Author: wishing
Date: 01/21/2008, 11:01 am
We have 17 days in Germany and Austria this July. Thanks to all the great advice on this site the trip is almost complete. But I have an extra day - a nice problem, I know. Our itinerary is as follows:
3 nights with friends near Essen
3 nights on the Mosel
2 nights Rothenburg
1 night Fussen
3 nights St. Gilgen
3 nights Vienna
last night at Frankfurt airport
Should I add a day to Fussen or to St. Gilgen or 1 in Salzburg or, 1 night in Melk?
Any thoughts? We will most likely have a car in Austria which we will get rid of when we get to Vienna.
Thanks for all your help.

Dear Wishing, I would consider spending an extra night in Vienna. From there you could do a day trip to Melk if you wanted. We spent 5 nights in Veinna last May and day tripped it to Melk. We loved Melk and would say it was worth the trip. Also it was just really fun to "be" in Veinna. Hope this helps. Jer

I am not sure where to add a day, buthave you looked at drop charges in Vienna?
Also, how are you getting back to Frankfurt---flying?

Do you plan to pick up the car and return it in Austria? If so, you won't have any drop charges. I'm also curious as to how you plan to return to Frankfurt airport?

Anyway, we absolutely loved St. Gilgen because it was such a beautiful area and there is so much you can do as far as day trips. However, 3 days isn't a lot of time in Vienna, so you could add the day there and do a day trip to Melk as already suggested.

Either choice would be time well spent in my opinion.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Bob, We will probably fly air berlin from vienna to frankfurt.

Betty,
We were thinking of picking up the car in Essen, Germany and dropping it either in Salzburg and taking the train to Vienna or dropping it in Vienna on our first day their. I have not thoroughly researched this part yet. My other option would be to rent a car in Germany and drop it in Munich. Then take the train to Salzburg, rent a car for the 4 days in that area (I booked Schernthaner in St. Gilgen), and return it to Salzburg and take the train to Vienna. Does that sound reasonable or too awkward?

I booked our flight with Airmiles back in October when I wasn't really sure where we would end up. It would have been better to have flown home from Vienna but at the time we were considering Italy as well. Airmiles seats book really quickly so I did round trip Vancouver to Frankfurt before I was really ready to!

We have booked the Starlight Suiten apartments in the center of Vienna so perhaps I will see if we can book another night. Would it make sense to spend the first night in Melk instead?

I'm not a fan of one-night stays, and loved our five nights in Vienna. I would add the extra night there. By the end of your trip, Vienna would be a nice city to enjoy at a relaxed pace.

If you want to day-trip, the train/boat trip to Melk and Krems is fun. The Melk Abbey is beautiful. The Combi-Pass can be purchased at the train depot, and it covers entrance to the Abbey, plus round-trip train/boat travel.
>-

I'd add it to the Mosel & don't forget Burg Eltz.

Hi W,

>We were thinking of picking up the car in Essen, Germany and dropping it either in Salzburg and taking the train to Vienna or dropping it in Vienna on our first day their.

Large drop fee.

You could drop in Munich and train to Salzburg. Rent an Austrian car there.

See St. Gilgen and the Salzkammergut before dropping the car in Vienna.

You could spend yur extra day in Salzburg.

Ira,
I was thinking about doing the car rental the way you suggested but wasn't sure if it made sense. Why would you choose an extra day in Salzburg rather than Vienna? Just curious. I didn't fall in love with Paris and am thinking maybe I'll feel the same way about Vienna. I enjoyed all the sights in Paris but I found the crowds and the heat really tiring.
Thanks again everyone for all the input. (I can't add an extra day to the Mosel as I have already booked our hotels in Rothenburg and Fussen)

Wishing, since you are traveling in July, most of the places you are visiting will probably be crowded -- not just Vienna. I found Salzburg to be less tolerable with the crowds than Vienna since Vienna has a larger old town area.

Bettyk
Thanks, that's good to know.