Miscellaneous Transportation Questions for First Timer

May+Sept are high shoulder season! You’ve listed too many destinations, btw all high tourist destinations, for 2 weeks. Why not concentrate on Innsbruck through Hallstatt or Vienna. This would give you fewer bases to enjoy & hike. Ortisei & the Dolomites in Italy are only 1+1/2 hr drive from Innsbruck. Save Prague for another trip.

It seems like too many places to me, as well.

You need to be sure absolutely all of your luggage is hidden in the trunk, and you must not open the trunk to put stuff in it after arriving at the place you want to park. And I would carry my expensive electronics and other mission-critical items (e.g., prescription medications) around with me rather than leaving them in a trunk. Although it may be less common in the areas you plan to traverse than in Spain and Italy, theft from parked cars is a potential issue just about everywhere, especially in places where tourists are likely to park.

As for lodgings, I would not leave it until arrival day. I'd book online at least 24 hours in advance. That way, you'll know if you need to change your plans because there's nothing available in your price range. That can definitely happen in May if you run up against a special event of some sort. If you were not traveling by car, I'd recommend looking more than 24 hours out, but with a car you have geographic flexibility and can stay on the outskirts of town in places that would be unattractive to rail travelers. Don't forget to verify that parking is available, however.

I also think you are packing too much into just two weeks. I would concentrate into one area, either Bavaria and Austria or Slovakia and Czech Republic. The latter will be less touristy and much cheaper. You can find pensions, airb&b on the fly, especially first weeks in May. Here is where I stay if I drive to Prague. http://www.pensionhattrick.cz . They have secure parking and it's just short bus drive to metro station (subway). If you go by train most station have lockers or manned room to leave your luggage. Slovakia is ideal to see scenic countryside and regular folks living. Very few tourists traps.

Just logged on today. Wow, I see everyone thinks we are biting off too much. But first question that concerns me...we are in a VW Golf hatchback that does not have a 'trunk' . It might have something like a black piece of cardboard that covers the hatch. Should be upgrade cars to something with a conventional trunk? That is first big question.

It sounds like everyone is saying to either chose Austria, or Czech Republic/Slovakia. That will be tough decision. But since we were considering the possibility of leaving the USA and moving to either Czech or Slovakia, I guess we should concentrate there. But another time? Our problem is that my wife is much younger than me and she has a career and keeps working an only has 3 weeks of vacation per year. So, even with me retiring, I don't know when we'll have another 2 weeks free. That is why we at least wanted to drive into Austria and simply see the mountains around Innsbruck or visit Hallstat maybe.

Also, it sounds like we can be more flexible with airbnb's in CR and Slovakia right? Are there public parking places in Prague that aren't too far away from city center? Part of me just wants to stay away from big cities and spend time in country and mountains. But still have to park somewhere. But, my big question is about the car upgrade question above.

So, it appears that we should not bring a laptop and only small camera and our phones and maybe a 7" tablet that can be carried around with us in small light backpacks and not left in car?

I have spend a year in Europe, spread over the last three years. I left my laptop at home because of the weight. I've had no trouble using just a phone (occasionally) and my tablet for finding hotels on booking.com and web-surfing, using hotel Wi-Fi. Unless your wife needs serious computer capability because she needs to work remotely, I would not take a laptop with me, even if I were not worried about car break-ins. You may often find yourself in a room that's several flights of stairs above ground level in a building without an elevator. Keep that in mind and pack light. If will make for a much better trip.

I always prefer a car with a real trunk, but I've never rented in Europe, and folks have said on this forum that an awful lot of the rental cars there are hatchbacks. As I imagine you know, the rental-car company doesn't promise you a specific model of car, just a car of the class you have chosen.

Moving to Europe permanently involves jumping through a lot of hoops, just so you know. Even staying within the Schengen Zone (most of western and central Europe north of Croatia) for more than 90 days within any rolling 180-day period requires a long-stay visa.

About the car question. Eurocar promised me it would be a VW Golf, btw. I do not think there is that much room behind the rear seat and I don't think that area is completely hidden from view. btw, I am aware of all the hoops for moving to Europe permanently. My wife of 16 years is also originally from Ukraine. A daughter of her school mate is now living in Slovakia with her Ukrainian husband. I also assume I need to have a money belt right? Another car thing that confuses me is the 'vignette' (sticker?) thing. I understand that when I leave Germany and first enter CZ, that I must stop at first station I see and buy the sticker right? What about when I cross into Slovakia? Another vignette for there too?

