ankita_sareen

Hi
Our first leg of a 14 day europe trip starts from Munich on 11 Aug and will be travelling to Salzburg. We plan to drive our way through Europe covering Munich - salzburg (3N) - prague (3n) - Vienna (4n) and then to Amsterdam.
All travel tips, places to explore and must - do's welcome.
As we are reaching Munich around 7 am i want to explore a few of the MUnich's not to be missed places and then head to Salzburg.Please suggest the best drive options as well.

Thanks in advance !

Fussgaenger

You need to check the rental company's willingness to permit driving in the CZ Republic. You need to find out the cost of the drop-off fee for picking up in Germany and dropping in a different country. You will need to purchase a vignette for any driving you do in Austria.

For the destinations you have in mind I would never choose the car for getting around. Expect to pay parking fees at your hotels while the car sits unused (you don't drive within most of those places) and elsewhere too; these cities also come with driving hassles whenever you make day trips. All of them are well-served by train.

Trains are often cheaper as well. For example, you can leave MUC airport for Munich, spend some time there (using the subway or other transport) and continue by train to Salzburg,, all on one Bavaria ticket (E29/2) covering all your transport.

It seems a shame that you don't have any real destinations in Germany. I would recommend a place in between Munich and Salzburg but since your partial day in Germany will be spent in Munich, I doubt you'd have time.

macanimals

Why are you going to Salzburg--Prague--Vienna--Amsterdam in that order? Seems like you will be backtracking needlessly on what will be a lot of driving in 14 days. Since these are all major cities, I would also suggest trains and a re-arranging of your itinerary.

PalenQ

there is such a sweet drive east of Salzburg - thru the fabled Sound of Music Country - the Lakes District - where major portions of the film were shot. Head to St Wolfgang this can be a lovely day trip from Salzburg - about an hour or so only but if going to Prague that is a long haul - better just head for Linz and then if on time stop in say Ceske Krumlov or Ceske Budejovice (home of Budweiser beer).

consider doing Vienna after Salzburg - could hit Melk Abbey and the Danube's Wachau Valley en route - then bop up to Prague - less driving I think if heading to Amsterdam from there - could go via Nurnberg and the Romantic Road or from Nurnberg or Rothenburg the Castle Road to Heidelberg (wonderful road that to me is nicer than the un-romantic Romantic Road (though there are some sweet old towns along this busy road that skirts those towns.

PalenQ

I agree with Fuzz - for your plans that include only cities with little time to go between them - take the train - cars are a pain in cities - public transit and trains are so good. If you want to dawdle en route then you'd have one less day in each city.

Prague to Amsterdam if you go straight thru is one long haul - there is an overnight train I believe that you could do.

Anyway for train ideas check www.bahn.de/en for schedules (German Railways site - schedules for trains in all of Europe);www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

Picking up a car in Germany and return in Amsterdam may well result in obscenely steep drop-off charges for returning in a country other than in which you picked it up - have you investigated this - you could always return the car in Germany - say Cologne - visit the famous cathedral next to the train station and take a train to Amsterdam in a few hours and save that usually exorbitant drop-off charge in another country.

and as Fuzz says trains can be ridiculously cheap if you use the Bavarian Pass (28 euros total for 2 people Munich to Salzburg) and get discounted tickets on your other legs - see www.seat61.com for special advice on those.

fourfortravel

Are you arriving in Munich and departing from Amsterdam? If that is the case, perhaps consider a driving itinerary in that direction; what you have proposed makes for a long drive at the end of your holiday.

However, if your itinerary is fixed, perhaps minimize unnecessary driving with train travel. For example, train to Salzburg from Munich; if desired, rent a car (even for a day) to explore the Salzkammergut on your own schedule. Train to Vienna (the only impressive scenery is the first hour from Salzburg; the rest is dull autobahn); and train to Prague (again, the scenery is not that impressive). If you are determined to drive from Prague to Amsterdam, it might be helpful to split the drive into two days; 10 hours on unfamiliar roads is not really a driving holiday.

As others have mentioned, keep in mind the drop off fees and the need for vignettes in Austria and the Czech Republic.

PalenQ

Again you can ditch the car in Germany - say Munich even and take the train to Amsterdam via Cologne - there is even an overnight train available on that route - ultimate time saver and save on cost of a hotel and a long long drive.