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First time Central/Eastern Europe Visit Itinerary help!
Hi everyone,
I'm planning a 3 week solo trip from Nov- Dec this year and have a bucket list of places to see :) Since it's my first time to Europe and everyone here seems so helpful and knowledgeable i thought i'd ask for a bit of help. For some background, I'm in my 30's living in Egypt atm and reasonably healthy i guess. Mostly there to see the sights, architecture, some museums and a bit of nature, don't really care about nightlife,dining or drinking etc. The plan is something like this: Day 1 - 3: Munich Day 3 - 4: Salzburg Day 4 - 6: Vienna Day 6 - 9: Prague Day 9 - 10: Cesky Krumlov Day 10 - 12: Budapest Day 12 - 14: Maybe Bratislava/Slovenia? It's quite ambitious i know trying to rush the major cities in like 2-3 days but if all goes according to plan i will have about 6 - 7 days free. So the first question is whether the itinerary look doable or reasonable? Secondly, I'm hoping to be able to do a bit of a hiking and maybe take a beginner skiing course somewhere around the places i mentioned above but i have zero ideas about this and am hoping someone could maybe suggest somewhere that is good for it and English speaking. I'd appreciate any help or input that anyone has. Cheers! Reid |
>>It's quite ambitious i know trying to rush the major cities in like 2-3 days but if all goes according to plan i will have about 6 - 7 days free.<<
As I see it you don't have even 2 days most of your stops (you are counting the same day in two different cities and you don't account for travel time anywhere). What you actually have is: Day 1 - 2: Munich -If day 1 is your arrival day you have barely 1.5 days there Day 3 : Salzburg - half a day Day 4 - 5: Vienna - 1.5 days Day 6 - 8: Prague - 2.5 days Day 9: Cesky Krumlov - half a day Day 10 - 11: Budapest - 1.5 days Day 12 - 14: Maybe Bratislava? - If day 14 is your departure day - 2 days I don't see anywhere you have time for any hikes or skiing |
Will you be driving or depending on public transport. I agree the time frame seems ambitious, and I am not really sure you are going to find snow easily that early in the winter.
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You mention first that it's a 3 week trip but I see only 2 weeks on your itinerary. My biggest concern about your timing is that you seem to be leaving only 1 full day in some major cities & will have no hope of really enjoying even a fraction of what these cities have to offer, let alone time to sit for a sidewalk coffee & watch Europe walk by.
Here's your list: Day 1 - 3: Munich Day 3 - 4: Salzburg Day 4 - 6: Vienna Day 6 - 9: Prague Day 9 - 10: Cesky Krumlov Day 10 - 12: Budapest Day 12 - 14: Maybe Bratislava? For example, day 4 you leave Salzburg & travel to Vienna. You have day 5 in Vienna all day, then leave for for Prague next day. Presumably you'll have bits of days on Days 4 & 6, but having non-arrival/departure days to relax & take in a great city is essential to my way of thinking/traveling. Munich & Budapest are each 1 full day, Prague you have 2 full days, but Salzburg & CK not even 1 day that isn't cut short by travel. You can do much better & lots of travelers here will have suggestions but 1st, do you have 2 weeks or 3? You have the option, if 2, to cut cities to improve your overall experience or, if 3, to spread things out but certainly not to add more. |
Yeah i arrive on Day 1 at 10 am kinda hoping to be able to check out on day 3 morning. Oh no i'm not departing on day 14, i have up to day 21 xD just giving myself alot of extra time in case. The train ride from Munich to salzburg takes about two hours. But you're right i'll try to edit and allocate more time for travelling. But out of all those destinations listed which one would you recommend for some hiking/skiing?
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>>The train ride from Munich to salzburg takes about two hours.<<
Yes -- but you have to add in packing, checking out, going to the train station, the train trip, getting to your next hotel, etc . . . so that 2 hours train trip really eats up half a day. If you have 3 weeks -- then take the list you have now (assuming they are your 'musts') and add one day to every single destination - then it is almost doable. You'd still have 7 different hotel stays - but at least it would be spread over 21 days and not 14. |
Oh -- I see you are a brand new member -- Welcome to Fodors :)
Unfortunately that means you can't post again until tomorrow -- I'm sure you will get more input/feedback between now and then so take in all the comments and tomorrow you can ask some more questions. |
Hi, Reid! I’m planning a very similar trip and I know something about skiing. So, the first issue is that you need to decide how important skiing is. Because it’s one of those things that you want at least two full days. 1 day to take lessons. 1 day to practice/enjoy the area. And chances are you’ll be very sore the third day, so you might not be up to sightseeing. And it’s going to take time to travel to wherever you go. Second, the trick that early is to pick the surest bet. A list for you: https://www.weathertoski.co.uk/top-1...esorts-europe/ I’d probably pick Solden, and I’d rearrange the trip so I was in Salzburg area last. The later the better. According to google, it’s roughly 4 hours via transit. So. This is where is becomes up to you. I was looking into this last night because there’s a krampus parade in Tirol in early December (okay, yes, I know, I’m weird.) But also occasionally I do like mountain trips, and skiing, and the area looks amazing. I ultimately decided it wasn’t worth the travel time. I can ski at home, for one thing. You probably don’t have that option. second, related: I highly encourage you to look at each location and list off what you want to see. I have a few days more and I was doing this—I already cut Salzburg and I may have to cut somewhere because the reality is that all of those places have SO MUCH to offer good luck! |
Originally Posted by Reid30
(Post 16971590)
the first question is whether the itinerary look doable or reasonable?
