Jeanniebw

Hi, truly need some advice to plan my trip to these following places in March 2016...Prague, Hungary, Vienna, Hallstatt and Croatia...to be honest I'm not a good planner to travel on my own. I need to see these few places in 12 days...and dunno the best way to get it done. Hope that I can get some advice how to do about it. I'm coming from Poland, so may I know where should I start first...will be safe for two ladies to drive all around to the above-mentioned places. To Hallstatt I would definitely love to stay at least a night and trying to look for a lake view accommodations..average prices look like fully booked, will be nice If can share info of this too.

Thanks in advance and appreciate to hear from you travellers out there.

Cheers
Jeannie

nytraveler

March weather in those places can still be wintry at times. Typical highs are in the 40s and lows in the 30s with precipitation on about half the days with weather in Hallstatt even colder.

And that is NOT a few places for only 12 days - when you figure in getting from one place to another there won't be a whole lot of time left to see/do anything.

You might look at viamichelin.com to get choices of routes (fastest or most scenic) and drive times. Suggest you get a good paper map - Michelin is always good - to help you figure this out.

And is this a roundtrip or are you planning on renting a car in Poland and dropping in Croatia - which might be VERY expensive assuming the rental company will let you do it. And a round trip would be a very lengthy drive.

Man_in_seat_61

Cars and European cities don't mix well - so if you want to visit the cities, forget driving and take the train. The only reason you'd hire a car is to tour the countryside and small towns, but you haven't really time for this.

You can travel most cheaply with advance-purchase tickets bought direct from the relevant train operator - I explain which site to use for what journey here, www.seat61.com/Europe-train-tickets.htm

Sketch out the trip having checked train times at the all-Europe online train timetable at www.bahn.de/en - and see how much actual time you have in each place afteer decuting travel time, then slim down your ambitions accordingly.

Travel_Nerd

Where are you going in Hungary? I presume Budapest? For larger cities like Vienna, Prague and Budapest (if applicable) you need at least three days to see most of the major sites. You can get by with less.

Where are you planning on going in Croatia? Fairly large country and in reality, most of the main draws are a bit far outside your immediate area which would then take an added time to get to unless you're planning to fly. Inner-Croatia will be pretty wintery at this time, making the National Parks a potentially dreary visit. The coast line (Istria and Dalmatia) will likely be mostly closed-up (with some exceptions) in terms of restaurants and even some hotels. I would suggest on this trip, for the time of year you're going and for your limited amount of days, skip Croatia.

Start your planning by figuring out what are your (and your travel partner) must-sees are and plan around that way. Use the driving times and/or train times to figure in your travel distance between places. Add additional hours for checking in/out of hotels, shlepping your luggage from parking area (most hotels may not have one) or train station, etc.

I would feel most of these areas are safe for females to travel to. Haven't been to Hallstatt but have been to Prague, Vienna, Budapest and Croatia and felt safe.

I agree with the others about trains over cars. But if you must drive, plan accordingly.

Jeanniebw

Thank you so much on your kind advice...will skip Croatia this trip, may I know which city should I start with from Poland...should I do with first??? Prague, Hungary then Vienna and Hallstatt or Prague, Vienna then Hungary...will take trains to a major city then will explore with car rental to the countryside. Any reliable local car rental to recommend.
Appreciate all the info opinions shared.

Cheers and have a pleasant day.

fourfortravel

I concur with the advice provided above. A useful first start is to gather guide books or otherwise do research into what it is that you really "must" see in each of these places. Then, add in the logistics (transportation, time needed, rental car, etc.) needed to accomplish that. With a little bit of your own homework you'll find that the itinerary will write itself.

You indicated that you are traveling in March. In 2016 the Easter holidays occur at the end of the month, and may impact your plans with closures. March weather in most of these destinations is a coin-toss of springlike or wintry. Also keep in mind that, at least in Austria, most everything (except museums) is closed on Sundays, and in many cities the museums are often closed on Mondays or Tuesdays.

Good Luck.

Travel_Nerd

Are you going to be returning to Poland after this trip or are you planning to return elsewhere (US, Canada, etc.)? I would personally start with the closest city to Poland and work your way over/down. So, likely Prague.

Limit your time zig-zagging back and forth. Use the following website for train schedules/distances from city to city: http://www.bahn.com/i/view/GBR/en/

Some cities might have multiple stations, try to find one that is "Central" unless you will truly be staying outside the central parts of the city.

I actually did a similar trip a few years ago to Prague, Budapest, and Vienna (with Bratislava) and I had 16 days on the ground. Your final day will likely be spent at the airport (if you're flying) so in reality you only have 11 days. You might consider making another cut, but it's your call.

You and your travel partner need to really do some research of each city and find out what you really want to see before you start all of the intricate planning (dates, hotels, etc.).

Jeanniebw

Thanks for the tips and info given, will definitely help in my planning of the trip. I'm not the museum kind of person, more on scenic and outdoors activities...will try to arrange some cycling in the city, if possible, will walk around historical places and beautiful sights. We're flying off from Budapest to Amsterdam. Will stay at least two nites in a place, love Hallstatt..so beautiful there may stay three nites and relax. May I know is the night train with cabin safe enough for two ladies, I had one experience with the night train from Rome to Lyon. The train had few stops and our tickets have no seat no, between the stops anyone can just come in and shared your cabin. We were lucky to share it with a nice gentlemen, that's one stop a group of teenagers just came into our cabin, that wasn't a pleasant group. The gentlemen told us, we were lucky he was with us and warned us not to travel in the night train (only ladies) without a seat. That was 15 years ago, wonder if its safe to do the night train at the moment.

Jeanniebw

Merry Christmas to all the lovely travellers in this forum.

Cheers
Jeannie