Please Help! 9 countries in 9 Days

This has to be a troll. You may think you are sane but the plan is beyond crazy. Don't suppose you considered since things as using the restroom or taking a shower? I suppose anything is possible but what you are proposing is not. But take a shot at it and let us know how it goes.

Cassandra.. you may not be crazy , but your plan is crazy.First off have you even looked at the travel times.. it takes less then 2 hours to get to Belguim from Nederlands.. so when you going to sleep.. but conversly have you even looked at train time from Madrid to Paris!

No. your plan is unreasonable and frankly.. crazy.

I could venture to say its laughable, but deep down you know this,, which is why you posted "first and foremost I am not crazy".. because you have undoubtably told friends about your plan and they probaly say "thats crazy".. and they may not even be experienced travellers.

Many of us here are experienced travellers. Some of us enjoy a more leisurely pace then others.. but some do like whirlwind tours. and this is beyond whatever even they would consider reasonable.

Get rid of 5 countries. And it would still be a whirlwind.

You may not be crazy, but are you pulling our legs? Sightseeing? All you'll see is train stations.

I suggest you go on Mapquest and get directions from city to city on the continent to figure out the distances between the cities. You may be amazed that they're so far apart.

Get serious, cut out what's not possible and get back with us.

Cassandra has to be a troll. No sane person would ever think this is possible.

Waste of money...don't do it. You'll see nothing, you'll be exhausted, and you'll have squandered an opportunity to see the beautiful places you're whizzing through without thought to their uniqueness, history, and cultures. What is your objective? To say that you went to 9 countries in 9 days? Ridiculous.

Hi,

You're probably aiming to see one thing in one city in each country, say Anne Frank'House in Amsterdam and that is it for Amsterdam. Where in Germany, specifically? The lower Rhine area or the Middle Rhine, which town?

Skip some places on this itinerary, such as Madrid, Switzerland, Belgium, or CR. If you see no more than 3 places, max, then in nine days the revised itinerary is doable, if you're not adverse to riding a night train.

All night trains have mandatory reservations which you have to buy. No more hopping on night trains and sleeping on the train floors as in 1980s. By definition a night train is one that departs after 19:00 and requires no change to get to its destination, say if you were to go Amsterdam-Berlin by night, arriving shortly before 5 AM. Yes, it's doable but with the itinerary listed you have to plan out the routes so that you get in by 0900, say from Paris-Vienna.

Absolutely ridiculous. If you are for real, get real about really having a true experience...other than a rush through on trains where you see and experience nothing.

On the off chance that you are serious you have to do the homework.

Go to the Bahn train website and put in the pairs of cities you are trying to ride at night (true night trains only go between a relative handful of European cities) and look in the evenings and at night. Then you will know how realistic your dream (nightmare) is.

When you have done that and changed your list of countries into a list of cities that you can string together then you can come back here and we can help with specifics.

You will find that many combinations of cities are impractical.

For 9 nights, do Amsterdam, Bruges or Ghent, then Paris, 3 nights each. Anything else on your list, flush down the toilet. I am stressed just reading the post, let alone having to travel at that pace....would be nothing but stress.

Someone is playing games. Pay no attention.

Have you been to Europe? Is it your first trip? Have you traveled? What about to try to see 9 states of USA in 9 days? Very bad idea? So is 9 countries of Europe. My advice: if you want to see 9 countries use at least one month for it and even then it would be hurried.

Okay. Clearly I was imagining something that wasn't possible.

I am not a troll, I'm a big dreamer (clearly)
I have mapped out the countries I want to go to and I've checked travel times.

You have all made good points. I honestly don't plan on showering for the 9 days I'm there. I plan on washing up every morning and night. The plan was to sleep at night on the trains. I that's realistic. Yes, I want the joy to say I've done 9 countries in 9 days. I have taken Czech Republic and Madrid out.

I'll fly into London, spend the whole day exploring, spending a night in a hostel then start my adventure the next morning.

