We are planning a trip to Austria & Germany Mid-May and would appreciate some feedback.

Day 1/2/3
Plan to land in Munich Friday evening, spend Sat and Sun in Munich city.

Day 4/5
Rent a car and drive to Rothenburg on Monday, spend Monday evening and the next day in Rothenburg with some day side trip.

Day 6/7/8
Drive on Wed morning to Salzburg and drop the rental car. Spend rest of Wed and Thur in Salzburg.
Either stay another day in Salzburg (Fri) or train to Hallstat as a one day trip with night stay in the town.

Day 9/10/11
Train from Salzburg/Hallstatt for Vienna on Sat, spend Sun, Mon in Vienna and fly out on Tuesday.

- Any suggestions on itinerary
- train/drive combination
- Recommendation on hotels (125-150US$)or where to book hotels, I checked hotels for city center in Vienna and the prices seem to be really steep ...

thanks !

As much as I like to drive in Germany I think adding Rothenburg in there is nuts, its way out of the way. I would skip that, skip the car rental and train for rest of your journey and enjoy time in your enroute cities. Just my opinion. Happy travels.

I agree with TRAVELER that Rothenburg is really out of the way for your itinerary. Besides, renting a car just for this trip is kind of expensive. The moment you rent a car in Germany (Munich) and drop it off in Austria (Salzburg) you will incure a hefty drop-off charge. Besides, the car trip from Munich to Rothenburg is nothing special. You might as well take the train (http://bahn.de)

thanks for your input, any idea how much it may cost to rent a car for about five days in Munich and then drop off in Salzburg ... any specific extras I need to pay to Pick in Germany and leave in Austria

Also, any recommendation for an affordable hotel in Vienna. I have been calling for last couple of days but nothing within 150 US$ range in city center (double room). We will be there for last weekend in May

thanks again !

If you choose to rent a car, you can avoid a drop off fee by arranging to return the car to Berchtesgaden, a 50 minute bus trip to Salzburg, or Freilassing, a 15 minute train trip.

You can get most, if not all, of your questions answered on car rental options... at www.autoeurope.com

Their toll-free number is listed there, and you get the best deals by calling them anyhow (funny how this is exactly backwards of the airlines, huh?)

Best wishes,

Rex

JN's idea of drop-off in Berchtesgaden or Freilassing is a good one. If your rental company does not have a drop-off there, try Traunstein or Rosenheim.