Hi everyone,
I always come here for travel advice and I have to say you all are truly the best. I need to do my part to report on my travels and will indeed!

My husband and I have traveled a bit (he much more than I), and together we have recently been to Portugal and Italy (Rome and Amalfi). My husband was recently on a tour of US bases in Europe and fell in love with Germany. Our goal is to visit Southern Germany and drive to Venice Italy.

My Questions-
1. Is this possible in 7 nights so maybe 8 days total?
2. Would we need to fly in and out of different countries and cities (that could get expensive right?)
3. What are your recommendations of Must see and Must Do and do we really need closer to 10 days.
4. How to do it...where to stay, eat

About Us-
1. If it helps, we are early 30's celebrating our 5 year anniversary and likely (hopefully) our last trip sans child so this is a big one!
2. We are foodies
3. Some of our favorite travel experiences are at restaurants or places that are unique and not as touristy, where we struggle with the language etc.

We are planning on traveling either late June or early October. Budget is reasonable, hoping not to pay more than $300 a night on hotels if possible.

Truly, Thank You So MUCH!!!
Ciao, Ciao

2. Would we need to fly in and out of different countries and cities (that could get expensive right?)

Not necessarily more expensive, or that much more expensive. Use the "multi-city" function at airline website rather than roundtrip or two one-ways. If the price is slightly higher, don't forget to factor in the cost of having to backtrack to the original airport if you flew roundtrip to the same city.

You can ALWAYS spend more time on vacation, so 10 days would be better than less-than-10 days.

I'm not so familiar with southern Germany, but what are you interested in seeing or doing there? Enjoying the scenary, or doing some hiking as well?

Even in Venice, you can get nice, clean lodging for less than $300/night. Our new favorite small hotel/inn is Casa Santa Maria Formosa, right off the campo (piazza) of the same name. Though the staff speaks excellent English, as do many people in Venice.

Keep in mind that if you rent a car in Italy, then drop it off in Germany, you may have to pay a significant drop charge. Check with some rental companies on this. Also, if you're driving between the two destinations, consider whether an overnight in the Italian Dolomites would fit in. It's a shame to drive through the area and not have (or take) the time to stop and enjoy.

You definitely want to fly into one city and out from another. Flights from Venice to North America tend to leave very early in the morning, so consider flying into Venice and out of Munich. Open jaws should not be more expensive.

Venice is not known for its excellent cuisine. That being said, there are enough very good places to keep foodies happy. Our favorites are Alle Testiere, very well known but delightful, simple Venetian cuisine with some flair, and Anice Stellato, not so well known and a ways out of the way (but a great walk on a beautiful evening), Venetian cuisine with creativity.

Hi thedeaushuss1,

Yes, I think having 10 days would give you a better vacation and better memories than just seven or eight. Remember that you lose about half a day every time you move bases, and for your move to Venice, you'd lose almost the whole day. So if you want to have time for a bit of exploring and discovery, those few extra days will be important.

You should not drive to Venice. Most car rental places will charge you extra to pick up in one country and drop off in another, plus you won't use the car at all while in Venice. So it would be better just to take the train there.

I moved to Garmisch-Partenkirchen just about a year ago, and I don't have a car here. I get around great, using trains and busses; I love this way of living and travelling, moving slower and getting closer to natives who live here. I am a huge advocate of using public transport -- so I'd suggest you use trains for your German portion as well.

I would recommend early October over June; not sure if it's normal, but our Spring was absolutely WET. And if you like beer and crowds, you could even see the Oktoberfest in München that ends on 3 October.

If you want to spend four days in Venice, that would leave you with about six days in southern Germany, or maybe two destinations. Salzburg or Berchtesgaden might be your first, and then you could pick another town or Alpine village to round it out -- maybe Mittenwald or somewhere on the Tegernsee. If you choose to stay in a pension or guesthouse, you could find something for around 30-50 E per person per night.

Here's one site to help get started nailing down your destinations:

http://www.bayern.by/portal/frontend...ng=de&lang=en#

Anyway, good luck planning!

s

Don't waste your time, money and energy driving to Venice. There's an "Europa Spezial" ticket option through the German Railways site if you make an advance purchase; prices there are as low as 43 Euros each way for Munich to Venice. You can also check Air Berlin for that route.

10 days would clearly be best. Here's a quickie trip to hit some highlights:

Southern Germany: You could probably fly in and out of Frankfurt cheaply. Head straight to Würzburg, Bavaria (about 1.5 hours by train) for 2 nights. You can daytrip easily from there to Rothenburg, Bamberg or Nuremberg, depending on your interests.

Then get an early start and head to Munich for two nights.

On the 3rd evening in Munich, catch a night train to Venice or fly. 2 nights there (or 3 nights if you fly} is probably enough.

On day 8, finish southern Germany by flying Ryanair to Frankfurt Hahn; flights on some days leave around noon and are as little as 40 Euros all inc. Spend days 8,9, and 10 enjoying the scenery, wine, and castles of the Rhine and Mosel Valleys. then fly out of FRA.

You may end up paying $300 a night in Venice, but there's no reason to spend more than around $100 per night in Germany if you want modest accommodations. Check out Bavaria Ben's site: http://www.bensbauernhof.com/accommodations.html

Oh my, so much to absorb already. I'll start with researching your recommendations. You are all right, the train sounds best for sure. I don't even know why we thought to drive.

To be honest, my husband would rather stay in Germany but I feel that I cannot really miss seeing Venice.

I'll be back with more questions as I get further along.

Thank you So Much and a HAPPY NEW Year everyone!!!

hi thedeaushuss,

as this is by way of being an anniversary trip, [congrats BTW]why not fly INTO Venice and out of Munich or Frankfurt.

depending on how much of Russ's ideas you like, and how long you have got, you could spend 3-4 nights in Venice, then get the train to Munich, spend 3 nights there, and then finish the trip on the Rhein/mosel flying back out of Frankfurt.

for this you need 10 days minimum, 2 weeks would be better. if you only have 7-8, either give up Venice [oh, no!] or just do Venice and Munich.

whatever you decide, you will save money time and energy overall if you fly open-jaw into one place and out of the other.

have a great trip, and happy new year.

I would reco June over September - the days will be much longer and the Venice film festival is in Sept - which drives hotel prices sky high and makes the city a tourist nightmare.

Check out flying open jaws into Munich and out of Venice. And I wouldn;t give up on a car - IMHO the best way to see the German countryside and the area of Austria between Germany and Italy. If you shop carefully you may get a car with a not bad drop off charge - and you have the freedom to do whatever you feel like at any time. (I find it extremely frustrating to see something cute out of a train window - and then just see it fade away - rather then being able to get off the road and spend a half hour or a half day seeing whatever it is.)

I'd definitely consider annhig's plan -- two main reasons:

1) Open jaw won't be more expensive, especially when you consider the extra stress of having to backtrack to your arrival airport.

2) Flying to Venice makes more sense than flying home from Venice. Most Stateside flights out of Venice leave VERY early in the AM and that just complicates the logisitics.

So, in to Venice and out of Frankfurt or Munich depending on where you plan on going in Germany. Of course 10 days is better than 7 - one day will be mostly for getting over jetlag and one day will be spent packing and flying home. But 7 or 8 days would be marginally OK too.