thewanderingblonde

Hi everyone! I'm trying to plan a solo 5-week trip to Europe (not sure of when yet--either summer or early fall, entirely dependent on work stuff). I'm a 23 year old female, super interested in history/architecture/culture/food and less so in nightlife. Also, definitely a city and mountain person over beaches. Shoestring backpacker, sticking to hostels and public transportation. Planning to eat out half the time and cook half the time. Maybe couchsurfing, still undecided. Anyways, I'm pretty set on my itinerary and not looking for city/activity suggestions as much as I'm looking for transportation help. During my 5 week trip, I'm planning to hit 11 cities, and will need transportation between all of them. Also, definitely want to take day trips from a few cities, and I really have no idea of the best/cheapest way to do this? Here's my itinerary:

• Day 1: Arrive in Frankfurt
• Day 2: TRAVEL to Rothenburg
• Day 3: Rothenburg
• Day 4: TRAVEL to Munich
• Day 5: Munich
• Day 6: Munich
• Day 7: Munich
• Day 8: TRAVEL to town in Bavarian Alps (haven't picked one yet)
• Day 9: Bavarian Alps
• Day 10: Bavarian Alps
• Day 11: TRAVEL to Berchtesgaden
• Day 12: Berchtesgaden
• Day 13: TRAVEL to Salzburg
• Day 14: Salzburg
• Day 15: Salzburg
• Day 16: TRAVEL to Hallstatt
• Day 17: Hallstatt
• Day 18: TRAVEL to Bled/Bohinj
• Day 19: Bled/Bohinj
• Day 20: TRAVEL to Ljubljana
• Day 21: Ljubljana
• Day 22: Ljubljana
• Day 23: Ljubljana
• Day 24: TRAVEL to Zagreb
• Day 25: Zagreb
• Day 26: Zagreb
• Day 27: TRAVEL to Budapest
• Day 28: Budapest
• Day 29: Budapest
• Day 30: Budapest
• Day 31: TRAVEL to Prague
• Day 32: Prague
• Day 33: Prague
• Day 34: Prague
• Day 35: Fly out of Prague

So, I need to get from Frankfurt to Rothenburg to Munich to some town in the Bavarian Alps (Fussen? Mittenwald?) to Berchtesgaden to Salzburg to Hallstatt to Lake Bled to Ljubljana to Zagreb to Budapest to Prague.

-Is pretty much ALL of this do-able by train?
-Is train the cheapest option (I guess vs. bus)?
-If train is best, should I book a pass, or buy individual tickets between these places? Which is cheaper?
-How far in advance to book if individual tickets?
-How easy is it to travel to popular day-trip locations from these cities (ex. from Fussen or other Alps towns to sites such as Neuschwanstein, Hohenschwangau, Ettal Monastery and from Lake Bled to Lake Bohinj)?
-Approx. how much would all of this transportation cost? Over/under $1000?

Also, if anyone could comment on my budget, that would be great. I'm budgeting $100 per day in Germany and Austria and $70 per day in Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary and the Czech Republic. I know this isn't really "shoestring" and I'd like to hopefully do it cheaper but I'd rather always overestimate. So, for these 5 weeks I'm looking at $3140 plus international flight plus total transportation costs.

bilboburgler

Train, apart from Bled which may well be easier by bus.

Use bahn.de to get an idea of prices

Also seat61.com gives a good overall set of advice on trains in Europe.

Travel_Nerd

Keep in mind that traveling in the peak season (summer) will make your hotel budget difficult, in some instances. Yes, you may find a cheap hostel, but they sometimes raise their prices in the peak season as well.

Also, Munich is peak season in early fall--Oktoberfest. If you do travel during that time period, you will need to book your stay--NOW. And be prepared for sticker shock, especially around O-fest. I found Munich's base hotel rates to be astronomical.

To save, consider looking into Air B&B in all/most your locations, but keep in mind that listings may have a length of stay requirement (i.e. 5 days, 7 days, etc.). Booking.com is a good resource, too.

It is often better to travel to bus around Croatia and Slovenia as they are more accessible than trains, based upon my research.

What is your reason for going to Zagreb? I haven't been there myself, but I've heard mixed reviews. Maybe your time could be better spent elsewhere in the Croatian region?

PalenQ

since you are under 26 you can get the discounted Eurail Youthpass which could be the best ticket to ride if not exactly the cheapest but it could be - this pass lets you hop on virtually any train anytime in those countries - full fare tickets can be duntingly high - trains go everywhere all the time - international buses run must fewer services and often at odd times - like picking up folk at 2 am somewhere, etc.

