qzseattle

Hello,

Our family of 4 (2 adults and 2 kids) are planning a trip to Europe in May. We have two possible choices of itineraries. One possibility is:

Day 1: Fly into Paris.
Day 2: Paris
Day 3: Paris
Day 4: Fly to Munich
Day 5: Munich
Day 6: Munich
Day 7: Train to Vienna
Day 8: Vienna
Day 9: Fly back to Paris
Day 10: Return

The other possibility is:

Day 1: Fly into Munich.
Day 2: Munich
Day 3: Munich
Day 4: Train to Zurich
Day 5: Zurich
Day 6: Fly to Vienna
Day 7: Vienna
Day 8: Vienna
Day 9: Train to Munich
Day 10: Return

As you can see, we are undecided between Zurich and Paris. I have heard great things about Zurich and Switzerland in general. Paris is, well, Paris. However, we could do Paris on our next trip instead of trying to cover too much ground in a single trip. In fact, we are pretty flexible about our third option. We could go to Bern instead of Zurich. Or we could limit the trip to two countries (Germany and Austria) and use extra time to visit Salzburg or Graz.

I would truly appreciate any suggestions. Thanks in advance.

qzseattle

I am not sure why Iceland got tagged with my post and it seems I cannot change/edit it now. Oh well.

kfusto

Personally I would focus on Germany and Austria this trip and not try to include either Paris or Zurich. You are going to spend too much time - IMO - flying and getting situated and this is a very short trip with only 8 nights on the ground.

I would tweak option 2 and replace Zurich with Salzburg and enjoy the city and the Salzkammergut for a few days then train to Vienna to wrap up the trip. Especially traveling with kids, this is a better option.

pauljagman

10 days? 2 cities at most. do some daytrips from each.

ggreen

qzseattle, FYI you can ask the Editors to change the tag and they will: either click the yellow triangle/exclamation point icon and write your request in the resulting window, or email [email protected]. Do tell them all the tags you'd like to be on the post. They're very good about making changes like that!

Mimar

First of all, glad you asked our advice before you bought your air tickets. This itinerary cries out for open jaws tickets, into one city, out of another. So maybe into Paris, out of Vienna. Or into Munich, out of Zurich. Open jaws tickets cost about the same as regular round-trip tickets and save time and money spent back-tracking. And at least some airlines will allow you to purchase open-jaws tickets with frequent flyer miles.

I'm wondering how old your kids are. In general, kids prefer staying longer in one spot, getting acquainted and settling in over a trip with 2 nights here and one night there. And, if they're very young, it's harder to move around dealing with all that equipment and with naptimes.

Sounds like Vienna is a must? You could fly into Munich, take the train to Salzburg, and continue on to Vienna after a couple days. Or you could rent a car upon leaving Munich and drop it in Vienna.

Or, skipping Vienna and concentrating on Switzerland, fly into Zurich, take the train from the airport directly to Lucerne, spend 3 nights there, then move on to the Bernese Oberland, spending several days in an Alpine village like Murren or Wengen. In this case, fly out of Zurich. But be warned. Switzerland is expensive.

quokka

You are focusing on nothing but big cities in a region where some of the the finest attractions and most beautiful gems are located in smaller towns or even in the countryside. My suggestion is splitting your time between Munich and Vienna and doing a day trip or two from each. (Each of the two could keep you busy for a week and more.)

From Munich, for example into the Bavarian Alps, to the castles of mad king Ludwig II, to Regensburg for somne authentic medieval architecture, or... dozens of more options.

From Vienna, for example to the Wachau wine region in the Danube valley with Melk abbey, or the elegant spa town of Baden, or hop over into Slovakia to Bratislava, ... again heaps of options.

bettyk

With the little time you have, you would be better off concentrating on just one country instead of trying to see how many countries you can squeeze into 8 days.

You are not doing yourself or the places you plan to visit any favors with this itinerary.

violetduck

Your itinerary is too ambitious. You have received some good advice and itinerary ideas. I would definitely spend some of the time in smaller towns and villages. Happy travels!

Michael

No need to fly to Munich from Paris. There is a TGV between the two cities, and you could try to get reduced priced tickets 90 days in advance.

qzseattle

Thanks for all the tips. Here is some more information about our travel that might help narrow down the options.

