburg you'll find Graz and Ljublyana very interesting.

Get a good guidebook to answer most of your ancillary questions. All Fodorites have their favorites. My books to go are the Lonely Planet "Europe on a Shoestring" and the Michelin Green Guides.

SalmaSh

@Doppio that was very informative and helpful! thanks a million

Doppio

>>><i>Holy cow. URGENTLY? That is seven months out. Calm down</i>

Was that really necessary? It's a honeymoon - so certainly for them it feels urgent. Especially if they are planning a wedding. I assume they want to get this taken care of ASAP as to concentrate on the upcoming nuptials.

SalmaSh is obviously new here, how about we just try and help as opposed to making condescending remarks?

Doppio

>><i>@Doppio that was very informative and helpful! thanks a million</i>

No problem! Keep coming back to this thread if you need any more help or advice. There are many posters here who will be happy to provide great information.

Also, congrats on the upcoming marriage

SalmaSh

Holy cow. URGENTLY? That is seven months out. Calm down. Also, please make only one post on the subject. You have us looking in both directions when you double post.

@spaarne.. Yes it's urgent because we found some limited time offers that suit our small budget so we need to decide within a coupe of days, and yes I posted twice because my first post has been (and still is) ignored!

Thanks for your advice though, appreciated.

nytraveler

Verona is cute - but a day trip from Venice is fine for that. Venice has far more to see and do - and is way more romantic. If you want to visit the lakes that's OK too - but in the time you have I would stick with Prague, Salzburg and Venice, dropping the rental car when you get to V. then you can fly home from V - or back to prague - still better than just a rushed drive back.

SalmaSh

@Doppio Thanks a lot for the nice words
Yes we are planning a wedding AND setting up a new home from scratch.. So we don't really want to end up having no time or money to plan our honeymoon.

SalmaSh

[QUOTE ] Verona is cute - but a day trip from Venice is fine for that. Venice has far more to see and do - and is way more romantic. [/QUOTE ]

Some people told me that Venice too will only take one or two days, is that true?

SalmaSh

Some people told me that Venice too will only take one or two days, is that true?

(sorry I posted this twice cause for some reason I typed a space between the "E" and the "]" in "quote".. I'm not much of a forum person )

SalmaSh

This came out wrong too, I'll just shut up then!

Sassafrass

Venice and Florence are not good day trips from Venice.

I went to Verona once (day and night time), and enjoyed it very, very much, but that was enough. I've been to Venice 7 times, once for a week, and would go back any time I could. If you stay at night and go to the less touristy areas most of the time, it is absolutely beautiful. There are always the islands like Burano to visit from Venice, as well as the beautiful towns of Vicenza and Padova. It is personal though. Some people just don't warm to Venice.

Venice is not a good day trip from Florence. Several places in Tuscany (Lucca, Siena, etc.) are great day trips from Florence. You could also rent a car and roam around.

Rome is also a great city.

Do look into the extra cost to return to Prague. You may spend as much to get back there as the extra cost of multi-city tickets, plus use up a day of travel that could be spent sight seeing. Even, think about this. You spend an extra day and money traveling back to Prague, plus one nt in a hotel just to catch a flight back from Prague. Cut out the travel day and hotel nt, save all that money, add it to flight costs, and fly from home from Italy.