Our Itenarary

Andy: I went to Munich, Innsbruck and Venice in February one time. You're taking a very long trip at a very cold time of the year. The most enjoyable time for travel in the Northern Hemisphere is September-October and April-May. Your proposed itinerary technically will work, but you'd be pushing yourself a little. Since you're so close to Venice, don't miss it. Many people enjoy Berlin, but it's not the place it once was. If you're working your way back to London, fly from Prague to Paris on budget air carrier and then take the Eurostar up to London. Good luck!

I'm not sure why David suggested flying to Paris and then connecting to Eurostar, unless he's proposing that you spend 3 days in Paris instead of Berlin. I like Verona very much, there is plenty to see in a day or a day and a half. Without knowing your interests, it's a bit hard to advise on Prague versus Berlin. Overall, I think you are perhaps trying to see too much in a short time, and not taking into account the amount of time it takes from your schedule to travel from city to city. Each change means packing, checking out, time to get to the train station, then getting to your hotel, checking in and unpacking. This is going to eat into your sightseeing time. Do you arrive in Rome on the 22nd or the 23rd? It will take several hours to get from the plane to your hotel. Also, you are likely to be zonked after a longhaul flight and big time & season difference. Will you really have 3 full days in Rome? Just the train ride from Vienna to Prague is almost 4.5 hours. The flight from Berlin to London will also eat up half a day or more. Then there is the "orientation factor" in each new city. How to get around, how to find your hotel, your sights, language, etc. can often slow you down on your first day in a new place, and you have so many of them on this trip. Just sayin' . . .

I forgot to mention that we went to Venice last year. I have factored in the wintery weather and we definitely want to experience it. I have been to Salzburg, Vienna, Prague about 20 years ago. I'm sure alot has changed. Never been to Berlin and have been told its definitely worthwhile.

we arrive in Rome on Sunday Dec 23 at 1.30pm. We fly in from Dubai (its only 6 hours). This is the best way for us to fly from Australia. We fly to bangkok (9 hours) have a few days there then on to Dubai (7 hours). Anything over 14 hours for us is long haul, we like to break it up. Do you think the Rome leg is too short?

Not sure at all what David means when he says "Berlin isn't the city it once was." It's technically true, now Westeners can visit more than a tiny portion of the city. And it's by all accounts a rejuvenated, culturally exciting place to visit and I imagine there was a time when it was less so. Anyway, Berlin is fantastic. I haven't been to Prague, but since you haven't been to Berlin I would definitely err on more time there. There's a ton do, and it's a lot of fun. It will be cold, of course, but there's a lot to do. I don't know what Italy is like with regards to Christmas Markets (Weihnachtmarkts in German) but Berlin has 50 of them, and unless Italy also has some awesome ones I would consider flying into Berlin so you could experience them right before Christmas. I hit at least 5 at the end of November last year and had a blast, they're all so different and so cool!

You land in Rome at 1.30 p.m. It could easily take you an hour to get your luggage and head for the train station. The Leonardo Express runs every half hour and takes about half an hour, so it could take another hour to get to Rome if you just miss the train. Say another 30 minutes to get to your hotel by taxi and check in. It's 4.00 p.m. You have time for a walk around the neighborhood before dark and back to your room to freshen up before dinner. So really you only have 3 days in Rome, including Christmas eve and Christmas. And on day 3 you don't have a full day since you have to go back to your hotel to collect your luggage and go to the train station, allowing some lead time for traffic and finding your train. It's about 2 hours on the train. The good news is that your hotel in Florence is likely to be close to the train station. So do I think the Rome leg is too short? Yes, but then I think all your stops are too short.

Having spent last Christmas in Rome, I hope I can offer some perspective. I think you would benefit from at least 1 or 2 more days. I posted a reply to another person a few days ago that might help, too. http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/81693/rome-at-christmas-week.html . (Sorry, can't get the URL to format.) And no, the Colosseum. Is not open Christmas Day. Not much is, except the presepi museums. As others have pointed out, you have a very busy itinerary with a lot of moving about. Drop two cities and add those days/nights to others to enhance your enjoyment. A series of 2 and 3 night stays like this is just exhausting, and very expensive, I might add, with all the transportation.

Andy
I liked Chani's first and second responses. Use a calendar such as Wincalendar.com and plot your current itinerary on it. International flghts, cities, etc. Then check out flight times on skyscanner.com (shows European Discount Airlines) and train times with RailEurope.com. Just get a general feel for how long the travel times are. Then add those to the calendar. Travel time includes lots of the other tasks: pack, check out of the hotel, time to airport/staton, wait for flight/train, train/flight travel time, security/immigraton/etc, station to next hotel, orientation, figure out the transportation system, etc. You have 8 places in 21 days with many hours traveling using the the complete travel times. It is important to look at the amount of time you are actually going to be at your destinations. Are you going to be able to see what you want to see? Another factor for me is the mental fatigue of constantly changing hotels, looking for restaurants, figuring out the city to city transportation, the local transport, etc. For this long of a trip, I would have at least a 4 night stay in the middle to catch your breath. When you are ready to book, check out the national train websites such as trenitalia, etc. to get a usually much cheaper train fare. Must be purchased 60 to 90 days out for the cheap fare. flight. See skyscanner.com for flight. As you mentioned regarding Christmas in Rome research you need to do, also check out Salzburg for the New Year's Holiday. Each country and city have their own customs for the holidays. Where will you eat? What tourist sites are open? Etc. Good luck as you work through your itinerary. Bobbie

Thanks for the advice. Its much appreciated. At this stage we are thinking of the following: Rome 23rd - arrive 1.30pm - relax 24th - Vatican, historic Centro 25th - ? 26th - Coliseum, Forum Florence 27th - arrive 9.30am - markets, duomo 28th - Accademia 29th - Uffizi 30th - Pisa Day Trip - or other day trip? Salzburg 31st - arrive 7.00pm ( we actually enjoy a train trip through the alps, the scenery, catching up on emails etc) (8 hours) - New years Eve 1st - fortress, etc 2nd - ? 3rd - relax Munich 4th - train to Prague (6 hours) 5th 6th Berlin 7th - train to Berlin (4 and half hours) 8th 9th
10th I understand thats its best to give a few more days in each place but we are on a tight (ish) schedule. My only concern is Rome. May have to rethink that....

" 30th - Pisa Day Trip - or other day trip?" Go to Siena instead for a day trip.