Central Europe in 2 weeks
 

Hello everyone. My husband and I are planning a trip to Central Europe this April (leaving March 30th and returning April 14th). We are just wondering if anyone has some tips/suggestions on where are some great places to see in Germany. We have relatives in Vienna so will be staying there for a bit and travelling around. So far we were thinking of flying into Berlin, then making our way south through Germany, then on to Austria, head to Budapest for a couple nights and then to Prague for a couple nights, heading back to Vienna to our relatives and maybe stop at Bratislava for a day trip, ultimately flying back to Canada from Vienna. Any thoughts?? Thanks for anyone who responds.

I should add that we are interested in seeing castles and historic monuments, but also just to experience the culture of each place, enjoy the food, markets, etc.

How do you plan to travel. Although distances are relatively small compared to the U.S., it takes time to go from one place to the other. If you really want to see Prague and Budapest, I suggest take the train from Berlin to Dresden and then Prague and then Vienna. From Vienna you could go to Budapest. You might want to consider an open-jaw ticket arriving in Berlin and leaving from Budapest.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7623230920764/

Sounds like a lot for two weeks. Either lengthen the trip, or cut destinations if you really want to experience the area.

That said, you're likely better off going from Germany to Prague to Budapest (long trip here -- 7-10 hours depending on the train or bus you take, consider a short and potentially cheap flight, a google search of discount european airlines should do the trick) then to Vienna for the family. Bratislava is a day trip from Vienna -- it's an hour away and really small.

Last check, Prague, Budapest and Bratislava all have castles. So does Karlstejn, which is less than an hour from Prague. A list of Central Bohemian castles (within about 90 min of Prague) is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...entral_Bohemia

Think more about what you want to see. Czechs and Hungarians had very different experiences with communism, Nazism, the Holocaust, medieval history, etc.

Don't try to cram too much into your trip. Two weeks is not *that* much. If you have relatives in Vienna then stay there for a week and do day trips from there to Bratislava and the Wachau (Danube valley upstream).

Start the trip in Berlin, go by train via Dresden to Prague and then to Vienna. Unfortunately you won't have time to do Dresden and region justice as you are planning to see Berlin AND Prague. Btw, I'd scratch Budapest from the list, it's too much IMO.

There are plenty of castles around Dresden, btw. See this website:
http://www.schloesserland-sachsen.de/en/home/

I.

I think you are planning to do a lot in 2 weeks. For example I think these cities deserve this time.

Budapest: 4 days
Berlin 3-4 days
Vienna: 3-4 days
Prague 3 days

That doesn't include any daytrips or transportation between locations. With Vienna a must I would stick to Austria and 1 or maybe 2 other countries. When I travel I do a maximum of 1 country per week unless I've already been there.

If you want to keep your flights the same consider Berlin, Dresden, Prague, and end in Vienna.

How much you cover depends on your travel style. When we were younger, in 1975, we picked up a car in Munich, drove through parts of the Danube valley and up to Prague, from which we went to the far end of Slovakia, and then down to Hungary including Budapest, and finally returned the car in Vienna (no drop-off fees and no VAT on the rental). All this in 21 days, and we have fond memories of the trip. Search in my sets and you will find the photographs of that trip.

Are you going by car or by train or by a combo of both? Renting a car in one country and returning it another can be so so expensive so check on that if motoring. If going by train then IMO check out the Eastern European railpass, good in Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. the efficacy of course depends on how many train trips you will take but the pass generally presents the option of just showing up at a station and hopping any train anytime. For loads on rail travel in Eastern (Central) Europe check out these info-laden sites: www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com. A railpass again is not always the best ticket to ride so compare ordinary fares from the official web sites of the countries involved.

"Budapest: 4 days
Berlin 3-4 days
Vienna: 3-4 days
Prague 3 days"

Berlin is a very big city with some of the best museums in Europe.
Budapest - not so much.

I would stop in Dresden if only to see the Green Vault.

Personally, I think the moppy-headed guy on PBS is pretty mediocre for Central Europe and if you want information on any of the cities that used to reside behind the Iron Curtain, www.inyourpocket.com is a great resource.

That said, renting a car in Germany and driving into Prague may be prohibited by your rental company. Prague is as notorious for car thievery as Barcelona is for petty street crime. And it will cost you an arm and a leg to pick up a car in country #1 and return it in country #2 even to the same company (Hertz, Europcar, etc).

