Finding a good Prague and Vienna itenerary for June 7-17

It might be a great itinerary for you, but not for me. I wasn't crazy about Vienna, but I am not much of a museum person or classical music fan. I found Vienna very pleasant but not particularly charming. On the other hand, I love Prague and hated to leave (these days, Prague is mobbed with tourists though, and that can be very off-putting). When I visited the first time, I had four nights in Prague and two nights in Vienna. That was just about perfect for me.

What are your interests?

Better use of your time would be to fly open jaw. Land in one city, take off from the other. Let's say Vienna, go to Hallstatt then Cesky Krumlov and Prague.

From the OP's second sentence, it would seem that he couldn't get an open-jaw ticket, or maybe it was just too expensive.

I was in Hallstatt for an overnight in early June 3-4 years ago. It was swarming with tourists most of the time and I hoped to get those sunset and sunrise views and photo ops. Alas, the clouds rolled in before sunset and left well after sunrise. There was a great deal of construction going on - some might have been new, some was definitely spring repairs, Anyway all my "scenic" pix of the quaint town have a few cranes in them. I was on a tour so I didn't go out of my way to get there. I'm not saying any of this will happen to you, but I encourage you to consider whether your time will be well spent.

I'm not clear on your plan for the day you want to go to Hallstatt. It sounds like you want to visit the Schonbrunn and the Belvedere and then on the same day travel to Hallstatt. That's not possible. The Schonbrunn takes at least an hour to just see the palace, then there are the beautiful and extensive gardens. From the Belvedere (art museum) to the Schonbrunn is about an hour using the metro. And then you need time to get to the train station. From what I can tell, it's 3.5 to 4 hours by train from Vienna to Hallstatt (with 1 train change). Then you need to take the ferry across the lake to the town. Check the ferry schedule!! When I was there, the last round-trip ferry from Hallstatt to the train station left at around 5pm.

I had already purchased the tickets so it was too late to fly open jaw. Lesson learned for next vacation. Hallstatt was going to be a break from the cities and museums. My interests are museums and outdoor views like the mountains. I don’t want to be overwhelmed with museums.

The trip to Hallstatt that day was just meant to get there no matter if it’s late evening. Just to be there early in the morning. But after seeing the times you mentioned on sights, and travel time to Hallstatt, it all make sense, I may nix that stop. How is the weather in June? I appreciate all the info, I just don’t want to over extend myself.

The last train connection from Vienna to Hallstatt departs around 3pm, arrival about 6:45pm. The schedule of the ferry across the lake between Hallstatt train station and Hallstatt town is coordinated with the train schedule, i.e. for every train arriving/departing there is a ferry in time.

While I loved Hallstatt, if what you're looking for is a break between two big cities, what about spending two nights in Melk? The Abbey is beautiful, and the bike ride to Krems is easy enough, as long as you remember to bring water and a snack (my husband, then boyfriend, and I did not and paid for it.). I haven't been to them, but I believe there are wineries in the area. Melk is an hour from Vienna (trains from Westbahnhof all seem to be direct), and they are very frequent.

I do agree that more time could be allotted to Prague. My first trip there was two nights (Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon), and while we saw everything on my "list," it was also very rushed. If you stay for all of what you call the third day, then you can get up and catch a morning train to Vienna (and, if you choose, from there to Melk), and you won't have to worry about carrying or storing your bags while you tour the castle in Prague.