Raply426

Ok...I've come up with a tentative itinerary and would like some feedback on if it seems like an ideal amount of time at each location and if it is even doable. Three nights in Vienna, three nights in Budapest, 5 nights in Trieste, doing several day trips from there...one to Istria Region of Croatia, one to Ljubljann, Slovenia, and one to Grado and Venice, Italy. We will have a rental car throughout the trip. Any thoughts, ideas, suggested changes?? Thanks for any info you can provide!

tedgale

1. Three days each for Vienna and BP seems reasonable.

2. Why take a car from Vienna to Budapest? A car in Budapest will only be a nuisance. It's only 2h45 by train.

Some car rental companies do not allow you to take cars into "Eastern" countries.

3. Ditto for a day trip from Trieste to Venice. If you have no luggage, the train seems simpler. I don't know Grado but I cannot imagine combining Venice with any other destination on a daytrip.

4. Is there some reason why you don't want to stay in Venice and allocate it a bit more time?

kja

What are your interests?

Raply426

We were originally planning to do the whole trip by trains but after checking into it, getting from BP to Trieste or Croatia seemed to be a nightmare/long hours while driving seemingly appears to be easier and quicker. Also, we didn't want to pay the high drop off fees on the car by only having it for part of the trip. So, as of now, we are planning on renting one in Austria and making a round trip back there to drop it off. (there are also family logistics involved at the beginning and end of the trip that required us to start and end at the same place). Sounds like we will have to check into taking it into BP.
The reason we didn't plan on staying in Venice was that we like to limit the amount of checking in and out of hotels/rooms and we thought Trieste looked like a good centralized location to take day trips to the areas we chose. Grado was just an afterthought after doing some research. Venice alone would surely be a better option. Taking the train is definitely an option.
Our interests are food, wine, experiencing the local flavor of the area. We like walking and biking and sometimes just sitting back and taking in what's going on around us. We are not big museum people but do like seeing and photographing the historic buildings, architecture, and churches. We are also interested in a little beach time. We are traveling with a teenaged son.

kja

It could work, given your interests, but I'm not completely convinced. I would find it extremely frustrating to try to visit Venice on a day trip (let alone trying to visit it and something else on the same day!) or to try to visit Istria as a single day trip. And while you can probably visit charming Ljubljana as a day trip, you would miss seeing it in the evening, when it is beautifully lit. Maybe its just me, but I would not find day trips to these places optimally suited to "just sitting back and taking in what's going on around us" or "seeing and photographing the historic buildings, architecture, and churches." I personally would find them overly rushed or disappointingly limited - and probably both. Maybe you'll experience it differently.

BTW, I trust you realize that having a car in Venice will be a decided disadvantage, and as tedgale points out, it will complicate your visit to Budapest, too. An alternative might be to rent in Trieste or Ljubljana and limit your use of the car to your visit of Istria or maybe just a bit more.

Hope that helps!

worldinbetween

I just got my bike ( it stayed behind in Bratislava for a while after we moved to Budapest). I am excited to try some of the trails here. I am told I can pretty easily bike to Szentendre.

The best biking in the world is just outside Bratislava ( in the small villages of far eastern Austria). That is where we are going this weekend ( we will stay in old town bratislava... There is an agency which drops bikes to you).

Can not comment on Trieste... We are going there in June, staying on the coast of Slovenia.... My Slovak friends tell me it is fantastic. They like to explore this area from Slovenia.

Overall, I think this trip is quite doable. While I do not own a car in Budapest, I have seen long term car parks... Your hotel can surely help you with this.

Raply426

Thanks for your input!