Need help with itinerary
Jul 14th, 2006, 02:55 PM
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Need help with itinerary
We will be going to Central Europe for about 3 weeks in September. We've put together a tentative itinerary and would love input and suggestions. We will be travelling by train, might rent a car for a few days in each country if it seems doable.
We will be landing in Budapest on the 5th and flying out of Warsaw on the 26th.
Budapest 4 nights (getting in late)
Vienna 3 nights
Prague 3 nights
Cesky Krumlav 2 nights
Overnight train to Krakow from Prague or Cesky Krumlav 1 night
Krakow 3 nights
Warsaw 2 nights
This is 19 nights - we have 21 nights there.
Any ideas or better suggestions? Thanks so much.
We will be landing in Budapest on the 5th and flying out of Warsaw on the 26th.
Budapest 4 nights (getting in late)
Vienna 3 nights
Prague 3 nights
Cesky Krumlav 2 nights
Overnight train to Krakow from Prague or Cesky Krumlav 1 night
Krakow 3 nights
Warsaw 2 nights
This is 19 nights - we have 21 nights there.
Any ideas or better suggestions? Thanks so much.
Jul 14th, 2006, 03:38 PM
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gbs,
You'll get a better response if you include "Central Europe", or some of your planned destinatons, in your title.
I haven't been to any of these places though most of them are on my "must visit" list. It's a heavy itinerary with a lot of travel, but if you're OK with that it looks terrific. I've a friend who knows the Czech Republic quite well - he should do, he married one of them. When he comes back from his hols (guess where?) I'll see if he has any tips.
You'll get a better response if you include "Central Europe", or some of your planned destinatons, in your title.
I haven't been to any of these places though most of them are on my "must visit" list. It's a heavy itinerary with a lot of travel, but if you're OK with that it looks terrific. I've a friend who knows the Czech Republic quite well - he should do, he married one of them. When he comes back from his hols (guess where?) I'll see if he has any tips.
Jul 14th, 2006, 11:14 PM
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Overall it looks fine, but I'm not clear on your Cesky Krumlov caper. Going there twice? It's a natural to go there between Vienna and Prague, and on the way there will be Linz (check it out!) and there could/should be nearby Passau (check it out!) - it's slow going around there because you're not on major lines, but still...
You might spend an extra night doing just that, then go on to Prague, and from Prague go on to Krakow if you must. Three nights? Really?
I would rather allocate more nights to Vienna and explore the city and the environs more - lots and lots to see and do, even the one-hour train ride to Bratislava (inexpensive lunch!), the Neusiedler See, Melk, track down Haydn (www.haydn-zentrum.at), see the Hundertwasserhaus, and on and on.
Take another look at a good, detailed map, read a couple of guidebooks and don't overlook smaller cities - many have lots to offer.
WK
You might spend an extra night doing just that, then go on to Prague, and from Prague go on to Krakow if you must. Three nights? Really?
I would rather allocate more nights to Vienna and explore the city and the environs more - lots and lots to see and do, even the one-hour train ride to Bratislava (inexpensive lunch!), the Neusiedler See, Melk, track down Haydn (www.haydn-zentrum.at), see the Hundertwasserhaus, and on and on.
Take another look at a good, detailed map, read a couple of guidebooks and don't overlook smaller cities - many have lots to offer.
WK
Jul 15th, 2006, 08:39 AM
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Is there a way to edit this post to change the title to Central Europe? The only guide book I have right now is Rick Steve's Central Europe, which doens't really include a lot of the smaller cities. We usually rent a car and visit mostly small places, but it seems outlandishly expensive to rent in one country and drop off in another so we thought we would go by train this time. We have never done that, so we're not sure how to deal with tickets when getting on and off all the time. Any ideas on that? Thanks for any help.
Jul 15th, 2006, 11:35 AM
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Hi gbs,
I am doing a similar itinerary next week.
Looking at your itinerary I would suggest you go to Cesky Krumlav from Vienna and then go on to Prague.
The direct train from Prague to Krakow is a night train and arrives at 05.50am.
I had thought about doing this but it is too early for me so I am taking the day train from Prague to Olomouc, stay there for 1 night and then take the train (with one change) to Krakow the next day.
