Help with my itinerary for Central Europe

What are you interested in seeing in Berlin? I like both 20th century historical sites and art museums, and six days in the city was too short for me. I did not get to Potsdam or to the Germany History Museum.

I see that this is apparently not your first trip to Europe, so I'm hoping you already know that you function pretty well on your arrival day. Otherwise (if you are like me), you will have only two real sightseeing days in Berlin.

Although I know Bratislava has worthwhile sights (I planned to go there myself last year but ran out of time), I think you could use those two Bratislava nights in one or two of the other capital cities.

As someone who just did two nights in Dresden, I would consider taking one from Bratislava and adding it to Dresden. We didn't have nearly enough time for the sights in Dresden (late night arrival so only one full day). I'd try to arrange two full days there. I haven't been to Bratislava but my friends who have were less than enthusiastic.

Also don't tell anyone in these places you're in "Eastern Europe" - they consider this "Central Europe" and no joke they are likely to be offended. It's a funny thing but taken pretty seriously by the residents of checks notes Central Europe.

We stopped in Bratislava for one night while traveling from Vienna to Budapest. It was a fun day but if you skip it you won’t be missing much. The old town is very small and there is a museum or two, nothing that stands out. We were there on Bastille Day so they had a small celebration with some booths in the main square.

You only have a short time in some cities with lots of sights (particularly Vienna, Budapest, and especially Berlin). If you don't mind a "tasting platter" type of trip, with train rides every few days, this can work. I'd want to see fewer places and spend more time in the ones I did see, and I'd want less train time - but that's my trip, not yours.

As for "train passes," you'll do much better with discount single tickets purchased in advance. Since your itinerary is set and doesn't have wiggle room, you should not have difficulty with the fact that these tickets will be non-refundable and non-exchangeable. And you're not going until August, so you can snag the tickets when they go on sale (between 60 and 180 days in advance, depending on the particular train as well as the vagaries of when they post tickets for various dates).

For more information on these trains, look at rail guru The Main In Seat 61. Here are his pages on:

Trains in Germany https://www.seat61.com/Germany-trains.htm
Vienna to Bratislava: https://www.seat61.com/international-trains/trains-from-Vienna.htm#Vienna-Bratislava
Bratislava to Budapest: https://www.seat61.com/trains-and-routes/prague-to-budapest-by-train.htm

Note that a car rented in the Czech Republic and returned in Vienna will have a hefty surcharge. Look into this now, and be prepared to redo your car rental plans to avoid this if this charge is too steep. You may need to get two separate rentals, one for each country (perhaps connected by a shuttle service that will take you from Cesky Krumlov to Austria - several companies offer this).

I did a trip this fall starting in Krakow and followed by an itinerary similar to your Day 6 and beyond - with one variant. I had originally intended to visit Bratislava as a day trip from Vienna and decided not to go, opting instead to spend the additional time in Vienna.

You might consider changing your itinerary to plan Bratislava as a day trip from Vienna: it's just over an hour each way by train and €10.50 each way. Then you can opt to go or not, depending on how much you still want to see in Vienna. As a bonus, that gives you an additional day in Budapest - which you may appreciate having!

One suggestion in Budapest is to book the (required) tour of the Hungarian Parliament building early. It is fabulous. English tours, especially, will sell out early.

http://latogatokozpont.parlament.hu/en/purchasing-tickets

As a pass user I would suggest that with your itinerary you don't need a pass. Your trip is too short and you're not doing enough long distance traveling or zig zag traveling.

I would drop CK and Bratislava, add those nights to Budapest or Vienna.

Where are you staying in Berlin?

Wow! Amazing number of comments from this forum community. Thank you all for this tips on to Central Europe.

This will be my 5th trip vacation to Europe, and in the last 4 I felt that I needed 1 or 2 more days to see and enjoy more of some destinations. So, Rick Steves' recommendation to slowdown in the itineraries is sinking in.

This will be our 1st time in Germany. In Berlin, I am staying at the Hilton Berlin. In terms of what to do, I will visit the German History museum plus one more museum that speaks of its communist past. Any suggestions about the latter museum? My wife asks to see more sightseeing and enjoying the ambiance of cafes and its people. While the stop in Berlin is short, I may be able to come back as part of a specific German trip vacation in the future.

An additional night in Vienna instead of Bratislava seems possible but a little more expensive. To my budget, one night stay in Bratislava saved me some money plus helped adding one afternoon and evening in Budapest. I think most comments suggest to add one more night in Budapest.

Point well taken on why staying one night in Bratislava is preferable than staying in Vienna due to cost.

I had 5 full days plus travel days in Berlin and didn’t see everything and didn’t venture outside the city. You are also short changing Vienna. I had 4 full days in Budapest centre and would have preferred to have added another.

Your pace is manic for nearly 3 weeks, 7 locations in effectively 18 days on the ground, but you know what you can handle. Even your short location changes are going to be 4 hours door to door.

Personally, I would drop at least one location, as you are spending a lot of time in transit.