Just completed booking my air travel for my first ever trip to Europe - by myself - excited but nervous! Arriving to meet friends in Frankfurt, Germany, then want to see Black Forest (train, maybe?) - they have suggested that I see Locarno, Switzerland then take the train to Domodossola. Want to go to Grindelwald to look up a school-mate. Think this is do-able in 3 days - any tips? On modest budget, where to stay?
Single Middle Aged Female Vacation to Europe
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Sorry - should have said this is slated for July, 2013!!
It is probably technically do-able -- I haven't checked -- but I'm not sure it would be as enjoyable as some other options. You would be spending a fair amount of time traveling relative to the time you would have to actually see anything. And traveling from place to place will add to your costs.
Have you considered staying in or near Grindelwald for all 3 days? I think you'll find that there is a lot that you can do and experience in that part of Switzerland. (I'm currently struggling to decide how to keep my time in that area down to 4 days!)
You should be able to have a wonderful trip whatever you choose - just think through your options and decide how you want to spend your time.
And BTW, I find traveling solo to be a wonderful self-indulgence - I can do whatever I want, whenever I want. I hope you find a similar experience!
Enjoy!
Do-able = time to move around is less than your total travel days? If this is what you mean by do-able, you can compute the time on your own without having to wait for someone to do it for you. For train use www.bahn.com and for driving use www.viamichelin.com. The July train schedule may not be fully published yet. Just use the same day of the week in March to get an idea. If viamichelin requires too much detailed info, just use the google map for rough driving estimate.
Thank you kja and greg for your insights. kja - do you primarily use trains to get from place to place?
> kja - do you primarily use trains to get from place to place?
It depends on where I'm going. For the part of the world you are considering, I would certainly consider trains and buses. You can see schedules for transportation within Switzerland at
http://www.sbb.ch/en/home.html
greg has given you a good site for train travel in Germany.
The Rough Guide generally has good transportation information.
Happy planning!
Thank you, kja! Just read your thread on Swiss travel - very helpful and it looks like you hit the nail on the head of what I wish to accomplish on my trip. Many, many good ideas and tips from everyone. Once I have a tentative itinerary, I'll come back and ask for feedback. Must spend more time with the guidebooks and maps and internet first!
There's some wonderful information on those threads, isn't there? I've benefitted greatly from some wonderfully generous and knowledgable Fodorites and am pleased to think that you are finding their answers to my questions helpful. Happy planning!