Hello, my husband and I are taking a trip to Germany, Austria, and Prague for 10 days at the end of June. This is my first trip to Eurorpe and his second trip. I would love to hear some advice on our travel plans.

Fly into Frankfurt
2 nights in Heidelberg
1 night in Lindau
2 nights in Hohenschwangau
2 nights in Salzburg
3 nights in Prague (fly out of Prague back to US)

I've been doing some reseach, but wanted to hear from the experts on some places we should stop on our travels? Is Ulm worth a visit on the way to Lindau? What should we focus on while we are in Lindau since we are there only for one night. Anything we shouldn't miss in Salzburg?

We are thinking of driving from Salzburg to Prague. Is the drive terrible/difficult or will we be ok?
Thanks in advance for your input!

You may want to swap a Heidelburg day for Rothenburg. There is a lot to see and do in Heidelburg but Rothenburg is a "must see" stop. Lindau is a great town, especially the altstadt. Near Lindau is Meersburg another quaint town that is worth the visit. There are ferrys from various places on the Bodensee (Lake Constance) that go to Mainau island, the garden island, that is really special.

Once you get to Hohenschwangau you will find the castles to be the main attractions. If you are driving from there you Salzburg you can cut across to oberammergau, perhaps stopping at the Wieskirche, a beautiful Rococo church in the middle of the countryside, Linderhoff (another Ludwig castle/palace) and then to Breteschgaden (sp) then to S-Burg.
We enjoyed the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg and in June you will have about a zillion Mozart concerts to choose from in different locations.

If you do drive to Prague you will want to make sure it is ok with your car rental company. Some companies restrict their cars from Italy, some from the former eastern bloc countries.

Have a nice trip.

We were in the Salzburg area a few weeks ago and drove from Salzburg to Cesky Krumlov one day. Keep in mind that the drive from Linz, Austria to Prague is not by Autobahn. The drive to Cesky was miserable; twisty two lane roads with plenty of big trucks and nearly impossible to pass, so we were stuck driving at very low speeds most of the time. As I mentioned before, we didn't go all the way to Prague but I believe the drive to Prague utilizes the same route that we took to Cesky. I'm not sure how it is all the way up to Prague but I just wanted to mention that to you.

We spent a night in Hohenschwangau (Pension Albrecht) and really enjoyed our stay. You will be glad you are staying two nights because there is quite a bit to do in the area.

Salzburg is a beautiful city. Too bad you won't have much time for daytrips because the Salzkammergut region, just outside of Salzburg, is stunning.

Tracy

I agree you need to spend some time in Rothenburg, but even an afternoon would be good.
also, it might be nice to spend more time on the Bodensee. We spent 3 nights in Meersburg. there is a lot to do there. It is beautiful and relaxing and Insel Mainau is a "must see". the boat rides are very nice.
I have some names of great restaurants in this area as well as a great HAotle choice.
Let me know if you would like that info.
Have Fun!

Have you checked on car rental yet? It is usually very expensive to drop off a car in another country. Maybe you could drop it off in Germany (usually no extra charge for dropping off a car anywhere in the same country) and take another form of transportation to Salzburg then Prague. I would give AutoEurope a call and see what the price would be for a Prague dropoff vs. Germany dropoff.

On a very short trip like this one, I'd probably skip Ulm....altho it IS not far off the autobahn. I'm not sure what else there is to see there, other than the tallest church spire in Germany, and it is the b-place of Einstein.
Are you using the train, or driving?
I don't remember the drive to Cesky Krumlov being as bad as the previous posting said, but maybe I just lucked out. Instead of spending 3 nights in Prague, you could stay onenight in C. Krumlov on your way to Prague.
EK

I assume you will be travelling by car. If by train, your schedule is too tight and you would have to skip Lindau.

If you get into FRA in the morning, you need not spend 2 nights in Heidelberg. One would suffice. Spend the "saved" night in Lindau.

I would re-arrange the trip as follows:

Day1: FRA - Heidelberg (It's only about 1 hr. driving time)Visit castle in Heidelberg.

Day 2: Drive along the Neckar river on the "Castle Route" to Neckarsulm. Pick up Autobahn A-6, head east as far as the intersection with autobahn A-7. Head south to Fuessen (Hohenschwangau, Neuschwanstein) About 4 hrs drive) Overnight in or near Fuessen (Alternates: Pfronten, Reutte)

Day 3: Morning Neuschwanstein; around noon leave for Lindau. Route: Fuessen - Reutte - (Route B-198) to Weissbach - Gaichtpass (easy pass road)B-199 to - Oberjoch - Hindelang (44km from Fuessen) - (B-308)Immenstadt - Oberstaufen - Lindau (70km)

Overnight Lindau: Hotel right at harbor Reuteman - Seegarten (nice ,but a bit on expensive side) A bit out of town, Montfort Schloessle, about 50 Euro a night.

Day 4: Lindau: Either drive to Meersburg and back. If yor are so inclined, take ferry boat from Meersburg to Konstanz side of lake and visit Insel Mainau,a beautiful garden island. Leave your car in Meersburg, and take cab or bus to Mainau. Waiting times for car ferry can be long.

Or, from Lindau, take boat to Bregenz (1/2 hr) and take cable car up the Pfaender mountain. Great view of lake and Swiss and Austrian alps.

Overnight in Lindau.

Day 5, drop off car in Lindau, take train to Munich, Salzburg.

Day 6 etc. as per your original plan, all travel by train.

Why? Picking up your car in Germany and dropping it off in Prague is VERY expensive. However, there is no charge for drop-off anywhere in Germany. Additionally, you would have to buy a toll pass for driving the Austrian Autobahn (about $7) and the Czech Autobahn (about $30). Further, some rental car companies are kind of stuffy about taking cars into the former eastern countries.

I have driven all the mentioned routes many times and they are fine and scenic.



Day

When in Salzburg, go to the Augustiner Beer hall, they still tap wooden barrels for the beer. A very real and local beer garden / hall. I would also recommend the fortress tour. In the area you can go to the salt mine for a tour and then go to Hellbrunn castle, a very fun stop. If you are big Sound of music fans, you can take a tour, Bobs or Panoramtours. Heard good coments about Bobs tours. St Peters cemetery or Mirabell Gardens. Oh you should try a bosna, while in town. It seems to be a local special sausage eaten on a special flat bun. You can get them at the local fast food stands. We became rather addicted to these.

Glenn