My wife and I are travelling after a 7-day cruise, from Venice to Austria, Switzerland and Germany in late August, '06. We thought about staying in Mittenwald, Germany as a base for several days going to Neuschwanstein, Innsbruck and maybe Salzburg. Then we plan on going to Lucerne for several more days as a base in Switzerland. We will have about a week total after a week on a cruise. Are we tackling too much and would a car or train be the best way to get around?

Hi groucho --

My first recommendation is to put more information in your title, at least "Germany & Switzerland itinerary," to attract the people who know that area.

Second, I wonder if you know that the train trip from Mittenwald to Luzern will be about seven - eleven hours long? I'm not sure I would want to travel that far for just a few days. Maybe you can find a budget flight through www.whichbudget.com.

I want to pass on some resources for you -- to research driving routes & times, use www.mappy.com or www.viamichelin.com; to research train schedules, use www.rail.ch.

Good luck!

s

For what you want to do car is by far a better choice than train. It sounds like a lot of diferent places for the time you have - but you don;t say exactly how many days - or where you will be flying out of.

I suppose it is possible to do Innsbruck and Salzburg- but they will be very long day trips.

Actuallly from Mittenwald to Luzern by car is only about 3.5 hours - but you will have used up most of your days in MIttenwald - unless you have more than 7 days - you'll have little time there.

Day 1 Venice to Mittenwald
Days 2 to 4 Mittenwald/Neu, Innsbruck, Salzburg
Day 5 Mittenwald to Luzern
Day 6 Luzern
Day 7 Fly home from ???

Also - where will you fly home from - Zurich?

Hi. Mittenwald is a lovely small town with painted buildings and violin makers. I know you can travel by a popular rail line to Innsbruck in an hour, but a daytrip to Salzburg would require another couple of hours from there.

Re Switzerland, may I suggest Rapperswil on Zurichsee? You can visit Lucerne easily from there, and Rapperswil has a pretty harbor with lake views and distant mountains. The rail route from Rapperswil to Lucerne is one of my favorites.

I confess to being a devoted train traveler, so a bit of inconvenience traveling in Bavaria wouldn't stop me, but if you're comfortable driving, well. . . . J.

right now my friends and i are planning a trip to octoberfest and surrounding areas for 8 days. i've found (after hours...and hours..and hours of research) the most efficient (time and money) way around germany is by car. we are going to munich for 3 days, salzburg for 2 days, fussen (neuschstein castle) for a day and a half. we are renting a car in munich and returning it to kempton (just outside of fussen) for 4 days for 350 american. then taking a train to lucerne (if you look you can find one for just over 4 hours. plus i hear it's a beautiful ride) for around 68 dollars american. good luck. send a reply if you find a better way.

Thanks for the responses. I really appreciate the attached resources. I looked at couple and they are great. Car sounds like it may be the best bet but I want to fit a train ride in there somewhere just to experience it. We will fly out of Zurich so I think that will help timewise a little.

You're trying to fit a lot into a short period of time. Personally, I'd skip Innsbruck in favor of Salzburg--a much more beautiful city, IMO. That will save you a bit of time.

If you rent a car in, say, Garmisch, you could complete your journey to Mittenwald, have the flexibility to see Bavaria, then drop the car at either Singen or Romanschorn on your way to Luzern and take a train from there. I wouldn't trade Luzern for Rapperswill in that it is one of the more beautiful combinations of lakes, mountains, river scenery plus good restaurants, shopping and things to see.

Thanks for the input regarding Salzburg. That's what I need to narrow this down. This is starting to come into focus a bit. How about this: take the train from Venice to Salzburg, rent a car in Salzburg, use it through Bavaria and on to Lucerne, finally dropping the car in Zurich and flying home from there? Would that make sense and optimize our time and travel?