Prague, Salzburg and Vienna
 

Hi,

We have asked questions on this forum concerning the last half of our European summer vacation, where we will be spending 10 days in Sicily and we are so thankful for the responses we have received so far. We are a family of four (my husband and I and our two boys, ages 13 and 11, who have travelled with us since they have been very young).

As we do on most of our vacation planning, we work backwards, and we are now planning the first 10 days of our vacation.

We are travelling to Prague in mid-July, arriving just before noon. We had initially wanted to spend 5 nights (4 full days) in Prague, then take a train to Vienna, where we would spend 5 nights (4 full days) before taking our flight to Catania, Sicily.

However, we are now considering spending 4 nights in Prague, renting a car, driving to Salzburg (about a 3 hour drive) where we would spend 2 nights, and then drive to Vienna (about a 3 hour drive) where we would spend 4 nights. The cost of renting a car for the 4 days is just slightly more than taking a train from Prague to Vienna alone ($600 for the car versus $400 for the train).

We would really welcome any thoughts on our plans, as well as any recommendations you can offer. We hope this is alright, but we have tagged this post to both the Czech Republic and Austria.

Thanks

Andrea

I looked at mappy.com for the route from Prague to Salzburg and that site shows almost 5 hours drive w/o stopping. When you compared costs of the car vs. train did you factor in gasoline? It would be E37 for a mid size car.

My personal opinion is when going from city to city I'd rather relax and take the train. Pack a picnic lunch and try to get seats for 4 facing each other with a table between the 2 seats.

Have you also checked the one-way drop off charges that you will incur for renting in the CR and dropping in Austria? Often one-way rental charges are $500 to $1,000.

If you do decide on the car, make sure the rental includes a vignette (sticker to drive on highways) for both the CR and Austria and have an international driver's license.

BTW - I've sent a message to the editors to request they remove the TR flag for this and your other post with the same name. A trip report is something written about a trip and written after (or during) the trip; it's not a request for information.

Happy travels!

I would re check the train cost Prague- Vienna - tickets can be found for as low as about 20 euro per person. Hopefully you have not used prices from firms like raileurope - Buy tickets directly and save much money.

As above poster mentions - most often a very large drop off charge as you rent from one country and drop off in another.
Czech roads and traffic can be a challenge too.
You may find the train , bus or shuttles more easy and convenient.

What you could consider is 1. three nights in Prague. 2. Train to Cesky Krumlov, one night. 3. Shuttle bus to Salzburg www.shuttlebus.cz two nights and 4. train to Vienna, four nights. Richard P.S. A little infor for download for the cities you are visiting. www.inyourpocket.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cesky_Krumlov

Andrea,

I think Salzburg is a great town to visit. In December, we did four days in Vienna and two in Salzburg. This is certainly enough time for Salzburg. Some may argue for more time in Vienna. I cannot comment on Prague.

If you drive, you will incur additional charges for the drop off and perhaps for dropping off in a different country. I checked the drive time to Salzburg as well, and five hours is right. On the other hand, the best train route you can get is going to take 6:30. There are one way flights (with a connection) that would take you a bit less than 3 hours from Prague to Salzburg.

I would also consider taking the train from Salzburg to Vienna. It is fast, comfortable and easy.

Hi everyone,

We appreciate your responses.


We are planning to drive from Prague to Salzburg then Salzburg to Vienna. The cost of the car of $600 includes the drop-off charge.

It seems to us that it would be easier to drive the 4 hours to Salzburg then drive the 3 hours to Vienna instead of taking a train from Prague to Vienna that takes about 4 hours then to take a train back and forth from Salzburg, which takes at least 3-4 hours each way. We know that we will spend more taking the car, but the extra cost is not much considering the time saved, and we get to see the countryside as well and maybe stop along the way. What do you think?

As well, are we giving ourselves good time allocations in Prague (3.5 days), Salzburg (2 days) and Vienna (3 days)?

Thanks again.

Andrea

Andrea; We have done that trip driving from Vienna. Easy drive and interesting stops on the way to each city. Have a great trip. Richard

Can you tell us who you're renting the car from. I'd like the information for future travels as the price seems very good including the inter-country drop off fee.

Hi,

We have always rented cars from Europcar on all our European vacations, however we thought the cost of $600 for the 3 days was quite high, but that includes the drop-off charge.

One thing you should remember is that when in Prague, you must rent the car at the Prague airport, or else you cannot drop-off the car outside the Czech Republic, at least that is the policy of Europcar.

So, is the time allocations ok?

Andrea