Help with Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary Itinerary

Prague, Vienna and Budapest are certainly worth at least 4 nights each. Salzburg is very small; I'd say 2 nights would be long enough unless you plan to do a lot outside the town.

There is nothing wrong with any of your alternatives. There is nothing magically about three or four night. For most of your locations you could easily spend a week. It becomes a matter of priorities and what you want to see and do. This past summer we spent four nights in Budapest and could easily return for another four nights or more. If you spend one full day instead of two, just means you see less or will have more to see when you return.

Frank "ditto"

Reverse the sequence. Prague is the star of the show. Don't mess it up with jet lag. Bratislava and Salzburg are not in the same league as the others. Cut something and at least extend Prague by 1-2 days

We've spent something around 150 days traveling in Austria. Hallstatt is over priced, over crowded and over rated. Take a commercial day tour around the Lake District instead.

The star depends on your interests. I would rank them Budapest, Salzburg, Prague Vienna.

Cesky K also makes a good overnight stay on the route from Prague to Vienna or Salsburg. Check CK Shuttle service, or Bean Shuttle. Bratislava has been on my list for years, but every time I plan to go I find another lack luster review and end up going some place else. Gyor and the archabbey at Pannonhalma make a good overnight between Vienna and Budapest

We went from Prague to Cesky Krumlov a few years ago, using CK Shuttle. The driver was very professional and had an excellent command of the English language. We used this shuttle service [a nine-passenger van], because the RS Guide Book said the public transportation options were overly- confusing and difficult to navigate. The CK shuttle picked us up from our hotel, about 8:30am, and it took about 3 hours to get to Cesky Krumlov. To me, this would have been a LONG day trip. [We stayed at the Castle View apartments , to which I would return.] The next day, the CK Shuttle van picked us up around 3:30 to travel to Hallstatt, about a 3+ hour trip. We spent one night in Hallstatt, and loved the salt mine tour.
We then took the train from Hallstatt to Salzburg, and then the train from Salzburg to Vienna. There are lots of routing options.
IMHO, doing Cesky Krumlov and Hallstatt as day trips would have left me very exhausted, and I would have needed a relaxed day afterwards.You are focusing on some wonderful cities. Have a great trip and safe travels!

Prague - three nights and two full days.
Vienna - three nights and two full days.
Salzburg - three nights if you take a train to Munich (2h) for the day. Otherwise, two nights and one full day.
Budapest - three nights and two full days.

Good plan. Suggest visiting Berchtesgaden and the Eagles Nest while in Salzburg.

Why not Bratislava as an easy day trip from Vienna, eliminating one hotel change. Don't miss a trip to the Vienna Opera House. Consider checking out Greeters in your destination cities.

That's a wonderful plan. Just curious, are you coming from the US or are you based in Europe. Travel within Europe will likely open sooner than any European countries would allow visitors from the the US.

Note that this is a February 2020 thread.

Your itinerary is good. You have set up good lengths of time in each large city. You may find that you can't do everything, but that's OK. I've been to Budapest 4 times, Vienna 3 times, and there are reasons to return. You will find the same thing on your trip.

Hi cafetista.bruja

I will actually be coming from Singapore. I was planning to go in the end of August but I will now have to see regarding the virus situation whether I can still go again or if I will have to postpone my trip to a time when it is okay to go.

Hi Pam S,

I was considering Bratislava as a day trip from Vienna but then decided against it as it would be backtracking because I then plan to go to Budapest after Bratislava. Otherwise after doing a day trip to Bratislava from Vienna I would go to Budapest from Vienna which is backtracking I believe.

Thanks for recommending Greeters in your destination cities. I will consider it as it looks good.

There are trains from Bratislava to Budapest.

Read up a bit more on Prague, Vienna and Budapest. Depending on what interests yo, you might want to add a night to one of the 3, is your trip is good, but a tad rushed.

We went from Vienna to Budapest, and stopped for lunch in Bratislava. We toured the inner city a bit. We had lunch. We felt no need to linger longer. I'm sure that some would find more to do, but we thought it a minor city compared to Vienna, Budapest, or even Salzburg.

Hi Paul-of-the-North,

When you went from Vienna to Budapest and stopped for lunch in Bratislava, did you travel by train, bus or car from Vienna to Budapest via Bratislava?

Unless one is renting a car in which they can store their luggage or is taking a Vienna to Budapest bus which does a brief stop in Bratislava, I am guessing it might be a bit inconvenient to just have lunch in Bratislava and tour the inner city whilst having to carry around all the luggage.

Yes, that is a good point about luggage. We had a car, so that was not an issue. If you were train-ing, it is possible, even likely, that lockers exist in the train station. That is certainly the case in Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia. If lockers are not there, the "luggage check" office is often available. For a small price (E 3-4/piece), you can wander about luggage-free.

Ok thanks for letting me know. I’m planning on taking the train and still would like to spend the night in Bratislava

Since you rented a car, did you start and finish your trip in the same country, because I heard that there are very high fees for car rental when you pick a car in one country and drop it off in another country?

Yes, we started and finished in Vienna. How many in your party? You speak of going only to large cities. If there are 3 or fewer, I would advise using a train. So often when people rent cars, they violate a speed limit, and end up with a ticket at the end. The car rental agency also fines you. Take the train, and you won't violate a traffic law. In addition, parking is costly and difficult. You do not want to use your car inside a city.

There will be 3 people in my party including me. My itinerary is mostly large cities but I believe Cesky Krumlov and Salzburg are relatively small. I believe Cesky Krumlov is often considered a town rather than a city.

Was your trip just Salzburg, Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest?
If not then which other cities and towns did you visit during that trip?

Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, Zagreb, Split, Ljubljana, Salzburg (country), Vienna.

We had 5 in our party.

For 3, consider a train. You would use the car 4 times, and have it parked (at cost) for 10 or so days. You don't know European driving habits or approaches. If you take trains, you go directly to the center of the city.