Czech Republic, Austria, Italy trip
May 9th, 2015, 03:15 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Czech Republic, Austria, Italy trip
Hi all! new guy here.
Me and my family are planning a trip to Europe from the US for 3-4 weeks. it will be their first time there, and they are quite excited. but, they don't seem to have a grasp about how to... go on about it. sure the flight and all is being planned and such, and I just might be the most knowledgeable.. but I need help.
We want to land in Rome, explore Italy, travel (by car) to Austria, explore and then travel to Czech Republic, and explore. A question that arises: I (myself) will be staying in Czech Rep. for a few more days after while they drive back to Rome for the return flight at the very end.
Question: Is it possible to get such an flight plan (for me) that has my plane take me (with family) to Rome, but my return flight flies to US from Czech Republic? I am not too knowledgeable when it comes to this.
Question 2: I know traffic is very much alive in Europe. How long are drives from Rome to Vienna, and Vienna to Prague? Estimates, of course.
Me and my family are planning a trip to Europe from the US for 3-4 weeks. it will be their first time there, and they are quite excited. but, they don't seem to have a grasp about how to... go on about it. sure the flight and all is being planned and such, and I just might be the most knowledgeable.. but I need help.
We want to land in Rome, explore Italy, travel (by car) to Austria, explore and then travel to Czech Republic, and explore. A question that arises: I (myself) will be staying in Czech Rep. for a few more days after while they drive back to Rome for the return flight at the very end.
Question: Is it possible to get such an flight plan (for me) that has my plane take me (with family) to Rome, but my return flight flies to US from Czech Republic? I am not too knowledgeable when it comes to this.
Question 2: I know traffic is very much alive in Europe. How long are drives from Rome to Vienna, and Vienna to Prague? Estimates, of course.
May 9th, 2015, 04:00 PM
#2
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 23,091
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Round trip fares often are often just the price of two one way fares. You might be able to buy single tickets for everyone, even those doing a round trip. If it turns out that this much more expensive than RT fares, book yours separately, making sure you arrive the same day in Rome. If using the same airline, you might even be able to be on the same plane. It might also be the time to use a travel agent and pay the fee if being on the same plane is important to you.
Try kayak.com to see if you can work out your family's itinerary by yourself.
Make sure that the car rental allows you to take the car to the Czech Republic. Autoeurope.com is good with such information.
viamichelin.com is quite good on driving times, but leaving out the necessary stops along the way.
You will need a vignette for driving on limited access highways in Austria.
Try kayak.com to see if you can work out your family's itinerary by yourself.
Make sure that the car rental allows you to take the car to the Czech Republic. Autoeurope.com is good with such information.
viamichelin.com is quite good on driving times, but leaving out the necessary stops along the way.
You will need a vignette for driving on limited access highways in Austria.
May 9th, 2015, 04:12 PM
#3
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 3,080
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Look for an "open jaw" ticket for your arrival in Rome and return from Prague. Book a regular round trip for the family. You will have to do two separate bookings,one for your family and one for you, but you should be able to choose the same flight there for all of you. I would do their itinerary first, since there are more seats needed ... then match yours to theirs.
May 9th, 2015, 05:58 PM
#5
SCDreamer was correct. We've done that before: 3 people flying together to EU, 2 flying back separately on an open jaws ticket from a different location.
One trick we pulled to ensure we could get on the same flight: we had two computers available to us, filled out the booking forms for 1 on one computer, the other two on the other computer ... made sure there were enough seats available, the submitted the final OK at about the same time. That was a couple of years ago when you could select specific seats when booking, so all were able to sit together.
One trick we pulled to ensure we could get on the same flight: we had two computers available to us, filled out the booking forms for 1 on one computer, the other two on the other computer ... made sure there were enough seats available, the submitted the final OK at about the same time. That was a couple of years ago when you could select specific seats when booking, so all were able to sit together.
May 9th, 2015, 06:10 PM
#6
PS.
You may want to carefully consider whether on not you want to drive. I drive a lot at home, have for years, love it, so don't mind driving in EU.
... But ...
if I'm just travelling between major cities in EU instead of exploring the the countryside I usually prefer the train ... its much more relaxing (trains in EU are Great and Fast and Frequent ... 50 years ahead of the states.