But if you look at the cost of say a 10-day Youth Global Eurail Flexipass per day if may be the cheapest overall - also check out the 4-country Eurail Select Pass Youth and use it in the cheapest 4 countries and buy regular ticket in the others - much cheaper than a Global Eurailpass valid in 28 or so countries.

Again passes let you just bop over to the station and hop an any train - you may also take overnight trains to save time and the cost of a hotel or hostel.

Anyway for lots of good background on planning a European rail trip check these informative sites - www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.seat61.com - the latter dwells on discounted tickets and these require lots of time to book - involving often several different national rail sites, some of which may be very fickle to work, and such tickets are sold in limited numbers often so they must be booked weeks or more in advance and typically cannot be changed nor refunded and they may not be as cheap as the youthpasses per day or slightly so - giving up any flexibility you may wish at times.

PalenQ

TRAVEL to town in Bavarian Alps (haven't picked one yet)>

Well Berchetsgaden is in the Bavarian Alps - other possibilities would be Fussen/Schwangau if into seeing Mad Ludwig's fantasy Newuschwanstein Castle, called by the German tourist office the #1 visited sight in Germany - some like me love it others detest it as Ersatz but there is a surprise at every turn.

Fussen is a neat town itself - nice easy hiking possibilities in the area - you can take the train from Reutte, Austria just a few miles away from here to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, to me the primo Bavarian Alpine resort/real town - take the train up to the top of the XZugspitze, Germany's tallest Alp just south of town. G-P has lots of inexpensive lodgings IME except in peak season.

thewanderingblonde

Travel_Nerd I'll definitely keep those budget tips in mind--I'm not necessarily planning on being in Munich for Oktoberfest, because I know that would skyrocket my budget there. As for the stop in Zagreb--I was thinking about just skipping Croatia all together, as Dubrovnik and Split are kind of out of the way from my route and I'm not all that interested in those cities in the first place, although I'm sure they're beautiful. But Zagreb is basically on the way from Ljubljana to Budapest so I figured I'd give it a try.

PalenQ Yeah I was thinking somewhere like Fussen or similar town, mainly so I could visit the castles and attractions nearby. I just happen to know I'd like to see Berchtesgaden specifically, as well as another town. Sounds like Fussen could be the right choice! Also, thanks to you and bilboburgler on the transportation feedback, sounds like train is the way to go.

Travel_Nerd

Hey I'm all for giving something a try! Pick up a guidebook and do some research on the city to see if there is something there that you think would be interesting to see.

It is your trip. Some folks make the mistake of checking off cities/places for the sake of going there without knowing why they want to go. I recently had never given Ljubljana a thought until recently myself. Part of the joy of planning a trip is finding out why, rather than letting others tell them why.

If you find it is worth a day or two, by all means include it. I was only questioning based upon what I've heard from others (as I haven't been there) and who knows, maybe YOU will find it amazing. Or not. You won't know until you go!

Fussgaenger

"I was thinking somewhere like Fussen or similar town, mainly so I could visit the castles and attractions nearby."

If you're "super interested in history/architecture" your time is better spent elsewhere, IMO. Neuschwanstein: A mecca for tourists but not a real castle at all; it is a showy fake created by a theatrical set designer and was lived in by the King of Bavaria for a mere 6 months. Maybe see it if you're into the architecture of theme park buildings, heh heh. As for history... nothing much ever happened there until it was turned into a tourist attraction. The $16 tour provides a few tidbits on mad monarch King Ludwig II of Bavaria - but maybe just visit Wikipedia if you want to learn about that.

Since you have your alpine experience in Berchtesgaden already - do check out the Königssee and the Watzmann peak -

http://images.fotocommunity.de/bilde...366c66aa75.jpg

...I think you can safely skip overly touristy Füssen (you will already have your noseful of tourists with 2 days in Rothenburg!)

What to do instead of 3 nights in Füssen...

1.) Skipping Füssen means skipping Hohenschwangau Palace, so you COULD visit another Ludwig Palace in Prien instead (Herrenchiemsee; Prien is RIGHT ON THE TRAIN ROUTE to Salzburg.) This could be a stopover - no need to spend the night. Or visit Nymphenburg Palace in Munich, where Ludwig was born - a place filled with much more history. Herrenchiemsee has a fantastic setting:
http://0.www.alpen-guide.de/m/image/...nchiemsee.jpeg

2. When you arrive in Frankfurt, go see some real knights' castles. FRA is only an hour or so from the Middle Rhine Valley by train, where there are two castles you can tour very easily:

Marksburg - "Virtually unchanged from medieval times" -
http://www.marksburg.de/english/frame_nj.htm

Rheinfels - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxFF80wORNQ

You can stay in the handsome university city of Mainz (25 min. west of FRA, nice HI hostel there overlooking the river) and day trip by train to these castles (also check out the village of Bacharach for an eyeful of half-timbered buildings.) Or you can just head straight to one of the Rhine villages (Bacharach - castle/hostel there - St. Goar, or Boppard - for a couple of nights.

