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-   -   (Frankfurt - Prague - Warsaw - Berlin) by car (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/frankfurt-prague-warsaw-berlin-by-car-943974/)

wagnerspi Jul 23rd, 2012 10:37 AM

(Frankfurt - Prague - Warsaw - Berlin) by car
 
Hello,

It's the first time I'll go to Europe, and to reduce costs I'll probably drive between those cities (we are in 4, so it's kind expensive to go by train or plane)

I'd like to know if there is any place that is worth visiting between them, and any other advice about what to visit in those cities.

we are going in two couples, so romantic recommendations are welcome :)

Thanks a lot

Michael Jul 23rd, 2012 10:50 AM

Train is not necessarily more expensive than a car. If you are thinking mainly of stays in cities, consider that the car is useless for the time that you are in the cities. Assume $30 per day on the rental. A three day stay in Prague will cost $90 on the car rental plus the parking fee (probably about the same price for a 24 hour period). To these costs, add the fuel costs while you are traveling. Fuel is about twice as expensive as in the States.

To figure out travel costs by car, use http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/ which will give estimated tolls and fuel costs for any itinerary specified.

Low cost airlines might be another option.

wagnerspi Jul 23rd, 2012 11:57 AM

Thanks for this site.

I've added the cities and it gave me a total of 215.60 EUR plus the car rental that I've previously saw, it gives me a total of around 530 EUR, divided by 4 it's less than what I've found by train or plane.

Could you recommend some low cost airlines please?

Thanks

greg Jul 23rd, 2012 12:30 PM

Also be sure you are getting a rental car quote from a company that allows cars to travel into Eastern European Country. Autoeurope, for example, says for a car rented in Germany, "... may not travel into Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Slovakia,...."

wagnerspi Jul 23rd, 2012 01:05 PM

Hum.. I didn't know it

I've looked in Avis and Hertz, I believe they allow, will check with them. Thanks for the advice :)

Michael Jul 23rd, 2012 01:08 PM

http://www.flylc.com/directall-en.asp

wagnerspi Jul 23rd, 2012 02:08 PM

Thanks Michael this is a very good website,

If I were alone, it would be cheaper to travel by plane, but as we are in 4, it's going to be cheaper to travel by car and split the costs.

from ~400 EUR per person to ~137 EUR per person by car

nytraveler Jul 23rd, 2012 07:26 PM

Many companies won;t let cars - or certain cars (esp the larger ones) be driven into Czech republic or Poland. And if you do so your insurance will be invalid - so if anything happens to the car it comes directly out of your pocket. Be sure to ask about this when yo are pricing the car - so there are no surprises when you go to pickup the car.

And without knowing how much time you have - the price you're quoting doesn;t look like it will cover nearly enough time to get to these 4 places (more than 2 weeks).

SloJan2 Jul 24th, 2012 12:07 AM

Count me a fan of driving generally. :)

How long are you going for? Are you flying into Frankfurt?

Places to visit outside of Prague are Cesky Krumlov, Kutna Hora, Karlovy Vary, Terezin. "En route" to Warsaw, stop in Krakow and visit the city, as well as Auschwitz. Lots of day trips from Berlin are listed in Fodors already.

wagnerspi Jul 24th, 2012 11:13 AM

@SloJan2 Yes, I'm flying into Frankfurt,

I was already planning Auschwitz and maybe Krakow :)

going to look the others cities you've mentioned.

Unfortunately I won't stay long...

2 nights in each city, and 1 day to drive each route.

I like to take pictures of landscapes mostly, If there are any observatories or well located places to see the sunset, sunrise, a nice view, etc.. I'd appreciate recommendations.

Thanks :)

nytraveler Jul 24th, 2012 06:09 PM

Well, my suggestion is to do 2 destinations - since there is no way you can do 4 and actually see anything. And trying to stuff in still more desinations between the 4 major ones - when you really have only one day in each city - it just foolish IMHO.

Michael Jul 24th, 2012 10:34 PM

<i>I like to take pictures of landscapes mostly,</i>

What do the others like?

SloJan2 Jul 25th, 2012 02:17 AM

I agree with nytraveler. Reduce it to 2 cities. I wouldn´t choose to do Frankfurt over any of the others either. I would choose Prague and Berlin or Prague and Krakow, and think about doing a cheap flight from Franfurt to Prg. Czech Airlines flies that route in 1 hour 15 minutes for about €130 RT.

wagnerspi Jul 25th, 2012 04:54 AM

@nytraveler and @SloJan2 actually I've bought a package that includes hotels in the cities, so I can't change it =/

I'll have 2 days in each city plus 1 day to get to the next city, I was just wondering what to do in this day that I have to get to the next city...

For example: I will stay 2 days in Frankfurt and have 1 day to get to Prague, where I will stay 2 days and will have another to get to Warsaw...

@Michael, they enjoy nature and landscapes also, they also wanna go to museums and see historical places, I've already got a list of what to see in each city, like castles, museums and things like this, if you do have any advice of places to go, we'd love it

thanks


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