16 day Honeymoon Germany, Austria maybe Switzerland
 

Looking for a good itinerary for a honeymoon. We will be traveling by train and are willing to do night trains and hostels. neither of us have ever been to either 3 countries. We love sight seeing and having a few beer at the end of the day. we will be traveling July 2015 and would like our trip to start and end in Frankfurt. Not sure if we have enough time for all three countries though. would love some feedback. Thanks!

First of all, look into an open jaws flight, into one city out of another. For example into Frankfurt, out of Geneva. That will save you time and money backtracking. And should cost about the same as a round-trip ticket.

Will you be exhausted from a big wedding and want to rest some? Even if not, you may be tired and jet-lagged after a long, overnight flight. In these cases, allow some rest and recovery time at your first destination.

Buy or borrow from the public library some guidebooks and read up on your would-be destinations. And there's all sorts of information on the Internet, starting with Fodors Destinations above left on this page. Have you seen Rick Steves' TV shows on travel in Europe?

Re: budget, Switzerland is an expensive destination. To save money, eliminate it or minimize your time there.

Can you tell us a little more?

Nature/scenery versus big cities? Museums? Castles? Hiking or biking? Mountains? Lakes??? Fine dining? Any special hotel or meal?

How tight is your budget? Germany is one of the less expensive places you can go while Switz is shockingly expensive.

You certainly have time to do bits of Germany and Austria and Switzerland - like fly into Munich, take the train to Salzburg and then to Switzerland, fly out of Zurich or Geneva - easily done in 16 days with say 3-4 different bases.

In Switzerland I always advise folks who've never been there to head to the fantastic Jungfrau Region around Interlaken - which will fulfill perhaps the romantic dreamy picture of Alpine Switzerland perhaps etched in your minds' eyes:

Glacier-girdled snow-capped peaks soraing thusands of feet above lush cow-dotted meadows - toy-like trains and thrilling aerial gondolas going off in all directions - hiking trails for all degrees of energy and difficulty - sweet boat rides on the two lake bookending Interlaken - many hotel balconies in places like Grindelwald and Wengen put you eyeball to eyeball with the majestic peaks just a few miles away - anyway I would make that area your focal point in Switzerland.

Trains are great in all three countries - for lots of great stuff on European trains I always spotlight these IMO superb sites: www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.seat61.com.

I would not be staying at a hostel on my honeymoon! Germany and Austria are chock full of small, quaint places to stay that are not much more expensive than hostels. You might also consider staying in an apartment if you are staying in one town for 3 days or longer ( a good idea so you aren't rushing around too much ).

Check out some trip reports at Bavaria Ben's excellent website ( www.bensbauernhof.com ), including ( I say modestly ) two by me.

I am not a fan of night trains and I'm not sure if there is a route in these 3 countries where it would be advantageous.

Agree that in Germany and austria you can find many pensions or zimmer frei that are modest, homey and very modestly priced. I would think this is a better deal that sharing a dorm room in a hostel. If you are looking for a private room in a hostel - then a room in a pension will probably not cost any more.

These are especially common in smaller town or on the outskirts of larger ones.

In only 2 weeks, you can never visit more than 1 or 2 per cent of all the gems in the 3 countries you mention. Choose just 2 or 3 areas, according to your interests:
big capitals like Berlin or Vienna, if you like outstanding museums, palaces, cathedrals, theatres and city life;
mountain valleys like Zillertal, Oetztal, Kaunertal, Stubaital, Schnalstal if you like mountains, glaciers and the highest hotel of Europe http://www.grawand.com/en/;
Rhine and Mosel river between Mainz and Luxemburg if you like lovely midlands with tons of castles and small medieval towns.

Rhine and Mosel river between Mainz and Luxemburg if you like lovely midlands with tons of castles and small medieval towns.?

I'd add Saxon Switzerland to rival those river valleys in beauty and interest - Dresden makes a great base - lures of 'the Florence on the Elbe" for its world-class museums and day trips into lovely Saxon Switzerland.