Hi
We are family of four(my parents, my brother and me) from India.

We are planning a vacation in Europe in mid or late september 2012 for 15 days and need some help in planning this vacation. Our budget is economy.
We are interested in natural beauty.

Following are the countries that we want to visit (Tentative)

Germany - Munich, Heidelberg, Baden-Baden, Rothenburg
Switzerland - Bern, Zermatt, Interlaken or Luzerne
Austria - Vienna and Salzburg
and may be Paris?

We heard that Switzerland and Austria are same in terms of scenic beauty and visiting one of the two countries is enough. Please advise on that.

We would be fine to stay in Bed and Breakfast Inns as I heard these are little cheaper.
We would like to travel by train and would like to know about rail passes.
One of my cousin was in Frankfurt and he used to travel in weekends by taking daily pass for 5 euro.

Also, we are vegetarians and are little concerned whether we can find veg food.

Please advise on places to visit, accomodation, transportation and food.

Any other tips and advise is welcome.
Thanks

We would like to travel by train and would like to know about rail passes.>

Trains are fantastic in all those countries (and Switzerland IMO is not at all like Austria - both are sweet but Switzerland is IMO by far more scenic - awesomely scenic in its Alpine areas like the Jungfraujoch region by Interlaken, to me both literally and figuratively the absolute highlight of Switzerland and easy to get to by train.

Anyway for lots of great info on trains and passes (consider the Eurail Select Saverpass valid in 3 countries - Germany, Austria and Switzerland - great sources of info - www,budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.seat62.com - three sites with lots of great info and not just a sales pitch.

Ten destinations in 15 days? Not possible. You're not accounting for travel time between one place and another.

Switzerland is incredibly expensive. If you're traveling on a budget, think twice about going to Switzerland. Austria's not that cheap, either.

A rail pass may or may not be cheaper than point-to-point tickets. You have to price both options out and compare.

Switzerland and Austria are not the same, though coming from India and not knowing either, you'd likely be happy to see the scenery in either one.

You've picked three major meat-eating countries to visit, but it still will always be possible to find vegetarian options.

You'll find food that you can eat. You can always go into a market and put together picinics.

Munich and surrounds are lovely as well as the area surround Salzburg. You have lakes, mountains and salt mines.

Will you be going to Baden-Baden to enjoy the baths? I just want to mention that they are not "clothing optional." There are places where you will wear your swimsuits and places that you do not. I mention this, because some people are uncomfortable with this. It's not a big deal for others.

A rail pass may or may not be cheaper than point-to-point tickets. You have to price both options out and compare.>

and keep in mind that for folks over 25 a Eurailpass is first-class travel so when comparing ticket prices the cheapest tickets are of course for 2nd class travel - so like comparing IMO apples and oranges - first class offering in so so many ways a much more relaxed journey - especially if porting luggage around and also the flexibility to in many countries just hop on any train anytime and be able to find seat together - do not judge a railpass strictly in terms of pricing - that IMO is rather myopic - there are other benefits to a railpass than just judging on costs.

"Our budget is economy.
We are interested in natural beauty.

Following are the countries that we want to visit (Tentative)

Germany - Munich, Heidelberg, Baden-Baden, Rothenburg
Switzerland - Bern, Zermatt, Interlaken or Luzerne
Austria - Vienna and Salzburg
and may be Paris?"

The destinations you have chosen are generally EXPENSIVE, and except for Zermatt, Interlaken, Luzern and Salzburg, there is NOT much "natural beauty."

My suggestion for Germany, the least expensive country: Prien, a small Bavarian town with great scenery and good train connections.
Rent an apartment for 5-6 days. Salzburg is about 1 hour by direct train - so is Munich. Herrenchiemsee Palace is in Prien on an island in Chiemsee Lake. Other outings (Berchtesgaden, Königssee) are possible too. Use the Bayern Ticket daypass to ride the trains as you please - 31€ per day for your whole family (good after 9 am weekdays, anytime on Sat or Sun.)

Prien: http://tourismus.prien.de/

Prien apartments: http://tourismus.prien.de/en/main/accommodation.htm

Contact Prien TI for assistance: http://tourismus.prien.de/

Bayern Ticket: http://www.bahn.com/i/view/GBR/en/pr...r-ticket.shtml

Photo of Chiemsee: http://home.arcor.de/oberpfalz-nord/chiemsee.htm

Palace: http://www.herrenchiemsee.de/englisc...lace/index.htm

Too many countries, too many expensive countries.

Of these Germany has a fair bit of low cost accomodation and food is relatively cheap. I'm going to guess no alcohol but if you want to drink you will find wines by the glass can be very cheap.

Vegi. can be difficult but learn the right words for it on the menu and you should be ok. If in doubt you will find Greek and Turkish restaurants in most towns with a good selection

September can be chilly but will not be cold. I'd try and focus on the southern Germany, use the trains and look at Baden Baden, the black forest, Pfaz, Lake Constance, Ulm and those areas.

You should be fine finding veg - and even Indian - food in Europe. (And unlike with my vegan friend in China, you won't have to pretend you're allergic to meat in order to get it!) My in-laws are Indian and veg, and have traveled throughout Europe. Since they do package tours, they don't often have a chance to find their own food, so sometimes (like in Spain) they end up eating a lot of potatoes... And I think they have managed to find every Indian restaurant in every major city that they've visited.

It's a good idea to have a phrase book where you can reference some key terms for meals.

Thanks a lot everyone for the advise..

We will do some planning based on this.

Thanks

Your idea of using B&Bs is a very good one. Try and look at the websites of each town/city that you finally decide on visiting. Baden-Baden, for example, has a list of B&Bs on it's website.

http://www.baden-baden.de/en/

I wouldn't agree with Rus that Baden-Baden doesn't have much "natural beautiy". It is a beautiful small town, but very sophisticated yet relaxing.

LSKY is correct in that the two big spas in Baden-Baden don't require that you wear anything. If memory serves, the Caracalla Spa has two sections and there's one large section where you can remain in your bathing suit if you wish without going to the other areas.

Depending on where you are coming from in India, you may or may not find the Swiss Mountains interesting. They are much smaller than the Himalayas, so that your vistas as smaller. I'm not saying they are not spectacular, just smaller in size - and you are probably thinking of the Austria Alps when you say that Switzerland is similar.

The others are correct in that you are trying to do too much within 15 days. Bilboburgler's idea of confining your visit to Baden-Baden, the Black Forest, and Lake Constance is a very good one. I would add your two destinations of Salzburg and Vienna. I have the name of a very inexpensive and clean place where you can stay in Vienna, if you are interested. It is near the Naschmarkt and you can buy fresh, vegetarian food there in the stalls.

http://www.wien-vienna.com/naschmarkt.php

Hope this helps a bit.