Advice on both Itinerary and driving
 

Flying from NY into Berlin later this month, staying 2 nights, then renting a car, driving to Prague, (staying 4 nights), driving to Munich (staying 4 nights, with 1 day exploring the countryside of Bavaria and visiting Neuschwanstein), then driving to Milan (staying 4 nights, likely spending two days at Expo) and finishing up with a drive to Zurich to fly home the following morning.

Four of us including our two teens (16 & 13). We investigated taking trains, but the times of trains to and from Prague as well as between Munich and Milan are less than convenient, remove our flexibility, would take longer than driving, and would overall, be more expensive.

Any specific advice for the driving?
We are aware of the need to obtain a toll sticker in Czech Republic but any other tips or 'need to knows'?
Any recommended towns between these cities that would be a nice place to briefly stop to break up our driving?
Any specific routes that we should avoid (currently planning to use the Google maps recommended shortest routes by time)?
Do any of these cities have restrictions that would prevent us from driving in certain areas?

Any other itinerary advice for these locations, including things that might interest our teens that do not like outdoor sports or amusement parks, would also be greatly appreciated!

Thanks.

Jeff

Jeff:

Couple of points:

A. You will probably have a rental drop charge in Switzerland, having picked up the car in Berlin.
B. You will not need a car to see Berlin, Prague, Milan and Munich.
C. Drive times are optimistic with Google, probably do not include city traffic.
D. Not sure what source you are using to see rail times. I used DB rail. As an example, I found 6 trains, non stop, requiring 41/2 hrs, starting at 6:46 AM to 6:46 PM. Drive time is 4 hrs. w/o traffic for Berlin to Prague.

I like to drive but visiting cities makes the car a hindrance. You can always rent a car in Munich for the Bavarian countryside.

Living and driving in Europe, we are fans of the road trip and have many fond memories of stops and sights. That said...

You are still a little ahead of the major family travel season, as most schools do not break until the end of June. That means slightly less traffic.

Of course, consider the drop-off fees for your intended route, and confirm that you can take a rental vehicle through CZ.

Berlin to Prague is an easy, straightforward route with a few castle ruins to peek at here and there. If you are at all inclined, Plsen and its brewery make for a nice stop en route to Munich.

From Munich to Milan, I think you have two options: routing through Switzerland (€40 vignette, 5.5 hours) or through Austria (€11 vignette, 6 hours). I can not speak to Switzerland, but if you route through Austria, Innsbruck and Trento make for lovely stopovers.

If at all possible, plan ahead for road trip food (e.g. bread, cheese, fruit from a grocer). Road food is rather limited, and often includes KFC, McDonalds, and crappy Czech/Austrian road side eats. Occasionally you will find an AutoGrill, which isn't bad, but is a bit of a time sink.

Happy Planning!

If they don't like amusement parks, are you sure you want to go to the Expo? If they have some super-keen interest in global food culture or avant-garde architecture, would make sense, but otherwise it is a huge hot fairground with advertiser/nation sponsored pavillions, load of public relations.

Your trip might be a lot simpler if you dropped off the car inside Germany and then took trains from there to Zurich if that is the departure airport you booked.

Also, check your rental car contract for possible clauses about taking the car into Italy.

I don't understand why you plan to drive and agree with what was said above. Btw, the motorway between Dresden and Prague is not completed yet on the Czech side and the traffic is insane at that leg (around Usti nad Labem). Also, it's not the families that cause the traffic jams, the trucks are the problem.

As for Munich to Milan - you wouldn't need a vignette for the drive through Austria and Switzerland. Take the route via Garmisch, Fernpass, Landeck, St. Moritz, Lake Como. It's a long drive (full day) but VERY scenic.

Be sure to motor thru Saxon Switzerland - along the Elbe River south of Dresden - one of the most gorgeous river valleys in Europe - eschew the autobahn here and meander - perhaps staying in one of the cute riverside towns, like Bad Schandau, right on the Czech border.

https://www.google.com/search?q=saxo...sm=93&ie=UTF-8

Advice on itinerary.

