Need advice on itinerary in Europe

Old Sep 17th, 2013, 05:12 AM
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Need advice on itinerary in Europe

My trip is about 26.5 Days including flights, our rough itinerary is as such:
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1 Day in Prague
1.5 Days in Cesky Krumolov

2.5 Days in Salzburg
2.5 Days in Obertraun
2 Days in Melk
1.5 Days in Vienna

0.5 Day in Zagreb
2 Days in Plitvice
2 Days in Split
3 Days in Dubrovnik

4 Days in Budapest

1.5 Days in Prague (We depart from Prague)
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We are going around mid Oct to early Nov. It is quite a last minute trip, I need all the advice I can get.

Do you think it is too rush? Which cities are worth staying longer/shorter? I still have problems finding the ideal way to get into Croatia...I am open to switching things around, I just have to start and end in Prague. Is maybe Slovenia/Slovakia/Poland a better option to Croatia? Any advice? Thanks in advance!
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Old Sep 17th, 2013, 05:50 AM
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If your goal is hit as many cities as you can while not really seeing much then your itinerary looks pretty good.

If not, then we can help you out with some awesome suggestions if you tell us what your actual goals are.
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Old Sep 17th, 2013, 05:59 AM
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We would like to experience culture, do some sight-seeing, we love nature, treking, hiking, food. We probably won't spend that much time on museums or shopping.

We are not trying to cover as many cities/towns as we can. In Austria we are only able to cover 4, I guess we don't want to spend that long in a place if there generally isn't really much to do there.Do you think we should spend more time in certain/any particular place? Thank you
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Old Sep 17th, 2013, 06:13 AM
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Your itinerary fails to account for travel time, which can be considerable.

"experience culture" means different things to different people. What does it mean to you?
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Old Sep 17th, 2013, 06:23 AM
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Actually, after accounting for travelling time, that's the amount of days we have left - about 24 out of 26.5 days.

Hmm, it is not so important for us to see everything, do everything while we are there. We are okay with just soaking in the atmosphere, taking it easy, doing some activities and trying out different cuisines as and when we can and if our budget allows us to. There is no particular country I Have to visit, I like to travel, so even if I have to shift things around a bit and see some other country instead, I am okay with that too.
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Old Sep 17th, 2013, 07:02 AM
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>

Yeah, that won't happen with your itinerary.

If you do 5 nights Prague, 2 in Cesky, four in Vienna, fly to Croatia for 7-10 nights combined of whatever you think you're going to do, then fly from Dubrovnik to Budapest (if there are even flights for this, otherwise it's a LONG trip) for 5 nights or so before going back to Prague for a night or two before your flight, it'd be a better deal.

Don't bop about for 1 night stays. Waste of time and money.
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Old Sep 17th, 2013, 07:22 AM
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2 Days in Melk Melk is usually done as a day trip from Vienna. Does "2 days" mean arrival on day 1 and departure the following day, or two nights in Melk, or a full two days devoted to Melk, i.e. 3 nights?

1.5 Days in Vienna Vienna probably has easier access to walks in nature than Budapest.

Southern Poland and Slovakia, particularly on either side of the Tatra Mountains (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatra_Mountains ), might be a better alternative than Croatia.
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Old Sep 17th, 2013, 07:41 AM
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>>Your itinerary fails to account for travel time, which can be considerable.>Actually, after accounting for travelling time, that's the amount of days we have left - about 24 out of 26.5 days.
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Old Sep 17th, 2013, 07:45 AM
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You need to consider your transportation between cities. You will typically lose half a day each time you change cities... checking out of your lodging, getting to the train station, taking the train, finding your new lodging, checking in, getting oriented to a new city. Personally, I really try to avoid one or two night stays in the same city. To help yourself plan, try listing each day like this:

Day 1- arrive Prague, explore the city, sleep in Prague
Day 2- train to CK
Day 3- CK
Day 4- train to Salzburg, etc...

I'd recommend giving yourself several days each in Prague and Vienna. Choose one location in the mountains/countryside of Austria. Skip Split, in favor of more time elsewhere.
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Old Sep 17th, 2013, 08:00 AM
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I'm pretty sure Sparkchaser didn't mean the travel time to/from Europe. It takes a LOT of time to travel from place to place. Every single move eats up a minimum of 1/2 a dat and of the a FULL day.

Correct.
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Old Sep 17th, 2013, 08:23 AM
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Thanks for all the replies. I guess I have to reorganize my itinerary.

Michael, hmm I was actually planning to spend 3 days 2 nights in Melk, but it's not full days, so it adds up to about 2 days. I did think of visiting the Tatra Mountains but I wasn't sure if late Oct/early Nov has appropriate weather for activities there.

I think you guys are right, I should put more thought into the time taken to check out, get to train station, travel to destination, find new lodging. But if lets say I were to account for that and still take the time to visit for eg. Salzburg or Melk (Instead of just Prague and Vienna), would 2 days in those places generally be enough? Probably not worth it, spending so much time and money travelling in and out, but if I really wanted to visit those places....would 2 days be enough?
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Old Sep 17th, 2013, 08:30 AM
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I'm living in Singapore and we can't get that many days of leave from work over here. 26.5 days is considered long...and air tickets are expensive and we will be in the air for 32hrs (to and fro). After travelling for so long and so far, I thought spending about 2-3 days in each city/town would be enough (I have to make do). But if I am wrong, I will definitely reconsider and take BigRuss advice and spend much more time and reduce the amount of places I visit.
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Old Sep 17th, 2013, 08:37 AM
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>>I was actually planning to spend 3 days 2 nights in Melkfour nights. It is all that travel and such that eats up the time.
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Old Sep 17th, 2013, 08:40 AM
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Trying to travel like this would make my head spin!

Depending on your city of departure, you'll be jet-lagged that first day and probably won't see too much of Prague. It is worth more time than what you've allotted. The only major attraction in Melk is the abbey, which is magnificent, but doesn't require two days.

I think I'd leave Croatia for another trip.

Vienna is worth several days. There's much to see in Vienna, as there is in Salzburg.

With this itinerary, I think you will spend far too much time checking in and out of hotels and getting on and off trains. I would find that kind of trip really exhausting.
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Old Sep 17th, 2013, 08:40 AM
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Thanks janisj. hmm I guess it'll be better to be a bit more realistic and a bit less ambitious.
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Old Sep 17th, 2013, 08:42 AM
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Thanks Pegontheroad. Everyone seems to be saying the same thing. haha I guess you guys can't be wrong.Just seemed a waste to just visit one city in each country.
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Old Sep 17th, 2013, 09:43 AM
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More time in Vienna and Prague. Less time at Melk.
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Old Sep 17th, 2013, 10:19 AM
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OP, if you want to figure out train travel times, use the Deutsche Bahn site: http://www.bahn.de/i/view/DEU/en/index.shtml
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Old Sep 17th, 2013, 12:51 PM
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I think it's always good to take BigRuss's advice.
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Old Sep 17th, 2013, 09:33 PM
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> Just seemed a waste to just visit one city in each country.

IMO, it is much more of a waste to "visit" a place with WAY too little time to see or experience it, especially if you are going to exhaust yourself in the process!
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