We are planning our 3rd winter trip with our daughter.
and we have decided on the following itinerary for December:

Fly to Munich arrive in the AM
this will be our second time in Munich and 3rd time in Germany so after soaking up so much german christmas markets this year we decided to get a taste of other cities.

17-Munich
18-Munich with a day trip neuschwanstein castle
19-Munich with day trip to Salzburg
20- mid morning train to Vienna
21- vienna
22- vienna
23- vienna
24-train to Prague
25-prague
26- Prague
27- Prague
28-prague
29- afternoon flight home from Prague

I realise we have many days in Prague , but i assumed traveling might be difficult on the 25th.
I have initially planned it the other way around but due to christmas markets closing on the 24th in Munich I reversed it since Prague christmas markets seem to be running until the 31st of December.

Your thoughts and recommendations are appreciated, we still haven't researched thoroughly what to do and where to go in vienna and Prague, so any recommendations for fun things to do with our daughter, Museums which are child friendly. we would be looking at architecture, History Museums, christmas markets.

Small towns day trip recommendations.

Thanks,

Salzburg is on the way to Vienna, so are you sure you want to roll over the Munich to Salzburg railway 3 times in 2 days?

I'd just do it the once, Munich-Salzburg then Salzburg-Vienna.

Two good ways to ticket this:

1) Book Munich to Vienna at German Railways www.bahn.de/en but click 'Add intermediate stops' and enter Salzburg and your desired duration. You end up with one trains-specific ticket from €29.90 with a pre-programmed stopover.

2) Travel Munich to Salzburg by regional train using a Bayern Ticket (as long as you don't go before 09:30 on a weekday). €25 plus €6 for each extra person, a bargain. Buy on the day, valid on any hourly Meridian local train, shown as 'M' on www,bahn.de/en. Then hop on any of the hourly double-decker Westbahn trains Salzburg-Vienna, pay the €27 fare on board. This way you stay flexible.

Vienna-Prague you'd buy at either www.oebb.at or www.cd.cz (whichever is cheapest) from €19 in 2nd class, €29 in 1st class or €44 in super-duper business class. You print your own ticket.

Or from 10 December there's private competitor Regiojet with fares from €15 in Standard, €22 in Relax and €29 in Business. Book this at www.regiojet.com

More info, timetable and advice for using either operator at https://www.seat61.com/trains-and-ro...ljet-train.htm

You should have little difficulty finding ways to keep busy in Vienna. Notable attractions right now include the Christmas markets; though, as with Glühwein, they are best enjoyed in moderation, and a little market research goes a long way. At the large Wiener Christkindlmarkt at Rathaus there is ice-skating, too.

The Natural History Museum has currently on exhibit a photoessay on Mustangs of the American West that might appeal; plus, many of the galleries are old-school, with cases filled with beautiful natural treasures to admire absent the glare of modern hands-on technology. The new Museum of Illusions is a fun outing, even for our 16 year-old daughter. Naturally, Schönbrunn Zoo is an option, too.

The architecture on the Ringstrasse is impressive. You can do it yourself using a €2,30 ticket and this guide, https://www.vienna-unwrapped.com/ringstrasse-vienna/ Or, you can buy €9 tickets for "Vienna's Ring Tram," a 30-minute slog around the Ring where you can watch a monitor to view the buildings you can not see because they are blocked by passing tour buses.

With 3+ days in Vienna you might even be able to get away for a day trip; the obvious choices being Melk or Bratislava. Both are very easily done using public transportation. Bratislava has two small and very food-oriented Christmas markets, and the city as a whole can make for a pleasant day outing, though perhaps less so for young children.

I hope this is helpful.

Then hop on any of the hourly double-decker Westbahn trains Salzburg-Vienna, pay the €27 fare on board.>

so these are never full? Always can hop on? Great rail info yes from Man in seat 61's commercial site -www.seat61.com - general info on trains and routes, etc also www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

My recommendation is to skip Neuschwanstein entirely and go straight to Salzburg after your arrival in Munich. If that's too much to handle on your arrival day, then see the Munich Christmas market and move on to Salzburg the next morning. There's plenty to do there and little to do in Neuschwanstein, and if there's snow it can be particularly difficult to get up.