London to Amsterdam (5hrs 3mins)
Amsterdam to Brussels (2 1/2 hrs)
Brussels to Belgium (5hrs)
Belgium to Austria. (1 hr 53mins)
Austria to Switzerland. (13hrs 13mins)
Switzerland to Paris (4hrs 3mins)

Fly home from Paris

The goal is to reach my destination, have a meal, sightsee (even if it's one landmark) then make my way to the train station. I still have to research hat landmark it is in each country id like to visit then I'll get an idea if it's possible. Chances are ill cut back on another country or two.

Am I still crazy?

I have been to Europe prior to this trip.

Yep, still crazy. What a waste of a trip to Europe, but that's only my opinion, and it's your money.

To help you understand the scope of this problem, make up a schedule of towns, not countries, and look for trains between the towns. Use the German Rail schedule page to look for night trains. Put in the start and destination towns and 1900 (the time after which most night trains leave) for the time . I think you will find that there are not as many overnight train connections as you image, and most of those connections will be day trains with a long layover in some intermediate town.

Brussels to Belgium???

OK, so you still want to do it for bragging rights. It's your money, but it won't be a bit of fun. The fun will come when you tell all your friends about it, or maybe you plan to write about it. Total waste of time & money.

To me it seems like a lot of money being spent for a 'train' tour of Europe just to say: "I was there, and there, and there". It's more expensive than staying in budget accommodations in a couple of places (with day trips to others). If you really intend to sleep on the trains you'll need a sleeper (not a coach seat) and that's not all that cheap - if you just sleep in a seat all night you're probably not going to be up for much sightseeing the next day. Just my humble opinion.

@Norma - wondering if she meant Brussels to Berlin and Berlin to Austria. Just a thought.

I can't imagine any pleasure coming from a trip like this. It seems pretty expensive for being able to brag to your friends. Sure, I guess it can be done. I don't know why anyone would throw their money away like this. Maybe you have more money than time? Maybe you like trains and train stations better than actually seeing any real sights?

So you don't plan to shower on your trip. Will you be bringing enough clothes to wear something new for 11 days? I'm counting the days to and from Europe. If you plan to re-wear your dirty clothes and don't plan to shower, I wouldn't want to be sitting next to you. When you stop each day, where will you store your suitcase? Not all stations have a place to leave it. Will you carry it around all day?

I guess I just don't understand why someone would do this. Will you be traveling alone?

I meant to say Brussels to Berlin and Berlin to Austria.

Okay, clearly I need to do some more research and I will be traveling with a friend of mine. I didn't view this as a waste of money but as a experience. Just like the rest of you I work hard for my money and If I didn't think this trip would be enjoyable then I never would have planned / considered it.

Thanks for the suggestions and I'll get my iPad and I'll start looking train times up to see what is possible or impossible.

welcome Cassandra,

I dont think youre crazy. I just think you dont know what what youre in for.

If you really want to travel and experience Europe like that then i dont see why not go for it.

I for one would be interested in reading your trip report and your thoughts after the fact.

Also, i think that if you want to spend your $$$ and time doing this trip, that others on this board should help you make it reality as much as possible no matter what they think. But i also feel that to point out the any possible issues with your itinerary is necessary.

All i can tell you since you are vague in where you want to go in most of the counties, i cant help you in the logistics. I know from my experience in my short time in Belgium and Germany, my train trips were less than 5 hours and that if it took more time, i would be flying. But this is how i travel.

happy trails

Chancy,

I honestly don't think skipping hotels/hostels and sleeping on the train is feasible every night. "Assuming" you can get evening trains as you posted, most of those trips aren't long enough to get sufficient sleep - and I don't know too many attractions that are open at 3 or 4 in the morning so not sure what you plan is during those hours. Like the other posters have stated, assume you will stay in a hotel/hostel each night- this would solve your "showering" dilemma and allow you to do a bit of sink laundry as well - which would be excellent since to do a trip of this nature you will need to pack very, very lightly. Even with staying in a hotel/hostel, you should be able to visit most of the countries on your list - but you will need to plan it fairly carefully for it to work - fortunately, there is a wealth of experience on this board which should be of help!

