r_shum

I'm planning my first trip to Europe starting late April for 3 weeks. My preliminary idea is to visit <BR><BR>Focus:<BR>Germany (Munich, Romantic Road, Fussen, Rhine river)<BR>Swiss (Lucern, Interlaken, Zurich, one scenic train)<BR><BR>Short trip:<BR>Salzburg (maybe Vienna too), Amsterdam, Bruges &amp; Brussels. <BR><BR>Any experience on similar itinerary? How to schedule my trip? Any suggestions/recommendations/tips are welcom.<BR><BR>Thanks a lot.

r_shum

Forgotten. I¡¦m going to buy a railpass (but not yet decide the type and days). So, occasional night train is fine with me. <BR><BR>I¡¦m also looking for budget accommodations (basic, clean and convenient without luxury facilities)? Even Youth Hostel is fine.<BR><BR>Thanks again.<BR>

bobthenavigator

What are your gateway and egress locations? The good news--you have 3 weeks. The bad news--it will still be chilly in the Alps. I did the Glacier Express over Easter weekend one year. I would include Austria in this trip. Do not stay in Interlaken--stay in Wengen or Grindelwald for Berner Oberland. I do not see enough time for the Benelux segment. Stay further south and try to include Prague if you are young.

Derek

Amsterdam, Brussels, and Brugge is a bit far from southern Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.<BR><BR>If you plan minute deals, keep this into account. If you are very flexible, collect information on this northern detour then decide during your trip whether to take it.<BR><BR>If you have a train pass, you will be tempted to overdo it and also to make the northern detour. If you buy individual train tickets, the pressure is off. When I have travelled, I found out that I saved money by not buying a pass. Consider Virgin Express which has a base in Brussels and Ryanair which has a base in Charleroi (not too far from Brussels) to make that northern detour.

rex

Second that opinion from Derek - - a rail pass is a good to pre-purchase more train travel than you want or need.<BR><BR>Travel around less. See where you are more.<BR><BR>Going with any one? Much merit to having a car in Germany.<BR><BR>And Vienna PLUS Zurich PLUS the Benelux segment is going in two many different directions from Munich. The best itineraries usually look like a line, or an arc, not a &quot;star&quot;.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>[email protected]<BR>

r_shum

Thanks for all the reply.<BR><BR>Maybe I didn't make it clear. the cities listed above are not in sequence. It¡¦s simply those I want to visit during the trip. At present, the sequence in my mind would like (all connected by train):<BR><BR>Frankfurt - Rhine cruise - Romantic Rd - Fussen - Munich - Salzburg (maybe Vienna too) - night train - Swiss <BR><BR>But don't know how to join Benelux into my schedule (preferrably by night train). <BR><BR>So, any comments?

Michael

Car leasing is generally cheaper than rental but is available only for periods exceeding 17 days and I believe only available in France. But if you plan a round trip from Brussels, you could pick up a car in Lille and then do the Benelux, Germany and Switzerland with no problem. Or land in Frankfurt and pick up a car in Strasbourg. The lease must be arranged at least 4 weeks ahead of time and prepaid from a non-European Union country.

crazymina

In Germany, I can recommend Hotel Jedermann. If you don't mind sharing a bath, it is very reasonable. They were sold out on single rooms, so I got a double room for single use for 45 euro. Tram stop is right outside the door, and it is very easy to get to town center. Also close to the trainstation, which will be convenient for you. Munich transportation is a snap. Hotel has an excellent spread for breakfast.<BR><BR>On the Romantic Road, Hotel Meistertrunk was nice. It's hard to stay in hostels in Bavaria if you are over 26, unless it is independently run.<BR><BR>In Vienna, there is a place called the Wombat's backpackers hotel. if you are traveling with someone, you can share a double room for 18 euro each (dormrooms are cheaper). You get your own bath and toliet. It's not within the ring, but I thought it was very clean and a good deal. I also stayed at the Hotel 3 Kronen, which was very convenient and clean. A double was 74 euro per night.<BR><BR>If you really want the nutty hostel experience, stay at the YoHo in Salzburg. I can't recommend it wholeheartedly, but it is clean. They just redid the flooring, and it's a 10-15 minute walk into old town. 19 euro a night to share a double, and the double I stayed in was fine. You get your own washbasin, but have to share facilities. 50 cents for a 6 minute shower...you might be too &quot;old&quot; for that kind of thing. I know I was...but now I can take a complete shower in under 4 minutes flat!<BR><BR>Bruges - Charlie Rockets hostel is clean and very central (but really, nothing is that far from central in Bruges.) 13 euro a night for a 4 person dorm. Ask for the one on the top floor, it was nice.<BR><BR>Hope that helps. I never thought I would be paying 14 euro a night for lodging and be satisfied with it, but when you pay that little, there's such a giddiness about it! Money for other things like food! In the Czech Republic, I have been averaging about 8 euro a night for great lodging. I agree with bobthenavigator. Go to Prague if you can...fantastic place, and if you go outside the center, you can still find beer for 50 cents US. Great fun.<BR><BR>Have a good trip!<BR><BR>