I agree you'll be backtracking some in your proposed itinerary. I did much the same trip with my daughter a couple of years ago. We began in Prague and hired a driver to take us to Salzburg via Český Krumlov (which is a good three hour stop). After a few days in Salzburg we took the train to Munich.

There are numerous performances in Prague of organ concerts, operas, ballets, symphonies and plays, all of very high caliber. I'd encourage you to try to attend some performances if your interests lie in that direction. We did very little sightseeing, but spent most of our time enjoying all the cultural bounty that abounds in Prague.

Thanks for your suggestions, I forgot to mention the age of My daughter. She's 4. Would love to go to performances if they let kids that young in.

I'd knock a day off Prague - much smaller city than Munich or Vienna and then be able to do the day trip to Neuschwanstein without sacrificing things in Munich -have you been to Dachau in Munich suburbs - about as far away from Christmas Markets as possible!

Or maybe stay the night in Salzburg and hop Vienna train from there?

Bratislava is a nice short day trip from Vienna by train.

and if there's snow it can be particularly difficult to get up.>

Yes as was surprised to hear in another thread - no alternatives to a snow-clogged road but trudge thru it - not fun - serious uphill walk. If going check weather - unlikely but possible. Fussen is also a 2 hour-train trip each way and another 30 mins or so to the castles then the about 15-min uphill walk or carriage/bus rides. A lot of travel...

Last winter some friends went the week after Christmas. The line for the bus was an hour going up and by the time they left to come down it had started to snow. So no more buses and the lines for the horse carriages were outrageous. So they hiked down the slippery slope. It took 45 minutes. And was no fun. They couldn’t even get tickets to the inside. And in my experience it’s more like a 30-minute climb for most people.

Given that your daughter is 4- I very much enjoyed a day trip from Munich to the steiff museum. A bit corny, yes, but also well done and where else can a kid slide down an enormous Snake tube slide rather than take the stairs

17-Munich
18-Munich
19-moening train to Salzburg
20- Salzburg
21- train to vienna
22- vienna
23- vienna
24-vienna
25-moening train to prague
26- Prague
27- Prague
28-prague
29- afternoon flight home from Prague

I don't know. Might be too much traveling but since Salzburg is on the way it should be ok.

Two years ago friends took viator tour from Munich up the castle, passing by small villages on the way,it was covered in snow but they said it was organized and thoroughly enjoyed the whole trip... But for me it is not a must as I have to see what is convenient, after all its a holiday and want to relax a bit.

Any thoughts about trains on the 25th? Are the lines running slower than usual?

A quick look at the ÖBB website shows morning trains to Prague at 0810, 0910, and 1110.

There are specific children's performances at Schönbrunn and of course at MuTH (where the Vienna Boys Choir performs), but in general I would check with individual venues for age restrictions.

With your daughter being 4, the Christmas Market at the AKH would most appeal to her offering a petting zoo and plenty of child-friendly activities. There is a small Winter Market at Prater in front of the Riesenrad, along with pony rides and a carousel, as well.

I might also suggest making reservations for Christmas Eve dinner.

No, Salzburg-Vienna Westbahn trains can never be 'full' as reservation is optional and tickets available in unlimited quantities. You can always just turn up and hop on - and of course, you're getting on where the train starts, in Salzburg, so have first choice of seats.

They can be busy, but no big deal.

Thanks Man 61! And I supposed first class on Westbahn would rarely be full and similarly cheaper than Austrian Railways trains? If you board and find 2nd class too full then just go sit in first class and pay on train.

Westbahn trains sound like the easy way to go cheaply.

Is there a way to reserve a seat after purchasing the tickets From vienna to prague, didn't make a seat reservation and now read that it is best to make a reservation when booking first class..

It is possible to reserve a seat after the ticket has been purchased on both České Dráhy and ÖBB. If you don't want to make an international call, perhaps send an email with the ticket confirmation and request a reservation?

first class usually has more seats empty than 2nd class - you could always make a reservation once in Vienna if you can't here for some reason.