Oh dear I seem to have made a problem for ourselves !!! I was so under the impression that 21 days on Eurorail would give us time in all 4 counties [ i know travel by train takes time ] but felt that this would also be part of the holiday ,I was hoping day trips staying at one or two spots [lodgings] most of time .like mostly in Austria & Switzerland then travel through Germany a day trip on the Rhine then onto Paris for 2days flying back to Manchester the 3 day !!!!!! I have heard many people talk about 3 countries Switzerland Austria Germany !!! it all seemed so feasible ,now l am not sure . We dont want regiment we like to be more days in one spot if we like it , so having a day to day schedule really inst want we require ,or does that not make sense ???! I lived most of my life in UK & did see much of Germany & do not have quite the desire to go back as I do Paris & Switzerland looking on the map I thought our journey around lower Switzerland on the train would bring us close to St Moritz ???? seemed l worked that one wrong . Has anyone done what l am asking ???? & give some good bad or indifferent ideas Please I know we are no spring chicks [75] but we are adventuresome Thank you so much for ALL your responses
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
7999 posts
I am reminded of a conversation I had with a hotel clerk in Italy, I asked if she spoke English, then I proceeded to rattle on with my needs...she finally told me "slow down!!"
First, 3 weeks is a good amount of time for those four countries, especially since you really seem to plan very little time for Germany and France. I think you just need to lay out a decent itinerary and figure out a plan. You could easily do a place or two in Switzerland, the same in Austria, three places, four nights each is twelve nights, leaving eight or nine for travel and a couple on the Rhine and in Paris. San moritz is only 4-5nhours from Lucerne, maybe too far for a day trip, but not bad for an overnight.
You mention Eurorail for 21 days, not sure if a pass is best for you, consider point to point tickets, or since you want to homebase in places, a flex pass and figure out your travel days.
in the end, like I mentioned, lay out a sensible itinerary and see what works.
Posted by
Green Bay
21107 posts
I have heard you mention the following things on your hit list. "View of the Jungfrau", "St Moritz",
"Lake Como", "Vienna", "Rhine River", "Paris". So here is a proposed itinerary that would get all that and then some. I'm not saying to do this, but you see what you are up against. A few very long travel days, and a lot of one night stands. The Italian rail segment is cheap, so not having pass coverage is nothing to worry about.
The Rhine excursion is a morning train to Bingen (Stadt) to board the 10:30 K-D boat going down river to Boppard at 12:50 where you turn around and take a train back to Heidelberg. You can edit this, add more time here and there, cut some spots. Its an itinerary for a 20 year old, but it seems to be what you have in mind.
Tue 9 Lausanne GVA>LAU
Wed 10 Lausanne
Thu 11 Muerren LAU>MUR 9:20>13:51
Fri 12 Muerren
Sat 13 St Moritz MUR>STM 9:06>17:58
Sun 14 Varenna STM>VAR 9:08>12:37
Mon 15 Salzburg VAR>SAL 8:24>20:43
Tue 16 Vienna SAL>VIE 18:08>20:30
Wed 17 Vienna
Thu 18 Vienna
Fri 19 Vienna
Sat 20 Munich VIE>MUC 10:30>14:25
Sun 21 Munich
Mon 22 Munich
Tue 23 Heidelberg MUC>HDB 11:46>14:44
Wed 24 Heidelberg HDB>Boppard>HDB 8:25>15:40
Thu 25 Paris HDB>PAR 11:48>16:35
Fri 26 Paris
Sat 27 Paris
Sun 28 Paris PAR>MAN Air
Take it with a grain of salt.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
154 posts
I see in an earlier post you got some nice information on a potential itinerary and more information on our consultation service. This can really help you iron out your plans. Happy Travels!