Honeymoon this July! Would love thoughts on whether we are trying to do too much and where we should cut.
Flying in and out of Vienna Jul 8 - 22.
We would like to do Vienna, Budapest and Croatia (around Dubrovnik). Currently plan is to use Vienna as a hub, exploring the city and a day trip, then taking an overnight trip via train to Budapest before coming back to Vienna. Then flying to Dubrovnik to spend 5 nights in the city/day trips.
Is this crazy or doable in the high season of July?
Your plan will work. However, I would suggest staying in Budapest for two or three nights. Five nights in Dubrovnik is a bit much for just the city. What do you have planned to see for day trips?
Have you already bought you plane tickets? If you haven't, many would suggest traveling in a line rather than a circle for this trip. In other words, start in Vienna, then go to Budapest and spend a few nights (I agree that an overnight is insufficient for Budapest). Then go Dubrovnik and work your way up to Split, or vice versa (these two are also too far apart for day trips or overnights). Ffly home from Croatia.
However, if you've already bought your flights, people will give different advice.
I just looked for "night trains" between Vienna and Budapest, and found they involve 2-4 connections. So, these aren't true night trains, and you would be miserable trying to do this. Instead, take a regular train between the two cities - transit time this way is under three hours. You can find train schedules at the Bahn (German Rail) website http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en, following Rick's tutorial: http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/online-schedules
If you want to fly to Croatia, check Skyscanner for flights from both Vienna and Budapest. You may find more and better budget options from Budapest.
2hrs40mins on the Railjet from Vienna to Budapest, so not a night train route.
July
08. Arrive Vienna (4N)
12. Train to Budapest (4N)
16. Fly to Dubrovnik (5N)
21. Fly to Vienna (1N)
22. Depart Vienna
Flights from Budapest to Dubrovnik could be your stumbling block. Perhaps look at connecting options with Austrian/Lufthansa/Swiss.
Let me make an off the wall suggestion.
Do a few days in Vienna, then go on to Budapest for a few days, then fly from Budapest to Podgorica in Montenegro its about an hour flight and it arrives at 7:30 pm so spend the night in Podgorica. The first night is the only thing about this plan I don't really like. Hire a guide with a car and drive to Perast for a night then on to Dubrovnik. I can maybe recommend a guide.
July 9 Arrive Vienna
10 Vienna
11 Vienna
12 early train to Budapest
13 Budapest
14 Budapest
15 Budapest
16 early evening flight to Podgorica (Wizzair, non stop about $100). Has to be on the 16th as the flight only goes on Sunday and Wednesday
17 Podgorica to Budva to Perast (skip the town of Kotor, Dubrovnik is better)
18 late drive from Perast to Dubrovnik. So great stops along the way. You need a guide to get your money's worth.
19 Dubrovnik; As great as Dubrovnik is, its a tourist trap. Worth seeing and experiencing for a night or two, then run.
20 Dubrovnik to Vienna (Austrian Air, non-stop, about $225)
21 Vienna
22 Vienna home
Skip Vienna and run the trip in the other direction and you have a trip we took a few years ago. Montenegro was so outstanding we are heading back for a week in the fall.
And I sent some photos of the route to your PM
Thank you for the replies! Very reassuring.
I do already have the round trip flight in and out of Vienna (was more cost effective than single legs)
Will plan to spend more time in Budapest definitely.
I was also thinking that 5 nights in Dubrovnik might be too long. Instead maybe we'll fly into Dubrovnik and make our way to Split and then fly back from Split to Vienna. If we were to stay in Dubrovnik for 5 nights, are there any day trips any of your consider MUSTS?
The Montenegro idea is also an interesting one, I'll look further into that -- thank you!
I couldn't imagine spending 5 days in Dubrovnik. Its stunning but limited, and when the tourist boats dock it is wall to wall tourists. We spent three nights and it was plenty. The first night we arrived about 7 pm. The town is stunning at night. After the third night we bugged out early in the morning. When we were there last year we were told that there were only 200 Croatians still living within the walls. Might be an exaggeration but you do get the impression when you are there that it isn't a functioning central district any longer. Its a bit more like main street in Disneyland. But again, beautiful, fascinating and worth the effort to see. For a little more "human" try Perast about an hour and a quarter down the coast. Kotor disappointed us. A lot like scaled down Dubrovnik without any of the drama Dubrovnik has.
"I do already have the round trip flight in and out of Vienna (was more cost effective than single legs)"
This phrasing implies that you were looking for two one-ways. Next time, look instead for "multi city" or "multiple destinations" instead. Even if it costs more than a simple round trip (and it usually doesn't), you save time, money, and energy not having to back track.
Agree with above posters: spend 2 nights in Dubrovnik.
I would add time in Vienna - it's a major city with LOTS to offer. I always feel a little sad when people's itineraries include only 2 or 3 nights there.
