civiclx

Hello there. I believe this might be my very first thread I first found Fodors back in 2013 when I was getting ready for an Ireland trip.

So I am hoping to get to Germany and Northern Austria in a month or so and I can use some help. I know that I should have started planning this trip much sooner but unfortunately I didn't. I look at it like Germany and I should have tried online dating for about a year so that when we finally met, we would already be intimately acquainted.

The main problem I'm having is I find myself not being able to make up my mind on what I want to see and do. The first question is what interests me and I'd have to say scenery. After scenery, I'd say architecture and history.

My rough itinerary is to arrive in Berlin where I would stay for three or four days. I would use this time to make any day trips to surrounding areas like Potsdam. From there I would head South to Stuttgart. I have an online friend that has extended an offer to stay at his place for about a week. I should have just said a friend because now people are wondering if someone is going to try and make me their sex-slave. I suppose if I got weekends off to tour the city...

So in between Berlin, I would pick a place to stay for two days. I was thinking of using Leipzig and seeing Dresden to the East and do some exploring to the West in Saxony-Anhalt. From there I would head Southwest to Stuttgart trying to see a few places in Northern Bavaria along the way. I'm thinking I'll be in Stuttgart for about five days. While there, I'd like to get to Strasbourg as well as pop down into Northern Switzerland.

From Stuttgart, I would head to Bavaria where I would probably base in Munich. I do want to see Neuschwanstein even though I enjoyed the arguments here about it not being a real castle used to defend anything I know this may sound audacious but I'd actually like to get down to the Dolomites if possible.

From Bavaria, I would either head South into Tyrol or East to Salzburg. I would like to pick smaller villages for my Austria bases. I also plan on trying to get to two tennis tournaments while I'm in Austria; one in Linz and the other in Vienna.

As you can see, I have my work cut out for me. The main problem I'm having besides not knowing a great deal about the area I'll be visiting is that I just can't decide what not to do. As you guys know, once you start saying you're going to do this or that, you're also saying you're not going to do this and you're not going to do that. That's where I'm having trouble. And I realize that being over ambitious and trying to do too much is a common problem with inexperienced travelers. I also don't want my trip to feel like a big checklist. I don't want to just see things, I want to experience them too.

I hope you guys are able to get an idea of what I'm looking for from my long thread. I'm actually considering just scratching Berlin and middle Germany off the list and flying into Frankfurt and heading South from there. Again, I'm hoping this trip will be for 21 days and I would like to find cheapish lodging. Perhaps more B&Bs than hotels. I've jus cracked open my Austria travel book and I'll be focusing on the Upper Austria, Salzburger Land and Tyrol chapters. In the meantime, can anyone recommend some great villages that would be affordable?

Of course maybe I have not shared enough info, so any questions for me, please ask.

Andrew

FYI, your thread is tagged "Austria" but not "Germany" so people looking only for "Germany" threads won't see it. You can email Fodor's admins to ask them to add it.

Do you have a Germany guidebook? I would start by leafing through it and taking notes. Which places interest you?

If cost is a factor, you should also be looking at airfares and start/endpoints. Sounds like Berlin is one. Do an open jaw if you can - into Berlin out of Frankfurt or something. Then, see what you can fit in between. Maybe you end in Munich after detouring down into Austria: Info Berlin - Dresden - Munich - Austria...out of Munich or something.

Are you planning to rent a car or take the trains? Germany has an awesome train system. Driving is far from required.

Try making a few different itineraries. See what you can fit in. If you can do day trips from Stuttgart that interest you, you might stay there as long as you need to, but don't stay so long that you miss seeing other places you want to see, just for the sake of a free place to stay.

nytraveler

Well obviously you have enough options here for at least 2 21 day trips.

Suggest you start by listing your top 5 or 6 must do things. If you have to do those 2 tennis tournaments that will limit the rest of your trip a lot - you won;t be able to do both north and south Germany AND Swtiz AND Italy as well as several places in Austria.

Once you have your top 5 or 6 things then look at various options to string them together.

We find the MIchelin green guides most useful because they not only give a lot of details about the sights in each country but also give you an idea of how long it takes to see them.

We have been to almost all of those places (not Linz) and all are worthy of spending time - you really need to make some choices.

Why not lay out 2 or 3 different itineraries with the number of nights and ask again so people can chime in?

longhorn55

If you are looking for budget lodging, consider hostels. You can find hostels with private rooms/private baths. I recommend using HostelWorld.com.

Andrew

I use Booking.com to find budget lodgings, including hostels. I have used the hostel booking sites but they tend to incur a non-refundable deposit. Booking.com often offers free cancellation up to a few days (or hours) before you check in, but read the restrictions carefully for each lodging - they vary from property to property.

civiclx

Hi Andrew,

yes I noticed that my thread popped up in the Austria section right after I posted it. I did email to see if I could get it moved and keep it tagged for both countries.

I will be traveling from the Bay Area, California (either SF or San Jose) so I'm hoping to spend no more than $1400 for airfare. Right now I'm thinking maybe into Berlin and out of Vienna or into Frankfurt and out of Vienna.

I do have a Germany travel book that I have gone through. I read all the sections excluding Western Germany and Northern Germany.

I also have a map where I have started to plot points of interest. While I have several in SA, Saxony and Brandenburg, I also have a lot in Bavaria. I have not plotted B-W yet. As long as I get my bases and lodging set, I don't mind a great deal if I wing it a bit. And one of the most important things I'm telling myself, while I don't want to find out I missed something incredible, whatever I don't see on this trip will be there the next time. Now I'm not sure when I'll think about a second trip to Germany because I would like to see many different countries in Europe.

I do plan on getting a car. If I do fly into Berlin, I would try and do without until I'm ready to go. People in the Ireland forum said tourists shouldn't bother driving in Dublin and I'm sure the same could be said about Berlin.

