3 week itinerary in June 2015

Posted by sammy on 09/10/14 02:45 AM

Hello fellow travelers. I am planning a trip in June 2015 with our 2 teenagers (16 year old twin boys) and have been refining the itinerary based largely on feedback from this forum.

Although I still need to "fill in the blanks" with details, I'm looking for feedback on the layout and travel logistics in between destinations. While it may be a bit over ambitious, I want to have some flexibility to adjust while traveling. Here we go...

Fly into Munich. Spend 2 nights then rent car and tour Dachau then head south to Bavaria.
Setup home base in Reutte or Fussen and take day trip to visit castles. 2 nights.
Drive to Lindau and drop off car. Take ferry to Rorschach, SW and catch train to Lauterbrunnen. Spend 3 nights in Gimmelwald.
Take train to Montreux, spend 2 nights.
Take train to Rome, spend 4 nights.
Fly or train to Venice, spend 3 nights.
Take ferry to Rovinj, Croatia, rent car. Spend 3 nights.
Take bus to Trieste airport and fly to London. Spend 4 nights.
Fly home.

Let me know what you think!

Couple questions:
1. Given our timeframe of mid-June to begin our trip, how soon in advance should we look to book our flights?
2. I have found some cheap fares from Rome to Venice through Google Flights (on Alitalia) for $78. Is this legit???

Posted by Anita

Long Beach, California, USA

09/10/14 03:08 AM

3398 posts

The pace at the beginning of you trip is quite brisk but with two energetic teenagers you should be fine. Great overview for them! Just make sure to make a list of everything you want to see as well as calculate realistic travel times between cities so that you don't find yourself with too little time to do and see it all.

For every two nights of lodging you basically get a single day in that location, for three nights you get two days, etc.

There are very cheap flights available within Europe and the $78 airfare sounds legit. The only catch may be that some of the cheaper airlines have "ala carte" services, meaning that the $78 will get you a seat and a small carry on, period. If you have luggage to check there may be extra charges for that. Make sure to look at the specific carrier being offered by Google Flights and see what Alitalia's policy is. I'm sure someone else on here knows about this airline specifically and can address this but I have not flown them. I don't believe they are a discount airline though...but as many airlines charge for baggage now the $78 may not be all you will pay!

For your flights to Munich and home from London, I would book as soon as you can. I find that Tuesdays are a good day to book airfare but, as you will see very soon I'm sure, there are many theories as to the best days to book and the amount of lead-time that will get you the best fare. Be aware that London has a fairly steep departure tax that is tacked on to any airline ticket so you won't find rock-bottom fares from there anymore.

Posted by Kim

San Francisco

09/10/14 05:20 AM

1008 posts

I think it looks pretty good - we started similarly this summer (our boys were 9 and 11) - you might consider staying all of the nights in Munich. 2 nights on arrival is only like one day... You can day trip to Dachau. And we did a bike trip to the castles with Mike's Bikes - you bus there, bike, alpine slide, lunch, tour castle. It was really a highlight, we all loved it! Might be easier to just stay put for a few days upon arrival.

I would train to Venice from Rome - easy and cheap - book 120 days out.

If you haven't, consider doing vrbos instead of hotels. we had awesome apartments in Rome and Venice - PM me if you want the details! It was great to have space to spread out!

oh also in Venice we did Row Venice - just google it. You learn to row a gondola-like boat and it was super fun!

Kim

Posted by Angela

Seattle, Wa, USA

09/10/14 02:51 PM

663 posts

Train between Rome and Venice is best. First off, the time is about the same when you consider how early you have to get to the airport before a flight. Train takes you from city center to city center, so no need to pay for taxi or other conveyance to get to where you really want to go. Plus trains are so much more comfy and its easy to get up and walk around if you want to. Its cheaper, especially if you purchase the tickets in advance and get the "super saver" tickets. And the view out the windows is far more interesting. So thats my 2 cents.