- Kids ages are 4 and 7
- We do not plan on spending much time at museums, art galleries, kids stuff etc. The intent is to spend most of the time outside to get the feel/vibe of the place.
- As you can see, I have allocated two days per city. Infact, I was planning on spending one day in each city and one day for a day trip near the city (village/countryside/castle), as you have suggested.
- Initially, I was set on Munich-Vienna-Zurich. However, after looking at images and google street view, Zurich didnt feel as exciting as Munich or Vienna. I didnt see many historic buildings, cobblestone streets/squares, the kind of mideaval Swiss town I was expecting. Also, the streets were quite empty. Perhaps, and I hope, I got the wrong impression. That is why I began looking at other options like Salzburg or some other Swiss town/village.
- I understand the trip is a bit hectic but one can only plan so many vacations (though I wish I could plan more . I dont know when I would visit that region again so am trying to get a bit more out of the trip.
- This is our first trip to Europe

kfusto

You have received much the same advice from everyone. You are completely underestimating the travel time for each of these changes. And whether or not you are visiting musems does not change any of this.

<<I understand the trip is a bit hectic but one can only plan so many vacations (though I wish I could plan more . I dont know when I would visit that region again so am trying to get a bit more out of the trip.>>

You will get less out of your trip by cramming in too much in a short time, not more. What you will get more of is travel time, airport time, train station time, check in and check out time.

<<This is our first trip to Europe>> It is a natural tendency to try and fit in too much. Those of us who travel often to Europe have offered our advice. It is up to you whether to take it or ignore it. Please note than almost everyone has offered the same advice and that is not a coincidence.

Have a nice trip.

bettyk

Please listen to the advice you have been given. The fact that you will be traveling with young children means that you should definitely try not to cram too much into such a short time.

Wouldn't it be better to really concentrate on a couple of nice places that you will remember for years to come rather than race through many places that will just become a blur?

soogies

Let me just chime in and reiterate the need to choose just two cities. You'll have young children with you who may or may not be portable. And one day in a city is almost worthless, IMO. It just makes it frustrating to not see everything.

I get that this is your first trip. But think of it this way - it is probably not your ONLY trip. You and the kids will have a much more enjoyable stay if you slow it down a bit. My kids were all good travelers, we started young, as well, but dragging them some where new every day or two is not advisable. Remember, too, you will be dealing with jet lag, changing sleep schedules, food, etc.

Personally, I would choose Salzburg and Salzammergut lakes (sp) as one area. It has the lovely feel of old Bavarian towns, houses, quaint streets, etc and the landscape is stunning.

qzseattle

Thanks so much for the kind advice everyone. We will try and adjust the schedule accordingly.

In the meantime, two more questions:

- How is the weather in first week of May in that region? Do the trees and parks start showing some green by that time?

- What is the best way to make hotel reservations? Should I call the hotels directly or do so online say, via, expedia? I have heard issues with online bookings such as visitors finding out that the hotel wouldnt accomodate 2 adults and 2 kids in one room.

bettyk

There are several ways to find hotels. One is to go to the town's own website, such as www.salzburg.at and look for an accommodations link. You can also google Salzburg hotels for example or do a search here on Fodor's. Another way is to do a search on www.booking.com or hotel.com to see what's available on the dates you want. I often make reservations on booking.com and have had no problems. They will show you the type of room that is available, whether it is a double, triple, family room, etc., and the price. Once you zero in on a hotel, you can book directly with the hotel if you want.

We've found the weather can be cool, even cold, the first of May. Early spring can be iffy weather wise. It might be warm and sunny or cold and rainy. In many areas, you'll see spring bulbs start to bloom but it might not be really green that early.

qzseattle

Thanks betty. We have waited the whole winter to avoid cold and to see the green so if it is still cold and brown in early May, perhaps we should wait a bit more? We cannot delay the trip into June but we could delay it to maybe third week of May.

Mimar

I prefer to deal with hotels directly. You can ask your questions to somebody who knows the answers. And the hotel might do more for you when they don't have to pay a listing agent.

But quad rooms are relatively rare in Europe. A site like booking.com will help you locate those rooms more efficiently.

kfusto

I compare rates across many sites and 90% of the time can save significantly by booking through a website not the hotel.

In December, I booked my Munich hotel for less than half of the best rate on their website. Same for 2009 in Vienna. In Florence and Rome in late 2008 i saved about 40%.

IME it is rarely cheaper to book with the hotel directly but I always email them directly to reconfirm special requests.

bettyk

kfusto, I have found the same thing on many occasions booking thru booking.com. However, it pays to check both. If I send an email to the hotel and their rate is more, then I will just book with booking.com. Or, you can ask if the hotel will match the rate.

I also find that there is sometimes more information about the hotel's services and amenities on the booking.com website. For us, it is important to have an elevator and parking. We also like to know if the hotel provides free wifi. For some reason, many hotels don't include this info on their own web site.