Tallinn or Ljubljana
Jan 13th, 2015, 01:24 AM
#1
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Tallinn or Ljubljana
Hi,
I am planning a 14 day trip along with my wife in late September 2015. Both of us are in late 20's. As of now our itinerary is 2 days in Rothenburg ob der tauber, 4 days Munich, 2 days Brugge, 3 days Amsterdam. We have another 3 days in hand and i am confused between Tallinn & Ljubljana. We like good food, culture, walking around old towns and getting a drink at night at a bar or cafe. Not into serious clubbing. Which city should be ideal for a 3 day trip. If we go to Tallinn we intend on making a day trip to Helsinki. In Ljubljana we intend on making a day trip to Bled. Any recommendations?
I am planning a 14 day trip along with my wife in late September 2015. Both of us are in late 20's. As of now our itinerary is 2 days in Rothenburg ob der tauber, 4 days Munich, 2 days Brugge, 3 days Amsterdam. We have another 3 days in hand and i am confused between Tallinn & Ljubljana. We like good food, culture, walking around old towns and getting a drink at night at a bar or cafe. Not into serious clubbing. Which city should be ideal for a 3 day trip. If we go to Tallinn we intend on making a day trip to Helsinki. In Ljubljana we intend on making a day trip to Bled. Any recommendations?
Jan 13th, 2015, 01:40 AM
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I think either Ljubljana/Bled OR Tallinn/Helskinki could suit your interests, but I'm confused by your itinerary -- it doesn't seem that you are taking the time to travel from place to place into consideration, and that includes not only the actual travel time, but also the time to relocate (check in/out, pack/unpack, get to/from the train/bus station, get oriented to a new location, etc.) Do you actually have time for yet another destination? Of course, the answer really depends on what YOU want to see and do....
Jan 13th, 2015, 02:13 AM
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@kja my itinerary is as follows.
Day 1 - Land into Frankfurt @ 7.30 am , take a train/bus to Rothenburg. Arrive into Rothenburg by 12 pm latest which gives me 2 days in Rothenburg. Stay in Rothenburg for 2 nights.
Day 3- Take a 9 am bus/train to Munich. Arrive into Munich by 12 pm. Spend 4 days in Munich which includes a day trip to Fussen, and Neuschwanstein castle, a day trip to Salzburg. That gives us 2 days in hand for Munich in which we intend to visit the beer halls since we are there during the Oktoberfest and get a feel for the city.
Day 7- Take the 12.10 pm flight to Ljubljana. Arrive into Ljubljana at 1.10 pm. We have 3 days in Ljubljana which includes a day trip to Bled.
Day 10- Take the 7.30 am flight to Brussels. Arrive into Brussels at 9.30 am, take the train to Brugge which is about an hour from Brussels. Im hoping to be in Bruge by 12 pm latest which gives me 2 entire days in Bruge. Stay in Bruge for 2 nights.
Day 12- Take a 9 am train to Brussels and a connecting train which reaches Amsterdam at about 12 pm which gives us 3 days in Amsterdam. This will be our 3rd trip to Amsterdam in the past 3 years so we have almost finished seeing most of the important sights and museums which gives us sufficient time to relax after a hectic trip.
Day 15- Head back home.
Am i rushing it too much. Any suggestions?
Day 1 - Land into Frankfurt @ 7.30 am , take a train/bus to Rothenburg. Arrive into Rothenburg by 12 pm latest which gives me 2 days in Rothenburg. Stay in Rothenburg for 2 nights.
Day 3- Take a 9 am bus/train to Munich. Arrive into Munich by 12 pm. Spend 4 days in Munich which includes a day trip to Fussen, and Neuschwanstein castle, a day trip to Salzburg. That gives us 2 days in hand for Munich in which we intend to visit the beer halls since we are there during the Oktoberfest and get a feel for the city.
Day 7- Take the 12.10 pm flight to Ljubljana. Arrive into Ljubljana at 1.10 pm. We have 3 days in Ljubljana which includes a day trip to Bled.
Day 10- Take the 7.30 am flight to Brussels. Arrive into Brussels at 9.30 am, take the train to Brugge which is about an hour from Brussels. Im hoping to be in Bruge by 12 pm latest which gives me 2 entire days in Bruge. Stay in Bruge for 2 nights.
Day 12- Take a 9 am train to Brussels and a connecting train which reaches Amsterdam at about 12 pm which gives us 3 days in Amsterdam. This will be our 3rd trip to Amsterdam in the past 3 years so we have almost finished seeing most of the important sights and museums which gives us sufficient time to relax after a hectic trip.
Day 15- Head back home.
Am i rushing it too much. Any suggestions?
Jan 13th, 2015, 02:42 AM
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Hmm... I guess I count a bit differently.
If you arrive in Rothenburg at noon on day 1 and leave it at 9 a.m. on day 3, it seems to me that you have at most 1.5 days there, not 2 days.
If you arrive in Munich by noon on day 3 and leave it at noon on day 7, with day trips to Fussen, Neuschwanstein, and Salzburg, it seems to me that you have little time in Munich. Whether it is enough time depends on your interests.
If you arrive in Ljubljana during the early afternoon of day 7 and leave early on day 10, it seems to me that you have something under 2.5 days for seeing magical Ljubljana and charming Bled -- a VERY tight fit by my thinking, but it depends on what you want to do.
If you arrive in Bruge by noon on day 10 and leave it at 9 a.m. on day 12, you have, by my count, less than 1.5 days to explore this gem. That may be enough; your call.
