Hi everyone. My family of 10 is coming to Europe this summer for two weeks. We are coming from USA, starting our trip in Zurich, Switzerland and ending in Prague, Czech. We are debating whether or not to go to Innsbruck. It was originally in our plan but then we took it out because we couldn't figure out what to do while we are there. It looks like a beautiful postcard perfect town. Our thoughts are to do it since we are traveling all the way to Innsbruck. Based on our itinerary we would get there on the evening of Day 4, spend the night there, and see Innsbruck town on Day 5 and probably head to Salzburg the evening of Day 5.

Here is a tentative plan. I know that some of you may feel that this is too much and some of you may feel this is ok. However, please keep in mind that we are ok with jumping from place to place so we can see more.

• Day 1--> Arrive in Zurich by 9:00am.
○ Spend the night in Lauterbrunnen Valley

• Day 2 --> Head to Grindelwald in the morning
○ Spend night in Lauterbrunnen Valley

• Day 3--> Head to Broc and Grueyere
○ Chocolate factory in Broc
○ Cheese factory in Grueyere
○ From Grueyere, head to Chur and spend the night in Chur

• Day 4-> Bernina Scenic Express from Chur
○ Train for Bernina Express leaves at 8:30am and arrives in Tirano around 12:45pm
○ Hired a private taxi transfer from Tirano to Salzburg (can change to Innsbruck if needed at this point)

• Day 5 -->
○ Hang around Salzburg town all day (alternatively hang out in innsbruck all day)
○ Head to Salzburg in the evening and spend night in Salzburg

• Day 6 --> Ice Caves
○ Spend the night in Salzburg

• Day 7 --> Hallstat
○ Spend the night in Salzburg

• Day 8 --> Day in Salzburg
○ Perhaps leave for Vienna in the evening and spend the night in Vienna

• Day 9--> Spend day in Vienna
○ Spend the night in Vienna

• Day 10--> Day trip to Budapest, Hungary?
○ There is a tour company that does day trip to Budapest but we may not do this do to the travel time issue and instead just spend the time in Vienna
○ Return back to Vienna and spend the night in Vienna if we did go to Budapest as this is a "day trip"

• Day 11 --> Leave for Prague some time today
○ Spend the night in Prague

• Day 12 --> Prague

• Day 13--> Another full day in Prague

• Day 14 --> early morning flight back to USA


My family has agreed that if we do Innsbruck, we may not do Budapest. However, if we do not do Innsbruck, then we will probably reconsider going to Budapest. We are aware of the 3 hours there and 3 hours back to Vienna, but are ok with this

Thank you in advance to all who reply!!!

This is the same itinerary you had before. Don;t see Innsbruck added or Budapest removed. And have you checked out the actual time of trains for all of these routes?

There are some good day trips from Innsbruck but not clear you have time for them.

Thursdaysd...what kinds of day trips? Thanks in advance !! I was thinking of Neuschwanstein Castle Tour day trip from Innsbruck and then instead of heading out to Salzburg that same day, go another day? Thanks in advance !

Ziller valley, Stubai glacier, Achensee, Hall.

Thanks! Alchensee sounds wonderful!!! By Hall, do you mean Hallstat?

I think what we may do is cut out Budapest completely, and add an extra day in INNSBRUCK so that we can either do Alchensee or the Neuschwanstein castle tour.
Thanks for your recommendations ThursdaysD!

No, I mean Hall. I have been to the other three places, but not Hall, but posters here speak highly of it.

Try googling Hall in Tyrol. It is a quaint town with a good gothic cathedral. A few hour visit is more than enough.

Innsbruck holds enough to see for a full day.

I did the tour van day trip from Vienna to Budapest but I brought my luggage along as I was staying in Budapest for 4 nights. You do see all the major highlights after which you are given some time to shop, eat lunch, etc. (I don't know how long since I went to my hotel) but it is a long trip (and I didn't have to do the return trip).

viranpooja, from this and your other post, you and your family no doubt want to experience some of the best of Central Europe in two weeks. We have lived in Vienna for only four years, and spend every holiday and long weekend away from the house, and still we are nowhere close to achieving the kinds of goals you have set for this holiday.

You mention a day trip to Neuschwanstein from Innsbruck. The one-way is about two hours; and unless you purchase your timed tickets in advance more time is wasted standing in a queue. Is an entire day worth it to see Neuschwanstein? What about Hohenschwangau? Fussen? Mittenwald? Hall in Tyrol? And so on? Do you see how this list can expand?

You have also set aside but one day for Vienna, the Imperial capital of the Hapsburg Empire. My guess is that you will either queue in insufferable lines to see the summer palace (Schloss Schönbrunn), or wander about the city not really knowing what you are looking at. Ditto for Budapest. I have taken visiting family and friends on day trips to Budapest from Vienna (sigh!); but I know where to park my car; I know how to use public transit; I know how to navigate the city; I have the appropriate currency in hand, and so forth. On a bus tour you'll likely be dropped at the castle complex, which is barely a fraction of what Budapest offers, and then driven around to take snaps of places you can say you "saw" in Hungary's capital. Did you know that three of the oldest sets of crown jewels in Europe reside in Budapest, Prague, and Vienna? With your itinerary you'll likely not see them.

Day trips invariably either take longer than expected and/or you see barely enough to know if you've enjoyed a destination. Add to that summer heat and the logistics of moving 10 people, and this holiday becomes terribly complicated. As others have said, you will "see" the major highlights but often have little time to appreciate them. By way of example, we recently hosted our son's visiting girlfriend from the US, where they are both in university. Over her 14 day visit they toured Prague, Salzburg, Garmisch (they hiked up to Zugspitze), and Vienna, and this is with our son being able to speak German (which helped even in Prague) and knowing how to navigate the logistics of train travel, individual cities, and currency differences. Not to mention being able to avoid the crappy tourist restaurants.

Of course, as always, this is your holiday. If "seeing" is your goal, you will achieve that goal with flying colors.

Thank you fourfortravel for your insight. I really appreciate it. We have decided to cut out Budapest completely