kit

Hello,<BR><BR>I have booked a ticket on Swissair in and out of Prague for late April. It's a frequent flyer ticket, so I can still make changes to it for the next six days, including changing the inbound or outbound destination. (Open jaw)<BR><BR>If you do this frequent flyer drill frequently, you know that sometimes it's just best to book anything they have available and fine-tune it within your seven allotted days. So that's what I'm trying to do.<BR><BR>I'd love to visit each of the countries in the header, including even Germany -- but I really shouldn't be gone more than 10 days total. I am pretty flexible though...<BR><BR>I am not one of those people who likes to exhaust everything there is to do in a city. Highlights are best for me on a first-time trip, and that's what this will be for me to these places. I like return trips even better!<BR><BR>So, what is a perfect itinerary? Three places with three days each sounds ideal to me. (If the air schedules/avails cooperate!)<BR>I like the peace of the train system, too.<BR><BR>Thanks in advance. I've never been to this part of Europe and want to expand beyond my Spain/France/Italy comfort zone!<BR><BR><BR>

Wayne

You're talking about my favorite places and my favorite way to go--FF miles, that is. Austria and Switzerland, and even part of Alpine eastern France, are absolutely beautiful in the summer and early fall. And several of the cities in the Czech Republic, such as Prague, are worth the trip. I guess I have only 2 comments at this early point:<BR>(1) You need to decide what your mode of transportation within Europe will be.<BR>(2) You should (as I think you know) make up an itinerary that allows you the best sightseeing without backtracking (thus the open jaw).<BR>Based on flying into Prague, returning to the U.S. out of Zurich would seem the best thing to do. You can then travel, by whatever mode you select, along the way from the C.R. into Austria, then across Switzerland for your departure from Zurich. You might even graze northern Italy.<BR><BR>If you are planning to travel by train, you might as well wait for those reservations until next year. If you go by car, the possibilities for sightseeing are much more numerous. But renting a car in the C.R. and turning it in way over in Zurich will probably cost a pretty penny. So that's why I say, and you probably know already, that determining the mode of travel is important. There's no reason you couldn't plan train travel within the C.R., then to somewhere like Vienna, then westward into Salzburg, and from there continuing into Zurich, Switzerland. I don't intend to imply that those are the cities where you should stay overnight, because there are lots of other places along the line that would be wonderful stops. As some advisers on this site have recommended, you also need to decide whether you want to skip along through lots of places or dwell in a smaller number of spots. Your plan to stop for 3 days in 3 spots sounds reasonable. Personally, I would day-trip from Prague for one day, then to Vienna, day-tripping from Vienna for one day, then to Salzburg or even Innsbruck for the final 3 days, day-tripping from there, and finally on to Zurich. Lots of time to resolve all this, I know, but you do need to zero in on your arrival and departure points. Good luck.

kit

Wayne,<BR><BR>Many thanks for your thoughtful reply. I just went to the travel store and bought a European rail map and some travel books covering these destinations. But actually, I have only a short time to plan this trip. I leave THIS April!<BR><BR>I'm going to read and study these over the next few days (and consult the airline again) to zero in on the in and out points for the flight.<BR><BR>Otherwise, I plan to travel lightly -- with a wheel around suitcase and tote bag -- and take the train between destinations.<BR><BR>May I bother you for some further thoughts once I pick the airports?<BR><BR>I do like your Prague to Zurich itin, though. If memory serves, the train schedules into Prague aren't great.<BR><BR>I'll keep working at it from this end. Any other thoughts, anyone?

Leslie

Since you have to fly to Zurich, here is my suggestion: Arrive in Zurich by Swiss Air, Zurich to Prague via Swiss Air, Prague to Dresden by train (3 hours - take the early morning train), Dresden to Prague by train (3 hours - take a train that will get you back in time to Prague to get a plane to Zurich and then a train to Lucerne), Prague to Zurich via Swiss Air, Zurich to Lucerne by train (1 hour), Lucerne to Zurich by train (1 hour), Zurich to home via Swiss Air.<BR><BR>If you want to also go to Bern, you can get there from Lucerne in about 2 hours and can spend 2 days in Dresden, and a day in a half in both Lucerne and Bern.<BR><BR>This way you will get to experience 3 countries, the Czech Republic, Germany and Switzerland.<BR><BR>However, I would spend 4 days in Prague, 3 days in Dresden, and 2 days in Lucerne. <BR><BR>The train ride to Vienna is too long a ride for the number of days you have planned.<BR><BR>Don't quote me on this, but I believe that there is a train stop at the Zurich Airport, so you wouldn't have to go back into Zurich, per se, but Zurich is worth a few hours, especially if you want to see Chagall's stained glass windows.<BR><BR>Not sure where you are flying to in the US, however the flights from Zurich to the US on Swiss Air all depart between 10am and 1pm.<BR><BR>Lastly, you will only need to get to the airport 1.5 to 2 hours in advance in Europe to fly from Prague to Zurich, and not the 3 hours you need to fly overseas.

Marcie

We too are using frequent flyer miles flying into Prague on CZ Air (staying 5 days) then on CZ Air from Prague to Zurich for 12 days, then home to USA on Delta (CZ Air partner). Would something like this work for you? Not sure of who is partners with whom with these airlines.....I've always felt that American Airlines has the BEST places to fly and the best partners but this time we're using Delta FF miles. Good Luck! I know how confusing it can all be.

kit

My FF miles are on USAir, but they are partners with Swissair, which seems to work better. Am hoping to change one of the legs of my trip (probably inbound) from Prague to Zurich or Salzburg. Truthfully, I will have to take what's available, as I am booking very late!<BR><BR>I am now armed with a book and rail map, so I will be much better at this in a few days. I'm going to construct some itineraries and then see if I can change one end of the trip to accomodate that. If not, 9 days in and around CZ ain't so bad aither!

Armand

Kit,<BR><BR>I was in Switerland August 2000, and am going to Prague myself this July. Feel free to email me to ask any questions. I'm a preparation nut, and spend many hours researching before I travel. Good luck.

kit

Thank you all for the early advice! I will be away from the computer for a few days, so I hope the thread is still alive when I come back. My maps and another phone call to USAir will get me rolling in the meantime. Then I can do the fun part -- planning the points in between!<BR><BR>Thanks again. Top this for me, please, if it starts to go away. I can't check again until Thursday night...

ttt

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