Remember; You need time to get to/from the train/bus station to your hotel, time to check in/out, time to pack/unpack, time to orient to a new location -- and with this plan, to adjust to different countries that have different languages, norms, etc.
From my perspective, your plan is just at the edge of plausible. Whether it could work for you is another question. And if you are considering trying to replace your time in Slovenia with time in Tallinn/Helskinki, well, I must admit that I don't see that you have the time to make that a choice that I would find reasonable, BUT maybe it would work for you.
Whatever you decide, you WILL see some wonderful things. Enjoy!
If you arrive in Rothenburg at noon on day 1 and leave it at 9 a.m. on day 3, it seems to me that you have at most 1.5 days there, not 2 days.
If you arrive in Munich by noon on day 3 and leave it at noon on day 7, with day trips to Fussen, Neuschwanstein, and Salzburg, it seems to me that you have little time in Munich. Whether it is enough time depends on your interests.
If you arrive in Ljubljana during the early afternoon of day 7 and leave early on day 10, it seems to me that you have something under 2.5 days for seeing magical Ljubljana and charming Bled -- a VERY tight fit by my thinking, but it depends on what you want to do.
If you arrive in Bruge by noon on day 10 and leave it at 9 a.m. on day 12, you have, by my count, less than 1.5 days to explore this gem. That may be enough; your call.
Remember; You need time to get to/from the train/bus station to your hotel, time to check in/out, time to pack/unpack, time to orient to a new location -- and with this plan, to adjust to different countries that have different languages, norms, etc.
From my perspective, your plan is just at the edge of plausible. Whether it could work for you is another question. And if you are considering trying to replace your time in Slovenia with time in Tallinn/Helskinki, well, I must admit that I don't see that you have the time to make that a choice that I would find reasonable, BUT maybe it would work for you.
Whatever you decide, you WILL see some wonderful things. Enjoy!
Jan 13th, 2015, 04:05 AM
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Your itinerary is certainly doable - most of the places you are visiting are pretty small so can more easily be seen in just a day or two. If you were suggesting London, Paris and Rome for 2-3 days each I'd say you were making a big mistake. But Brugge, Ljubjana, Rothenburg and even Amsterdam CAN be enjoyed in a brief visit.
That said, I still think you are underestimating transfer times. For example, you land in Ljubjana at 1:10 - but that's the airport not the city center. I remember having to wait a couple hours for the airport shuttle. And then it took almost an hour. That's the downside of smaller cities. In London, Paris or Rome there's transportation into the city every 15 minutes, not so in this case. You could get lucky and land just before a bus is scheduled, or if money is no object there might be a possibility of a taxi.
When you have many days in a destination then if the transfer time is twice as long as you've calculated, it still doesn't make much difference. But if you only have 1, 2 or3 days and you loose several hours it could have an impact.
But overall I do think you have a nice trip planned.
That said, I still think you are underestimating transfer times. For example, you land in Ljubjana at 1:10 - but that's the airport not the city center. I remember having to wait a couple hours for the airport shuttle. And then it took almost an hour. That's the downside of smaller cities. In London, Paris or Rome there's transportation into the city every 15 minutes, not so in this case. You could get lucky and land just before a bus is scheduled, or if money is no object there might be a possibility of a taxi.
When you have many days in a destination then if the transfer time is twice as long as you've calculated, it still doesn't make much difference. But if you only have 1, 2 or3 days and you loose several hours it could have an impact.
But overall I do think you have a nice trip planned.
Jan 13th, 2015, 04:43 AM
#6
Well you certainly have done much planning. But like kja suggested, you will be losing more time during the travel days than you planned.
It is doable. We have done four cities by train in 13 nights. Probably about 16 hours travel time and it doesn't look like your travel time will take more than that. It's just that your visits are so spread out. However, the most important thing is, 'if it works for you', do it.
www.inyourpocket.com/Slovena/Ljubljana
www.inyourpocket.com/Germany/Munich
It is doable. We have done four cities by train in 13 nights. Probably about 16 hours travel time and it doesn't look like your travel time will take more than that. It's just that your visits are so spread out. However, the most important thing is, 'if it works for you', do it.
www.inyourpocket.com/Slovena/Ljubljana
www.inyourpocket.com/Germany/Munich
Jan 13th, 2015, 12:57 PM
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Ljubljana is certainly easier and quicker to get to from Munich than Tallinn and if you are flying Adria, we had a good experience with them last year. I did a quick search on skyscanner and didn't see any non-stops to Tallinn from Munich but that is certainly not an exclusive look. You can fly to Helsinki non-stop and then to Brussels from Helsinki but I haven't compared pricing. You can't go wrong with either choice - Tallinn is the definition of charming and Helsinki was one of my favorite places (wonderful markets, a great museum (Ateneum), walking the Esplanadi, etc) but Lake Bled is beauty personified with the bonus of cream cake and Ljubljana simply terrific.
Jan 13th, 2015, 10:07 PM
#9
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Thank you for the replies. @dweislaw there is a direct flight from Munich to Riga which departs Munich at 9.30 am on Baltic air. I can fit Tallinn in the plan instead of Ljubljana if thats a better choice. Has anyone been to Rothenburg ob der Tauber? Is it better to visit it on the weekend?
Also, is it worth spending the extra money in Munich and going there during Oktoberfest. While looking up for hotels on the websites for Munich i realised they were really expensive which i assumed was because of the Oktoberfest. Is it really that good or just hyped up?
Also, is it worth spending the extra money in Munich and going there during Oktoberfest. While looking up for hotels on the websites for Munich i realised they were really expensive which i assumed was because of the Oktoberfest. Is it really that good or just hyped up?
