Will be embarking on trip to Bavarian region within a week. This is the itinerary:

Fly in to Zurich.
Night 1 and 2 Hohenschwangau, Germany. Visit castle and surrounding area.
Drive to Salzburg...stopping for sightseeing in Mittenwald.
Night 3, 4, 5 Salzburg, Austria. Will be staying in outskirts...Still trying to work out what to do here. Do want to visit Salzburg Cathedral for mass Sunday morning, though. Has anyone done this?
Drive to Prague...stopping for sightseeing in Cesky Krumlov.
Night 6, 7, 8, 9 in Prague. Still trying to work out what to do here as well. Want to attend Marrionette Theatre performance, though.
Drive back to Zurich...sightseeing???
Night 10 in Zurich.
Fly home.

Yes, I know Vienna isn't on here...but felt like too much time in the rental car.

Please critique. Any suggestions will really be appreciated...Thanks!

I would consider adding Linderhof en route from Hohenschwangau to Mittenwald. It's one of Ludwig's palaces and a very pretty one, at that.

While in Salzburg, Berchtesgaden is less than 30 minutes away and worth investigating.

It's been a few years since we were in Prague, but touring the Jewish Quarter stands out in my memories.

Hi; Is it possible to skip Zurich? Fly into Dresden, rent a car and go to Prague. Then Salzburg and on to Hohenschwangau. Then drop the car at the Munich airport and spend a night in Munich. Fly out of Munich. I didn't count the hours driving from and back to Zurich, but you are probably losing two days in a car. Even if you considered something like this route, it still losing at least a day driving. You have some good thoughts on places to stay and towns to visit. Dick

As for what to do from Salzburg, since you have a car, you can spend a day exploring the Salzkammergut, an area of lakes, mountains and small towns just east of Salzburg. Hallstatt is a common -- and very picturesque -- stop but there are many others. Here's a link: http://www.visit-salzburg.net/surrou...zkammergut.htm

Would you recommned a day visit to Mondsee or St. Gilgen?

skriss, if you are interested, our trip report through Bavaria and Salzburg from April of this year is posted. Just select my screen name and you'll see it.

Did you check to see if the car rental company will allow you to drive into the Czech Republic?

I don't think you need a whole day to see Mondsee. We did it as part of the Sound of Music tour from Salzburg, and I think we spent an hour there tops. It's not very big.

Another highlight of our trip to Salzburg was the casino. It's gorgeous, and was very fun for a night out. Plus, we won enough money playing blackjack to cover that portion of our trip! My opinion might be a bit skewed because of that fact. This is a picture of it...it's so beautiful all lit up at night: http://www.casinos.at/uploadNew/8c30...7fe72cc55c.jpg.

We spent 4 nights in St. Gilgen in 2007 and loved it. Wolfgangsee is very picturesque.

To update my itinerary, my mother just told me tonight that she will be meeting us in Munich. Can anyone recommend a hotel on the outskirts of Munich?

Hi sk,

You are already overloaded.

If you are going to add Munich, I suggest that you save Prague for another visit.

www.viamichelin.com says that it is 6:40 hr from Prague to Zurich.

Not sure where on the outskirts you're looking for, but this hotel was very close to the airport, and it was nice: http://www.landhotel-schweigers.de/. The website, unfortunately, is all in German.

I do not understand Zurich in this trip.

I agree with Ira - switch your time from Prague to Munich and environs. Add a day or two to Bamberg.

Make certain you can take the rental car to CZ and if it is allowed, what additional costs might there be. I know with Sixt it is ok to take a car that is NOT a VW, BMW or Mercedes, but other companies either do not allow it or charge very high insurance fees.

Thank all for the help. Can't help flying in to Zurich, though...as to Why Zurich...the flights from east coast were on super deep discount a couple months ago, so that decided the destination. Scratched Munich and are sticking with Salzburg and Prague.

Skriss; Decision made. OK, use this web site for a good 'download' of Prague and Cesky Krumlov information. www.inyourpocket.com/ Dick

Thank you sooo much for the tip about St. Gilgen. We spent a day out on the Wolfgangsee and it was the highlight of our trip!!!

Riscott, glad you enjoyed St. Gilgen. We are going back in September for 3 days. Can't wait!!