Hello to all!
Is a trip to all of these countries in winter over a 17 day stretch a good idea?

I am worried about storms and safety because we want to drive the whole trip. I feel I will lose something by train!!!

The idea is....
Dec 15th- Dec 23rd frankfurt, nurnburg, prague, fussen, salzburg

DEc 24th - 30 italy

Dec 30-31st frankfurt

I would do the train especially if there is snow. You'll miss the weather related traffic jams. We've had to return our rental car in a different city because the roads were all closed, so we paid the drop off charge and continued on with the train which was so much more enjoyable (less stress)

depending on your itinerary you might need the snow chains for your car wheels somewhere in the altitude. Second warning is the deep fog in the italian northern flatland which unfortunately is cause of big car crashes in winter time !!

What you might miss by taking the train, you make up for by adding safety and sanity to your trip. It is not a good time of year to be crossing the Alps by car if you have never done it before.

I want to stress that if you decide to rent, please make sure that the rental car has snow tires. If you get into an accident in Germany on the roadways during inclement weather, and if you do not have snow tires on the car, the financial consequences are huge. This is the new law in Germany.

DAX is so right. You will have much less stress if if you are taking the train. Imagine you are in Italy on the 30th and there is a major snow storm on your route through the Alps. You could get stuck for enough time to miss your plane back. That's the kind of stress no one wants.

I would drop Prague and Fussen and instead spend a few days in Nürnberg and a few days in Salzburg. In both places you will have plenty to do with day trips (Salzburg will be a dream that time of year...you can take the train in to the Salzkammergut and enjoy incredible Alpen views- heavenly).

Where in Italy are you thinking of?

>if you do not have snow tires on the car
The rental companies don't tell you about this and on demand charge extra for the tires. Hard to believe, but true...

Hi N,

>Dec 15th- Dec 23rd frankfurt, nurnburg, prague, fussen, salzburg<

5 places in 8 days?

How important is Prague?

Have you checked train schedules and times between cities? See www.bahn.de

Prague to Salzburg is a 5-hr drive.

Thank you all for your imput!

With your help, I have decided to drop Prague and concentrate on Germany and Austria. I really appreciate the advice concerning the snow tires.

My wife and I are planning to make our way to Nurnberg and Regensburg, where we will stay for a few days and enjoy the Christmas markets. Later we will make our way to Salzburg to explore the city and the surrounding area. Again, we will be there for a few days. Last but not least....we are still planning to stay in or around Fussen to take in the glory of the many castles.

BELLACQUI- Why would you skip Fussen?

I thought Fussen would be great for the castles and from then head on to Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance where we will fly to Italy.

I thought it would great if we could possibly hit a Spa in the Baden-Baden area, but, there may not be enough time!


BELLACQUI- We are flying from Friedrichshafen to Pisa, then make our way to Venice.

Again thanks for the pointers!!

I would think that the Ludwig castles would be a lot of fun in the winter - not as many people, blanketed with snow. Seems like it would have a real "winter wonderland" quality about it.