kremeza

We are flying into and out of Munich in August and have 10 days to explore the area by car. I've fallen in love with the idea of going to Melk/Durnstein and Basel, but I'm worried that that's too much driving. This was the itinerary I had in mind: Munich, Salzburg, Melk/Durnstein, Innsbruck, Basel, Munich. Deep down I think we'll have to decide between Basel and Melk/Durnstein, but I would love to hear from people who have been to both. We are in our late 30s and interested in good food/wine and hiking/biking. Thank you!

Travelforbeer

I've not spent any time in Basel so I can't comment on that city. It is feasible to drive from Melk to Basel in one day (probably 8 hours or so). I would recommend that you drive to Salzburg when you land in Munich. Spend 3 nights there with one or two day trips, then drive on to Melk for 2 nights. Then drive to Basel for 2 nights, skipping Innsbruck. (An alternate to Basel would be Vienna, the drive is much easier.) Then return to Munich for the last 3 nights.

Personally, I would return directly to Munich from Melk and spend 5 days there with several day trips, but that is my personal preference.

Have a good trip!

Woyzeck

Yes, you've put the finger on the difficult part of your plans, since Basel and Melk/Durnstein are in opposite directions from Munich (along the same stretch of roadway). You have a nice amount of time to work with, at 10 days, but stretching from Switzerland to the Wachau Valley means that you'll be adding several hours out of those 10 days in a car.

I mean, say hypothetically cutting out Basel gives you an extra 6 hrs on the ground in Melk or Salzburg, wouldn't that be worth it? That's a long and relaxing 2 hr lunch with wine tasting in Durnstein plus 4 hrs to hike around. You would be giving that up for a lengthy Autobahn trek in the opposite direction.

Can you change your flight to open jaw? Zurich to Vienna, or something along those lines.

What's the attraction to Basel in the first place? It's possible that you can take the main things that are drawing you to Basel and replace them with similar attractions in the other places you visit (Munich, Salzburg, Bavarian Alps), all of which offer plenty of varied sights and activities.

Woyzeck

^^^that wasn't intended as a knock on Basel, per se. You could make the opposite argument, of course. Why not replace the wine region in Wachau for the Rhine Valley north of Basel, for instance. Or replace Innsbruck/Salzburg with Lucern to the south? I'm just giving examples of cutting down on some travel time and gaining more time to experience things you like.

kremeza

Thank you both for responding. The draw of Basel was that our friends will be there, so we wanted to meet up. I thought my plans were a little too ambitious, though, so thanks for confirming. Now with the flooding in the Wachau Valley, I think we might have to cut that part out of the trip anyway. Thank you, Woyzeck, for your other suggestions. I'll delve back into my travel books and research those places! 10 days seemed like so much time, but there looks to be so much to do. Good news is, it seems like we won't go wrong no matter what we do. Thanks!