Hi all expert travellers
My husband and I are planning to travel to Vienna in June/July 2019 for about 10 to 12 days with our 2 children, age 11 and 13. We would like to arrive in Vienna and depart from either Prague or Budapest.
what would the most time economical ways (time and money）to do the trip , and ‘must see’ places that we should not miss out on.
Many thanks in advance
J
You will find Vienna to be a great European city in the continental style--and Europe's Music City. I would suggest you purchase a Rick Steves travel guide or go to your local library for travel guides. Whenever I'm going to a new city, I also read Wikipedia's article on the city. We especially love the Schoenbrunn Palace and the downtown palaces. Vienna also has great art museums in The Ring.
There are also other cities outside Vienna that are interesting and easy to get to--like Bratislava.
The easiest way to go Vienna to Prague or Budapest is by train. We went to both Prague and Budapest on the same trip 3 years ago, and have since returned to Budapest. It's much less expensive and a very interesting city. Budapest has good food and a rather hip population that speaks good English.
If you're need accommodations in either Vienna or Budapest, PM me.
There are very good train connections between Vienna and Prague as well as between Vienna and Budapest, but not between Budapest and Prague.
Between Prague and Budapest very cheap flights are available.
You should check which flight connection for arriving and departing is the most reasonable and cheapest. Open jaw flights tend to be more expensive than simple return flights.
I believe that you must mix in some time in the countryside. I suggest 12 days, splitting them between Vienna, Salzburg and Prague or Vienna, Graz and Budapest.
Vienna deserves 2-3 full days. Salzburg and/or Graz deserve 2-3 full days. Budapest and/or Prague deserve 2-3 full days.
It is best to travel by train between these locations, both for cost and for your overall sanity. I would suggest renting a car in Salzburg and/or Graz to make the best use of your time.
In Vienna, I would suggest visiting Schonbrunn (Labyrinth and Zoo), Technical Museum, Haus Der Musik, the Rathaus film festival for dinner, climb St. Stephen's, ride the Ferris Wheel/visit Prater, visit Kahlenberg and walk down the hill to a heuriger, Natural History Museum, Vienna Museum. Eat lots of cake and sausages. I also have kids and these are the things they like to do.
In Salzburg, as noted above, I would suggest renting a car for visiting Hallstatt and the Salt Mines as well as Wolfgangee. Be sure to visit the fortress in Salzburg and Hellbrunn gardens. If you decide to visit Graz instead, stay in the Loipersdorf area which has a terrific water park, but most importantly, the best attraction in all of Austria - the Zotter chocolate factory. In addition, Riegersburg fortress is a fantastic visit and also right there.
Make the trip about making memories, not about checking things off of a list that you are "supposed" to see.
prague - vienna - budapest makes sense
whatever you do get a guide - it is just brick and stones without any context and history.
get a fun guide to entertain the kids.
some ideas for vienna.
in vienna go to leopoldsberg - from there walk to kahlenberg
walk down the vineyards at kahlenberg
check out the heurigen on the way down
or take the tram to grinzing
see the beethovenhaus in nußdorf
go to spittelberg
mölkerbastei
swim in the old danube
if you have time take a day trip to the wachau.
The previous poster says " Whatever you do , get a guide . It is just bricks and stone without any context or history . " Conversely , you could do your own research , read some books ( perish the thought ) , and use the internet constructively , it is full of information if used with discrimination . Here is a fine video documentary to whet your interest in Vienna https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AFZBOTgL_Hk
There are lots of opportunities for making a Vienna's visit interesting for children.
https://www.wien.info/en/vienna-for/families/tips
I would recommend e.g. the Museum of Natural History, the Museum of Technology, the Museum of Illusions, the House of the Sea.
Should you be interested in original steam engines, on weekends in summer there are some trains you can ride which are powered by old locomotives.
Hi
Many thanks for all your suggestions. I have since done a bit more research. I would like to visit Vienna, Salzburg and definitely Hallstatt and then spend 3 days in Budapest before heading home.
I am thinking I would spend 3 to 4 days at Vienna. And based myself at Hallstatt for 3 days (doing day trip to Salzburg), is it sensible? And then Budapest, is it too rush?
A day trip from Hallstatt to Salzburg is doable. Train to Bad Ischl, bus to Salzburg (and back). The bus ride is very scenic. Aternatively you can go with trains only, i.e. one train change in Attnang-Puchheim. The train and bus schedule for next year will be published in December. You should plan carefully; the last train from Bad Ischl to Hallstatt departs about 6:20pm.
The train ride from Hallstatt to Budapest is about 7 hours. According to the current schedule among all connections there is one per day which requires only one train change (in Linz).