Andrew, knowing that where I really want to be is in the Alps, would you skip Thüringen and above and focus more on B-W and Bavaria? Again, I will try and get into Switzerland and I do plan on going to Austria for sure.

Thanks for your reply and yes cost will be a factor. I won't be booking anything without knowing the cost first lol

Cheers,
Mike

Andrew

If cost will be a factor, then I would start checking airfares on Kayak right now for different city pairs.

What if you fly into Berlin and out of Munich? Do you have 21 days right there? Maybe you could do Austria another time.

Andrew

Also, have you checked the cost of a rental car in Germany? That may wind up costing more than buses and trains, too. (You may not find free parking if you want to stay in a hostel in the center of town.) You don't need a car to get from Berlin to Dresden to Munich, but you might want one to see rural areas with small towns. You might rent one for a few days only and take buses/trains the rest of the time.

Bellarosa70032

If you do rent a car, consider the cost of picking up in one country and dropping off in another; there are often hefty one-way fees. Another option is to pick up the car in Germany, drive through Bavaria and Austria, and return the car in Munich before you fly out of that city. Salzburg is not very far at all from Munich.

swandav2000

Hi civicix,

Well, speaking for Bavaria, you really don't need a car, not even to see the countryside. I live in Garmisch-Partenkirchen without a car, and I get around and see all I want just fine.

Have fun as you plan!

s

civiclx

Thanks so much for the replies! I do consider a car a necessity because, well I'm from California and it just is haha

I want to be able to leave one place and head to my next destination while making a couple stops a long the way. I wouldn't want to have to haul my luggage around each time. Just toss it in the boot and be done with it. Also, the thought of using public transportation kind of scares me. It's not a phobia or anything but I just don't have much experience using PT even here in the States. The last time I really relied on PT was when I was stationed in Japan but that was mostly just taking the bus on base

Ok so now I'm thinking of landing in Frankfurt and possibly dropping off in Vienna. Does anyone know what the one-way fee is? I have called gemut to see if they have an answer but I didn't get through. I emailed them as well.

Ok, so here are possible bases for my trip. Dates are arrival and departure dates

Frankfurt: Sept 30 - Oct 2
Stuttgart: Oct 2 - 7
Munich: Oct 7 - 10
Dolomites area: Oct 10 - 13
Tyrol Area: Oct 13 - 16
Salzburg area: Oct 16 - 19
Vienna: Oct 19 - 21. I would attend the tennis tournament on either the 19th or the 20th.
Munich: Oct 21 to return the car and spend the night so that I may catch my flight home the next day or not catch my flight home

I have started to plot some points of interest on my map but I haven't done Baden-Wurrtemberg yet. Nor have plotted anything in Austria yet. I really want to get my bases down first.

Now I'm sure I have made some/several/nothing but mistakes; perhaps trying to slip into the Dolomites is too ambitious or maybe the 4+ hour drive back from Vienna to drop the car off...
So any info you can provide will be greatly appreciated. Again, my main interest is beautiful scenery but I do want to check out lots of fabulous architecture. The Residence in Wurzburg and the Dom in Erfurt caught my eye. Heidelberg Castle. Schloss Neuschwanstein is a must for this first-timer

nytraveler

Sorry - but you've counted a bunch of days several times - both as being in the first city - then traveling to the second city and then staying on the second city.

What you really have is

Frankfurt: Sept 30 - Oct 2 (30th is arrival so 1/2 day)
Stuttgart: Oct 2 - 7 (this is the 3rd - half day through the 7th)
Munich: Oct 7 - 10 (this is the 8th - 1/2 day through the 10th)

And so on.

Frankly I would do Berlin in a heartbeat (it's a very vibrant city with a ton to see and do) versus Frankfurt (I find boring).

And you will find a car to be very expensive - first rental, second parking at 30 euros or more per night and second gas at very high prices as well as some road tolls. Also be aware than many cities have pedestrian only centers and if you wander in with a car you are likely to get fines of a hundred euros or more. And they will catch you - there are cameras everywhere and your car rental agency will supply your info - and charge you a fee for the service.

For a single person with this itinerary I would do trains - even though we very often do road trips in europe - but with very different itineraries.

dugi_otok

Some ideas:
Flights
Sept 29 United SFO to FRA (nonstop)
Depart 2:05pm Arrives Sept 30 9:55am

Oct 22 United VIE to SFO (1 stop-Wash DC)
Depart 10:25am Arrives 7:45pm
$1355
.................................................. .........
Sept 30- Arrive FRA, rent a car, drive to Rothenburg ob der Tauber (Frankfurt-Wurzburg-Rothenburg 2-1/2 hrs plus stops)
2 nights in Rothenburg

Oct 2- Drive to Stuttgart (Rothenburg-Schwiabisch Hall-Stuttgart 2-1/2 hrs plus stops)
5 nights in Stuttgart

Oct 7-Drive to Munich. (Stuttgart-Ulm-Munich 3-1/4 hrs plus stops)
3 nights in Munich

Oct 10-Drive to Garmisch-Partenkirchen(Alps instead of Dolomites) (Munich-Oberammergau-Garmisch-P 2 hrs plus stops)
4 nights in Garmisch-P

Oct 14-Drive to Hall in Tirol
(Garmisch-P-Innsbruck-Hall in Tirol 1-1/2 hrs plus stops
1 night in Hall in Tirol

Oct 15-Drive to Salzburg
(Hall in Tirol-Salzburg 2 hrs)
4 nights in Salzburg
On Oct 17(earlier if you do not need it) turn in your car in Freilassing,Germany which is close to Salzburg.

Oct 18-Take the train to Vienna
4 nights in Vienna

Oct 22-Fly home from Vienna.