We have decided to try to take in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in our 10 day trip this August. We are scrambling to make plans, but having never been there, we are overwhelmed with planning. I thought maybe I'd get some good advice on here.

1.) We are thinking of flying into Munich, then going to Salzburg, and looping down through to Switzerland. I am assuming it is more expensive to fly into one city and out the other, but we have to look into that - otherwise, we would consider flying home from Zurich.

2.) We want to drive and from everything I've read, it seems just fine to drive around this area - again - have to look into the car rental drop off thing (I have heard it can be expensive to pick up in one country and drop off in another).

3.) We need advice on a possible route and what are some super things to see along the way. We are interested in some hiking - we love history, museums, cultural stuff.

There are few things we have pinpointed as "must sees" but before we go too crazy, I thought I'd see what other have to say. Suggestions on car rentals, hotels, sites, routes are all welcome!

Our problem will be to rein ourselves into a route..."hey, Italy is just over there" will get us into trouble if we let it!

Thanks so much!
Jessi

We really enjoyed a drive to the GrossGlockner(or more accurately "Großglockner") glacier, in Austria. The roads were twisty and beautiful...great for driving enthusiasts and full of mountain beauty. The glacier itself is somewhat interesing but much reduced from decades ago. We drove up from Linz but in your case you might drive south from Munich.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gro%C3%9Fglockner

We also really enjoyed the drive through the Italian Dolomites...eventho you say you don't want to do Italy on this trip...I thought I would put in a plug for them b/c they were the highlight of our trip. We just did a day trip there from Germany, so we didn't dip south too much but it was very worth it.

Hi Jessi,

This is just an opinion... I'd save Switzerland for another trip. With 10 days I'd suggest a loop trip starting and ending in Munich or flying into Frankfurt and out of Munich (or Munich to Frankfurt). The scenery in Bavaria and Austria (and the Dolomites!) is beautiful, the old towns charming and there is just so much to see and do in these areas alone. It also cuts down on the driving. Here are links to our last 2 trip reports of these areas. Maybe they'll be of some help.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ith-photos.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...nd-austria.cfm

We have photo's at:

www.worldisround.com/home/pja1/index.html

www.worldisround.com/home/pja1/travel15.html

Paul

"Open Jaw"(flying into one city and out of another) is not necessarily more expensive expecially when you factor in the time and cost of returning to the same airport.

The "drop fee" on a car can be expensive. Check with Bob or Andy Bestor at Gemutlich Travel Gemut.com for a good deal and good advice on a car rental. Remember that cars picked up at the airport or train station get a whopping 19% sur tax so pick up at off site lot if possible.

Fly into Munich and spend a couple of days.
Pick up a car on the way out of town and go to Fussen yo see Neuschwantein.
Then make your way to Salzburg by way of Wiesskirche, Oberammergau, Linderhof, Ettal Monasrery, Garmish and Mittenwald (see ViaMichekin.com for maps).
After a day or two around Salzburg (Hallstatt, GrossGlockner, Berchtesgaden).
If you still have time head ti Italy and the Dolomites ending up in Venice. Fly home from there.

I think Paul's on the right track here. 10 days isn't much time, especially if you really want to experience any of the places you are visiting. Limit yourself to some of the prettier areas in lower Bavaria. You'll be glad you didn't try to see 3 countries in 10 days.

Hi Snow,

You have at least one country too many.

Ten days is very few to cover even parts of 3 countries.

And flying into one city and out of another is NOT more expensive - look under multiple destinations n the web sites.

Renting a car in one counry and dropping in another will cost more - but the amount differs by type (manual or automatic - most in europe are manual), size and company.

Can't even begin to help with an itinerary. You need to get some guidebooks and read them to see what are YOUR must sees. Then go to a good mapping website (viamichelin.com is OK) and figure out a route.

Thanks for all your advice! We know that we have an ambitious plans, but I've seen fairly similar trip reports posted on this forum for trips in about the same time frame. I understand that 3 days per country is not nearly enough, but we are only 33 years old and will have more opportunity to come back to places we really like. We want to "sample" the area and take in as much as possible. We are very happy driving and taking in scenery with a few stops along the way.

For example, we did L.A. to San Francisco (with stops in Santa Barbara and San Lois Obispo including the Pacific Coast Highway, San Fransciso, and Yosemite) in a week's time. It was a lot of driving, but we felt like we really saw a lot of California (our fist trip). Now we know where we want to go back to in the future and we had a great time!

So that's where we are coming from. Sure, we could probably spend 10 days in one city, but we want to see as much as possible in the time we have right now.

So if you had to choose something to see in each country along a route that would take us from Munich to Salzburg to Zurich, what would that be? If you had 3 days in each country in this area, what would you choose?

Thanks!
Jessica