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Munich, Prague, Austria, Budapest - help needed to design itinerary

Munich, Prague, Austria, Budapest - help needed to design itinerary

Old Mar 18th, 2019, 02:31 PM
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Munich, Prague, Austria, Budapest - help needed to design itinerary

We want to visit Munich, maybe another city in Germany, Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, Budapest in June this year. I don't know how to design this itinerary. The order to visit these cities. we will have about 10-12 days. Flying from New York. My husband wants to drive in Europe. I am not sure if this will save us time. Please help. Or is this too much. Thank you,

NK
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Old Mar 18th, 2019, 03:40 PM
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6 cities in 12 days - travel between them will take much of a day - way too many cities - cut down to max 4 but still rushed. Stick with 3 in heading and you have a logical route but see if Budapest or Vienna has best fares for returning home as they could easily be switched. Trains are best as cars in cities are useless and you pay a hefty surcharge for returning car in different country than where you picked it up.

Salzburg is an outlier that you don't have time for.

Munich -Prague - Vienna - Budapest works well

For lots on trains check www.seat61.com; BETS-European Rail Experts - www.ricksteves.com
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Old Mar 18th, 2019, 04:10 PM
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Only you can decide whether it’s too much for you or not, but I can say that it would certainly be far too rushed for me! I wanted 3 days for Munich, 4 for Prague, 6 for Vienna, 2 for Salburg, and 4 for Budapest – and those were days that were packed, and those times don’t count getting from place to place.

My advice would be to get some good guidebooks, identify the things you most want to see in each location, check their opening/closing times on the internet, and mark them on a calendar. Then pencil in your transportation, add some time on either side (for getting to/from your lodging, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting lost/oriented, etc.). Then see how things fit together.

For these locations, trains would make most sense, IMO. You can get a sense of the times and connections on rome2rio.com (but check through to the underlying links before assuming you’ve nailed your options down). If you decide to drive, please wait at least a day or two before renting a car so you have time to get over jet lag.

Good luck!
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Old Mar 18th, 2019, 05:18 PM
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First of all, you CAN do it, and you might enjoy every bit of it. It depends on your style of travel and what you want to see and do. Last fall, we managed to spend time in Switzerland (Zurich, Bern & high Alps) , Germany (including castles, Dachau and Munich & a glimpse of Oktoberfest) and Austria (Salzburg & superb Lake Hallstatt). It worked well for us, helped by perfect weather, the fact that we travel light (only carry-ons), and we enjoy rail travel, looking at the countryside.

IF this fits your style, we saw enough in Munich with a one night stay. We have been to Vienna and Salzburg multiple times, often only a couple nights in Vienna and this time two nights in Salzburg including a day trip to Lake Hallstatt. We once spent two nights in Prague, did and saw a lot but three nights would have been better. And, we have had multiple visits to Budapest ranging from one to three nights, and all were worth it.

If it were me, and you decide you want to see all these cities, I would fly into Prague and out of Munich. I would fly Ryanair, normally low cost, to Budapest. Then rail to Vienna; then to salzburg and finally to Munich.

This will give you an idea of what you CAN do. Take a look and see if the pace of travel described in our trip report works for you (it's not for everyone) and that should answer if this is too “rushed” for you: 3 Countries, 8 Places, 8 Nights, Awesome!
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Old Mar 18th, 2019, 11:27 PM
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Having lived in Vienna now almost 7 years, we have hosted numerous family members and friends who want similar itineraries, "just to see the highlights." Invariably once they realize how much time will spent on logistics (traveling between; hotel checkin/checkout, and so on) the itinerary gets pared down to settle a bit and explore rather than the "lather, rinse, repeat" of trudging the tourist path in each destination, packing, and traveling to the next spot.

In a perfect Google-Map scenario, you will spend approximately 12 hours in pure transit for this itinerary; this does not account for the time needed to reach a train station/rent and park the car, and so forth. (Salzburg to Prague alone is 5 hours of travel; practically a wasted day.) Add to this the time needed to reach each hotel; time for the logistics of checking out/checking in to 5 different lodgings; and time to obtain the proper currency and get one's bearings.

With 12 days I would choose 3 of those destinations at most in order to take day trips. I hate train travel (because I can not stop to take pictures; and because we often travel with DDog) but with any combination of your cities a car would be expensive and unnecessary.

Popular combinations of this itinerary are Munich-Salzburg-Vienna and Prague-Vienna-Budapest, and the reverse courses, with countless trip reports out there to help you plan. Like others have written, ultimately the itinerary that works best is one based on your interests and travel styles.

Happy Planning!
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Old Mar 20th, 2019, 12:12 PM
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Thank you! These suggestions are very helpful.
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