schwing83

My husband and I are going to Europe in September, and we have 17 full days / 17 nights.
Here is our tentative itinerary:
Arrive in Frankfurt, then train to Berlin (arrive late afternoon)
Berlin (2 full days / 3 nights), then morning train to Prague
Prague (2 nights), then morning train to Vienna
Vienna (3 nights), then morning train to Salzburg
Salzburg (1 night), then train to Munich
Munich / Oktoberfest (3 nights)
From Munich we will be driving up through to get back to Frankfurt hitting Fussen, Lindau, Freiburg, Baden (4 nights).

Here are my questions:
Is this itinerary feasible, and is it too rushed? Is 2-3 nights in these places adequate?

Is it worth it to go to Salzburg for 1 night (likely arriving in the morning and departing around lunch)? Should we devote 2 days there if we are making the stop in Salzburg on our way from Vienna to Munich?

If we had to give up anything on this itinerary, would Prague be the best one to eliminate (as much as I would hate to!)? I am stuck between wanting to see as much as possible but realizing that we could just end up rushing around for 2.5 weeks due to too much travel.

Next the trains. Do we need to reserve our seat on the train from the Frankfurt airport into Berlin, or can we get a ticket upon arrival in Frankfurt? I'm concerned about a flight delay and missing a train, but also am not sure if they sell out in advance.

Next, I'm not sure if the Eurail is the best option or the bahn.de website. It seems like the bahn.de website shows trains from Berlin to Prague, Prague to Vienna, Vienna to Salzburg, and Salzburg to Munich. I'm having trouble figuring out the Eurail site and if it makes sense for us to get a 3 country pass etc. or just buy each way separate on bahn.de.

Any tips and suggestions about the itinerary is much appreciated - hotel / restaurant recommendations welcome also!
Thank you in advance!
Amanda

annhig

Hi schwing,

I suspect that you already know what I'm going to say, don't you?

IMO you are really under undervaluing the places you are hitting before Munich. you have only one day in Prague, only 2 in each of Berlin and Vienna, and just a night in Salzburg. more of a route-march than a holiday, and i'd be willing to bet that by the time you got to Salzburg you'd just want to sit in a corner and drink a beer.

the fact is that by whizzing from place to place you don't actually see as MUCH as possible but as little - because you aren't staying long enough to see anything properly and you are forever just scratching the surface.

I think that i would scrub Berlin and Prague for this trip [there's a great 2nd trip to be done there, exploring them plus the area between them] and fly straight to Vienna from Frankfurt, and work your way back overland.

then you would have something like this:
Day 1 - arrive Frankfurt. fly to Vienna. stay 4 nights.
Day 5 - train to Salzburg via Melk. stay 3 nights in Salzburg.
day 7 - train to Munich. Stay 4 nights [day trips to Füssen/Neuschwanstein? possibly]
Day 11 - pick up car and wander back to Frankfurt.

Kristinelaine

I also think you are moving around too much, but what you scrap is a personal decision. I would scrap Vienna and Salzburg and keep Berlin and Prague with Berlin given a little more time than Prague. But as I said, it is really a personal decision.

Dukey1

Sorry, but having been to both I would not give up Prague for Salzburg
BUT BUT BUT......you have told us absolutely nothing about your interests and why you even decided to GO to any of these places.

I am sorry but I don't feel capable of giving you any recommendations until I know some of those details so forget what I said about Prague vs. Salzburg above. For all I know you might actually be better off giving up Prague.

Aramis

I would drop the 4 day road trip through Germany back to Frankfurt and add those days as follows;

Berlin. 4
Prague. 3
Vienna. 3
Salzburg.2
Munich. 3

And just go to Frankfurt airport the night before you leave.

greg

Of the places you mentioned, Munich is likely to be troublesome in finding an accommodation with availabilities at an acceptable price due to the Oktoberfest. Understand the accommodation situation in Munich before locking yourself into having to stay in Munich on certain days with especially low vacancy rates.

msteacher

Yes, something needs to give. Plan for a three night minimum in every city you mention, four nights would be even better (Salzburg is the only possible exception; I suppose you could get away with two nights there). Personally, I'd drop Vienna, but as mentioned above which place to drop is a personal choice. If you tell us more about your interests and goals for the trip, I'm sure folks would be happy to offer guidance.

fourfortravel

I think Aramis' itinerary is very reasonable. Something else to factor into your planning is that the "morning" trains from Berlin to Prague and Prague to Vienna take about 5 hours each, not counting hotel check-out/check-in logistics. You're losing considerable sightseeing time with those transits.

Skip the Eurail pass. Use bahn.de for the Berlin to Prague tickets; OBB for the Prague to Vienna tickets; and Westbahn for Vienna to Salzburg. SparScheine (savings) tickets are currently available for those routes, if you can settle on your itinerary.

schwing83

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the replies!

It seems we are still looking at cutting out either Salzburg or Prague. We are committed to Vienna and Munich for sure, and we must fly in and out of Frankfurt. We do already have our hotel booked for Munich for Oktoberfest. Also, my husband is really looking forward to the last couple of days driving through from Munich back to Frankfurt. We will use this time to see Neuschwanstein Castle, wineries, etc.

It terms of what we want, we are really up for anything. Neither of us has traveled Europe before, so we are looking for the best experiences. We are relatively young and active and will want to experience a wide range of things.

On the one hand, I want to go to Salzburg for the beauty, the Alps, the Sound of Music, and because I feel it fits the "original idea" of the trip, which was Germany/Oktoberfest/Bavaria etc. On the other hand, Prague would be another big city experience, a chance to see another country and experience another culture.

We are now thinking also that the Salzburg OR Prague would make the most sense before Vienna.

Here is the new possible itinerary:
Arrive in Frankfurt, then train to Berlin (arrive late afternoon)

Berlin (3 days / 3 nights), then evening train to Prague OR Salzburg

Prague OR Salzburg (3 nights / 2 full days), then morning train to Vienna

Vienna (3 nights / 3 days), then morning train to Munich

Munich / Oktoberfest (3 nights)

From Munich we will be driving up through to get back to Frankfurt hitting Fussen, Lindau, Freiburg, Baden (4 nights).

Again I appreciate any input!
Thanks!
Amanda

annhig

schwing - going from Berlin to then Salzburg, then Vienna, then Munich doesn't really make a lot of sense as you are back-tracking. better to go straight from Berlin to Vienna then Salzburg abd Munich.

if your focus is on "sound of Music" activities, it makes sense to leave in Salzburg, so it looks as if Prague may have to go.