2-3 week eastern europe itinerary?

Croatia strikes me as an outlier here (unlike the other cities, you didn't drill down on any particular place there so I'm going to assume you may not realize just how long it is to drive from north to south). Mostly because its wonders are largely its coastline and islands, I can't imagine it being a ideal time to visit there in December. I can't comment on Istria (northern portion) and Zagreb area though, as I have only visited the area including Split and to the south.

I would stick to cities where they either have some holiday festivities going on and/or lots of indoor attractions when the weather gets to cold. The cities you mentioned sound great to me - just be sure to give them all at least 4 days each so you can enjoy leisurely. I don't even think you need to hire a car - trains work really well across cities. Once you're in each city, having a car will actually be a burden (and don't forget the cost for taking cars out of the country or dropping off in another country - not worth it unless you're seeing some really hard-to-get-to places).

Given you're coming from so far away, I hope you can stretch that trip to three weeks. You won't regret it.

I love Paris, but for December it wouldn’t be my first choice. If you have any wiggle room on that decision …….. Still, its Paris!! So I am cutting hairs here.

I would fly next to Prague. Direct flights start at about USD60 so it’s pretty economical and a short flight at that. Then Vienna and then Budapest; but with some stops in-between. That particular direction because I have a bias for Budapest and think its crowning touch to what is a pretty standard tour route. Here is my 3 week suggestion
1 Saturday, depart Australia
2 Arrive Paris
3 Paris
4 Paris
5 Paris
6 Flight, Paris to Prague
7 Prague
8 Prague
9 Prague
10 Shuttle Service, Prague to Cesky Krumlov
11 Shuttle Service, Cesky Krumlov to Vienna
12 Vienna
13 Day trip to Melk
14 Vienna
15 Vienna
16 Saturday, Train Vienna to Gyor
17 Trip to Archabbey at Pannonhalma; then train to Budapest
18 Budapest
19 Budapest
20 Budapest
21 Budapest
22 Saturday, Return home

You didn’t mention being there for Christmas or New Year so the only 3 week period that excludes that begins on Saturday the 3rd of December. If you can be there for Christmas or New year, more the better. I love Budapest at Christmas and the whole region is beautiful and entertaining during the holidays.

None of this requires a car and in fact a car would be more of a burden than an asset. Also keep in mind the roads in December can be less than great.

BUT, if you want to brave it, then how about you move on from Paris to Prague, see Prague for a day then do a driving tour that ends back in Prague. There are a number of 19th and 20th century resort towns and dozens of beautiful castles in the Czech Republic. Maybe 6 days all together. After another day or two in Prague fly to Budapest. Maybe 6 days all together.

In Budapest do something similar; except I would spend 2 days in Budapest then head off through Slovakia to Krakow. Slovakia has castles that rival those in most of Europe and the mountains are beautiful as well. I would spend a night at one of the Banska towns and another further up in the Tatra mountains then on to Krakow. After a couple of days in Krakow head back to Budapest by way of Bratislava and the archabbey at Gyor. This is more of an Eight day trip by the time you add a few more days at the tail end in Budapest before flying home.

Paris will be decorated for Christmas - perfect time! Do take your warmest clothes. Thermal undies are great for days you'll be outside (not so good if you are going indoors/outdoors, too hot inside). You can get warm hats and gloves and wool socks at the Christmas markets.

Plan carefully for Dec. 24-26. Many places close early on the 24th, and especially in the east, the 26th is a full holiday like the 25th. Most shops, sights and restaurants could be closed.

I would not recommend a car. Winter driving can be treacherous and you'll be on the "other" side of the road. Instinctive reactions to conditions may be very wrong ones. Trains are easy, comfortable and much less affected by bad weather.

Prague-Vienna-Budapest is a classic route by train. Krakow is difficult by train/bus/plane - not many connections. If Krakow is a priority, you may be able to rent a car in, say, Prague, drive to Krakow, then Vienna to return the car, and train to Budapest. Or the reverse.

Hi guys

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated. Might give Croatia a miss so we can comfortably cover the other cities. We are planning on flying in to Paris on approx the 27-28th Dec and then will aim to spend NYs in either Prague, Vienna or Budapest.
James E you mentioned Paris wouldnt be your first choice? May i ask why not? From Australia it is actually the cheapest place to fly into at that time of year so thats kind of why we are starting there.
Chani thanks for your input also. Some great advice there regarding picking up the winter woolies at the xmas markets.

Krakow to Budapest or Vienna is not difficult, but it is a long bus ride (7 hours direct bus). Some folks love to see the countryside and wouldn't mind the road time but I don't think this is a highlight in December. Anyhow, Polski Bus is very inexpensive for this option if you'd like to go to Krakow by bus. Much cheaper than a car rental and the car rental won't get you there faster. The city will definitely be decked out for Christmas.

http://www.polskibus.com/en/index.htm

Flight options from Krakow to Budapest will route you through Warsaw or Munich or Vienna first depending on the airline, adding to the time duration. No direct flights since Krakow is a small market.