But most importantly: driving in cities in EU can be difficult, frustrating and not easy with parking hard to find and expensive ... and MANY cities (Rome, Florence, and many others) forbid driving in their center (or require special permits) and have VERY steep fines if you do (photo camera enforced .. and yes, they find and bill you in the US after the trip)
You may want to carefully consider whether on not you want to drive. I drive a lot at home, have for years, love it, so don't mind driving in EU.
... But ...
if I'm just travelling between major cities in EU instead of exploring the the countryside I usually prefer the train ... its much more relaxing (trains in EU are Great and Fast and Frequent ... 50 years ahead of the states.
But most importantly: driving in cities in EU can be difficult, frustrating and not easy with parking hard to find and expensive ... and MANY cities (Rome, Florence, and many others) forbid driving in their center (or require special permits) and have VERY steep fines if you do (photo camera enforced .. and yes, they find and bill you in the US after the trip)
May 9th, 2015, 06:16 PM
#7
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 12,038
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The correct thing to look for when booking is "multi-city."
It is not the same as two one way tickets. You will also not see it listed as "open jaw" on the web sites. That is just what many people call it.
All of you should land in Rome and all of you should depart from Czech Republic, probably Prague, just at different times.
To find distances, say from Venice to Prague, just type in "drive time from Venice to Prague" or "train time from Venice to Prague" etc. Several sites will pop up giving you the info you need.
I urge you to look into some of Europe's low cost airlines and fly rather than drive. Perhaps in one place where you want to explore countryside, rent a car for only a few days. You do not need or want a car for any place in Italy except for perhaps Tuscany or the Lakes region. You can't even drive into many city centers.
Trains are cheap and super convenient for most of Italy.
Decide first on your itinerary, exactly where you want to go and for now long. The. Decide on mode of transportation.
Not knowing your particular interests, or the ages of family members and their interests, I suggest a different approach.
Fly into Venice, stay 4 nights, do a couple of day trips.
Train to Florence. Stay four nights. Do a couple of day trips.
It is not the same as two one way tickets. You will also not see it listed as "open jaw" on the web sites. That is just what many people call it.
All of you should land in Rome and all of you should depart from Czech Republic, probably Prague, just at different times.
To find distances, say from Venice to Prague, just type in "drive time from Venice to Prague" or "train time from Venice to Prague" etc. Several sites will pop up giving you the info you need.
I urge you to look into some of Europe's low cost airlines and fly rather than drive. Perhaps in one place where you want to explore countryside, rent a car for only a few days. You do not need or want a car for any place in Italy except for perhaps Tuscany or the Lakes region. You can't even drive into many city centers.
Trains are cheap and super convenient for most of Italy.
Decide first on your itinerary, exactly where you want to go and for now long. The. Decide on mode of transportation.
Not knowing your particular interests, or the ages of family members and their interests, I suggest a different approach.
Fly into Venice, stay 4 nights, do a couple of day trips.
Train to Florence. Stay four nights. Do a couple of day trips.
Trending Topics
May 9th, 2015, 06:25 PM
#8
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 12,038
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Sorry, accidentally posted and did not correct. To continue. . .
Florence. Do not rent a car for Florence. You could stay somewhere else in Tuscany and rent a car for a few days to explore villages and towns.
Train to Rome. Stay five nights
Fly to Vienna. Train to places you want to see nearby or rent a car for exploring.
Train to Prague
There are a number of options. Get some good guidebooks. Start with Rick Steves just because he gives good logistical advice. Also read Fodors or Fromers.
Get a good map of Europe so you can get a better idea of distances and time it will take. You want to spend more time sight seeing than traveling.
Look at train routes. One big advantage of trains is they take you from city center to city center. You can relax, nap, read your guide books. No looking for expensive parking, no worries about driving in forbidden areas where you will get a big ticket later.
Florence. Do not rent a car for Florence. You could stay somewhere else in Tuscany and rent a car for a few days to explore villages and towns.
Train to Rome. Stay five nights
Fly to Vienna. Train to places you want to see nearby or rent a car for exploring.
Train to Prague
There are a number of options. Get some good guidebooks. Start with Rick Steves just because he gives good logistical advice. Also read Fodors or Fromers.
