Austria / Italy Itinerary Tips, please.
Apr 5th, 2004, 09:26 AM
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Austria / Italy Itinerary Tips, please.
I am new to the site and utterly amazed/overwhelmed with the wealth of experience & tips found in these forums. Definitely better than any guidebook I have found! Anyway, I realize that some of my questions might have already been answered in some form or another, but I was hoping that you could take a gander at my entire itinerary as well.
FYI: We are a couple (late 20s) traveling to Austria and Northern Italy. My boyfriend has never been to Europe. So, the objective of this trip is to show him the "must-sees" without forgetting that this is our vacation (only one for 2004) and that we will be back eventually. (I went when I was child - so it will be a refresher trip.) We are on a budget, but are willing to shell out where we need to.
We are basing our trip out of Vienna, where our friends live. This trip is planned for mid July.
Day 1 - Fly from US to Vienna
Day 4 - Take night train to Venice
Day 5 - Arrive in Venice (Hotel Giorgione)
Day 8 - Take a morning train to Florence (Hotel Hermitage)
Day 11 - Pick up rental car, drive to Pisa, take some photos, then drive to Milan to pick up some friends flying into airport and then drive together to Bellagio. (Hotel Belvedere)
Day 13 - Leave Bellagio, start driving back to Vienna, Austria
Day 14 - ?
Day 15 - ?
Day 16 - Arrive in Vienna
Day 19 - Fly back to US
So here are my questions:
1) Is my schedule for Day 11 utterly insane? I realize that we will be spending most of the day on the highway because of time constraints; thereby missing the gorgeous scenery... Would this help: Cutting out Pisa? Taking the train from Florence and renting the car from Milan? Or, I could take a day away from our Florence stay, and break up this section into 2 days. If so, where should we stop?
2) After we leave Bellagio on Day 13, I am completely clueless. We want to drive and experience the Alps, go for some easy hikes (preferably downhill) and cherish some authentic Austrian towns, but there are so many! Plus, it has been years since my boyfriend has driven manual, leading me to ask, will the alpine roads be too much for us? Is there a route we can drive that is less curvy, yet with great views of the Alps with some nice towns on the way?
3) One last thing, renting a car from Florence or Milan and then returning it to Vienna is very expensive. I have looked at autoeurope, hertz, avis - and all charge a drop-off fee of at least $500. So I am looking at a compact/economy car for ~$1100/week, if not more. This is something I am just going to bite the bullet on, right?
If you have read my entire post, you deserve to rewarded. Any insight on any of my questions is greatly appreciated.
Safe and Delightful Travels, V
FYI: We are a couple (late 20s) traveling to Austria and Northern Italy. My boyfriend has never been to Europe. So, the objective of this trip is to show him the "must-sees" without forgetting that this is our vacation (only one for 2004) and that we will be back eventually. (I went when I was child - so it will be a refresher trip.) We are on a budget, but are willing to shell out where we need to.
We are basing our trip out of Vienna, where our friends live. This trip is planned for mid July.
Day 1 - Fly from US to Vienna
Day 4 - Take night train to Venice
Day 5 - Arrive in Venice (Hotel Giorgione)
Day 8 - Take a morning train to Florence (Hotel Hermitage)
Day 11 - Pick up rental car, drive to Pisa, take some photos, then drive to Milan to pick up some friends flying into airport and then drive together to Bellagio. (Hotel Belvedere)
Day 13 - Leave Bellagio, start driving back to Vienna, Austria
Day 14 - ?
Day 15 - ?
Day 16 - Arrive in Vienna
Day 19 - Fly back to US
So here are my questions:
1) Is my schedule for Day 11 utterly insane? I realize that we will be spending most of the day on the highway because of time constraints; thereby missing the gorgeous scenery... Would this help: Cutting out Pisa? Taking the train from Florence and renting the car from Milan? Or, I could take a day away from our Florence stay, and break up this section into 2 days. If so, where should we stop?
2) After we leave Bellagio on Day 13, I am completely clueless. We want to drive and experience the Alps, go for some easy hikes (preferably downhill) and cherish some authentic Austrian towns, but there are so many! Plus, it has been years since my boyfriend has driven manual, leading me to ask, will the alpine roads be too much for us? Is there a route we can drive that is less curvy, yet with great views of the Alps with some nice towns on the way?
3) One last thing, renting a car from Florence or Milan and then returning it to Vienna is very expensive. I have looked at autoeurope, hertz, avis - and all charge a drop-off fee of at least $500. So I am looking at a compact/economy car for ~$1100/week, if not more. This is something I am just going to bite the bullet on, right?
If you have read my entire post, you deserve to rewarded. Any insight on any of my questions is greatly appreciated.
Safe and Delightful Travels, V
Apr 5th, 2004, 10:10 AM
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the first thing that came to me was that I wouldn't split my time in Vienna that way, because the split time and going back and forth wastes too much time. On the first arrival in Vienna, I'd be tired anyway and it's not a great sightseeing day, I'd push on to Venice and then settle in, all on day 1.
I'd also drop something in the middle, depending on your commitments to your friends or your interests--drop Florence or Pisa (esp Pisa). YOu're doing a lot of backtracking.
So
maybe it would look like this
day 1, arrive Vienna, train or plane to Venice
Days 2-5 in Venice
Train to Florence for days 6-9 (maybe a daytrip into Tuscany or to Pisa)
Day 10, train to Milan, pick up car and friends, continue to Bellagio
Bellagio, days 10-12
Day 13-18--return car in Milan, train through the mountain pass into Switzerland or else to Salzburg or Innsbruck (for some Alps) and then Vienna
I'd also drop something in the middle, depending on your commitments to your friends or your interests--drop Florence or Pisa (esp Pisa). YOu're doing a lot of backtracking.
So
maybe it would look like this
day 1, arrive Vienna, train or plane to Venice
Days 2-5 in Venice
Train to Florence for days 6-9 (maybe a daytrip into Tuscany or to Pisa)
Day 10, train to Milan, pick up car and friends, continue to Bellagio
Bellagio, days 10-12
Day 13-18--return car in Milan, train through the mountain pass into Switzerland or else to Salzburg or Innsbruck (for some Alps) and then Vienna
Apr 5th, 2004, 12:15 PM
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Interesting ! Why back to Vienna? Why not return from Milan or Zurich?
Lots of good options, but you need to start with the air connections first.
And, no reason for the drop charge if you plan this right.
Lots of good options, but you need to start with the air connections first.
And, no reason for the drop charge if you plan this right.
Apr 5th, 2004, 12:40 PM
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Elaine - Thanks for the suggestion. Now am considering just renting a car for the lake area; however, I think we will miss the flexibility while traveling in the Alps.
Bob - We already have our air tickets. They are to-and-from Vienna. We used our miles, so I fear the ticket is non-negotiable.
Bob - We already have our air tickets. They are to-and-from Vienna. We used our miles, so I fear the ticket is non-negotiable.
Apr 5th, 2004, 04:29 PM
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OK--in that case here are my ideas. Get the car when you leave Florence. When you leave Como, drive to Castelrotto near the Val Gardena in the Dolomites for 2 nites--fantastic area. Then, drop the car in Bolzano[no drop charge] and train to Salzburg for one nite and then on to Vienna. You have a very good trip here--good balance and some of the best scenery in the world. Forget Pisa unless you do it from Florence by train. Have fun !
