Taste of Alps: Help with itinerary
 

Hello,

We (2 adults and a 5 mo old) are planning a trip to Austria/Switzerland this Sept.

But we need help with planning a trip.

Because of baby -
1) we will not be spending much time in cars.
2) We want trip to be very very easy (i.e. getting from A to B has to be easy)
3) We are not trying to see everything.
4) We think trains would be the perfect compromise to see the country side.
5) We are planning a trip for 7-10 days
6) we need to fly in/out of airports with non-stop flights to JFK (i.e Munich, Zurich..)

Choice 1:
A few(3-4) days in Salzburg (with maybe a train day trip to lake country)
Train to somewhere in the alps
A few days(3-4) in an alpine village (eg. Lech)

Choice 2:
A few days in Salzburg (with maybe a train day trip to lake country)
Train to somewhere in the alps
2 days in alpine village
Train to somewhere in the alps
2 days in another town.

As you can see we are not committed to anything yet - just need to buy flight tickets soon. So any ideas?

Why 3-4 days in Salzburg? What do you see yourself doing there?

2 nights in Salzburg is enough, imo.

The lake country is lovely, spend more time there.

What types of things will you be doing on this vacation?

Hiking?
Salt Mines?

Just my opinion, but I think having a car for that region is advantageous, especially if you move beyond Salzburg, and even more so with a baby. The baby sleeps in the car seat and you can tour the area and have more flexibility than trying to catch the right train/bus. A crying baby in your own car is much more tolerable, too, in my opinion.

Can't tell you too much about the Alps, but only that there are numerous options that it can be overwhelming. I hope you get some good advice here.

We just came back from a short stay in the lake country and really enjoyed it. We stayed outside Salzburg (at the less expensive Sheraton at Fuschlsee) and took daytrips to Hallstatt and St. Gilgen. I saw several people taking their baby on the electric boats at Wolfgansee. We did not go into Salzburg for this trip.

We also really like the Berchtesgaden area. If you do the salt mine tour there, you can actually bring the baby with you. They even can provide a Baby Bjorn type carrier for you to use while on the tour, if you didn't already have your own.

Hi,
We figured 3-4 days to fully relax after an overnight flight.

The only thing we want to do is relax and see/experience something new. If energy allows, some walks.

We're trying not to do a lot of hopping around (i.e. packing/unpacking especially with baby stuff).

Thanks,
S

You may consider relaxing outside of salzburg, there are lots of places to get a little apartment and spend a few days. Might be better with the baby to have the apartment.

When's the Switzerland part come in? The Bavarian Alps and the surrounding countryside are wonderful for sure, and then there are the SWISS Alps...

That's what I need help with. We like small cities and think we would really like Salzburg ( cafes / food / walks).
Should we stick with Austria or take the train to Zurich and experience Swiss alps too . I read that the train from Salzburg is very scenic.

How about 3-4 nights in Salzburg with day trips to lake country and 3-4 nights in Bernese oberland? Using trains in between and leaving a couple days for the city we fly in/ out.

Would you recommend Munich or Zurich as the airport?

Or skip Austria and just do a small Geneva + golden pass + Bernese oberland?

I would stay in Austria and the Bavarian alps and fly into and out of Munich---CH is too expensive.

We were just discussing this very topic.. What village would you recommend in the bavarian alps or austrian tyrol region? We could do salzburg and lake country for 3-4 days and follow that with a country stay..

What's your budget roughly?

We are thinking of ~$150 for the cities (Munich/Zurich - hotwire) and <$250 per night (hopefully not every night) for other places. I'm not sure if this is for real but booking.com has the Grand Hotel Regina (only 5 star in Bernese Oberland?) for ~$800 for 4 nights? Anybody have experience with this..So I "think" we can do this but this is our first time!

Hi suetibu,

I'd fly into/out of Munich and concentrate on Salzburg, Tirol and Bavaria. I'd also suggest having a rental car. My plan would be something like this with 7 to 10 days:

Arrive Munich and stay 3 nights in the Berchtesgaden area or Salzburg. They're less than 30 min. apart by car. Head to Zell am See for 3 nights. Then head over to Mittenwald (or area) for 3 nights. Last night by the airport in either Erding or Freising.

If you have 7 days and wanted just 2 locations, I'd go with Berchtesgaden/Salzburg for 3-4 nights and Mittenwald/Garmisch for 3-4 nights. Last night by the airport.

Check out family owned/run B&B's, Pensions, etc. They are for the most part very nice, come with breakfast and at a fraction of the cost of a hotel.

Places we love are:
Berchtesgaden/Salzburg area:

www.mayringerlehen.de
www.friedwiese.de/enska/isl.htm

Zell am See:
www.pension-alpenrose.com

Mittenwald:
www.schwalbennestl.de/mittenwald.html

These cost less than 60 Euro a night for 2. I can't imagine having a 5mo. old will cost much more if anything more.

If interested, we have 3 pages of our photo's at:

www.worldisround.com/home/pja1/index.html

Paul

Paul has great advice above.

Our last trip we stayed in St. Gilgen and Oberammergau and loved both.

Thank you all. We are looking into all your suggestions. However, I am being swayed by the Bernese Oberland region :) Even though I started out planning a trip to Austria. I will post back when my husband and I have looked at some more pictures.

THanks again,

I agree, you should pick one or the other (CH vs. Austria). With CH, we've done trains through the Bernese Oberland region. We feel asleep on probably the most scenic stretch of the Golden Pass, but how would I really know? This was pre-kids, so I don't have any recs with baby in tow.

Also recommend Switzerland over Austria for train travel. Swiss trains (and other, mostly included with train passes, forms of transport like lake steamers, gondolas, etc.) are clean and always on time. THe B.O. is perfect for this type of travel. The trains routes in Austria are just not that far-reaching in terms of mountain regions--it's better suited for car travel.