I said Budapest for 4 days because it is more spread out and your time can't be used as efficiently. I also can't read any of the language so everything takes me longer.

Berlin would get 4 days for me if somebody plans on seeing Potsdam. We had 3 days and saw what we wanted within the city (including multiple museums) but didn't make it to Potsdam.

I would also recommend traveling by train with the locations you plan on visiting.

Thank you everyone for all your informative responses. My husband and I have a flexible schedule. We haven't decided and a single mode of transportation yet but were looking into travelling by train, possibly by car in some places. We were wondering if the following sounds like a good idea: arrive Berline for ? nights, then train, +/- rent a car and drive through Germany south to Munich (if we rent a car we would drop it off here), then train into Austria to Vienna and day trip from there to Bratislava, also maybe to Salzburg, then head to Budapest for 2-3 nights, then to Prague for a few nights and then train back to Vienna to fly out. I know it sounds like a lot but are energetic to see a lot as we don't have the opportunity to travel very often. Thanks again.

We aren't set on Budapest by the way, just thought if we had time we might include it. If the trip through Germany will take a lot of our time then we may just do as suggested and travel from Berlin to Dresden and on to Prague for a few nights, then on to either Budapest or straight to Vienna and see if we have time to get to Budapest. We are pretty open as to where to go (except our flight path). Lots to think about still, obviously. We certainly are enjoying all the planning and research!

I stick to my recommendation Berlin-Dresden-Prague etc. by train. I don't think via Munich (and driving) is a good idea. If you are keen on seeing Budapest you could do this even as a day trip from Vienna, just like Bratislava. But going from Vienna to Prague would be backtracking of the worst kind.

then train into Austria to Vienna and day trip from there to Bratislava, also maybe to Salzburg, then head to Budapest for 2-3 nights, then to Prague for a few nights and then train back to Vienna to fly out

well this much train travel IMO makes the European East Railpass a no-brainer and IMO the train is the way to go if staying mainly in large cities where cars can be a liability as much of the city centers are off limits to private vehicles, parking can be problematic - many hotels may not even offer it or charge a lot if they do, etc.

what Ingo said. you will see a lot more if you stop still for longer, and certainly a week would not be too long in Vienna if you are doing day trips as well as seeing the city itself.

as you are not that keen on museums, personally I would leave Berlin this trip as you are going to Vienna, and from Vienna, i would go to Munich to see the scenery and castles in that area, from there to Prague, and back to Vienna.

in 14 days, that should be more than enough.

5 days within 1 month

1st class p.p. $304 2nd class $209
Extra rail days (5 max.) $34 $29

These are current prices for Eastern European Railpass - so for first class travel, which for the average tourist I always strongly recommend for more relaxed and luxurious travel you can get a base of 5 days of travel in all those countries at $60/day or about 45 euros a day and you can virtually hop any train just by showing up - and extra days above the 5 base are just $34/day or about 25 euros a day for first class travel! Unlimited travel for a calendar day and if taking an overnight train it is still just one day on the pass due to the 7pm rule - board the overnight train after 7pm and the next day is your unlimited travel day.

Or in 2nd class 5 days are $209 or about $42/day or aboout 30 euros a day - with extra days above the base 5 days just $29/day or about 22 euros a day.

Compare these with ordinary prices and see why, for anyone taking several train trips in these countries I say this pass is a great bargain.

Thanks again for more input, that railpass definitely sounds like the right ticket, as we don't want to do any driving/rental vehicle. We already have our flights booked and set to fly into Berlin and out of Vienna, so that is not flexible. We are thinking of staying in Berlin for 3 nights, Dresden for 1 night, Prague for 3 nights, Budapest for 2 nights and then to Vienna for 5 nights, from there we will do a day trip to Salzburg, and a day trip to Bratislava. Hopefully it all makes sense. We are getting more and more excited as we get our planning underway. I really do appreciate all the input everyone, thanks again.

Hello again, just wondering if anyone has some recommendations for hotels in Berlin that are reasonably priced, around $100-$150/night, in a good area for new tourists or near the train station?? Thanks.

