help with itinerary

Old Jan 31st, 2012, 06:00 PM
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help with itinerary

We are traveling to Europe the end of June and staying up to two weeks. Our thoughts are to follow a route very similar to one my parents took several years ago. We would like thoughts of places we should visit, slight changes to where we would visit or time we stay, suggestions on places to stay, etc.
Also we are thinking we will rent a car but would like thoughts on train vs car.

We will fly in and out of Munich
We are planning two nights in Munich and then to
Lucerne, Switzerland for a night
Lake Como, Italy for two nights
Cinque Terre, Italy for two nights
Venice Italy for two nights
Salzburg Austria for two nights
Back to Munich for a night
Lori_LaGarde is offline  
Old Jan 31st, 2012, 06:08 PM
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If you haven't booked your flights yet, you need to book open jaw (into one city and home from another) to avoid wasting time backtracking.

You are not allowing enough time in places. You also need to look at time it takes to travel between your cities. Two nights in a location only gives you one day to sightsee.
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Old Jan 31st, 2012, 07:32 PM
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It's a lot of driving, about 20 hours in good conditions, but you seem to have planned the route well, and you have personal desire to recreate a trip your parents took, so go for it. It's also going to be very scenic through the Alps so I won't presume to try and tell you that you are missing something with all the moving when it may be the moving that interests you.

You do have 12 nights listed - if you can add a couple more, I would try and do so.

Lucerne, at one night seems to be an outlier. Dropping it shaves a couple of hours off the driving total (less than one would think because the route from Lucerne to Como is on faster roads than the route you would take from Munich directly to Como) and would take away a 1 night stop that has 3.5 and 3 hours of driving on either side of it.
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Old Jan 31st, 2012, 08:04 PM
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Did your parents also cover this itinerary in less than 2 weeks?

Have you investigated the driving times? I count more like 23 hours over 6 driving days (not counting for meal stops, spontaneity, etc.) Have you decided on what you want to see/do in each destination and calculated how much time that might take? Only one day in Venice? Really?

I'm not sure how open-jaw flights would help unless you're willing to drop Salzburg and could fly out of Venice. Actually, those three nights added elsewhere would be a big improvement.
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Old Feb 1st, 2012, 03:16 AM
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Thanks for all the help. My parents trip was designed to see the area and not focused as much on the towns. They drove into France and skipped Cinque Terre. They actually drove each day and stopped when they found a place they wanted to stay.
I think that traveling in late June we will need to make reservations ahead of time.

I am approaching this with the idea that we will see a lot of the countryside and spend a day seeing sites in major cities. I have two unaccounted for days because I am waiting to see everyone's thoughts on where to add them.
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Old Feb 1st, 2012, 05:45 AM
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I would drop Luzern and do the route in reverse--Salzburg first and Lago Como last. I have driven from Como to the Munich AP in one day via the Engadine valley.
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Old Feb 1st, 2012, 06:54 AM
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If you really do want to go to all these places, then go for it. But, in my opinion you will have a very stressful holiday if you do it by train, you should hire a car. We always travel around places in Europe, stopping for one or two nights, especially if it is on our route, it is very hectic, and you do manage to see the city itself, though in the case of one nights, you won't be able to visit museums etc. it depends whether you want a relaxing or adventurous holiday. I do not personally like to stay too long in one place, but again everyone has his own views. You will have some driving to do, so I presume you enjoy doing long drives, or do not mind it much. Plan your holiday well, and stick to the itinerary that you make, and you will manage to see everything. Allow also time for traffic jams in cities. Enjoy your holiday. You can take a hired car from one airport and leave it in another, even not in the same country, as long as the countries are both in the Europeon Unions, which is your case. My advice is, if you are keen to visit these places, then do so!!!!
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Old Feb 1st, 2012, 02:08 PM
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You can go without booking if you are willing to sleep in someplace other than the most famous spots but remain aware of weekends and holidays.

For instance, in the middle of the week in June and early July on the Riviera near le Cinque Terre, you can find last minute b&b accommodation in Sestri Levante, Moneglia, Deivi Marina, and of course La Spezia. You can find even more accommodation in Genova and probably Rapallo. If you are carrying a cell phone, a Michelin Red Guide, plus your own little black book of lodging names you plucked from the internet, you can make it work if you have a certain kind of personality.

If you end up doing this mad thing (and I am not encouraging you), give serious consideration to driving from Lago di Como to the Riviera via Piacenza/Parma/La Spezia, rather than via Milan/Genova. The A7 is just hard driving, and the A12 from Genoa to the coast is only briefly scenic. Mainly you go through tunnels. So take the other route and stop for lunch in Parma.

