Itinerary Feedback

Per Munich to Berlin. The train takes 6 hours +/-. I don't know how you can do it much faster.

The rule of thumb is that if the train takes 6 hours or less, take the train.

It looks like a flight from Munich to Berlin is a minimum of 1hr10min, but to that you have to add 40 minutes from downtown Munich to MUC. Assume you get to the airport 2 hour ahead of flight time to get to check-in, check in, go through security, get to your gate, and board . How long does it take to get off the plane and catch ground transportation? A bus from Tegel to Berlin Hbf takes 17 minutes. So you have at least 4 hour plus time from the plane to the bus at Tegel. You're not going to save much more than an hour by flying, plus you have all the hassle of the airports.

There is also a night train from Munich to Berlin. It takes almost 10 hours, but it's from 10 PM to 8 AM, otherwise unused time.

The main difficulty is your destinations are so far flung.
Perhaps starting in Munich, dropping Copenhagen, but including Amsterdam.

Munich >> Berlin >> Amsterdam >> Paris & Normandy >> (fly to Pisa for) Cinque Terre >> Rome

Well the travel time it takes to get from door to door from one location eats up most of a day no matter how fast the plane or train is. Two nights equals one day of being someplace; one night equals zero days of being somewhere.

Hi, I see you have a mix of city & smaller towns which is good. Locations are a personal choice; I've been to all of them except Berlin. Glad to see that both Paris & Rome have 4 days because they're great cities to explore.

Consider how many daylight hours you will be "real vacation time" vs. "travel time + checking into/out of hotels". If this is the last trip you will ever take to Europe, then you might want to hop countries. Otherwise, consider concentrating on two countries and really seeing them - lots less travel time. For instance, when I'm planning our itineraries, my goal for an 18-day trip is a sum of no more than 10 total hours of travel time.

Regardless, pack light & have fun!

Thanks for all the feedback so far.

Lee, the only night train I can find on the DB Bahn website is from Munich to Hannover to Berlin, is that the one you're referring to? There's only a 30 minute transfer time, I will probably go with the night train there. The prices now for February are 40 euros (6-person compartment), I wonder if they will be that low when i travel in June.

Regarding the cost of trains -- no, the cost of a trip booked on the day you want to travel will be substantially more than the same trip reserved months in advance. Take a look at the price of the Munich to Berlin trip you were considering if you were to book it for next week.

Do you and your traveling companions know why you want to visit each of these cities? As noted by others, moving between far-flung locations uses up both cash and time.

Felixamador: I would suggest you heading for Europe as soon as school's out as June is the highest time on airfares. I get the feeling you're wanting to take the Bohemian Tour of Europe, but you're also throwing in so many classic European cities. But your itinerary simply covers too many miles to be very efficient.
I always suggest flying open jaw into the farthest geographic location and travel in a straight line to cities that are in close proximity. (Your itinerary is anything but in a straight line.) I've been to all these cities, and recently returned from Copenhagen.
I like to start in Budapest and take in Vienna and Prague--all about 3 hr. train rides and very lively cities. From Prague, you can easily get to Dresden and Berlin via train. Then head for the holy grail of party cities--Amsterdam. Paris is also easy to get to from Amsterdam. Unless you have a reason to stop in Normandy, there are other places worthy of your time more.
Another great trick is to go to 3-4 cities in a region and then catch a cheap European budget air carrier to a completely different part of Europe. I'm also big on Rome-Florence-Venice-Munich which are cities we've recently been to.
Sounds as if you're going to be having an incredible experience.