Olomouc is getting good reviews with few tourists presently and it is in Movaria which would be in contrast to Baveria. Some people say it is like Prague before the tourists started coming!
As you have 2 extra days you could hire a car here abd see the countyside or go to Zakopane in Poland as a day trip.
Please do look at the train timetables on http://www.bahn.de
I found this site very very helpful,
Helen
I am doing a similar itinerary next week.
Looking at your itinerary I would suggest you go to Cesky Krumlav from Vienna and then go on to Prague.
The direct train from Prague to Krakow is a night train and arrives at 05.50am.
I had thought about doing this but it is too early for me so I am taking the day train from Prague to Olomouc, stay there for 1 night and then take the train (with one change) to Krakow the next day.
Olomouc is getting good reviews with few tourists presently and it is in Movaria which would be in contrast to Baveria. Some people say it is like Prague before the tourists started coming!
As you have 2 extra days you could hire a car here abd see the countyside or go to Zakopane in Poland as a day trip.
Please do look at the train timetables on http://www.bahn.de
I found this site very very helpful,
Helen
Aug 10th, 2006, 02:52 AM
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Hi gbs,
As requested I had a super trip in central Europe. My favorite place was Budapest, charming, beautiful city with the most wonderful people.
I booked all my train journeys in advance from a german company based in London (I am from the UK). This worked very well for me as I had a print out of all the stops on each journey which was useful when there was a change of train. All trains ran on time and were very very comfortable with AC. I took the night train from Budapest to Vienna and it was fine. I was travelling on my own and booked a single sleeper which was very comfortable, had a wash basin and I was given coffee in the morning. I was woken by passport control who were very polite and efficient.
I didn't take the night train from Prague to krakow due to the early arrival and stopped in Olomoac for one night which was a very beautiful town and very very cheap. Krakow station is having repairs done at present but it is well signposted.
I am sure you will have a wonderful trip and your itinerary looks just fine. For your 2 extra days you might want to consider a trip to Zakopane when in Poland.
If you like classical music make sure you visit some of the wonderful concerts in Prague, Budapest and Vienna (Austria is wall to wall Mozart for the 250 year old genius).
If you have any specific questions please ask.
Helen
As requested I had a super trip in central Europe. My favorite place was Budapest, charming, beautiful city with the most wonderful people.
I booked all my train journeys in advance from a german company based in London (I am from the UK). This worked very well for me as I had a print out of all the stops on each journey which was useful when there was a change of train. All trains ran on time and were very very comfortable with AC. I took the night train from Budapest to Vienna and it was fine. I was travelling on my own and booked a single sleeper which was very comfortable, had a wash basin and I was given coffee in the morning. I was woken by passport control who were very polite and efficient.
I didn't take the night train from Prague to krakow due to the early arrival and stopped in Olomoac for one night which was a very beautiful town and very very cheap. Krakow station is having repairs done at present but it is well signposted.
I am sure you will have a wonderful trip and your itinerary looks just fine. For your 2 extra days you might want to consider a trip to Zakopane when in Poland.
If you like classical music make sure you visit some of the wonderful concerts in Prague, Budapest and Vienna (Austria is wall to wall Mozart for the 250 year old genius).
If you have any specific questions please ask.
Helen
Aug 10th, 2006, 07:51 AM
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Hi,
Your itinerary looks pretty good.
I see that you have two extra nights left. I would add 2 nights in the beautiful city of Wroclaw.
http://www.wroclaw-life.com/
http://www.wroclaw.pl
Pictures of Wroclaw:
http://www.ga.com.pl/wroclaw.htm
Make sure to do a daytrip to Zakopane while in Krakow (take a bus, not a train -trains take much longer; Szwagropol buses and Tansfrej - http://www.inyourpocket.com/poland/z...tegory?chid=33)
Your itinerary looks pretty good.
I see that you have two extra nights left. I would add 2 nights in the beautiful city of Wroclaw.
http://www.wroclaw-life.com/
http://www.wroclaw.pl
Pictures of Wroclaw:
http://www.ga.com.pl/wroclaw.htm
Make sure to do a daytrip to Zakopane while in Krakow (take a bus, not a train -trains take much longer; Szwagropol buses and Tansfrej - http://www.inyourpocket.com/poland/z...tegory?chid=33)
