Prague/Vienna/Budapest/Munich - October or May?
 

Hi, I'm planning our trip to Munich-Salzburg-Vienna-Budapest-Prague and was wondering which month would be better in terms of weather (rainfall and temperature): First two weeks of October 2013 or should I wait for May 2013? Which month would those cities be more beautiful?

I also want to be able to wear dresses with leggings and cardigans/jackets, is that possible to either October or May weather?

it really is just luck of the Draw.I visit Prague every may usually in the last 2 weeks of the month and weather can vary wildly from sunny and warm to cold and wet,i was in Prague at the end of may this year and it is the coldest and wettest i have ever experience at that time of year.I vist Prague in october most year too, this year I will be there 31st october -7th November but the last couple of years I have been there mid october when it has been fairly reasonable weather ,warmish during the day and a bit colder at night.i would say that October had the more settled weather but a bit cooler overall than May.The advantage of May is that you have so much more daylight than in october and the daytime high temperatures tend to be a good bit warmer that the daytime highs for October.Plus Mid - late may in Czech Beer festival time ,the main reason for me visiting at that time of year.

May to me is definitely preferable to those dark dank Octobers those areas, amongst the wettest in Europe on a year-round average, - days are getting dauntingly short in October but bright far into the night in May - May flowers are bright - October are dried and dull...

May may be as wet as the fall but in so many ways IMO much more brighter. Well that's only my opinion and for what I would want - longer days mean more sightseeing and being able to see some sights like the fantastic Englischer Gardens in Munich - check out on a sunny day the Chinese Turm (sp?) - a pagoda around which there is a popular outdoor beer gardens - lady severs with dirndls, pretzels, radishes and of course carrying around an unfathomably heavy set of full German beer mugs. Come for the people watching on a nice day if not for the foods and suds!

And the Englischer Gardens in May are more likely to be full of nudists laying all around - even right near the walking paths as seen today in many a German park - less likely to have sunny days in October so both the beer garden and park are a lot different than when it is sunny and warm.

Oh no. Is it usually dark and dreary during the first two weeks of October? Around Oct. 1-13?

In May it will be daylight till 9.30 or so in october it will be dark around 6-6.30pm

We were in Prague from May 9-11 and it rained every day. Once we got to Vienna, however, the weather was sunny and warm. By the time we arrived in Budapest on the 18th, it was hot!

Normally, we travel in September and find the weather is more settled and there is still plenty of daylight.

BUT, the weather in Europe is very unpredictable from year to year so it's really a crap shoot.

weather can be lousy at both times in both places but the amount of daylight is guaranteed to be much much more in May - the later in May the more.

Toss of the coin.

Last year the beginning of October was an as wonderful late summer weekend as you could hope for while this May was miserable and rainy.

It can be the other way round.

My gut feeling would be to go for May.

May. The days are longer and the mobs of tourists have not yet descended in full force And spring is so pretty in all of these areas.

Weather is going to be a little better in May, but October is a lot sooner and I would want to be there now if I were you. I head to the region in April and late September every year and its all good. Avoid the summer and avoid late January, and February and you will love it.

I've been there in May (Prague) a couple times and the weather was generally very pleasant. One trip it did rain a lot and was coolish, as I recall, but another time it was hotter than I expected. However, May in Prague is the time of the international classic music festival every year and it is very very busy at that time. So you should book your hotels well ahead of time, that's the point. If you want to go to any performances of the festival, you need to buy those tickets well in advance, also, they do sell out. I remember once I couldn't get a ticket to one performance I wanted as early as February. I think it usually starts second week in May through first week in June. In 2014, it is May 10th to June 1st.

It is wonderful, of course, that's why I go then as I love classical music, but if you aren't interested in that, my main point was that it can affect hotel bookings.

Music is an important part of the region. In Budapest the concert halls make most of their money of locals as opposed to the tourists. Tickets sell fast so you have to watch and buy when they go on sale if you want good seats. In Budapest the Opera, the Palace of Art and the Operett are three excellent venues for Classical music, ballet and musicals. The theaters are generally closed the latter half of June, all of July and August. Of course that's when the famous outdoor concerts are going on.