Prague, Austria and Germany in 17 days
 

We are planning a trip to Europe with our two teenage boys - 17 and 15. We are trying to lock down an itinerary and would love your feedback. The following is our initial thoughts:

Fly into Prague -
Spend 3 nights in Prague
Travel to Vienna by train and stay 2 nights
Rent a car and travel to Melk - Spend one night in Melk - bike the Danube River between Melk and Krems - also visit the Abbey
Travel to Hallstat and spend 2 nights
Travel to Salzburg and spend 2 nights
Travel to Reutte and spend one night
Travel to Munich - spend 3 nights - doing day trips to Dachau and Nurnberg
Travel to Rothenburg and spend one night
Travel to Rhine River and spend one night
Fly out of Frankfurt

Does this seem too ambitious? I would love any input or suggestions!

It's a pretty aggressive itinerary, but it is do-able. Only change that sticks out is Nurnberg is not a day trip from Munich. You're heading toward Rothenburg anyway. If you go west to the Rhine, I'd suggest staying at Bacharach.
See http://www.bensbauernhof.com/accommo...hinemosel.html for accommodations on the Rhine.

Have you calculated how much time you'll be spending on the road, driving from place to place? It seems like a lot of running around.

Do you realize that 2 nights is only 1 day? I would plot out your driving time using viamichelin.com and add 25% to that driving time plus time to stop for photos, food, fuel. Then decide what you want to see in each location and determine if you have enough time.

You're only allowing 2 days in Prague and 1 day in Vienna so you'll need to choose your sightseeing carefully.

It looks like you would be renting the car in Austria. Be aware and careful that car rental agencies charge a hefty one way fee if you drop the car off in another country. We mainly use the broker AutoEurope because we find they have the best deals, but you still have to factor in $200-$500 one way drop off fees. Something to think about.

Concur with the others that there are too many "one nite stands." I don't know about five days in Prague, but you should spend more than two days there and nore than one day in Vienna for sure. I'd consider cutting out everything north of Munich and adding the rest of the time to Prague, Vienna and Salzburg.


You might also want an extra nite in the Austrian Alps--we stayed near Innsbruck and loved it.

We did something like this and visited Hallstat as a day trip from Salzburg. The Melk Abbey is worth a couple of hours--not an overnite.

Thanks so much for all of your responses. I will definitely map out our travel time as well as the sites we would like to see in each place.