Advice on getting to, b/w, and from Germany, Rome, Venice (in that order)
 

Because of the schedules of my co-travelers, I've got a strange itinerary on my hands and am wondering what people would suggest.

In early September, I'm going to Muenster, Kassel, Rome, and Venice -- in that order. I'm coming from Seattle.

Without completely breaking the bank, what do you think is the fastest way to travel between destinations?

And where should I fly in and out of?

If I do intra-European flight, is it cheaper to try to do everything all on one airline, or should I book the flight from the US in and out first, and then book any other air travel in Europe separately?

Have you checked the intra-europe options on Whichbudget.com? Kayak.com occasionally has good rates for flights within Europe.

All I can suggest is that you do what we all do....start searching!

>In early September, I'm going to Muenster, Kassel, Rome, and Venice -- in that order. I'm coming from Seattle.

Without completely breaking the bank, what do you think is the fastest way to travel between destinations?

Transatlantic flight to Düsseldorf, Hamburg or Frankfurt.
Train to Münster (there is also a small airport in Münster; if you get a flight right there for a reasonable price, take it, but don´t sweat it if none is available)

Train to Kassel

Flight out of Cologne, Hannover, Frankfurt or Düsseldorf to Rome

Train to Venice

Transatlantic flight out of Venice or Milan

Train travel in Germany: www.bahn.de
Train travel in Italy: www.trenitalia.com
Flights from Germany: www.ebookers.de, www.flugboerse.de
cheap flights within Europe (overview): www.skyscanner.net, www.whichbudget.com

As far as I'm aware, there are no nonstops from Seattle to Germany. However, LTU has nonstops from Vancouver to Dusseldorf, and to Munich, www.ltu.de, and Lufthansa flies nonstop from Vancouver to Frankfurt. So when you're figuring out all your permutations and combinations, Vancouver might work out better than Seattle.

We just did a trip to Frankfurt to Rome to Venice.

I was extremely pleased with the overnight train we took from Frankfurt to Milan, then took another train to Rome early in the morning.
Here is the sight for booking. I know it was cheaper than a flight, even moreso when you skip a night in a hotel because you're on the train.

oops, the site:
http://www.nachtzugreise.de/nachtzug...ew/index.shtml