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itinerary help: Warsaw, Krakow, Rothenburg, Fussen

itinerary help: Warsaw, Krakow, Rothenburg, Fussen

Old Jan 21st, 2014, 01:59 PM
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itinerary help: Warsaw, Krakow, Rothenburg, Fussen

Hi everyone,

My husband and I would like to plan a trip to Warsaw, Krakow, Rothenburg, Fussen. We are flying from Ottawa, Canada. (Unfortunately, the only direct flights to/from Ottawa for European cities in Germany is Frankfurt.) The order of which we visit the cities do not matter much to me, but I would prefer to fly in or out of Frankfurt on one of these flights since it has a direct flight to Ottawa. We will be going end of May to middle of June this year.

Initially, I was thinking of flying into Frankfurt, then going south to see Rothenburg then Fussen. From Fussen, I am not too sure which way is the best way of going to Krakow. Should I go through Munich or are there other better options?

We do not want to drive so we were going to take the Romantic Road bus or train to see Rothenburg and Fussen.

(These 4 are our "must visit" places, so we do not want to change any of these destinations.)

Does anyone have any advice as to how I can optimize my trip to minimize hassle and travelling time?

Thank you very much in advance!

roundbunny
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Old Jan 21st, 2014, 02:06 PM
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If it helps, it looks like Air Berlin (airline) has several daily flights between Nuremberg (close to Rothenburg ob der Tauber) and Krakow, with a quick change in Berlin. You can check www.bahn.de/en (Germain train schedules + most of Europe too) to see about train connections - I imagine it's a long train ride from Rothenburg ob der Tauber to Krakow, longer than flying.

Krakow and Warsaw are connected by direct train service.
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Old Jan 21st, 2014, 02:15 PM
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Start in Warsaw (connecting in Frankfurt and then continuing to Warsaw). Take the train to Krakow, fly to Munich, visit Rothenberg and Fussen and then return to Frankfurt for your flight home.
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Old Jan 21st, 2014, 02:19 PM
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Check the routings on www.bahn.com for trains.
Also see:
http://goeurope.about.com/od/rothenb...sportation.htm

The Romantic Road sounds lovely but it's not that special itself - it's the towns that are interesting. I don't know if time permits but Dinkelsbühl, which is not far away from Rothenburg, is less touristy and worth a pop-in.

Lavandula
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Old Jan 21st, 2014, 02:19 PM
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If your decision to travel to Füssen is irrevocable, then there is no way around traveling there. From Rothenburg, the train will be faster than the RR bus. But it's still 5 hours or so.

"From Fussen, I am not too sure which way is the best way of going to Krakow. Should I go through Munich or are there other better options?"

Use the DB website to find the best routes to Krakow. You're looking at 15+ hours' ground travel from Füssen.

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

Fly?
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Old Jan 21st, 2014, 02:20 PM
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To go between Munich and Krakow by train is a long long way - you would go via Prague and if that is in your plans it may not be all bad - there are overnight trains between Munich and Prague and Prague and Krakow - otherwise it's a long day time trip between each (bus is fastest between Munich and Prague)

Nurnberg, near Rothenburg also has direct buses to Prague taking about 5 hours I believe.

For lots of good info on trains and overnight trains (which not only save on time but on the cost of a hotel to boot) check out these fine IMO sources: www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

You can score discounted tickets at www.bahn.de/en which Andrew mentions above but those need to be booked far in advance as they are sold in limited numbers and cannot be changed nor refunded - train-specific and set in stone. If you desire flexibility then check out the Germany Railpass which compared to a few full-fare and fully flexible tickets may actually be cheaper and there is a special cheap add-on fare with the pass to Prague.
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Old Jan 21st, 2014, 03:49 PM
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There are direct flights between Munich and Krakow on Lufthansa, so you can avoid both flights with a change (waste of time and the risk of delays or missed planes) and lengthy train rides.
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Old Jan 21st, 2014, 04:28 PM
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quokka: I am seeing really expensive prices on Lufthansa from Munich to Krakow (e.g. 792 euros on May 13, 2014.) Is this normal? (flight LH 1622)
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Old Jan 21st, 2014, 04:30 PM
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Thank you to everyone for the detailed replies. I will look through the links and let you know if I have more questions. Based on the long travel times by train I think I am leaning towards the flying option. Thank you!
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Old Jan 21st, 2014, 04:59 PM
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One additional question to everyone:

Are there any recommended cities on the way to Fussen (from Rothenburg) by public transit? (Other than Dinkelsbühl, which was already mentioned?) Do these stations have lockers where we can store our luggage for the day while we look around?

Thank you!
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Old Jan 21st, 2014, 05:06 PM
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Sometimes you have to book a ticket like that as a round trip (and throw away the return) to get a price that's not insanely expensive. For example, if I check prices for Munich-Krakow on May 13 and return May 20, I see a fare of $208 USD round-trip.

Kayak also shows an option those same dates for an open jaw Munich-Krakow (Lufthansa) and then Warsaw-Frankfurt (on LOT) for $299 USD total, if it helps to get you back to Frankfurt from Warsaw.
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Old Jan 21st, 2014, 05:29 PM
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Hi Andrew, thanks for your advice!
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