Paris to Salzburg and in between

Trains will be the most efficient way to get between the city pairs you listed. To find train schedules for all of Europe, use the Bahn (German Rail) website, using Rick's tutorial: http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/db_tips.htm Note that this site only has prices for trains that start or end in Germany. Czech Rail is here: http://www.cd.cz/en/default.htm and Austrian Rail is here: http://www.oebb.at/en/index.jsp You don't "have" to fly from Paris to Brno; you can take the train if you wish (although it would be long with several changes, so I'd probably fly too). To investigate flights within Europe, use Skyscanner: http://www.skyscanner.com/ Note that flights get much more expensive closer to travel, so you'll want to book as soon as you can commit. Trying to find the closest airport to Brno, I came across this page of information about how to get there: http://www.tsdconference.org/tsd2012/trav_tobrno.html. It seems Brno has an airport, but with limited service; Prague or Vienna will have much more service. So, if you can change the order of your trip, you'll avoid backtracking and have better flight options (for instance, Paris to Prague to Brno to Vienna to Salzburg).

Anne, Transportation to the locations you mentioned is relatively straight forward, and these are the methods I'd consider in the same situation..... > Paris to Brno - travel by train is +15 hours with at least two changes, so budget airline is the best option. You might consider Air Berlin from CDG to Vienna, and then take the train from there to Brno (as short as 2H:05M from Wien Miedling if you can connect with a direct train). > Brno to Prague - train will be about 2H:45M direct. Destination station Praha hl.n > Prague to Vienna - train will be as short as 4H:45M, depending on which train you use. > Vienna to Salzburg - train will be as short as 2H:22M, again depending on which train you use. Destination station Salzburg Hbf One point to note is that there are several stations in the cities you'll be visiting, so you'll have to be clear on which station you'll be using. You'll need that information when you buy tickets. I've provide some information on the stations to use (I'm not sure about Vienna so will have to leave that to the others). You can use the bahn.de website to research each of your rail journeys. Happy travels!

Prague to Vienna - many also use the Student Agency bus, which is modern, has movies, and is cheaper and faster than the train. Vienna to Prague - Two options exist - OeBB and Westbahn. Same route, same travel time. OeBB - tickets are cheapest purchased online, in advance, but you are tied to a specific train which you cannot change. These can be as cheap as 19 Euros. Tickets bought on the day will be at least double. Westbahn - you buy tickets on the train. Price is the same whether you buy in advance or on the train. They are always offering special prices, fares are usually around 25 Euros. Total flexibility and WIFI.

Thank you both this will help a lot. I have to be in Brno on July 5, 2014 for a wedding so trying to plan Paris, Prague, Vienna and Salzburg around that date. Thanks again.