Berlin has several train stations and one main train station, its Hauptbahnhof (the name of the main central train station in any German town) but by the new Berlin Hauptbahnhof there is little of anything - there may be one expensive hotel in the station but otherwise this station is in a zone full of government buildings like the Reichstag. Now the Berlin S-Bahn links many other train stations to the Hauptbahnhof and a station like the Berlin Zoo station have many hotels around them and some of the long-distance trains may even stop at Berlin-Zoo station (in the heart of former West Berlin)

I checked out the Eurorail East pass and it has everything we need, except Berlin and Dresden Germany. Are there any passes that include these?? I couldn't find any passes that had everything. Anyways, thanks again for the advice. I guess we will just have to buy separate tickets.

The Eurail Select Pass could include Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and Hungary - all your countries but it is much much more expensive I believe - the cost of getting from Berlin to the Czech border can be really cheap if you book the advance online SPAR type fares at www.bahn.de - the German Rail web site - those tickets are not changeable but can be often had from 29 euros in 2nd class. Compare the price on getting to the Czech border added onto the Eastern European pass and I thik you will do better with that than buying the Eurail Select Pass (for current prices check these sites - www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com and www.raileurope.com - prices are always the same but pass prices rise and fall with the dollar so some sites may be slow on changing them.

Rthomson-

I may have spoke wrong - after looking at the Eurail Select 4-Country pass, valid in Germany, czech Republic, Hungary and Austria I see you can buy a 5-day first class pass (Saverpass - two adults traveling together - for $423 p.p. or for a 6-day pass (it seems in your OP you have at least 6 rail travel days) $462 p.p.

vs E European Pass for 6 days first class p.p. (no saverpass exists on this pass) $338 but this pass is not good in Germany so if you are working your way south from Berlin to Austria $128 would be the difference in price of the Eurail Select Pass over the E European pass for the same number of days and you can easily spend that if going north-south thru Germany - especially if you want the flexibility to just hop any train anytime (you can often get 29 euro fares but those must be booked weeks in advance to guarantee getting them and then I believe cannot be changed nor refunded)

But due to a current special on Eurail Select Passes if you buy a pass before sometime in March - I forgot what date it said - you would get an extra day free but only on 6-day or longer Eurail Select Passes - not the 5 day pass - so you could get a 7-day E Select Pass for $462 p.p. - good if 7 days of rail travel are envisioned - and sometimes day trips from say Munich or Vienna can even be costly)

And the European East Pass does also come in 2nd class whereas if over 25 with the Eurail Select it is only first class - and after zillions of European rail trips and especially in old Eastern Europe I always highly encourage the typical traveler to go first class - lots more empty seats, more spacious seats, more room for luggage - I always it seems can put my luggage on a nearby empty seat and keep a good eye on it and have it be accessible rather than being in a stuffed full overhead rack, etc.

But the cheapest pass I think for you would be the 2nd class European East for 5 days (minimum number at $209 p.p. and pay point to point in Germany - but again even 2nd class fares on a fully flexible basis in Germany can literally cost hundred bucks or way more - see www.bahn.de for Berlin to Munich full fare for example.

anyway to clear up my previous post - do investigate the Eurail Select 4 country Saver Pass and if 7 days of rail travel are envisioned buy before sometime in March to get a 7-day pass at the price of a 6-day pass.

Thanks for your info PalenQ, I appreciate your time. I will definitely check out all my options. I have found a pass called the Central Europe Triangle pass, and combining it with point-to-point tickets from Berlin-Dresden and Dresden-Prague it is cheaper than any other option we have found. Is it better to pre-purchase these passes/tickets now, and then have them in hand for when we get over to Europe? Are reservations needed? Much obliged for all your info!!

Rail passes are frequently sold only outside the target area because they are meant for the foreign tourists.

Like Michael says since locals are often not eligible to use those passes they are not sold at stations or travel agencies in those countries - the Central Europe Triangle pass takes a lot of analysis and if it fits your triangle it can be the best deal if you are going directly to Prague from Berlin and not working your way south thru Germany to Austria - like via Munich and Salzburg then it would not be an option.

Are reservations needed>

depends IMO on whether you have a first-class pass or 2nd class one - 2nd class can often be IME quite full and SRO at times - in Germany - but very few German trains require reservations in most cases as is the rule in places like Italy, Spain and France - so you can always board. In first class on German trains and even in Central Europe and especially Austria I have never in decades of train travel ever recall seeing a full first-class train car and no Austrian train TMK also requires reservations - I believe most in Czech Republic and Hungary do not require reservations as well. If you want to pre-reserve it will only cost a few euros if done in Europe.