We are wedded seniors who have been to Germany and Austria on several previous occasions through the years. Also have been to Prague and Salsburg. We're looking for some adventure, have a car and have 5 days - we are going to start and finish our 5 days in Munich. Where to drive to - or should we leave the car and take a train to Italy or Paris? My spouse has relatives in Croatia/Hungary. We are wondering if that might be of interest or are these area dessimated by conflicts over the past 50 years? Can a person even drive to these locations or are cars not a good choice (take train?) Lost in the maze of options! Help!

I would post this in the Croatia forum also. It is reachable by car but a bit of a drive. What have you seen already?

Hi,

You could drive from Munich into Austria, over the Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse, into Heiligenblut and then onto Lienz, Austria. From here drive across (over them really) Italy's Dolomites from Cortina d'Ampezzo west through the Dolomites and back into Austria at Innsbruck and then back to Munich.

Should fill 5 days easily.

All along the drive you'll have spectacular scenery, charming old towns, quaint and picturesque alpine villages and simply some of the best alpine drives (over the Grossglockner and Dolomite Passes) around.

For overnights, I'd choose from Zell am See (Austria), Heiligenblut (Austria), La Villa, Alta Badia (Italian Dolomites) the Val Gardena in Italy and Mittenwald, Germany (less than an hr from Innsbruck) before heading back to Munich.

We have some pic's at:

www.worldisround.com/home/pja1/index.html

www.worldisround.com/home/pja1/travel15.html

Just an opinion.

Paul

How about the Swiss Alps and the Lago Maggiore, Lugano or Como in Italy? From Munich into Switzerland (via Lindau on Lake Konstanz) would make a very scenic drive. And nothing can beat the Swiss Alps ... that is, if you like mountains!

Well, thanks to all of you. Regarding my knowledge of Croatia, we have no experience in driving nor traveling there. We don't necessrily need to visit there - just wondered if it held mistique or intrigue...my spouse's parents had been born in that region of the world.

We love mountains - and have not been into Italy and have been told it is fun. However, one of the rental car companies implied that driving in Italy is at your own peril - he said it was off limits for his cars/rentals due th "crazy" Italians!

Yet, it sounds like that might be a good direction to go....any recommended small motels or B&B's in the trip to Val Gardena and Dolomites region?

I like pja1's trip. I'd add in on the way back travel Timmelsjochstraße by Sölden and then Mittenwald. Just to make sure you have enough Alps and passes. Going on Grossglockner can be very busy during August.

HI Skippie1,

We can recommend the Garni Ariston in St. Christina (Val Gardena) or our favorite place, the Ciasa Montanara in La Villa (Alta Badia).

www.garniariston.com

www.montanara.it

If it were my trip, I'd do this assuming 5 nights:
Munich to Zell am See, Austria.
Zell am See, over the Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse, to La Villa, Alta Badia, Italy.
La Villa
La Villa to Innsbruck area (we prefer either Mittenwald, Germany or Hall in Tirol, Austria to Innsbruck, as both are nearby).
Innsbruck area to Munich

Check with Andy Bestor at www.gemut.com (800.521.6722).
We rented a car through them our last 2 trips ('07, '09) for Germany, Austria and the Dolomites. Good prices and good service. They are very helpful answering any questions or concerns you may have.

Some (most) rental co.'s won't allow their higher end cars into Italy from Germany. We always start our Dolomite trips in Munich and have had no trouble bringing the car into Italy, as we reserve "compact" cars.

Oh, we can also recommend other places to stay along the way:

Zell am See - Pension Alpenrose (stayed in '09)
www.pension-alpenrose.com

Mittenwald - Pension Schwalbennestl (stayed in '05, '06)
www.schwalbennestl.de

Hall in Tirol - Gasthof Badl (stayed in '01, '03, '05)
www.badl.at

Also, at the southern end of the Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse, we loved the Pension Ederhof in Heiligenblut.

www.ederhof-heiligenblut.at

Paul

Thank you to all of you for the wonderful and thoughtful suggestions.

Specifically, we are doing our travel in mid September - would a person need to make reservations at the suggested Pensions, now, or would it be likely that we can simply arrive a bit early in the day and expect to find a room?

Skippie1

Hi,

We've been to these places anywhere from late Sept. to late Oct. and we always reserve ahead. We just prefer to know we have a place to stay which we picked out.

The one exception was last Sept., we showed up in Zell am See and found the Pension Alpenrose, as we hadn't planned on staying in Zelll am See.

Hopefully someone else can give more insight.

Paul

I was also going to suggest the Dolomites...and yes, you should reserve ahead of time. Many of these places are quite small and September is still a popular time to travel.

I can highly recommend Hotel Uhrerhof in a tiny hamlet above Ortisei. (www.uhrerhof.com)

Looking for adventure? Well...I posted a trip report a couple years back of our driving tour through Austria, Switzerland and Italy (including the Dolomites and a brief stop at Lake Como). We had 8 days and we did it round-trip from Stuttgart, Germany. If you enjoy driving you might get some inspiration from it:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...f-the-alps.cfm

Skippie1,
We've visited Croatia: Split and Dubrovnik, and loved the country. We'll go back with a car next time.
Some of are pictures are here: http://nor-per.com/Gallery.html
I've never been to it but I've fallen in love with the idea of visiting Plitvice Lakes National Park.
hausfrau,
I'm only up to Ortisei with you and it's been great trip so far! We've driven a bit in this area and love it. Next time you go don't miss Timmelsjochstraße. We went via the Timmelsjochstraße to Jaufenpass and then north, home. In Sept we will be in this area again as we head south into Italy from Munich. We love the drives as much as the destinations. I'm not sure if you are familiar with this web site on Alpine Passes, http://www.alpineroads.com/

bookmarking

norrisken, glad you are enjoying my report. We had so many passes to choose from and so little time...hopefully we will get back to the area someday. That is a great website - thanks for the link!