Paris is not my first choice only because I enjoy it so much in the spring and fall. Most folks don't have an opportunity for a return trip so I suggest seeing things at their peak. Central/Eastern Europe has a cultural peak in the winter that is hard to beat if you enjoy theater, music and the arts; and it is ridicusoluy affordable while being among the finest in the world. It's just a personal preference. Paris is my favorite place outside of Central/Eastern Europe.

Since you want to drive, here is an idea.
https://goo.gl/maps/PbejMaCowRE2
Fly into Budapest (you could choose Vienna too, but I am partial to Budapest)
Then it works like this
1 Arrive Budapest
2 Budapest
3 Budapest
4 Drive Budapest to Banská Štiavnica, Slovakia http://www.banskastiavnica.org/en/index.html a spectacular old mining town. Spend the night. The Salamander Hotel is basic but clean and nice. Drive time about 3.5 hours in good weather.

5 Then on to Banská Bystrica another great old mining town http://eng.kisbb.sk/ Before heading on to Štrbské Pleso. The Kempinski Hotel is one of the finest hotels I have ever stayed in and the views and the lake are spectacular. Across the lake the Hotel Patria is also very nice and less expensive and there are some other less expensive hotels in the immediate area as well. Take the cable car to into the mountains, enjoy the beauty of the High Tatra Mountains. Total drive time about 2.5 hours in good weather.
6 Štrbské Pleso with day trips to Orava Castle and Spis Castle.
7 Off to Krakow! Drive time atoub 3 hours.
8 Krakow
9 Krakow
10 Krakow to Brno, a very under rated baroque town. Well worth the stop. Spend the night. http://www.brno.me/ Drive time about 3.5 hours.
11 Brno to Vienna. Drive time about 2 hours
12 Vienna
13 Vienna
14 Vienna / Melk / Vienna
15 Vienna
16 Vienna to Pannonhalma Archabbey https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Pannonhalma_-_Benc%C3%A9s_ap%C3%A1ts%C3%A1g.jpg to Gyor http://www.funzine.hu/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/Gyor.jpg . Spend the night in Gyor. About 1.5 hours
17 Gyor to Budapest. Drive time about 1 hour
18 Budapest
19 Budapest
20 Budapest
21 Depart

Since you're arriving in Paris after Christmas, I don't know if the special markets will still be open. I've read that in some cities they are open until New Year's or later, while in others they close on Xmas eve. Paris will still be decorated for the holidays and I'm sure you'll love it. If you can't go shopping at the Xmas markets, you can go shopping on Hausmann Blvd at Galleries Lafayettes (worth a visit just to see the inside) and Les Printemps, next door. They may even have post-Xmas sales.

14 and 16 year old girls. Hmmm, maybe you need another day in Paris just for shopping ☺

Chani, you have convinced me. I am going to Bpest again this year for Christmas, but was looking for something to do the week before. Maybe it will be Paris. Plane tickets are certainly cheep enough.

Thanks for taking the time to reply guys. We are actually very open to suggestions for possible itineraries for anywhere in Europe. Paris is the cheapest city for us to fly into from Australia in December and we thought Eastern Europe would be more user friendly on the wallet but if anyone has any good ideas for that time of year please feel free to make suggestions. We would also love to see the Northern Lights but I think its too cost prohibitive. Looking forward to your thoughts.
Cheers
Ryan

Paris is still to expensive. I was hoping the drop in tourism would affect the prices but I've done a little research and not the case. So maybe Riga for New Years? Looks interesting .....

we thought Eastern Europe would be more user friendly on the wallet

I don't think you'll get any argument there...check the exchange rates and you can confirm this (I can speak for Poland since I grew up there - it's quite inexpensive although Krakow is more expensive relatively speaking because more touristy). I would chuck the northern lights idea - the chance of seeing it is so remote that you'd have to plan to stick around a bit just to increase the odds.

Lonely Planet has data for the cost of travel to various locations. “Midrange” trip (go to their site for details) costs for a few cities are:

1. Bulgaria $45 to $63 per day
2. Poland $50 to $75 per day (they didn’t identify specific towns. I would suspect because Krakow is a very hot tourist destination that the prices will be higher than the national average)
3. Romania $55
4. Budapest $54 to $107 per day
5. Croatia $67 to $148
6. Barcelona $66 to $222
7. Berlin $89 to $222
8. Vienna $89 to $178
9. Prague $89 to $229
10. Paris $111 to $278
11. Rome $111 to $278
12. Amsterdam $111 to $278
13. London $125 to $270

As for the attitudes of the people, you wont find kinder or more giving people than those in Central/Eastern Europe.

I planned a trip (that sadly had to be postponed) to Warsaw, Krakow and Budapest. I was surprised at how cheap rooms were in Poland. There are bargains to be had in Budapest and Vienna. Also consider 4-bed hostel rooms. They usually have a private toilet/shower.

In Vienna a year ago, nice restaurant meals were pretty reasonable and it was easy to find cheap lunches. I thought restaurants in Budapest were cheap too.

Chani, you know I spend most of my time in Central/Eastern Europe so when I was in Germany in February I was stunned at the costs compared to what I was used to spending further "East". Back to the region in August and again in December; no way we could travel this much if we had to pay full fare.

To complicate your choosing between possible itineraries: Brno is an interesting and agreeable city, and nicely on the train route between Prague and Vienna.