cparris

If you fly into Frankfurt, you could stay there the first night and then take the train north towards Bacharach. You can spend the night in Bacharach or you can take a boat (ie K-D line) towards Koblenz. You could spend a night in a smaller town, like St. Goar where you could tour Rheinfels Castle. There is a train that goes along the Rhine also and stops at the various towns. Then you can take a train from Koblenz to Koln. Koln has an enormous cathedral which is interesting to see. From Koln you can take the train to Amsterdam which takes about 3.5 hours. From Amsterdam you could either go to Burssels and Bruges or to Berlin. There is a night train from Amsterdam to Berlin and also from Berlin to Munich. You could also take a train from berlin to Wurzburg to do the Romantic road.

r_shum

The itinerary will probably be revised as:<BR><BR>Arrive Frankfurt early morning<BR>St. Goar / Koblenz<BR>Rhine River Curise<BR>Rothenburg<BR>Romantic Road<BR>Munich<BR>Day trip to Fussen<BR>Salzburg<BR>Vienna<BR>Night train to Zurich, then Lucern<BR>Golden Pass to Interlaken<BR>Gimmelwald and around<BR>Zurich, night train to Amsterdam<BR>Amsterdam<BR>Brussels and Bruges<BR>Go home<BR><BR>Any comments/suggestions on the above schedule? in particular, where to stay and for how long in each city?<BR><BR>Thanks again.

r_shum

Just topping it. Any comments/advice to my revised itinerary? Thanks.

r_shum

Can anyone help? Thanks

RAR

I personally would go N Germany &gt; Bavaria &gt; Austria &gt; Czech (Prague is much more interesting than Zurich) &gt; Belgium &gt; Netherlands

RAR

&quot;Arrive Frankfurt early morning<BR>St. Goar / Koblenz<BR>Rhine River Curise<BR>Rothenburg<BR>Romantic Road<BR>Munich<BR>Day trip to Fussen<BR>Salzburg<BR>Vienna<BR>Night train to Zurich, then Lucern<BR>Golden Pass to Interlaken<BR>Gimmelwald and around<BR>Zurich, night train to Amsterdam<BR>Amsterdam<BR>Brussels and Bruges<BR>Go home&quot;<BR><BR>This wont work in 3 weeks, perhaps if you had a month. Munich, Vienna, Amsterdam are all worth 3-4 days, Brugge and Salzburg are worth 2. That's a minimum 13 days right there, leaving only 7 for everything else on your list. To me, a more interesting (and doable) plan would be:<BR><BR>Arrive Frankfurt early morning (day 1)<BR>St. Goar / Koblenz (day 2)<BR>Rhine River Curise (3)<BR>Rothenburg (4-5)<BR>Romantic Road (6)<BR>Munich (7-11)<BR>Day trip to Fussen (on day 10)<BR>Day trip to Salzburg (day 11)<BR>Vienna (12-15)<BR>Prague (16-18)<BR>Amsterdam (19-21)<BR><BR>Even that is pushing it, and assuming you'll take night train from Prague to Amsterdam, and that you have a lot of energy.

bobthenavigator

I agree with RAR above--something has to go. I would even drop Vienna from that itinerary and add those days back in the mix. This trip will be a blur if you try it all.

Sue_xx_yy

Travel writer Rick Steves, not known for wasting time, suggests you need 3 weeks for Germany, Switzerland, Austria. Even he doesn't try to cram in Benelux into the 3 weeks. <BR><BR>If you fly into Zurich, you can loop through Switzerland, and head up through Germany to Amsterdam if you're determined, but skip Austria. If you fly into Frankfurt, you can head down through Germany, sneak a peek at Switzerland, and head east to Vienna, but skip Benelux. Either approach will be pretty speedy. I say that and I'm a 'nomadic' style traveler myself. Good luck.