I am looking to add four days onto the end of our 3 week itinerary. Currently we have planned to travel through the south of Germany and into Austria, ending our trip in Vienna.

I would like to then travel to one other city for a few extra days. I like the thought of Venice or Paris (have been to both cities before).

Does anyone have some suggestions of where to go from Vienna for 4 days and the easiest way to get there (fly / train??).

My husband and I are travelling with our 10 month old child.

We are flying Emirates so will need to be fairly close to an airport that they fly out of (returning to Australia).

Hi n,

From whence does Emirates fly?

If you only have four days, you would probably have to fly.

Check out

www.whichbudget.com

for the cities that European budget airlines fly to from Vienna and that are also served by Emirates or have cheap flights to cities served by Emirates.

I'm frightfully sorry, but I'm afraid I don't know the Emirates routes; dreadful ignorance, I know, but there you are...

http://emirates.com/routemap.html

UK: Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, London
France: Paris, Nice
Germany: Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich
Austria: Vienna
Switzerland: Zurich
Italy: Milan, Rome
Greece: Athens
Russia: Moscow
Malta

None of them are within short train rides, except for Munich, but you've already travelled through Southern Germany. So, you probably need to fly. Austrian and Niki fly to most destinations in Europe, and you can also fly the low-cost SkyEurope out of Bratislava (an hour from Vienna by dedicated coach).

Really depends on where you feel like going.

If you are flying Emirates my preferred destination would be Rome; alternatively Nice -- or what about Malta?

Budapest! Very easy by train and a wonderful city to spend 4 days in.

If you don't have Hallstatt, Austria on your Austri itinerary I highly recommend putting it on for a day or two.

Have a great trip!

I've become such a Budapest Bore on these boards that I scarcely dared suggest it.

But now that the subject has been broached: Budapest -- Yes of course.

It is only 2.75 hours from Vienna by train and you could return to Vienna (to fly home) without the feeling of a lot of back-tracking.

you could simply do london if you haven't been. otherwise, i'd vote rome.

tedgale and eurotraveller, thank you for your suggestion of Budapest.

What is the easiest way to get from Vienna to Budapest (remember baby on board so looking for easiest, safest and most direct route)?

Emirates does not fly out of Budapest so I would need to get back to either Milan or Rome to fly home.

I am considering flying from Budapest to Venice for a few days, then transferring to Milan and flying home on Emirates from there. Is this too much travelling? What is the easiest way to get from Venice to Milan?

Alternatively I could fly from Budapest to Rome. Although I prefer Venice over Rome.

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

I also recommend Budapest, very easy by train from Vienna and a beautiful city. The Budapest Marriott is well located for seeing a lot with baby in tow -- on the river front and right down town. But, I cannot help with connections from there to your final departure airport. If you want literally to end you trip in Vienna and tack on the four days before getting there, I can recommend Wolfgangsee and surrounding towns (St. Wolfgang, St. Gilgen ) in the Salzkammergut region of Austria. However, my first recommendation is Budapest.

I think eurotraveller meant that you would return by train to Vienna and fly Emirates from there.

As I posted, BUD-VIE is an easy 2.75 hours on the modern, speedy, comfortable train.

Whichever train station you take (2 options in Vienna; 2 in Budapest) you are central.

If you choose this option, people on this board will gladly "walk you through" the train scheduling, the transfers and hotel and restaurant possibilities.

I've just discussed these options with my husband and we have decided we will take the train from Vienna to Budapest. We will spend 3 nights in Budapest. Where would I start to look at booking the train?

We then are going to fly from Budapest to Paris and spend 4 nights in Paris before flying home (best connections for us with Emirates after looking at their schedules).

Is the airport in Budapest conveniently located from the city?

Is Budapest safe to walk around with our baby in her pram (we don't want to venture into any seedy areas)? Is three nights in Budapest enough / too much?

We leave in 3 weeks time so will look at booking trains and hotels in the next day or two.

1. Post a separate thread titled sthg like "Budapest hotel, train, airport transfer questions". This will attract the experts.

2.TRAIN: Both elvira.hu (Hungarian railway site) and the Austrian equivalent oebb.au (I am not sure of the "au&quot will give you train schedules with all details.

Reservations will probably not be necessary but are always advisable.

3. Budapest airport is about 30 minutes from the centre. The best arrangement for a party such as yours is a pre-booked taxi, for which you should not pay more than 5000 Fiorints (about $30 Australian)

4. Lots of advice on previous threads about hotels and such.

Our family favourites: K+K near the Opera; Starlight Suites; Marriott Executive Apartments.

Or for a big splurge (we have not stayed, only dreamt):

The Meridien;
the "Gresham Palace 4 seasons"; or
the opening-this-month Boscolo hotel in the old New York Palace (not my favourite location for touring the centre, though)

All the above are on the Pest side. IMO, the Buda side is remote, if you have a small child, from many sites you will want to visit.