PalenQ

.I think you can safely skip overly touristy Füssen>

Fussen itself sees relatively few tourists who just bolt out to Neuschwnstein - Fussen in a lovely town - with neat walks along a roaring river and lots of neat family-run guesthouses.

Fussen is not overrun with tourists - Germans do come here as a base for the Bavarian Alps but few foreign tourists even bother to stroll around a very nice town.


Opinions vary greatly on Neuschwanstein - to me it was awesome each of the three times I've gone - yes it is Ersatz but that makes it unique - not your typically IMO boring old medieval castle - but a real unique wonder - see these images:

https://www.google.com/search?q=neus...w=1280&bih=860

Yes not your typical boring castle! A surprise at every turn. And take time to walk up above the castle to the Marienbrucke - high above the castle where Mad Ludwig himself used to come and site and ponder his fantasty castle being built - you get wonderful views of the castle and the lake far below it - really nice hikes in this area.

Marienbrucke Views:
https://www.google.com/search?q=mari...w=1280&bih=860

Well Neuschwanstein is the most famous castle in the world and the number one tourist site in Germany - I can under that purists about castles may diss it as junk but to me and many it is a really gorgeous pile of junk.

And again Fussen the town itself is also neat and is not overrun with tourists - and is not nearly as overrun with tourists as say the Rhine villages recommended above.

Go to Fussen, stay the night - bop out to the castle but also do some lovely hikes in this sylvan area - then take the train from Reutte to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany's primo Alpine resort.

PalenQ

Herrenchiemsee Palace - the Bavarian Versailles they call it - is another Mad Ludwig fantasy palace that is lovingly set on an island in the placid Chiemsee - I agree with fussganger that this is a great stop when going between Salzburg and Munich or as a day trip from either or from Berchetsgaden - yes Ersatz or fake like Neuschwanstein but much easier to get to if going Munich to Salzburg - it does not hold a candle for having a grandiose awesome interior as Neuschwanstein was but yes really sweet - the setting framed in by Alpine foothills around the lake is equally sweet.

Pegontheroad

The above posters are all very knowledgeable, but I have to throw in my opinion for Neuschwanstein. For a young person, especially a first-time European traveler, I'd certainly recommend seeing it.

The first time I saw it was in October, when the worst of the tourist season was over, and I quite enjoyed it. The second time, there were lots of tourists there, but that was okay, too.

I saw Herrenschwangau on that same day and liked it better than Neuschwanstein because it was a real castle with a real family, albeit a royal one, who had lived in it.

Travel_Nerd

Opinions differ on the castle, obviously. I went in October 2013 (still a LOT of tourists) and I'm glad I went. It is a spectacular building; however, I actually preferred Hohenschwangau overall than Neuschwanstein.

Would I go again? Probably not. But, alas, am glad I did and don't regret going.

OP, if you do, you may want to consider booking your ticket in advance, *especially* if you decide to visit the castle(s) in the summer. I can guarantee it will be packed then and even in early Fall can be busy as well. You can book here: https://www.hohenschwangau.de/430.html They are pretty strict on your timed slot, by the way.

As far as whether to go or not to go, like I previously mentioned, it is your trip. So, to include something or not to include something is truly up to you, whether it be to remove the castle(s) or Zagreb, or anything else.

My test is this: If I will kick myself with regret if I miss going to a particular landmark or site, then I need to make every attempt to include it.

PalenQ

Would I go again? Probably not. But, alas, am glad I did and don't regret going.>

that's just it - if you don't go you don't know what you missed (or did not!) - I always go to the very popular places just to see why they are so popular - it has to be seen, love it or not.

Travel_Nerd

Hence my last statement of my previous post. If I personally would regret not going somewhere, I then include it in my plans.

If I listened to everyone in the forum-sphere about the Leaning Tower of Pisa, I wouldn't have gone. I went, climbed the darn thing, and did not at all regret it.

PalenQ

Veteran travelers often disdain IME some of the very most popular things as kitsch - yet that is what folks may have been dreaming of seeing the whole lives - Neuschwanstein Castle, the most famous castle in the world - the Leaning Tower - the Changing of the Guard in London - etc.