>> driving to Munich (staying 4 nights, with 1 day exploring the countryside of Bavaria and visiting Neuschwanstein) <<

For this leg of the trip. I would visit the castles on the last day, but not return to Munich. I would do one of two options. Spend the night near the castles(Fussen or nearby) or after touring the castles drive(1-1/2 hrs) on to Lindau on Lake Constance and spend the night there. This would reduce the driving time to Milan the next day. You can make reservations for the castle(s) from home to insure a tour time.

I would also reduce the 4 nights in Milan to 3 nights which
would give you the two full days for the Expo. Then you could spend two nights in Lucern before flying home. Also if the car drop off charge is significant you could go across the border to Germany to return the car.

Advice on Driving

Use viamichelin for route planning., I find driving times more realistic.

From viamichelin:
Berlin's city centre is accessible to the lowest polluting vehicles, upon purchase of a sticker.

The Czech motorway road tax is included in the cost calculation (price for 7 days).

The Austrian motorway road tax is included in the cost calculation (price for 10 days).

The Swiss motorway road tax is included in the cost calculation (price for 1 year).

Milan's city-centre toll is payable Monday to Friday, from 7.30am to 7.30pm. Rates vary depending on the vehicle's level of pollution, with free entry for the lowest polluting vehicles.

Another requirement. I think Austria and Italy require an International Driving Permit (available in USA at the AAA-autoclub).
http://travel.state.gov/content/pass...y/driving.html

Be sure you tell the car rental agency which countries you will be driving thru. Some car models may not be allowed in the Czech Rebublic.

Where did you research the trains?

Berlin to Prague, as posted above, is four hours and 39 minutes, and costs 117 euro for the four of you booked ahead (that's three adults and one child) vs. four hours 23 minutes and 55 euro (petrol car, from viamichelin).

Prague to Munich is four and a half to five hours by direct bus, and costs 87 euro for the four of you, vs. four and a half hours and 57 euro.

Munich to Milan with an overnight near the castles makes the most sense by road, but the night train would save a hotel night.

Milan to Zurich is four hours, from 88 euro vs. three hours 40 minutes and 79 euro.

That doesn't include the cost of the rental or of parking, or the aggravation of having a car in the cities. None of the train times seemed a problem.

With the exception of Neuschwanstein, your itinerary is only point-to-point from one major city to another. This is almost always an indicator to take public transport.
There is little joy in experiencing the Central European motorway system once the summer break season has started to kick in.

If you wanted to explore the mountain pass roads of Austria and Switzerland or the Bohemian/ Bavarian Forest on your way from Prague to Munich it would be a different scenario, IMO.

If you stick to driving:
The aforementioned sticker to drive in the central districts of Germany's cities (not only Berlin) comes with the rental car when you rent from a location in Germany.
Since you will need a Swiss motorway sticker for the last leg of your trip from Milan to Zurich anyway, you could at least also use the route from Munich to Milan via Switzerland (beware: some routes want to take you via a tiny bit of Austria near Lake Constance/ Bregenz --- you will need a Austrian motorway sticker also for those few kms). Or take the scenic route that Ingo suggested.
In any case, I'd rather incorporate the Neuschwanstein visit into the route from Munich to Milan than make it a day trip from Munich and backtrack next day South again.

Outstanding info from all. Thank you!

Lots to consider. We already accounted for the drop fee in Zurich. It’s quite reasonable. We are renting from Hertz in Berlin, and that local office confirmed that there are no restrictions driving the car into any of the countries we are planning to visit. We already have an IDP ... only $15 from a local AAA office here in the states (plus $5 for the passport photos).

We are planning to make some stops between the cities (Volkswagen Transparent Factory in Dresden, possibly Terezin, the Trausnitz Castle NE of Munich, and we’ll likely spend a few hours around Lake Como), so the trains are not a great option.

