MamaGraz

I'm a single mom planning a trip to Germany with my daughters this summer. One of the girls will already be in Germany on an Exchange trip and we will meet up with her in Munich mid July. I would like to travel for about 10 -14 days before hand and another week with everyone. We plan to visit Austria together and then need to fly out of Munich. We have family near Schweinfurt and would like to visit with them for a few days if possible. Other than that our plans are open. Every place I look into sounds wonderful and I'm getting overwhelmed.

Some basic questions.
What are some suggestions on what not to miss?
Should we travel by train or rent a car to get around?
What is the best way to find safe, reasonably priced hotels and is there an online booking site that you would recommend?

lavandula

I would definitely try using the trains - check out www.bahn.com for timetables. The cheapest fares come in three months out from the date of travel (but the timetables can change if there is something major like flooding, so keep an eye on that). Easy, quick, enjoyable.

The standard of hotels in Germany is very high - breakfast is normally part of the deal. For booking sites try www.booking.com or www.hrs.com . An advantage of the booking.com website is that you can reserve a room but don't pay until you stay there, so cancellation is free if you change your plans.

In Schweinfurt you will be near Würzburg and Bamberg - you should definitely visit those two cities. If you can fit in any time in Vienna that would also be another option.

Lavandula

lavandula

You might also ask the custodians of the forums to label this for Germany as well as Austria since you are asking about both - more people will see your post. Just click on the triangle in the right-hand corner of your post to alert them.

Lavandula

MamaGraz

Thank you for the feed back. I have added Germany to the post. I was wondering, if we travel by train, are there places to store luggage while we're out sight seeing?

bigtyke

Some, but certainly not all, train stations have luggage lockers.

When you decide which towns you want to visit, go to the town website - usually www.[town name].de and there should be lists of all the places to stay.

I have always booked directly with the hotel/apartment/private room

Pegontheroad

For me, having a guidebook or two is essential for any trip I take. Guidebooks contain all kinds of information that will make your trip more enjoyable and more convenient.

traveller1959

>>>What is the best way to find safe, reasonably priced hotels and is there an online booking site that you would recommend?<<<

www.hrs.de

MamaGraz

Once again thank you to everyone for their help. I'm going to take a stab at a more detailed itinerary so I can post some more specific questions. Wish me luck!!

Watzmann

Without a precise itinerary, it is not possible to decide, which means of transport fit your needs best. With many itineraries that include major cities as well as rural areas, a combination of train travel and a rental car at certain places (not for the whole trip) could be advisable. Train travel at major routes with little or no changes is hassle-free and relaxing and needn't to be much more expensive than a rental car. Also, in big cities, a rental car is time consuming and quite an obstacle as opposed to public transport. With rural areas and smaller cities this can be vice versa. No parking problems there and easier and much faster to get to by car than by train.
Particularly when it comes to exploring a region rather then one precise point of interest (say the Alpine landscape of Austria with some villages as opposed to the city of Munich or Salzburg), a car suits your needs probably more than going by train.

MamaGraz

A combination of train and car looks like the way to go. This is my Itinerary as of now.

Fly into Berlin
Dresden
Prague
visit with family (near Schweinfurt (4 days)
Munich
Veinna
Graz
Fly on of Munich

I have 3 weeks. How many days should I spend in each of my destinations?