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14 Day Trip - Italy / Austria / Budapest - Thoughts???

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Facts:
1. Family of four with twin boys age 8.
2. We have been to Europe over Christmas for 13-16 days each of the last two years.
- Trip 1: Rome (5 nights), Venice (3 nights), Florence (4 nights) (flew to Paris), Paris (4 nights).
- Trip 2: Rome (4 nights) (flew to Budapest), Budapest (3 nights), Vienna (2 nights), Prague (4 nights) (Flew to London), London (mistake stop as we missed flight).

  1. Trip - December 26 - January 10.
  2. We leave and return from LAX.
  3. Fly into Venice and Fly out of Vienna (tickets were crazy cheap)
  4. Kids are game for anything.
  5. We love food and just enjoying the City, but do the major art and tourist stuff.
  6. We would like to balance the trip with at least 1 "cheaper" destination - ie. Budapest, Prague, etc.
  7. Taking planes in the middle of the trip is a bit of a buzz kill so we have decided not to do that anymore.

Suggested Trip
1. Arrive Venice 4 pm (3 nights.)
2. Leave early and take train to Verona (2 nights)
3. Leave early and take train (Brenner Pass) to Innsbruck (1 night) [Kids want to go up mountain and see the snow.]
4. Leave early afternoon and take train to Salzburg (2 nights) [Wife needs to do Sound of Music Tour]
5. Leave early and take train to Budapest (3 nights) [We loved Budapest and its so cheap] [I have seen tickets for under $90 for all of four of us.]
6. Leave early and take train to Vienna (3 nights) [take day trip to Bratislava].

For those who love to evaluate itineraries, what are your thoughts? I don't know if we need to stay in Innsbruck. Could we do it as a quick stop-over so the kids can take the tram up the mountain? We could buy separate train tickets and give us 4-6 hours in Innsbruck. Also - Cesky Krumluv / Prague seems like an interesting alternative to Budapest. The smart people here will probably say skip Budapest and/or Prague and just do the Italy / Austria route with more days in each place. But - I like the idea of saving some money in the cheaper spots, which I believe offset the extra travel costs. It's a tough call. I hate staying somewhere only 1 or 2 nights because of the hassle of checking in and checking out, packing, etc. But - it's tough to say no.
Thoughts?

Posted by
8412 posts

Looks like a good plan. Not sure why two nights in Verona, we saw the city in half a day. Innsbruck is in a beautiful location and we were there for skiing about the same time of the year you are going.

I loved living in Germany for four years, but didn't care for the long winters. I would never pay to go to central Europe in the winter. It gets dark at 4:30 in the afternoon and it is cold.

I guess that doesn't bother you, sorry, I had to get that out.

I have been to Prague, but not Cesky Krumluv. Still, I would go for Budapest. It is a great city.

Posted by
15098 posts

Good itinerary. Your kids are good troopers, so was my grandson when we took him at close to five and again at ten, both times to Paris in the summer. "...game for anything." Bravo for the kids. True, he never complained, whined, etc. There are advantages doing a trip at winter time likewise in the summer. I prefer the summer. Tip # 5 is the way to go.

Posted by
451 posts

I do would spend one night in Verona and put that night in Innsbruck. Remember for every change of hotel, you lose at least a half day. When in Venice, you might experience Aqua Alta. It is an interesting experience. Kids will love it.

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