Hello felixamador. I recommend this travel plan for you :
Fly to Berlin -> train to Dresden (2 nights) -> return to Berlin and train to Amsterdam -> train to Paris -> Train to Bayeux -> return to Paris and fly to Pisa for Cinque Terre in Italy _> train to Rome. Fly from Rome toward your home. Travelling from Rome to Munich is difficult. And, if you will be at Munich 2 nights, that would be one whole day in Munich. I think travelling to Munich is not worthwhile if a person will be at Munich only one day. For me, Munich would not be a destination, Munich is a transportation link for going to an other place in Bavaria. I do not recommend traveling in any night train. In your trip, you could go to Copenhagen, but I think Copenhagen is too far from any of your other destinations. I suggest go to Amsterdam, instead of Copenhagen. If you could add one night at one of your destinations, I suggest being at a village in the Cinque Terre three nights, not one night. That would give you two whole days at the Cinque. That would be one day for riding in the local train to each village in the Cine Terre, and one day for resting and enjoying the Sea view.

I'm going to try to reinforce what Stan said. Moving around takes time. A 2-hour train ride uses up 4 hours or more. You have to get from your hotel (hostel?) to the train station, then to the hotel to drop your bags before you can start sightseeing. You need to get to the train station a few minutes early to have time to buy tickets (maybe) and find your train. If you aren't traveling first thing in the morning, you'll have to go back to your hotel for your bags before going to the train. Flying takes even longer - more time to get to the airport, more time for check-in and security, then waiting for luggage on arrival. Carry-on limits are usually low on those short flights and are often strictly enforced, as much for weight as size.

Here's what you're schedule looks like to me:
Paris (4) - arrive jetlagged and sleep=deprived. 3 days of sightseeing.
Bayeux (2) - morning travel, 1.5 days in Normandy
Cinque Terre (2) - most of the day getting from Bayeux to Paris to airport, then airport to train . . 1 day in CT
Rome (4) - first day travel, laundry. 3 days of sightseeing (night train departs 7 p.m.)
Munich (2) arrive 6.30 a.m. 1.5 days sightseeing, afternoon train to Berlin.
Berlin (4) arrive evening. 3 days of sightseeing (and laundry)
Copenhagen (2) most of the day in travel. 1 day of sightseeing

It's 3 week trip that yields 13 days (and a couple 1/2 days) net. You're losing 1/3 of your time to moving around and it's expensive.

@ felixamador....Taking the night train Munich to Hannover Hbf isn't a bad option to consider. I'd do it since it means saving a day and have done the night option several times. You arrive close to 0700, already daylight, and the vendors are opening in the station. Hannover Hbf is a refurbished, renovated large station. You can take the next ICE train to Berlin at your leisure if you don't to to feel rushed since the IC and ICE connection is so frequent. If you do take the next immediate train, the entire night train ride is a bit 10.5 hrs, very doable. If this trip were in the summer, the Munich-Berlin CNL night route is direct. I've done this ride in the summer, arrived at Berlin Hbf at 0800 but Hannover Hbf at ca, 0700 would be no problem for me either. Save the 6 hrs day ride for more time in Munich, take the night train to Hannover Hbf. and transfer.

Chani hits some good points - look at train journeys up to 4 hours maximum as ideal, so you are only losing a morning or afternoon to travel.

Another suggestion is to travel in the evening hours (5pm to 9pm), informing your accommodation of your late arrival. You will find it is cheaper to have your main meal at lunch time (as Europeans do), and picnic on the train.

I see what you mean, there does seem to be a lot of time traveling. I've been trying to find a city that would be better suited in-between France and Italy.

Replacing Normandy with a city like Lyon; roughly 1 hour on train from Paris. Now I'm running into the issue of how to reach Genoa Piazza Principe in order to get to cinque terre.
It seems it will be best to go straight from Paris to Rome on a night train (budget flight?) and then Rome to Munich on a night train as well. Ultimately eliminating a bunch of transfers and train rides. I'll have to save them for another trip :(

I could add a german city between Munich and Berlin, Nuremberg and/or Rothenburg?

best to go straight from Paris to Rome on a night train

Sorry, no through night trains Paris to Rome; there will be at least one change during the night.

Train times ...
5hr 47min Munich >> Berlin
6hr 18 min Berlin >> Amsterdam
3hr 18 min Amsterdam >> Paris
4hr 23min Monterosso (CT) >> Rome