Hi All,
Planning a 16 days trip to Austria, Switzerland and Italy as first timer in October. Main goals for the trip will be for sight seeing, scenery, food and occasional shopping.
Will be flying into Munich which country will be the best to fly out of?
Please suggest me itineraries! Thanks in advance.
Perhaps the above Searches will help you.
Just some thoughts/ questions :
Are you going to Octoberfest?
Check when the lifts in Switzerland are shutting down. Generally the earlier in October, the better.
Size, age of group? Been in these countries /Europe before? Hike? Foodies? Art? History?
How many actually nights do you have? So- about five days a country? If you had to, which country could you drop?
What areas are you interested in for each country? My must-do's could be snoozers for you.
Perhaps get some guide books, watch some RS videos, and join some city-specific Facebook groups. Do more research and see what appeals to you, then come back when you have a rough itinerary .
Your question is just too broad for me to help you at this point, and you surely want a memorable trip. Safe Travels!
Hi Pat, we’re first timers to Europe itself and first timers to those countries. Will be flying on the third week of October.
My rough itinerary as follows is:
Day 1: Munich > Innsbruck (2 nights)
Day 3: Innsbruck > Interlaken (3nights as base)
Day 4: Lauterbrunnen, Murren, Schilthorn
Day 5: Jungfraujoch
Day 6: Interlaken > Venice (deciding if it’s a good idea to do the bernina express route)
Day 7: Venice
Day 8: Venice > Rome (3nights)
Day 12: Florence (2 nights)
Day 15: Milan (2 Nights)
Day 17: Depart
I found Salzburg in Austria to be such a charming city. You can get the Salzburg Card for either a day or 48 hours and it is the best deal I've experienced in just about all my travels: For $39 (the price slightly varies based on time of year), it gets you access to a lot of the major attractions around the city. I did the math and if I had purchased everything individually it would have been well over $150.
My personal favorites were climbing the Untersberg (where scenes from The Sound of Music were filmed), which gives you an incredible picturesque view of parts of Switzerland, Austria, and Germany, the Salzburg Fortress, and going to the Trick Fountains at the Hellbrunn Palace, which is an elaborate underground hydraulic system set up around 400 years ago and still uses a lot of the same mechanisms today to shoot water at unsuspecting guests. I'd also suggest taking a tour down the river—the boat you're on does a waltz as it heads back into the docks.
Wherever you go in Austria, get as many pastries as you can. They are plentiful and delicious. And it's very cliche, but the fondue I had in Switzerland was phenomenal. Have a lovely time!
I'm not clear on how many nights you're thinking of spending in Venice and Florence.
Welcome to the forum! I'm sure this is very exciting for you as first timers. A few thoughts and questions about your rough itinerary:
1) Are you planning to use public transportation for the entire trip?
2) In my view, you are trying to cram in far too many locations. Have you mapped out the time you will spend traveling from place to place, not to mention the time spent changing hotels? This is going to really minimize the the time you actually have to explore a place. For example, this itinerary really shortchanges the time you have for the cities in Italy. I would prioritize the ones you want to see the most. For me, Milan was the least interesting.
3) It appears that the main focus of your trip is Switzerland and Italy. Is there a reason why you chose to fly into Munich? Is Innsbruck a "must see" for you? If not, then I would consider flying in to perhaps Zurich.
4) As for Switzerland, I suggest you stay in an Alps mountain village like Wengen or Murren. They are more charming than a transportation hub like Interlaken.
Come back to the forum if you have additional questions. Happy traveling!
In my view, you are trying to cram in far too many locations.
Whereas I disagree. But all travelers are different.
I agree that your itinerary includes too many destinations. If you haven't booked your airfare yet, I would skip Milan, go to Rome last and fly home from Rome. I realize that tours travel at this pace, but they can travel more efficiently than can independent travelers-they can drop you off close to sites and pick you up near them rather than having to navigate by foot, public transportation or taxis and they have lots of experience maximizing time.
