Mohsin1307

Hi..my wife n i are planning for a 13-day trip to europe in mar. She wants to go to venice so it will be a must see place. Other than that im not sure. Our interest is sightseeing(maybe castle n museum) shopping, hoping to experience snow. Have a general idea of going (our base) milan-lake como-venice-salzburg or vienna + a ski resort. Dont mind going to other places as long as they fit our interest. Open to all suggestions. Really appreciate this. Tks in advance

Kathie

You have 13 days and you have listed 6 places. Sorry, this is not possible... you would spend all of your time on the train! Start by counting how many nights you have on the ground in Europe. It would take 14 nights to give you thirteen days. And each time you change locations, it will take up from half a day to a whole day. Also consider how long it takes you to get to/from Europe from your home and jet lag. Also, try to fly into your first city and out of the last. This will save you time.

So your first task is to cut destinations. Think about what is most important for you to see/do/experience on this trip. For a first trip of this length, I'd suggest 3 places. This will give you enough time to get a flavor for each of the places you visit.

Happy Planning.

WoinParis

Hi
Open a paperguide, and have a look on a map at the same time.
Don't try to cover too much ground.

Mohsin1307

Tks for the advice, thought these locations are near each other. Any suggestions to where to visit. Only Venice is a must go. Im open to other areas which offer great scenery. Need to relook my plan.

inspiredexplorer

How important is the skiing? If very important, I might advise to do your first plan with a slight tweak: Venice + Milan + ski resort. In March, you may not want to base in Como towns since it's not the best time of year for the lakes, but if you base in Milan, if you get a nice clear day take a daytrip out to Lake Como.

From Milan you can easily reach Cervinia (Italy) or Zermatt (Switzerland) which are both likely to still have sufficient snow in March.

There are plenty of other options but this combo might keep you train connections from getting too long and allow you some time to relax and enjoy.

Sue_xx_yy

I disagree with the 'not possible' assessment. We did it this way-
Venice 4
Varenna (Lake como) 2
Verona - 1
Train to Innsbruck - pick up car, overnight - 1
Then drove east to Salzburg- 2

That"s 10 nights plus the flight over Is 11

We stopped in milk - 1
Finished in Vienna - if you cut 1 n in venice you could do 2 in Vienna although we had more time and did 4
Flew out of Vienna - - totally doabLe

Sue_xx_yy

Oops should be Melk - stupid autocorrelation on this tablet

Sue_xx_yy

Dear autocorrect - stop bugging me - autocorelation my foot

Holly_uncasdewar

You could tweak Sue's itinerary a little to spend a couple nights in Innsbruck to do some skiing there. Not sure what the snow conditions are likely to be in March, and impossible to predict right now.

PalenQ

the Lakes in March could be dicey weather wise- I'd skip them and make the trip a bit more relaxed - anyway for train info check www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

You could take an overnight train Venice to Vienna

Sassafrass

The issue, IMHO, is the time of year for your particular itinerary. As someone said, March can be dicey, weather wise. In some places, there can be beautiful snows right through April, but it can also just be cold, rainy, blustery in March. In very late Spring or early Summer, the itinerary would be fine, though not for skiing.

I don't ski, so can't make particular recs, but since Venice is a must, and you would like snow and scenery, I would skip the Italian Lakes and start in Austria or Germany in a ski area and end in Venice, two bases with a couple of other places for day trips or 1 or 2 night stays, perhaps wherever you are landing and departing.

Example: If you can depart from Venice, great. If not, and you are departing from Milan, visit Verona on your way from Venice to Milan (leave luggage at the station), spend your last night in Milan. You could also visit Verona (or Padua or Vicenza) as day trips from Venice, and get to Milan early the day before departure for an afternoon there. Nail down your two bases and arrival and departure airports, then fill in with best nearby places.

Mohsin1307

Tqvm for the advice. Im now looking at flying in to milan and fly out from vienna.
Milan 2 nights
Venice 2 nights
Innsbruck 2 nights
Salzburg 2 nights
Vienna 2 nights
Looking at Sue's itinerary, im considering of driving from innsbruck to salzburg and then vienna. Howver, living in a tropical country (malaysia), is it okay/safe for me to drive at that time.i have never driven in snow/winter season before. Tks in advance

Sassafrass

Is there a lot that you want to see in Milan?

Mohsin1307

Not really. Flying in to milan n rest a bit. 2nd day for sightseeing and third day leaving for venice. Btw i actually have two extra days and can add to any of the destinations. Tq

Sassafrass

In that case, skip Milan. Head on to Verona for the first night. Take a taxi from the Verona train station and stay right in the city center. Tour Verona the next morning. Since you are not going to Rome, that gives you a chance to see a great, Roman arena that is still in use and the lovely center of an Italian city. Nice cafeteria and other restaurants are right there.

Go on to Venice in late afternoon of day 2, so 3 nights in Venice. It will be dark, so get good directions to your hotel. If that worries you, or you feel you will be too tired, then stay the 2nd night also in Verona and depart early the next morning for Venice. This is no more travel, and I think you will actually see more that way.

annhig

Why not go skiing in the Dolomites? Very easy to get to from Venice. Cortina for example is just over 2 hours drive from Venice.

but if you are intending to ski [as opposed to just looking at the mountains] you'll want longer than a day or two to get the most out of the experience, which will limit the length of time you have for other places.

Do you want to ski or just look at mountains?

Mohsin1307

Hi again, actually we are just interested to experience snow and enjoy the atmosphere. Not really into skiing. Tks

bilboburgler

Milan 2 nights
Venice 2 nights
Innsbruck 2 nights
Salzburg 2 nights
Vienna 2 nights

yikes,

Ok lets start with safety, with the weather in March I'd limit my driving, though winter tyres are great there is a bit to get used to if you get into a "dump" (a lot of snow falling from the sky).

From a practical point of view I would
1) Leave Milan on the day you arrive to go to Venice and have at least 3 nights there
2) Fly our of Vienna having spent 3 nights there
3) Travel as suggested to the Dolimites to try snow for four nights. Why four nights, you need to try down hill skiing, snow boarding, and snow walking and a day cross country skiing, all different plus your body will want to sit in hot spas and let the aches go away

Really trying to squeeze more into this short trip is kinda wrong. Up to you, your money and time.

PalenQ

is it okay/safe for me to drive at that time.i have never driven in snow/winter season before.>

In that case DON'T - do not risk it learning how to drive in snow or ice or freezing rain - take the train

fourfortravel

Like others have said, the snow and atmosphere in March is difficult to predict. I would not look for snow in Vienna, barring an extreme weather shift. Perhaps forsythias, but very little else will be in bloom; and the vineyards will be too dreary brown to enjoy a hike through. With Easter being in mid-April 2017, the few markets will likely not open until mid-March, either. March is my personal favorite time to catch up on museum exhibits and enjoy one or two cozy last evenings indoors at heurigers with friends before the sunshine and warmth of spring lures me outdoors.

I hope this is helpful.