[Need Help ] Is 12 Days in Europe Sufficient
 

Hey Guys, I planned to go to Europe in Spring, End of MARCH 2019.

Here is what I have planned with estimated time of departure. Would like to know if it is doable? Will it be too tiring?

Traveling in Europe via Train/Rail/Bus
Date : Spring, 29 Mar 2019 to 09 Apr 2019

Day 1 - Berlin > Nuremburg
0730 - Arrival
1030 - Train to Nuremberg
Spend a night at Nuremberg

Day 2 - Rothenburg
0930 -Nuremberg to Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber
1800 -Train to Munich

Day 3 - Munich
0715 -Munich to Zuspitze
(This is a Day trip from Munich)

Day 4
0630 - Munich to Berchtesgaden and Kognisee Lake
(This is a Day trip from Munich)

Day 5
0800 - Munich to Neuschwanstein Castle and Fussen
(This is a Day trip from Munich)

Day 6 (Switzerland)
0600 - Munich to Zurich
1100 - Zurich to Rheinfall
1700 - Rheinfall to Luzern

Day 7
0800 - Mt Rigi, Luzern

Day 8
0080 - Luzern Zurich
1200 - Lunch at Zurich
1600 - Zurich to Munich

Day 9 (Prague)
1015 - Munich to Prague

Day 10
Prague Castle
Petrin Hill

Day 11
Prague Old Town

Day 12
1900- Prague to Finnland
End of Trip

Will I have enough time to enjoy this trip?

Thank you!

No many days not practical - way too hurried except day trips from Munich - figure in transit time - trains - book long-distance trains at www.bahn.de/en for those involving Germany but in Bavaria use the bargain Bavaria Pass that gives up to several people unlimited travel on regional trains for the whole day including city transports - www.seat61.com has loads on booking own long-distance intra-country tickets online yourself - general info BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com. check www.bahn.de/en for Bavarian Ticket details - this will cover all your trips in Bavaria.

If enjoyment to you means bouncing around Europe like a ping-pong ball, interspersed with long hours on trains and in stations, I suppose it will work. Generally speaking,though, I don't think many people would find this enjoyable at all.

Let's see, if I'm counting correctly you named 19 places in 13 days' time.

That is nothing I would want to do. Way too many places in too short of a time, moving around way too much for me.

That said... Have you ever planned and taken a trip like this before? Do you like to travel at a really fast pace and not spend much time in any one location? If so, maybe it's perfect for you.

Why are you landing in Berlin if you are not going to spend any time there? I would recommend landing in a location you actually want to visit and spending a few days there. OK, so you then have 10 days or so left over. Keep in mind you lose half a day or so traveling between locations. I would choose to spend my remaining 10 days in three or four locations at the most.

I think it is an excellent tour of a variety of trains and train stations

Amended itinerary
 

Will it be better if I visit Salzburg instead or Zurich ?

i will base in Munich and visit salzburg and later on Prague

yes

> I think it is an excellent tour of a variety of trains and train stations

Ditto.

Hi d,

You are making the usual newbie mistake of trying to cram everything into one trip.
There will be others.

You could have a very good visit if you limited yourself to Germany.

((I))

Will it be better if I visit Salzburg instead or Zurich ?

I don't see why that is better. You still have 19 places in 13 days on your list.

I did this kind of trip once. But I was not sure to be alive the year after. If you have a normal life expectancy you should split it and come back to 'do' the other legs later.
Berlin is worth at least 5 days, Prague 3 days minimum (without daytrips to Karlorivary or such) Muenchen is worth 3 days minimum - you have zero day to visit it, you use it as a base for daytrips.

If you are planning to go in March/April, don't forget to consider the weather (might be cold) and the length of the days, which might affect your touring. If you haven't booked flights yet, maybe look at Italy as an alternative at that time of year. 12 days would be nice, but still fast paced, for Venice/Florence/Rome. If you want to stick with Germany, your Berlin to Munich route would have plenty to do for 12 days. Save Switzerland, Prague, Finland for a warmer season.

I do not know your circumstances - where you are traveling from (your current plan does not figure in jet lag), who you are traveling with, whether you or your travel partners have any physical constraints, etc.

You're underestimating how long it takes to check out of hotel, transfer to train station, check into hotel, etc. Your current plan has you have zero time to eat! What if you get lost? Even with mobile maps and Google, you still may get lost!