You could just hop on one of those crazy whirlwind tours that cart you around on a bus as you wave to the sights ... at least that way you might have a bed or a shower or two.:)) I often do whirlwind trips that many here would consider crazy, but I always do it with a car so I have the freedom to change my mind (no train reservations to worry about). Of course you would have to sleep and drive during the day but at least you would see some of the countryside (and you could always sleep in the car if necessary)))
Good luck with your plans...be interesting to see how they play out. (My 9 country trip took 17 days, and I did drive)

"Belgium to Austria. (1 hr 53mins)" - even knowing you meant Berlin, this is impossible, couldn't even fly from Berlin to Vienna or Salzburg in that time. Did you mean 11 hr 53 min on overnight train?

I'm concerned that when you mention countries you don't even give a city that you have in mind. Of course you could take a train to a border city, get off and step foot in the country, but that's not the same as being in (or even seeing) that country.

I don't even want to wait for a trip report, please come back here and post your final itinerary before your trip - I'm fascinated.

I think the others have brought up good points - the availability of overnight trains, the showering issue, packing and where you would leave your bag, and the time and cost. I can't imagine what this type of itinerary would cost. If it were me (besides the fact that I wouldn't try to do this at all), I would want to buy train tickets as far ahead as possible in order to get whatever discounts are available, though it would limit flexibility in the itinerary. Same with flights. It's going to take some really careful planning, and considering every eventuality, to even try to make this work. What is your current thinking about an ending point? Flights are so expensive anymore that I would want to see enough to make it worth it to me. On my most recent trip, I flew into London (because of airmiles limitations), trained to Scotland for five days, then spent the rest of my three weeks in Spain. Even at that, it seemed like a lot of moving around to me. Just getting to my first destination required a flight, the Tube, and three trains. I will be interested to see how this develops, but maybe a little dubious.

Well...I still say this is a ridiculous trip but I've done a lot of train travel in Europe so here's my two cents.

I would worry most about luggage. If you plan to use trains as your hotel for sleeping, then you are going to need somewhere to stow your luggage during your spin around town during the day. This is one of the factors you should use to determine your specific destination/city. Some stations don't have left luggage anymore and you can't just lug a suitcase through whatever museum or church you want to visit. Some museums will keep small backpacks or coats for you but luggage isn't an option in the many places I have visited. Research left luggage before you go - this could make or break your trip.

Sleeping on trains isn't as romantic as you may be picturing it in your head. The Orient Express isn't the norm. Unless you spring $$$ for a private cochette you will most likely be put into a room with 3-5 other bunks. These are not private and you may be sleeping with strangers...this experience can be fun or awful. I once did this on a train from Paris to Rome and we lost air conditioning in the middle of the night...one of the guys in the sleeper car with us had HORRIBLE breath that filled the room and made it practically uninhabitable. Just be ready to not really sleep. If you get sleep, it's icing on the cake but don't count on it.

Please post when you come back...I am interested to see what snafus you had or if you were able to make this work! Good luck to you!

I hope I don't end up sitting next to you on a train by the time you get to Austria.

Thanks for the advice . I will narrow my trip down to about 4/5 countries.

First stop
London (3/7-3/8)
Spend my 25th birthday exploring Buckingham Palace, Riding the London Underground and museums.
Two nights

Second stop
Amsterdam (3/9-3/10)
Spend my best friends 25th birthday exploring Van Gogh' museum and Anne Franks House.
Two nights

Third stop
Germany (3/11-3/12)
Visit the Berlin Wall and Brandenburg Gate
Two nights

Fourth stop
3/13/-3/14
Switzerland or Austria
I would like to bunjee jump I've done research and came up with two locations in Switzerland and Austria. I'll base it on which location I can get to and from by train.

Verzasca Dam, Ticino, Switzerland
Niouc Bridge, Val d'Anniviers, Switzerland

Europabrücke Bridge, Innsbruck, Austria
Kolnbrein Dam (Kölnbreinsperre), Carinthia, Austria
Two nights

Fifth and Final stop
3/15 Paris exploring the Eifefel Tower, The Louvre, Champ - Élysées spend one night and catch a red eye home.

Austria to Switzerland 13 hour 13 minutes? Where did that come from? These countries are adjacent and most trips are only a couple of hours. if it takes 13 hours overnights then there must be a long layover in a station somewhere, like from after midnight until the trains start running again in the morning. In other words, you will not sleep.