My wife has a good friend living in Stuttgart. Sounds to me like we need to leave some things at her house to travel more lightly and consolidate. I didn't mention it, but my wife will already be on Stuttgart ahead of me. She has to be there for 2 weeks of work as she works for a German owned company. We could pick up the things we leave with Jhenya when we get back to Stuttgart. I think we need 1 medium suitcase and a couple of small light backpacks for the trip only. right?

Another question... let's assume we had tents and basic camping equipment with us (like for backpacking). Are there any campsites available along the way out in the country - either organized or primitive? And would that be safe? Just curious.

Dropping stuff in Stuttgart sounds like a great idea.

Yes, a money belt (or neck pouch) is an excellent idea. Remember that you can hit local ATMs for cash as you go, so you don't have to travel around with a lot of excess cash. You'll be dealing with three different currencies, so you don't want to get stuck with excess when you leave Czechia and Slovakia.

I'm not sure which of those countries use highway vignettes, but you should find that information pretty easily by Googling. Also, you really, really need suitable guidebooks for this trip. The road rules may be quite different, and it will be helpful for you to have a book with brief descriptions of the towns you may pass through. You'll miss a great deal if you try to do this without guide books.

Your other questions are beyond my experience, but yes, I am sure there are campgrounds. If you don't get answers on this thread, you may need to post camping-related questions in a separate thread with a different title, to attract the attention of folks with European camping experience. I think you could possibly run into some fairly wet weather in May, however.

Yes, you will need vignette for Czech Republic and Slovakia to be able to use their freeways. To drive on other roads you don't need vignette. Campgrounds in Europe are usually more developed with less private space as we are used to here. You will need only two different currencies: Euro and Czech Crown (koruna). Slovakia is on Euro. For the price of camping in Germany or Austria you will get decent pension (bed and breakfast) in Slovakia. At the outskirts of big cities there are usually parking lots at metro terminus. Something similar like park and ride here.

I don't know if your rental agency informed you about the vignette needed for Austria or if they said it was okay to drive your rental in Slovakia or Czech Republic.

You may have everything covered. But it would be a good idea to take a look at Gemut.com and to download and read the free What You Should Know About Renting a Car in Europe in 2018. It covers a lot of your questions.

Although it's not perfect, Rome2rio does a decent job of comparing ways to get from one place to another in terms of cost and time. For example, they say it takes 3 hrs 40 min to drive from Stuttgart to Salzburg, about 3 hours from Salzburg to Vienna, you get the idea. With stopping along the way, or maybe taking backroads, it will likely take longer. With your very short timeframe, knowing how much time you'll spend on the road is important.

We love road trips and did an Alps trip the last 2 weeks of June in 2011. We picked up the car in Stuttgart, drove through southern Germany, Austria, northern Italy, Switzerland and France, returning the car in Lörrach, Germany just over the border from Basel.

We stayed in 7 locations along the way, none of which was exceptionally touristy. Since the trip was about the driving and the scenery, we weren't particularly concerned about our 3 single night stays. Those gave us extra nights in other locations.

I did make all the reservations ahead of time. All our lodgings were in small hotels or guesthouses. All had parking for free or for a fee at the place or nearby. However, the lodging parking was very limited, so I made advance reservations for that, too.

Based on our experience, I wouldn't leave where I was going to sleep or park up to chance, even in early May. And since we were snowed in at our Austrian hotel and had to wait for the plows to clear the roads a bit during that late June Alps trip, you need to be aware of potential weather issues.

Keeping in mind that they are averages, a good place for checking is Weather2travel.com. You can switch between Metric and Imperial measurements. Be sure to scroll down your results page to see lots more detail, especially the links under "More about..." Here's a link for Cesky Krumlov.

What to do with your bags while looking around depends on what the train station has available. Some may have lockers or a place to leave luggage. Some may have nothing at the station at all, not even a toilet! This is another reason to do a bit more formal planning if you decide not to drive.