Why are you wanting to go to each of these cities? Figure out what draws you there and plan what to see. This will help you gauge how long you need to actually be in each. While the time of year you are planning to go should be light on crowds and lines, but still figure that some of the more popular places to be busy (Prague Castle, Neuschwanstein for example). Plan for each travel day to eat up at least half - sometimes more - of your sightseeing. Your current plan seems as if you just want to check cities off your list. I know you're considering replacing Zurich (with another city!) - but why do you even want to go to Zurich? Do you have a connection there? What is in Zurich that you want to see? Think to yourself on each and every destination on your list.

The OP has a newer thread with a substantially different itinerary . . .

https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...d-bus-1657542/

Here are the places that I really want to see
 

1. Rothenburg
2. Zugspitze
3. Kognisee
4. Lucerne
5. Prague

Need help to plan the above 5 places into 12 days, thanks !

the main places that I would like to visit is

1. Rothenburg
2. Zugspitze
3. Kognisee
4. Lucerne
5. Prague

You can accomplish your plan (by train) IF you do not mind spending long travel days with a lot of rail station changes. If you lay this out, here is what people are attempting to tell you:

Berlin to Rothenburg ob de Tauber: 4 Trains, 3 Changes, 6 Hrs. 20 Mins. travel time

Rothenburg ob de Tauber: to Luzern: 5 Trains, 4 Changes, 6 Hrs. 59 Min. travel time

Luzern to Garmisch-Partenkirchen: (Zugspitze): 5 Trains, 4 Changes, 6 Hrs. 44 Min. travel time

Garmisch - Partenkirchen to Berchtesgaden: 3 Trains, 2 Changes, 4 Hrs. 21 Min. travel time

Berchtesgaden to Prague: 4 Trains, 2 Changes, 7 Hrs. 29 Min. travel time

You essentially have 11 days (including arrival day in Berlin) as on day 12, you are leaving Prague. In that time, what have you accomplished except seeing a lot of the inside of rail carriages and rail stations.

I am getting ready to leave on a rail trip of 17 days, with 37 trains and four countries. However, my purpose is to ride trains, as I am a rail fan. This is probably my 35th trip to Europe and I previously have visited many of the same sites I will pass through. But my objective is not to see the sites, it is to travel by train. (I do not recommend this for everybody and many of the forum participants would not enjoy such a trip.)

So yes, you can do what you want but I believe you must determine what your objective is. If it is to develop a check list, then great. If it is to enjoy travel and form lasting memories and images of the place you have visited, then don't be in such a hurry. My suggestion, eliminate Prague and possibly Luzern, as destinations and fly into Frankfurt and out of Munich. You can use the DB rail site to plan your rail trips and the hotel booking site, booking.com for hotels. Rome2rio is also an excellent planning tool.

I recommend you start with a Europe map, do a bit of research yourself and stop asking others on this site if this is possible.

Why base in Munich if day tripping to places als easily reached from Garmish - a nice smaller town base.

This is waaaay too much!

Day 1 - Stop over at Nuremberg
Arriving Berlin : 7 A.M
Since it's the first day we don't plan to do any sight seeing.
Travel from Berlin to Nuremberg - Train 3.5 hrs
Probably walk around handcraft market at Nuremberg near our hotel and have dinner near by.

Day 2 - Main Attraction Rothenburg
Nuremberg to Rothenburg - Train 1 hr 15 min
Spend 9 am to 5 pm at Rothenburg
6 pm Train to Munich - Train 3 hrs
Check in hotel at Munich

Day 3 - Main Attraction Zugzspite
8 A.M leave Munich to Garmisch - Train 1 hr 22 min
Spend 10 am to 5pm sight seeing there
5 pm depart Garmisch back to Munich - Train 1 hr 22 min
* no changing of hotel

Day 4 - Main Attraction Neuschwanstein Castle
7 A.M leave Munich to Fussen - Train 2 hr
followed by a 10 min bus 73
10A.M to 5PM at the Castle and Fussen
5 PM Leave Fussen back to Munich
* no changing of hotel

Day 5 - Munich to Zurich
Leave munich in the morning - IC BUS 4hrs
Reach Zurich by Noon, have lunch there and take a 45 min train to Lucerne - Train 45 min
* Check in hotel at Lucerne

Day 6 - Lucerne
Full day at lucerne
- no changing of hotel

Day 7 - Lucerne
Full day at lucerne (old town exploring)
- no changing of hotel

Day 8 - Lucerne > Zurich > Munich
After breakfast at Lucerne, Leave for Zurich - Train 45 min
Have Lunch at Zurich and do some shopping
4 P.M bus back to Munich - IC Bus 4 Hr
Travel back to Munich

Day 9 - Munich > Prague
tea time at Prague

Day 10 - Prague
Full day Prague

Day 11 - Prague
Full Day Prague

Day 12 - Prague
Half day at Prague
Evening 7 P.M Flight home