Where are you getting your train schedules? This is totally unrealistic. A real night train that allows you to sleep without stops in the middle of the night goes from large city to large city, often taking much more time than a day train just to accommodate sleeping. but some of your journeys are way too short for a nigh train, and for others, a true night train does not exist, so you wil be standing on a train platform for hours in the middle of the night.

What are you actually trying to accomplish here? Qualifying for Amazing Race or something?

Hi,

Some comments on this whirlwind trip: In my younger days I could have seen myself do such a trip within nine days but minus a couple of countries. It takes precise planning to get to specific things/museums/sights you want to see, Come back for the rest on the next trip. In some ways I have done what you have in mind, get to a town/city without the intention of visiting that city but to see one sight or museum, forget the rest of the city. That's what I did in Duisburg, among other towns, hit that city just to see that one museum.

Brussels to Berlin by night is very easily done. Take the regional train to Cologne, then the CNL night train to Berlin. Then if you want to leave Berlin that very night for Austria, say Vienna, also quite easy. The shorter route goes through CR. on the Berlin-Vienna EN night train. That depends where in Austria for you after Berlin. If you want western Austria, say Salzburg, the route I suggest is via Munich, a better night train too since the Berlin-Munich night train is a CNL., then transfer to Salzburg.

On taking those night trains, the cheapest way is just to sit in a six seat compartment, where it's mandatory to have a reservation. You sleep upright, everyone else does it, your compartment mates. On the CNL train you have the choice of a reclining seat or a compartment seat. Any sleeper or couchette is going to be pricey. I wouldn't pay it.

On the WC facilities, many of the big cities in Germany have Rail and Fresh, the best public WC facilities I've seen in train stations, such as at Munich Hbf. The left luggage facility at Berlin Hbf (main station) is next to the WC facility, very handy.

On the accomodations when you don't take a night train, stay at the hostels near the train station, ie, 2-3 mins walk, such as In Paris, London, Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin, Vienna...all have hostels within that distance from the train station. Or, at small hotels there, plenty of them. I don't like relying on a taxi or public transportation to get back to station on the day of departure.

Hi,

I missed earlier where you're going to in Austria, ie, to Carinthia (Kärnten). Leave from Munich to the main city in Kärnten...Villach, which like Munich is a junction point. Sometimes it's worth backtracking in my view than going on a more time consuming route on regional trains.

Great that you're seeing the Brandenburg Gate area with Unter den Linden and Pariser Platz. At the Gate on the eastern side , same side where the Adlon Hotel is, facing Pariser Platz is a Tourist Office, (there is also one at Berlin Hbf. at the Invaldenstrasse exit), where you can find out where remnants of the wall still stand.

Interesting thread to read... Cassandra, you went from an impossible, manic trip to a somewhat doable one. Brava!

I would pick Innsbruck as the easiest one to do. Having said that, check that bungee jumping is offered in March and on that specific date.
Also double-check if the museums/attractions you want to visit are open on the exact day that you want to go (many close on Mondays, for example).

Keep some money aside in your budget for "emergency taxis" - the ones that will get you back to where you need to be on time, should the inevitable time snag occur.

Out of curiosity, what is your total budget per person for this trip, including the airfare?

I doubt bungee jumping will be available in March.

Now that you mention it's a birthday trip it makes sense that you want to try to do it. Your revised itinerary is feasible, but consider things like availability of activities in March. If you do go to Innsbruck, Kitzbuhel (Olympic and world championship site) is nearby, if you want to ski to replace bunjee jump.

Thank you for the feedback and places to visit. I'll look into the museums hours of operations and whether or not I can Bungee Jump in March. Budget is $3,000.00 per person.

C. Chancy, one overnight trip that you may explore is from London to Amsterdam. You can actually buy a ticket for the entire journey. It's a combination of train/ferry/train. You leave London Liverpool train station at 19:32 for Harwich. At Harwich, you board the Stena Ferry for an overnight trip to Hoek van Holland. You then take the train from there to Amsterdam. You arrive in Amsterdam about 10:00am. You can sleep and shower on the ferry. Here's a link to much more information http://www.seat61.com/Netherlands.htm#train+ferry

I also suspect that bungee jumping will not be doable in March.