But I'm confused -- you begin by asking about a 3 week trip, and then list 14 days. Which is it? |
>>But I'm confused -- you begin by asking about a 3 week trip, and then list 14 days. Which is it?<<
I think Reid30 meant he hopes to hit all these places in the first 2 weeks and then he has another 7 days to add more destinations. >>Oh no i'm not departing on day 14, i have up to day 21<< Maybe we'll get more details when he can post again tomorrow. |
Originally Posted by janisj
(Post 16971859)
>>But I'm confused -- you begin by asking about a 3 week trip, and then list 14 days. Which is it?<<
I think Reid30 meant he hopes to hit all these places in the first 2 weeks and then he has another 7 days to add more destinations. >>Oh no i'm not departing on day 14, i have up to day 21<< Maybe we'll get more details when he can post again tomorrow. |
>>instead spreading the time across the cities already listed. JMO.<<
That's what I thought too . . . (I'd even consider cutting something, but at least with 3 weeks it wouldn't be a mad dash) |
I should have said: spreading the time across the cities listed, not counting those in italics. ;) I would recommend no more than 6 of these destinations in 3 weeks.
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I honestly don’t think it’s doable/enjoyable across three weeks before the skiing. I had a similar list across almost four weeks. I think I had 4 nights in Munich and I didn’t even scratch the surface last time. And even after cutting Salzburg, I’m feeling like I need to cut something else in order to breathe, never mind to allow wiggle room for delays or new finds.
Reid— I think you got the same problem I do. Limited time off. So much to see. Travel sites make these places look small. They’re really not, and the attractions are very dense. Plus, you really need to consider how much time you will willingly spend on the trains vs. sightseeing. And I have no idea about Egypt, but the days are relatively short in this region this time of year. You don’t get as much done as you think you will. |
1 - Thank you janisj it's been a treasure trove of resources here so far.
2 - Thanx marvelousmouse for the tip! I love sound of Music haha since forever so i definitely wanna go Salzburg but yea i can try somehow make it last on my trip. Weird is good..who wants to be normal anw lol. Also I guess i'm gonna go all out and make it a 4 week trip!! so i can get everything done xD SO many nice places to go gosh...Slovenia also looks amazing >_< 3 - kja Ok i guess i'll try and slow things down as many have suggested and add one more day to all the major cities which will still give me some room to plan for my skiing trip. Thanx for all the input guys/girls, keep em coming! |
Originally Posted by marvelousmouse
(Post 16971875)
I honestly don’t think it’s doable/enjoyable across three weeks before the skiing. I had a similar list across almost four weeks. I think I had 4 nights in Munich and I didn’t even scratch the surface last time. And even after cutting Salzburg, I’m feeling like I need to cut something else in order to breathe, never mind to allow wiggle room for delays or new finds.
Reid— I think you got the same problem I do. Limited time off. So much to see. Travel sites make these places look small. They’re really not, and the attractions are very dense. Plus, you really need to consider how much time you will willingly spend on the trains vs. sightseeing. And I have no idea about Egypt, but the days are relatively short in this region this time of year. You don’t get as much done as you think you will. |
>>i guess most attractions close once it gets dark?<<
Not really -- the opening hours are close to the same year round. Sometimes things are open maybe an hour longer in the summer. The main difference is when you leave a museum at 5PM in July - you have 4 or 5 more hours of daylight to stroll around/sightsee/enjoy parks. When you leave that same museum at 5PM in December it is already dark outside |
Originally Posted by janisj
(Post 16973320)
>>The main difference is when you leave a museum at 5PM in July - you have 4 or 5 more hours of daylight to stroll around/sightsee/enjoy parks. When you leave that same museum at 5PM in December it is already dark outside
since you like weird: https://www.atlasobscura.com/ |
If there are "attractions" that matter to you, check their opening / closing hours before you finalize an itinerary. There's nothing like showing up somewhere that is a priority, only to find that it's closed.
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