Glady15

Greetings! I am new to the postings but find them to be very helpful! My boyfriend and I are planning a trip through central Europe this August and I'd love to hear feedback on our route. We're flying roundtrip through Frankfurt and will be taking the rail lines everywhere inbetween.

Below is our tentative itinerary:

12-Aug Arrive in Frankfurt by 10am; head to Zurich, Switz
13-Aug stay in Zurich (2nd night)
14-Aug travel to Lucerne; stay overnight
15-Aug travel to Interlaken; stay overnight
16-Aug Stay in Interlaken (scenic route to Jungfrau)
17-Aug travel to Venice (from Interlaken 6.5 hrs. Arrive in Venice around 2:30pm)
18-Aug stay in Venice (2nd night)
19-Aug spend all day in Venice; take night train to Vienna
20-Aug stay in Vienna (1st night)
21-Aug stay in Vienna (2nd night)
22-Aug travel through Salzburg to Innsbruck
23-Aug stay in Innsbruck (2nd night)
24-Aug travel to Munich
25-Aug stay in Munich (2nd night)
26-Aug stay in Munich (3nd night)
27-Aug travel to Goppengen/Heidelburg; overnight in Heidelburg
28-Aug stay in heidelburg (2nd night)
29-Aug leave for Frankfurt early am to catch flights home

A few questions:
1) Would you recommend to purchase all rail reservations due to the high season in August?
2) any thoughts on the itinerary? too much, not enough time in key cities?

We'd appreciate any thoughts - thanks!

bobthenavigator

I am too exhausted to even reply. In that time cut your destinations in half.

bobthenavigator

Hmmm ! On 2nd thought, let me suggest a better itinerary going the other direction:
Arrive FRA--to Munich--2

To Salzburg---2
To Vienna---3
Overnite to Venice---3
To Luzern--2
To Berner Oberland--3
To Frankfurt--1--fly home

Six destinations in 16 days makes more sense. And, Salzburg always trumps Innsbruck. Good luck !

bob_brown

Basically you have not allowed enough time to see well any of the places you have listed.

I have several suggestions, having been to all the places you name more than once, except Venice.

Cut out Innsbruck. I have been there 3 times and have concluded that I could have used my time elsewhere much better. There are better choices. Ditto for Zürich. Add the night elsewhere.

I would not stay in Zürich and go to Luzern.

On my recent trip I put the time into the Berner Oberland because I like mountains.

My biggest queston is why Interlaken?

I have been through there many times and never had much of an urge to stay there. (Like I was there last week.) You cannot see the mountains from there because they are tucked away behind the ridges to the south.

If you want to see the Berner Oberland, go south to any one of about 6 places: Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, Mürren, Wengen, even that Rick Steves touted dot of Gimmelwald and Stechelberg at the far end of the Lauterbrunnen Valley.

My second biggest question: Why not a night in Salzburg? It is a better alternative than Innsbruck and Zürich.

nytraveler

You have planned a wonderful tour of the train stations of europe - since that is all you will see.

Suggest you:

Consult bahn.de to see times for the train trips you are planning (some of the trips are short, but some take most of the day)

Make a list of what you want to see in each place and hw long it will take

Have a look at the uncontrollable factors (we had to wait until the third day to ascend the Jungfrau since the top was socked in by clouds the first 2 days)

Cut your destinations in half - so you actually have time to see something

Glady15

Thanks for the advice - makes sense to me.

How about this??? I believe this is a little more relaxed...

Lucerne/Berner Oberland -- 4
Venice -- 3
Salzburg -- 2
Vienna -- 3
Munich -- 3
Heidelberg -- 2

I'm still looking into rail routes to determine the best order...

jmw444

Much better, Gladys, maybe reversing Salzburg and Vienna to accommodate the nighttrain you mentioned from Venice. If you decide not to follow the advice to stay up above Interlaken, you might consider Brienz as a replacement. It has a lakeview and a view of the mountains. Of course it adds a bit to your train time getting up to the Jungfrau and doesn't really shorten the time to Venice. Pretty though.