Good idea to visit Neuschwanstein on the way to Milan, but unfortunately, we’ve already reserved our tour at the castle. We are hoping we might be able to change the date/time.

Additional two questions:
1) As for vignettes for Austria and Switzerland, where and when can we purchase these. I read that for CZ, it’s just after we cross over the border into CZ. What about for Austria and Switzerland. And is there any problem having multiple toll stickers from different countries on the same vehicle?

2) Besides the area around Usti Nad Labem, are there any other areas that we should expect very heavy traffic? And do you know of any routes that would take us around the terrible traffic without significantly prolonging our driving time?

Thanks so much for all of the great info!

> I read that for CZ, it’s just after we cross over the border into CZ.

Not correct. You'll be fined if caught without one right after the border. Happened quite often (I live in the area.) Buy it from ADAC (German Auto Club) in Berlin or Dresden. This is where you can buy the stickers for Austria and Switzerland, too, but for the route I mentioned above you don't need one for Austria.

Same for Austria and Switzerland: You MUST buy the vignettes before you drive into either country on a motorway.
Ingo's advice is spot on: The ADAC offices/stores are a one-stop-shop solution to buy all three vignettes. Sometime they are out of stock of some vignettes, though.
In that case, buy the ones you need from motorway gas stations as you drive South.
For example, when you take the motorway route from Munich to Milan via Rosenheim, Kufstein, Innsbruck, Brenner Pass, you get the Austrian vignette from every gas station on the motorways from Munich to the border.
Just keep in mind that in Austria, tunnels and pass roads cost extra - on top of what you paid for the vignette. So on the aforementioned route, you'd pay the appr €10 for the Austrian vignette PLUS the toll for the Brenner Pass.
Another reason to consider Ingo's scenic vignette-free route.

Traffic depends on which day you go. While Bavaria won't yet be on school break, other German States will be. So FROM Munich, you can expect heavy to very heavy southbound traffic on the motorways leading from Munich to Brenner Pass on fridays and saturdays. Including traffic jams as long as 20 miles or more.

Re. your last Q: It's not a problem to have multiple stickers on the windshield as long as each of them is in the right position. When you buy the stickers they come with a note/sketch where to attach them on the windshield.

Sorry, I mixed up your travel dates.
None of the states will be on school break before June 29.
So if you drive Munich-Milan before that date, you should only expect heavy traffic on Saturdays AM and Fridays PM on the motorways.

I guess this is obvious, in Europe the rules are that the outside lane and the middle lane are passing lanes while the inside lane is the driving lane. Some parts of the system are very fast so, if you are not overtaking you will be in the way, just looking in your rear view every so often is not enough, you need to overtake and get out of the way, lest you look back and there is a line of traffic sat on your tail flashing.

You may also find various bits of motorway grooved by trucks, tough it out, but don't wreck your suspension.

By the side of the road are often radio signals to advise of the radio for that bit of the motorway, useful if you understand the local language.

The Gotthard Tunnel in Switzerland devours hours of waiting time to get through the tunnel, especially at the weekends. Best to avoid.

robyn14, there is no problem with having multiple vignettes on the windscreen. Our personal (Austrian) vehicle currently sports the Austrian, Czech, and Slovakian annual 2015 vignettes, a Slovenia 10-day vignette from April, and the Swiss vignette from 2014 that we have yet to remove.

Not to muddle matters, but we purchased our Swiss vignette at the border. The authorities made it very easy; we pulled into a lane, handed €40 to the officer, and he slapped the sticker onto our car. Those paying with plastic were directed to a separate lane. Easy-peasy.

Before our car arrived, we took our rental car from Austria into CZ and purchased the vignette on the CZ side with no problem. There are plenty of signs informing you of the need for a vignette as you transit across countries; it is difficult to miss them. Be certain to have the appropriate currency (most stations have cash dispensers), as not all take plastic.