Hi Everyone-
This is my first post although I used these boards a ton to research a trip I took to Italy in March. I got wonderful info for that trip so now would like some help in planning my next trip! My husband and I are planning a 10 day trip for either next March or next June (2008). We have narrowed down our list of possibilities to three inteneraries. Any tips and experiences of these places would be greatly appreciated! By the way we are both 25, no kids, love beautiful scenary, meeting locals, great food and interesting history. I have found that while we love big cities we tend to like charming small towns even more.

Choice 1:
Ireland- Fly to Dublin, rent a car and drive around the coast of Ireland

Choice 2:
Spain- Don't have much of an intenerary for this one but I have heard wonderful things about Spain so I thought I would put it on the list.

Choice 3:
Germany and Austria- Fly into Frankfurt and travel by train throughout Austria and Germany.

I would appreciate any opinions on these choices!

Personally, I'd be most excited about choice #3. The Austrian Alps are stunningly beautiful. Vienna and Salzburg are great cities with lots to see and experience. You can't go wrong. I tend to go with my gut on these things. Which excites you most?

After 23 trips to Europe, I too vote for the Germany/Austria itinerary but I would fly into Munich rather than Frankfurt. With only 10 days I would plan 3 destinations---Munich, the Bavarian castle country, and the Salkammergut region of Austria. A car in Ireland is too ambitious unless you are a veteran Euro traveller. Good luck !

Having been to Germany (Munich) too many times on business, I would make my decision based on the weather.

If you are going in March, my choice would be Spain. Germany's usually a tad too cold for that time of year.

As for Ireland, the best time is to go during the summer, if you can find out what day it is.

We are flexible to going in either March or June. We planned to go to in March if we choose Spain and in June if we choose Ireland or Austria.

My vote is for Spain, especially the southern region. Great food, wine and sightseeing! You could easily do a 10 day trip. I did it a few years ago.
Here's my travelogue from Spain to give you an idea:
http://www.wired2theworld.com/Spain2005.html
I just got back from 12 days in Budapest, Vienna, and Prague and while I enjoyed it, I would still pick Spain over that region of Europe. But that's just my preference, I really like the Southern Med. countries.
Here's my blog from that trip:
http://www.wired2theworld.blogspot.com/

My vote is Germany/Austria and I too would recommend flying into Munich. From there you have many options throughout Bavaria and into Austria. Do not miss Salzburg, you will love it.

jdraper wrote: "Do not miss Salzburg, you will love it."

How do you know?

I'd also vote for a three-area, Munich-southern bavaria-salzburg plan.

I agree with the vote for Spain if your trip is in March, and Germany and Austria have much to offer, but if my husband and I were magically 25 once again and making this decison, we'd definitely head for Ireland !!

Thanks for all the great responses and keep them coming! This is such a hard decision for us because we will most likely want to have kids in the next couple of years and this could be our last major vacation for a while. Its such a tough decision because there are great things about each place!

Unless you crave cold and damp, I'd drop Ireland from contention. If you can move the trip to August or (early) September, then Ireland in a heart-beat. Probably more charming small towns, beautiful coastal scenery and friendly locals per square mile than anywhere else on earth.

I was in Ireland in late March/early April this year. Had absolutely gorgeous weather, no rain. (The only bad weather we encountered was two of the three days we were in Paris.) And nowhere near the tourists you'd encounter there in August. Or June, for that matter. I was also there in March of '06. It rained the two days we were in Galway. We had beautiful weather the other three days.

There's no reason to think Ireland will be cold and damp in June. The weather can be all over the place; we went there at the end of May and beginning of June, and we had a week of warm, sunny, t-shirt weather, and a week of cooler, misty weather, but never needed a coat -- just a cotton sweater. And there is NO reason to rule out driving in Ireland, even if you are not a "veteran."

I guess you can tell I'm an Ireland fan! But any of the choices would be fine with me. I visited Vienna and Salzburg years ago and would love to return. The mountains in Austria arer stunning. Maybe you should read a few specific trip reports and see if anything grabs you. You have plenty of time to see the other two, even after the kids arrive.

I agree, Ireland in June (the later, the better) could be lovely. I would still choose August/early September for day-time temperatures that reliably hit 60F.

Another vote for the Bavaria Plan. I've lived there, visited there and the family is returning to Bavaria in 18 days with a considerably more ambitious trip but we're crazy like that.

Please visit http://www.bensbauernhof.com/index.html for suggestions, advice, photos, and read the trip reports. The two older couples that visited this past fall or winter are an absolute hoot. Very entertaining and informative.

MvK

Hi,

for June I would recommend to fly to munich and start for a trip through Bavaria and Austria. My tip: head for the Berchtesgaden National Park, it's an amazing piece of nature! Need to tell more? http://www.germanplaces.com/germany/koenigssee.html

"By the way we are both 25"
That's acceptable in all countries

"no kids"
Madrid could change that

"love beautiful scenary"
Ireland++, Austria++, Spain+, Germany+

"meeting locals"
Ireland++ (humor)
In Vienna you are tolerated, in Dublin you are welcome

"great food"
Spain++ (TAPAS!)

"and interesting history"
All countries

Of your choices and in your circumstances I would choose Germany and Austria followed perhaps by Ireland. Given I have just moved to Spain my reasons are mainly the time you have. I don't think you can do justice to either the north or the south of spain in such a short time. And can I suggest you go for June regardless of countries - the weather in most of southern spain this year was horrible in March. It was not a lot warmer than Xmas and much worse weather overall in terms of gray rainy days.