Your itinerary sounds dandy for a first trip. J.

Russ

Much better Glady. Lauterbrunnen is a nice spot in the Berner Oberland; I'd stay there and just stop in Luzern on the way.

Regarding Vienna-Germany:

2-3 days in Munich is about right. But you might want to add on a day for a side trip to Dachau (concentration camp) or to Garmisch (Partnach Gorge, and Germany's highest Alp - the Zugspitze) or see Herrenchiemsee Palace on the way to Munich.

Vienna: IMO a bit boring, too far to go unless on your way to somewhere else. But right on your path back to Frankfurt/Heidelberg you are skipping over some very worthwhile stops.

The Würzburg palace:

www.residenz-wuerzburg.de/

The medieval town of Rothenburg:

www.rothenburg.de/index.php?get=121

I'd rather spend a couple of days in this area in place of the long trek to Vienna.

Mimar

You can take the train to Lucerne from the Zurich airport.

But Lucerne/Bernese Oberland 4 days? These are really 2 different destinations, both worth some time.

Also it sounds like you will arriving from an overnight flight. Part of your time will be taken up by recovering from jetlag.

We stayed in the frequently-dissed Interlaken and found it convenient for boat trips on the lakes as well as trips up into the mountains. But we live near mountains and are a little more blase about them.

bdjtbenson

I would say through Innsbruck to Salzburg, stay in Salzburg then Munich. Innsbruck is nothing special. Down the road is Hall in Tirol, it's a nicer stop for a couple of hours than Innsbruck. Salsburg is beautiful. It's small so a day or two are plenty.

jmw444

I was thinking the same thing re the Lucerne/Oberland, but didn't want to suggest trimming the days of the other stops. We're all so well-intended, but we've got to be careful about inflicting our own priorities on the itinerary of another. Glady15, we will tinker your itinerary to death if you let us.

If it were my trip, I'd eliminate Vienna and add a day or two to the Swiss targets and perhaps a night in Rothenburg. But that's because Vienna has never been on my wish list and I love Switzerland. Other folks rank Vienna as one of Europe's spectacular cities. So what you have to do, G', is stay true to your own priorities and ignore ours. Whatever you decide, you've already created a gorgeous outline. Best wishes, J.

quokka

Add some time to your Switzerland stay and keep plans as flexible as possible - for a very simple reason. You need a clear day to go up to Jungfraujoch. No one can guarantee you good weather on Aug 16. Mountain excursions cannot be planned more than a day or two in advance. If the mountain tops are immersed in clouds, this means zero visibility at the top, perhaps even a snowstorm. You may have to wait a few days for good weather.

Glady15

Thanks again for all postings...one more question. How do you book a train from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen? Do you have to use the Jungfrau site to book this through? I know the Jungfrau train rail is pricey (although beautiful) so just want to map out routes/costs. Thanks!

kybourbon

A tip (since you are new): Leave space next time in your title between each word so it doesn't mess up the left-hand column. When spaces aren't used, it makes it difficult to read the column for everyone.

jmw444

http://sbb.ch/en/index.htm

Glady15, I've never booked a Swiss train in advance so cannot speak from personal experience, but try this link to the sbb. You'll see a button to click for fare info and reserations after you plug in Interlaken and Lauterbrunnen. I think your departure station is Interlaken Ost. It's a 20 minute ride. Hope this helps. J.

karens

I agree on allowing 3 days for the Berner Oberland. We were there for 3.5 days and it was cloudy/raining for 2 days. We were so happy to have a day of brilliant sunshine to see the mountains.

We did:

Munich-Salzburg-Fussen(castles)-Berner Oberland-Zurich which i thought was a great itinerary.

Maudie

Gladys,
We spent 3 weeks training it around Switzerland and we didn't pre-book anything. Use the SBB site as suggested and just make note of the timetable or print one out.
Also the staff at ticket offices are extremely helpful. If you tell them what you want to do for a days outing they will print you out a card with all the details and connections, pop it in your pocket and off you go!

Best wishes with your planning and have a great holiday.