kiwi11

Hi, We are family of 2 adults, 2 grandparents and a 10 yr active boy. We will arrive Frankfurt late in the evening on 6-28 (Sun) and will fly out from Prague at 4pm on 7-9 (Thur). Here is a rough itinerary that needs a lot of your help on where to stay and what to do. Thanks! (We are budget travelers who love nature scenery, not so much on museums, architecture and city life)

6-29: Half a day in Old town area of Frankfurt, in the afternoon, rent a car to explore Romantic Road for about 3 days& nights. I would prefer to rent a vacation house as a base to explore the area instead of moving from hotel to hotel on the Romantic Road. Is that practical to do or too much driving since we are going to the south. If it's doable, where is the area I should look for a vacation house? Is it possible to cover a little of Black forrest in that 3 days?

7-2, drive to Hallstatter & spend 1 night, any suggestion on hotel?

7-3: drive to Plitivice National park, 2 night ( Do I need 2 nights?)

7-5: drive to Berchtesgaden via Lake Bled for 2 nights

7-7: drive to Munich to return car & take train to Prague in the evening.

7-9: fly out from Prague

Is there any of above locations where I might have problem finding parking space?
I plan to rent from Sixt, which location should I pick so we can avoid the traffic in the city & has easy transportation to take the train to Prague?


If you think there's must see places on my way to Croatia or back to Germany. please share your inputs / ideas. It's greatly appreciated. Thanks again!

kja

"drive to Plitivice National park, 2 night ( Do I need 2 nights?)"

Not necessarily -- but I do recommend 1 night and the better part of a day. Not only are the lakes connected by travertine waterfall formations, but moreover, each lake has unique microbiota, and as a result, the lakes are different colors. The best way to see that is to make a single, long loop through the park -- something on the order of 6 hours or more (including time for the boat that connects the lower and upper lakes). (Shorter routes are possible, just not ideal. Park rangers on site can help you plan.) And that, for most people, means staying 1 night nearby. Whether you want to try driving to your next location after that is your call.

neckervd

"If you think there's must see places on my way to Croatia or back to Germany, please share your inputs / ideas"

Do you really think that you will have time for that?
The drive from Hallstatt to Plitvice will take more or less a whole day (7 hrs driving plus stops for lunch and some relax).
The journey from Plitvice to Bled takes 7 hrs (5 hrs drive plus lunch stop and other stops).
Bled - Berchtesgaden (all aong the motorway) takes only 3 hrs, but there would be much more scenic (and much longer) itineraries with tremendous views to the Alps.

There is no evening train from Munich to Prague, but a bus (Munich dp 17.00, airport dp 17.45).
There are also buses from Salzburg to Prague.

PalenQ

Buses are quicker from Munich to Prague than trains, which late in the day may require a two changes of trains. One direct bus leaves Munich at 5pm gets to Prague just before 10 pm - trains with changes take a few hours longer and are rather uncomfy regional trains for much of the ride I think. www.bahn.de/en has the details and I believe DB runs the buses - anyways can buy tickets on that site.

so take the bus - cheaper and faster and only direct link at that time anyway - did not check mornings.

kiwi11

Thank you so much for all your inputs. I make that itinerary based on Google map ( Which has 5hr 18mins from Hallstatt to Plitvice, and 3hr 20mins for Plitvice to Bled. I can't imaging there is such a big difference on the estimate time. I guess I shouldn't use google map to plan my trip then? What other maps do you recommend for Europe?

kja

googlemaps often underestimates travel times in Europe. Try viamichelin.com and mappy.com

I usually take the longest time and add 1/4 to 1/3 of the total to adjust for breaks, mistakes, stops for gas or pictures, etc.