Your budget is tight. Also check where RyanAir and EasyJet fly - they can be cheaper than the train. Sleeping in hostels will also probably be cheaper (and more comfortable!) than overnight trains. Seriously.

If you stick to your 5-countries scenario, and bungee-jumping is out of the equation, between Berlin and Paris:

1. Go to Prague
2. Go to Vienna (great hostel: Wombat's)

OR -- Go to Dublin after London, party both birthdays, then fly to Amsterdam. After Berlin, head to Paris.

Have fun!

Uh, does the $3000 per person budget include airfare? Have you priced out your ground transportation yet? How about the accommodations? And the entrance fees to the sites you want to see? And food? Are you going March of this year, 2014?

Cassandra,

youre heading out during spring break im assuming. So will others and i would bet that air fairs are going to go up. So i wouldnt wait too long to do this trip.

happy trails.

Hi,

I agree with Wombats in Vienna, as recommended above, (excellent and with coin laundry machines too) located right across the street from Westbahnhof on Mariahilferstrasse.

On the public shower facilities: of course, this depends on where you're going. Certain train stations in Germany do have such public showers, most likely the big cities which serve as junction points (Knotenpunkten): Munich, Berlin, Frankfurt,...not sure about Hamburg.

For those cities where you intend on arriving in early hours say 05:00-08:00 and then departing that night after 19:00 on another night train, where to stash your luggage. Use the coin lockers at the station. In Germany that coin locker area has no change machines for breaking bills. Lockers only take coins. In that case go to the station's WC facility if you're in a big city, That facility will have the change machine (Geldautomat), unless you want to ask at the vendors.. In Paris there are no coin lockers at the train stations, then you have go the left luggage facility, a tedious process.

according to Wikipedia

The Kölnbrein Dam is the terminus of a 14.3 km (8.9 mi) long scenic route through the Maltatal, the former construction site road, including a restaurant, a hotel and an exhibition on hydroelectricity. Verbund also offers tours of the power plant group and the dam. Tours on the dam occur daily while the road is open between 9 May and 26 October each year.

So I believe it unlikely you will jump there in March.

Sunday, April 20 is Easter Sunday 2014.

Verzasca dam is only bookable between Easter to October on weekend afternoons.

Sorry. The days you would be there are not a weekend and Easter won't have happened.

Niouc Bridge opens 31st of March. Close, but sorry.

sorry, I have more bad news... Europabrücke doesn't start until 3rd of May this year.

Nigel: All of which shows how little thought had gone into this before posting here.

Thank you for ALL of the info. My budget is $3000.00, but I'm willing to spend more. I planned on staying in hostels because it's a cheap and convenient. When I was going to do 9 countries I had factored in the euro rail global, which was $632. I'm not opposed to flying to some of these places because I have been looking at flights and they're not too expensive. I'm not trying to spend an arm and a leg on museums so, I'm keeping that to a minimum. I've travelled to Europe, I'm aware of the cost of food.

I'm not sure if when I'm going is spring break, I picked 3/7 - 3/15 because my birthday is on the 7th. I am planning on buying my ticket to London and from Paris this week. I've taken bungee jumping from my itinerary. I'll just plan to do it when I go back to Europe in July.

I have been checking the weather, is it usually colder or about the same as here in March.When I was in Paris last new year and in Barcelona a couple days later it was much warmer than it was in the states.

Norma, I don't know if I've offended you by being naive about my travels. But, I've taken being called crazy and a troll with open arms. However you are just being plain ole rude. If you don't like what I post no one is forcing you to read it. The same way you entered this forum is the same you can leave.
I've taken everything written on this post and started planning a much better trip. You are not adding anything positive but insults.

Thank you to everyone that has expressed themselves and hopefully continue to respond to my posts. I really appreciate all the suggestions and I am now confident I'll have the best backpacking trip ever.

Cassandra,
Do come back and share how it all went afterwards. That will be both entertaining for us who tried to help and educational for everyone else. ;-)

I seem to recall a "first times" thread a while back, and another thread around the same time {grin}, that had similar stories...