If the weather forecast for le Cinque Terre is not picture perfect when you are leaving Lago di Como, just don't bother to come. Go to Mantova instead. Or have extra days in Venice.

Last thought? I live in italy, I love to drive, I love road trips. I would want 2 days in the middle of this with NO driving if the two of you are taking turns driving, (4 days with NO if just one of you is doing all the driving.)

Some of the driving you are contemplating is arduous driving.
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Old Feb 1st, 2012, 04:51 PM
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Did your parents so this trip themselves - or were they on a tour? (If the latter, they had a lot of the work/arrangements done for them - and more time for themselves.)

As designed, I can;t imagine you will have the time to see much - in your time I would have 3 or at most 4 stops (hotels) to have a chance to really see anything in any o fht eplaces. And agree tat you need an open jaws flight to avoid wasting a day back tracking to Munich. (I have no problems with road trips - we have done many in europe - but never at this speed. We do at least 4 nights in a larger city and at least 3 in a smaller one - unless we have been there several times before and are just picking up a couple of ew sights and a conveninet place t spend 2 nights. Single nights are useless.)
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Old Feb 1st, 2012, 05:19 PM
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nytraveler..yes my parents did this on their own about 20 years ago. Thanks for your thoughts

zeppole..The feedback is very helpful.

Anna...thanks for the help on the car/train aspect

To all...I am going to look at drive times and how much time we will have in each city. I think everyone agrees we need to stay longer or drop something. Thanks!!!
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Old Feb 2nd, 2012, 12:12 AM
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Maybe I am the odd one out, but I still think you should stick to your itinerary if you are really keen to visit these places - maybe that is me a hard-headed person who tries to squeeze in a holiday as much as possible. But I was like that even 20 years ago when I was in my twenties, lol.

Seriously, if you plan your itinerary well and really stick to it, making an hour or so allowance for traffic, you can easily make it. But of course you have to stick to your itinerary. Like last month we were in Italy, and after arriving at Treviso Venice airport, on the way to Trento I suggested to my husband that we stop at Padova to visit the Basilica of St. Anthony, as I wanted to visit again after six years. We got stuck in a jam in the centre of Padova, then we missed the pre-booked lunch in Trento.

But if you just reserve your hotels then it should be fine. A few years back we did not pre-book hotels, and we were in the Alps visiting Italy and Switzerland. I do not think I would do it again, unless you have information of short-listed hotels in areas you want to go to, as Zeppole suggested, as I ended up having to stop at hotels we see and ask if they had vacancies, and my husband had got a bit annoyed about it, as in some places all may be full up.

You have two nights in most places, so you do have time to see and feel the town city etc. Preplan the stops on the way that you would most like to visit, like we always do, but do not add to the itinerary if like you have to be in the hotel for dinner by 8pm.

If you or your husband do not mind driving long distances, then I would go for it. Luckily my husband loves driving, and he even gives in to me and makes one night stops. You are still enjoying the scenary and making stops on the way, so it is not a waste of time at all. The scenary of the alps is magnificent, I love the Italian lakes, Lake Maggiore and Lake Como are the best, nicer than Lake Garda.

Personally, that is me, I would not hesitate in doing the holiday you planned, maybe I am too hard-headed, but I am the type that would then regret not seeing what I had in mind. We travelled all the way from Madonna di Campiglio to Citta' di Castello in Umbria on Christmas Eve, that is more than 500kms in one day, managed to have a quick stop in Bologna on the way, and were on time (only half an hour late but we were still welcomed with a smile) for a huge dinner at hotel. As I said, a hired car and a GPS (although a map in hand is also handy as sometimes the GPS takes you the long route), and also a map or directions which you can print out that hotels usually always have on their website also helps.

In last month's holiday we did Alto Adige (north Italy) Umbria, and Rimini in Emilia Romagna in five days, so you should make yours in 2 weeks - if you really want to visit these places.

Lucky you Zeppole, you live in Italy, it is my dream. I love it so much I just have to visit the country at least once a year, to different provences or cities, but I never tire revisiting some of my favourits, like Umbria. But I guess we are lucky as we live close to Italy. And driving is easy if you stick to rules,southern Italy is another thing. I just got hooked on this country!! But Switzerland is also a favourite, though expensive, and around the Italian lakes and alps are my very favourite mountain area. We still have to visit Cinque Terre, it is definitely on my list, but we will probably do that maybe next year when we will also visit the French riviera as it is close to places like Monaco Nice Cannes etc.

Enjoy your holiday!!

Enjoy your trip!!!
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