Help with Itinerary Prague, Salzburg, Bavaria
 

Hello, my husband and I are planning a 16 day trip in late October 2025 starting in Prague and ending in Munich. I have developed an initial itinerary based on things we are interested in but of course would love to hear any suggestions and whether the itinerary makes sense logistically. Interests: wondering around towns or cities, hiking in beautiful scenery, historical sites, researching good restaurants, finding what a place uniquely has to offer.
I tried to configure the itinerary so our rental car is picked up and dropped off in Germany and we have the freedom of a car in the Bavarian Alps.

4 nights Prague: 2 full days for the sites of Prague itself & perhaps one day trip which I need to research (Bohemian Switzerland? Would have to take a tour). Thought of Terezin but will be seeing Dachau in Munich
Take CK Shuttle to Cesky Krumlov

1 night Cesky Krumlov: (I know this doesn't give us much time but it was hard to fit everything else in), see castle, baroque theatre (tour?), explore town
Take CK shuttle to Salzburg

3 nights Salzburg: sightseeing, perhaps 1/2 day bike tour, hoping to see an opera or classical music concert. Full day trip by bus to Konigssee Lake which looks beautiful, do boat tour to Obersee
Train to Munich from Salzburg

2 nights Munich: Explore old town, cathedral, Hofbrauhaus, would like to fit in 1/2 day trip to Dachau
Rent car in Munich on the way out and drive to Bavarian Alps (en route stop in Oberammagau)

4 nights Mittenwald (or 2 nights Mittenwald and 2 nights Fussen):
Mittenwald: on full day: cable car up Zugspitze mountain if clear, hike around Eibsee Lake
Fussen: On full day: Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau day trip (hike to Marienbrucke loop)

1 night Munich airport: Drive late afternoon to Munich airport drop off car in the evening and stay at airport hotel before flying home to Canada.

Our dates are Oct 16 - Nov 1st which I hope will be fine with all the outdoor activities, we were unable to make the trip earlier in the year for several reasons.
Thanks so much in advance for any suggestions, Liz.

Most of this is easier by train
Seat61.com

Prague has enough to fill three days without a day trip and it looks like you'l be on the move a lot. However, if you like beer, Plzn is a direct 1.5 hour train ride away. The Pilsner Urquell brewery has a great tour and the town itself is worth walking about.

I agree with bilboburgler that it would be worth considering using trains instead of a rental car for most of your trip.

For my tastes and interests, I would want more time in Prague and more time in Múnich. YMMV.

Thank you for the suggestions. Greytop13, I think you are right about not needing a day trip from Prague especially since the rest of the trip we are moving around quite a bit. I think there is an impulse sometimes to pack things in. As for the train, Kja and bilboburgler, do you mean the trains would be easier from Prague to Cesky Krumlov and CK to Salzburg? I have read the CK shuttles are easier and faster, although if the train is more scenic we would certainly be willing for it to take a bit longer. After Munich we would like to have a car in Bavaria (just for 4 nights of our trip) to get to hiking trails and explore villages.

I had meant public transportation in general, not trains in particular. Sorry for the confusion!

Try playing with rome2rio, then remember that there is no car to park, lose, fuel etc.
Agree getting into Alps a car may be better, but I'd check

thank you!

I''m here as the lone dissenter: I'd rent a car for the entire holiday. We had the privilege of living in Vienna for many years, and drove "everywhere." We kept a guide to castles in the Czech Republic and Austria in our car, just in case we found ourselves somewhere and wanted to know if there was a castle or ruins nearby. :lol:

The big advantage to driving is not being beholden to schedules, and having the ability to stop whenever and wherever you'd like.

Your itinerary is too ambitious for me, so I will reserve comment. As for restaurants...
Prague: DEER Restaurant.
Salzburg: Barenwirt. In my Top Five for Backhendl (Austrian Fried Chicken)

Thank you fourfortravel, I really appreciate the restaurant recommendations

One of the advantages of taking CK shuttles to Cesky Krumlov is that they can take you door to door from your Prague hotel to your hotel in Cesky Krumlov. However, there is a direct train leaving from the Prague main station to CK at 9:20 am and runs about $11 per person where as the shuttle van will run you over $100 for two. The train station at CK is a bit of a walk to the old town but taxis are available. I'd probably take the train from Prague and use CK shuttle for the transfer to Salzburg. Here's the Czech Railway site if you want to see availability: https://www.cd.cz/en/default.htm

I have been to Prague and Salzburg a couple times and we loved both.

