Milan - Cinque Terra - Salzburg - Prague

I would advise you to bring a lot of money to pay a large drop fee for renting a car in one country and dropping it in another. Some rental companies may not allow you to take their car to the Czech Republic. You don't need a car in the Cinque Terre and it would be a hassle to have one. Take the train from Milan to the CT. It would be a long train ride from there to Salzburg, so I would look into flying from either Milan or Pisa to Salzburg. Train to Prague from there. If you need a car to explore nearby villages, rent one in or near Prague.

Corly, As the previous reply mentioned, there could be some significant extra charges with renting a car in Italy and dropping it in the Czech Republic. One other thing to consider is that for driving in Italy, each driver will require the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. Failure to produce an I.D.P. if requested can result in fines on the spot! There's also the issues of tolls, high fuel costs, photo radar and of course the dreaded Zona Traffico Limitato tickets. A car will be of little use in the Cinque Terre. Parking is limited (especially at that time of the year) and not all of the villages have access. Travel by train will be faster and more efficient, but there are also some "caveats" to be aware of with that. It appears that you're working with about a two week time frame. Have you allowed for your two flight days? In planning your Itinerary, it's important to allow adequate time in getting from one location to another. This will require at least half a day in all cases, and likely more with the places you want to visit. Regarding each of your trips: > Malpensa to Milano Centrale - about 55M via Malpensa Express > Milano Centrale to Monterosso (C.T.) - as short as 2H:52M via direct train, longer if there are changes > C.T. to Salzburg - this will require a full travel day. Via train will be ~12 hours with at least 3 changes. I checked briefly and no easy budget airline options from either Pisa or Milan. > Salzburg to Prague - this will likely involve a trip to Munich and then Bus to Prague, which will be at least 6.5 hours. I agree with the previous reply that renting a car in Prague would be useful to reach villages that you want to visit. Happy travels!

Corly, There are a few points in your most recent reply that still need a bit of "fine tuning" (IMHO). I wouldn't rent the car in Prague and drop in Salzburg, as you'll likely pay a HUGE charge for that. Also, I'm not sure why it would be necessary to take the train back to Prague and then fly to Milan? That involves backtracking and seems like a waste of time! Would something like this work..... > D1: Depart U.S. > D2: Arrive Prague > D3-5: Explore Prague, rent car to explore heritage. Return car in Prague. > D6: Take Train, Praha hl.n to Munich Hbf and then Salzburg Hbf (time 6H:33M, 1 change in Linz, 09:15 departure arrives at 15:48) > D7-8: Salzburg, touring > D9: Train to Munich Hbf and then S-Bahn S1 or S8 to MUC; flight from Munich to Florence. If using the 10:55 flight this will be an early trip, but given the distances this seems like one of the best options. ( Air Dolomiti currently has flights listed as low as €57.43 PP, but these prices could change. There are 3 flights per day shown. I checked a few other Air Dolomiti routes but the prices were considerably higher). There will of course be extra "fees" so be sure to read their Terms & Conditions carefully before booking. Train to Levanto - if you use the 10:55 MUC/FLR flight and connect with the 13:53 departure from Firenze SMN, travel time will be 2H:57M and you'll arrive in Levanto at 16:50 (1 change at La Spezia Centrale). The airport in Florence is close to the city, so using a Taxi to the station would probably be easiest. > D10-12: Levanto, Cinque Terre touring > D13: Train to Milan in afternoon, Hotel for one night > D14: Train to MXP, flight home. I'm sure there are other ways this could be arranged, but this is one suggestion. Cheers!

Wow! Thank you so much for the excellent advice. We are now thinking that we will fly to Prague first and spend several days exploring the city, then rent a car to drive to the small towns to research my Czech heritage. We will then either drive or take the train from Prague to Salzburg for 3 days and then return the car or take the train back to Prague. Then we will fly to Milan and take the train to and from Cinque Terra for 3-4 days and fly home from Milan. We are thinking we may stay in Levanto and explore Cinque Terra from there. So appreciate the great feedback! Thanks again.

Corly, One other point to mention about Levanto. I don't recall many Hotels right in the vicinity of the station. While it's relatively easy to walk from the station to the beach, with luggage I'd probably use a Taxi.