Get a good map of Europe so you can get a better idea of distances and time it will take. You want to spend more time sight seeing than traveling.
Look at train routes. One big advantage of trains is they take you from city center to city center. You can relax, nap, read your guide books. No looking for expensive parking, no worries about driving in forbidden areas where you will get a big ticket later.
May 10th, 2015, 04:01 AM
#10
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 12,038
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Oh, Italy is so very inviting. The trains and public transportation is light years ahead of the US, so it invites you to relax more as you travel around.
A car is still great for places like Tuscany.
A car is still great for places like Tuscany.
May 10th, 2015, 04:46 AM
#11
One of the tough things about going abroad is the b@@@@@s insist on doing things differently than we do at home 
So in countries that built strong buildings long before Mr Mercedes began selling cars you will find that the car is not seen as the natural answer that it might be say in your home state.
Italy is a wonderful place to visit both in town and in the country but you need to plan differently than you would say "jump in the car", with 3 or 4 adults using a car can still be a good solution but there are costs (such as fuel, parking, time and access) which you might not expect at home.
My BIL drives from Switzerland to Italy on occasion and to the Czech Rep, but he cannot fly and trains do not go where he needs to go, if you are mainly going big city to big city then train makes most sense. If you are going village to village then hire a car. Mixture of objectives requires mixture of solutions
So in countries that built strong buildings long before Mr Mercedes began selling cars you will find that the car is not seen as the natural answer that it might be say in your home state.
Italy is a wonderful place to visit both in town and in the country but you need to plan differently than you would say "jump in the car", with 3 or 4 adults using a car can still be a good solution but there are costs (such as fuel, parking, time and access) which you might not expect at home.
My BIL drives from Switzerland to Italy on occasion and to the Czech Rep, but he cannot fly and trains do not go where he needs to go, if you are mainly going big city to big city then train makes most sense. If you are going village to village then hire a car. Mixture of objectives requires mixture of solutions
May 10th, 2015, 11:10 PM
#12
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 23,091
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
<i>The correct thing to look for when booking is "multi-city."
It is not the same as two one way tickets. You will also not see it listed as "open jaw" on the web sites. That is just what many people call it.</i>
Price differentials should always be checked, not assumed.
I tried a quick check on Kayak of one way flights leaving NYC on July 1 to Rome and returning from Prague on July 22 (keeping within the time line of the OP). The total cost would be $1161.
The same open jaw ticket would cost $1186.
It is not the same as two one way tickets. You will also not see it listed as "open jaw" on the web sites. That is just what many people call it.</i>
Price differentials should always be checked, not assumed.
I tried a quick check on Kayak of one way flights leaving NYC on July 1 to Rome and returning from Prague on July 22 (keeping within the time line of the OP). The total cost would be $1161.
The same open jaw ticket would cost $1186.
May 11th, 2015, 02:43 AM
#13
CapandFamsTravels,
"Question 2: I know traffic is very much alive in Europe. How long are drives from Rome to Vienna, and Vienna to Prague? Estimates, of course."
On our return from Warsaw yesterday (a Sunday afternoon off season), the drive from Prague to Vienna was about 3:45. Stretches of the highway are being reconstructed in both directions so traffic is reduced to 1.5 lanes at points. This time was one of our best. Last summer it took nearly 5 hours for the same route on a Friday afternoon because of traffic and construction.
We drove from Vienna to Florence for one of the school holidays, and the driving time was 9 hours in good weather and a fair amount of traffic; we were all road weary by the time we reached our destination. Personally I would not drive Vienna to Rome in one day.
"Question 2: I know traffic is very much alive in Europe. How long are drives from Rome to Vienna, and Vienna to Prague? Estimates, of course."
On our return from Warsaw yesterday (a Sunday afternoon off season), the drive from Prague to Vienna was about 3:45. Stretches of the highway are being reconstructed in both directions so traffic is reduced to 1.5 lanes at points. This time was one of our best. Last summer it took nearly 5 hours for the same route on a Friday afternoon because of traffic and construction.
We drove from Vienna to Florence for one of the school holidays, and the driving time was 9 hours in good weather and a fair amount of traffic; we were all road weary by the time we reached our destination. Personally I would not drive Vienna to Rome in one day.