1) I would use trains/bus until you leave Munich. Saves money and hassle of driving in cities. Use seat61 and price out tickets from both countries' websites as one is always cheaper than the other.

2) Prague is much more beautiful than I expected and always thought it was underrated here in Canada. I would stay in the old town near the bridge on either side. Everything is walkable. I stayed on both sides and I preferred the lesser town.

You will find the same 5 or 6 top things to do from every site (they are worth doing) so I will give you one you may not alway see which is Strahov Monastery. The reason I loved it was the restaurant. If the weather is warm, you eat on the patio overlooking the entire city of Prague and that alone was worth the visit. It's all one big uphill walk the entire way to the Monastery so keep that in mind.You can also spend some time in the town at the top of the hill. Don't rememebr the name. Or you can do one of the beer gardens overlooking the city.

The food is delicious and relatively cheap but much more expensive than my first visit. Let me know if you want restaurant recommendations. We were there last a year ago. There is more than enough to do in Prague without day trips but we took one to Dresden and we thought it beautiful. One of the best museums I have ever seen was in Dresden.

3) If you like the outdoors, you will love Salzburg. Again, stay in the old town or within walking distance. The fortress was the highlight for us and we stayed for 4 or 5 hours which was much more than we expected. We loved the hikes around it and the view even more than the castle interior. The other must see place is Untersberg. The top of the mountain view was something. The scenery on the drive there was also nice. We loved Cafe am Kai for breakfast but the view is what makes it special so choose a warm day for the patio.

On our second trip we stayed at the Sheraton Grand which was nice but I am mentioning it because of the bar in the hotel. A really nice and relaxing spot for a nightcap and the service is wonderful.

I think the itinerary looks good, except I'd try to allocate more days to Prague if at all possible - it's such a magical, medieval city and you likely will want more than just 2 full days there. If it were me, I'd only do two days in Salzburg - which is also very charming and I love, but it's pretty small and easily doable in two days. However, I know you may really want to see the lake, so totally up to you. If you leave your itinerary as is, then don't do a day trip while you're in Prague.

For Cesky Krumlov, totally fine to take the shuttle OR I seem to remember (from when I lived there like 10 years ago) that there was a cheap bus that takes you right into the center of Cesky Krumlov. Buses were actually often a better way to get around the Czech Republic because they were more direct and ran more often, so you may want to look into that (and they are definitely cheaper than 100 pp, if that's really what the shuttle costs.) f you're going in summer, try "white water rafting" (super small rapids) on the river - something I never got to do, but have heard is really fun.

In Prague, don't miss out on Vysehrad, a place not all tourists know about. There is a medieval church, a very old graveyard, fortifications, and it's just a super peaceful place to go in the twilight or early evening - magical! AND the views over Prague as the sun sets are incredible.

Also if you like nature and beatiful views, paddleboating on the Vltava is so much fun and the views from the river are wonderful!

"(and they are definitely cheaper than 100 pp, if that's really what the shuttle costs.)"

CK shuttle would be $114 for two sharing van with up to 6 pax.

There's not much in Europe that prepares you for the beauty of Prague, so I would not consider a day trip with only three days there.

Wow, I am really so thankful for all of this useful information and for everyone's time to respond. I will definitely look into the details and recommendations. Greytop13,thank you for the train info and link.
Hearing about particular sites and out-of-the-way places others have enjoyed is one of the great things about these travel forums. Such a lot to see! Fleur_de_Lis, Vysehrad is now on my list for a stroll one evening in Prague.
TravelToEat, I just looked up the views from Strahov Monastery restaurant, beautiful! Also, it is so tempting to ask you for restaurant recommendations, if it is easy for you to do so, I would love some, thanks again.