BambiMom

Hi- I am new to this site and I'm in the midst of trying to put together a possible itinerary for a trip to Prague this summer. Here's what I've been thinking:

Fly to Prague and stay there 4 nights.
Rent car and drive to Cesky Krumlov- spend one night there.
Drive from Cesky Krumlov to Salzburg. Stay there 3 nights (3 of us, one a music major, two former music majors)
Drive to Hallstatt (stay two nights)
Drive to Vienna and get rid of the car. Stay 4 nights. Fly home from Vienna.

Alternate is:
Arrive Prague (4 nights)
Drive to Cesky Krumlov- stay one night.
Drive to Vienna and turn in car(4 nights)
Rent car again and drive to Hallstatt (2 nights)
Drive to Salzburg(3 nights)
Drive to Munich and stay one or two nights.
Fly home from Munich. (only reason to go there really is that it is the closest thing to Salzburg to get a return flight.)
We were in Munich (2 nights), Salzburg (half of a rainy Sunday) and Vienna (2 nights) in April of 2001 with my daughter and her German class on an EF tour. We didn't feel like we saw as much of Vienna and Salzburg as we'd like. We don't really feel the need to return to Munich as much, but wouldn't mind going to the beer hall. My daughter and I were so exhausted the night everyone went that we stayed and rested. My husband was disappointed because instead of the traditional German music he was expecting, they had a couple of singers who were doing John Denver and Willie Nelson tunes that night.

Which do you think makes the most sense? When I looked at a map, it looked like Cesky Krumlov was closer to Salzburg than Vienna and that we'd be backtracking that way. The first option also has the advantage of getting a car and keeping it for a period and then getting rid of it. The other, we'd have to rent a car two different times.
I've read somewhere on here that you may not be able to take a car rental from Czech Republic to Austria?

Thanks for the help!
(My other itinerary I'm working on is southwest Ireland and London-Bath-Cotswalds. We are having a hard time making a decision! We are a long-married couple traveling with our 20 year old daughter on her college break in June. We have two weeks between our getting out of school and when she has to start a summer class. She's a violinist.)
BambiMom

ira

Hi B.

Plan 1.

You could also drive to Hallstatt and drop the car in Salzburg and train to Vienna.

Check fares for 3 vs cost of car for 3 days + parking.

See www.bahn.de

Musicteacher

There is usually a hefty drop-off fee for turning in a car in a different country from the one where you rented it.

Here is one way to avoid this: Take a train from Prague to Vienna. Rent the car as you leave Vienna and visit Hallstatt and Cesky Krumlov on the way to Salzburg. Drop of the car in Salzburg and take a train to Munich.

bob_brown

I can add just a little to what has already been discussed. Yes, the drop fee you incur can be rather large. Ask, because it is not automatically quoted to you in the rental rates in many cases.

A car will do you little good in Vienna.
Traffic is heavy and finding a place to park is either a challenge or an expensive experience.

If you want a car in Prague, you probably will rent it there because some companies charge extra if the car is driven into an eastern European country.

The only way to find out is to ask.

In the case of Auto Europe, if you want to find out how much extra the cost will be to drive into the Czech Republic or Hungary, you just about have to rent the car first!!

Also, Austria is an expensive country in which to rent.

If you decide you want to drop the car in Salzburg, Auto Europe has some funny procedures about where you can return the car. Relative to the train station, the most convenient return office is the one on Porschestrasse. But depending on where you get the car in Vienna, you might not be able to return at the most convenient place. crazy rules.

BambiMom

Thanks for all the information so far! I am getting a little confused though.
One person suggested renting the car when leaving Vienna and to then drive to Cesky Krumlov and to Hallstatt and leaving the car in Salzburg. Wouldn't we still incur a fee for driving back into the Czech Republic? It also seems kindof out of the way- I'll have to look at the map and think about that.
I'm also curious what people mean by "hefty". It sounds like that could be difficult to figure out from what you've said. Anyone had the experience of doing this and knowing what the fee was?
We definitely do not want the car in either Vienna or Prague- only to do our share of wandering on those days when we are going through the countryside. Sounds like it might not work, though.
BambiMom

corkymaria

we are planning a trip to this area in april for a few days and i'm trying to decide which route is best (most scenic) to drive or train between vienna and salzburg. would love to go the wachau route but also see hallstett. is this possible?

Musicteacher

You do not see much that is scenic on the train between Vienna and Salzburg, except that you get a glimpse of the Melk Abbey.

If going by car, you could stop off in Melk or other Wachau towns, and you could also take a detour by way of Hallstatt, although it is a rather long detour.

corkymaria

what is the easiest way to get from the prague main station into the old town?

marginal_margiela

There are two stations--Holesovice and Hlavni. Hlavni is in New Town, near Wenceslas Sq. Holesovice is outside of town, but you can take the Metro into Prague.

ira

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