Cassandra,

just my comment and how i think.

So, youre going to spend some time and $$ just to celebrate you birthday and then go back in a few months?

i guess if $$$ is falling off the trees for you, go for it, but to me, i would put the $$$ into ONE nice trip and call it good. Leaving out crazy birthday trip.

happy trails.

Thank you Diane, I will definitely be posting how my trip goes!

Ray, I'm considering going back in July, not set in stone yet though. Plus, when I go back to Europe I want to only do Italy.

Hi,

On the transportation expense: keep in mind that since you are under 26, you can buy the Youth Pass. But I don't think you need a Global Pass. I would suggest the Austria-Germany Youth 2nd class Pass; for the other countries buy point to point tickets. Think of which rides are the long ones and which on the night trains.

If you stay in hostels near the train station, (these are the private independent ones, not those belonging to HI), even better since you have to check out of the hostel by 9 AM, walk 2-3 mins to the station, take a train 2-3 hrs, you'll be at your next destination by noon or so.

On finding yourself waiting on the platforms....in Germany and France this is no problem. If your train pulls in at say 04:00, in Germany you can sit in the waiting room (Wartesaal), which is heated, also no big deal since the food vendors, WC facilities, etc. at the station open for business at 05:00. In the big cities rush hour at the Hbf. starts by 05:00.

Just saw that you want to explore Buckingham Palace...I don't believe it's open to the public in March. It usually is only open when the queen is not in residence. A fairly short window in summer and a few weeks in winter is about it.
http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/visit/the-state-rooms-buckingham-palace
Sorry!

I have a suggestion so you can see reality of time on trains vs. time sightseeing. I tend to try to squeeze too much into the itinerary, so this has worked well for me. Our of 24 hours, you will spend about 10 hours per night from the time your arrive at your hostel with checking in, getting settled, sleeping, and getting up organized, checking out. That leaves 14 hours. For each day, write down the train departure/arrival time and travel time. Then add time to/from train station (maybe 1-2 hours depending on proximity to lodging) to your travel time (remember at the station you may need to wait in line to drop/pick up luggage, figure out which track, etc.). That leaves "sightseeing" time available. Taking a night train leaves more time for sightseeing, but probably less energy. I'd also suggest taking early morning trains so you can arrive at your destination with enough time to do some sightseeing in the afternoon and evening.

My rule of thumb is that on a 2 week vacation, no more than 2 days with more than 5 hours of travel, 4-5 days changing destinations with less than 5 hours travel time (9 hours available) . And 7+ days with 14 hours sightseeing, eating, people watching, etc. Seeing the plan on paper has really helped me trim down our trips from unreasonable to awesome.

There are no red-eye flights from Europe to the US because you are going the same direction as the sun. Most flights start leaving in the morning with one or two as late as three in the afternoon. You'll have to catch a flight the next day or knock Paris sightseeing off your list.

If you have not already bought your airfare, I would say go to Italy for 9 days this March and for July when you go back, do your 4 to 9 countries thing depending on how much time you can afford to be away in July. Italy is pretty hot in July. With 9 days in Italy in March you could easily see a couple of the major cities and get in some outdoorsy stuff like The Dolomites. Spending one's 25th birthday in Rome is certainly nothing to turn up your nose at. You'd also likely get more bang for your buck since you have $3K for your 9 day March jaunt and you are sticking to one country and not having to move around so much by train. And if you could leave a few days earlier, you could even catch the last few days of Carnevale in Venice (but before trying to go earlier, I'd check to see if there is any lodging available in your price range as I'm sure many places are booked solid).

Ceidah is right... Italy in July ,, yuck ( done it twice and it is miserable hot,,, not just hot.. miserable hot, and most public spaces are not a/ced..
Do Italy in March and enjoy Germany/Switzerland /Amsterdam in July.. when weather will be nice .. Paris may be hot, but you are only giving it one day anyways,.

For one day in Paris try and have it fall on a day when Louvre is open till 9.. then you can squeeze more in that day.

Ceidah is right... Italy in July ,, yuck ( done it twice and it is miserable hot,,, not just hot.. miserable hot, and most public spaces are not a/ced..
Do Italy in March and enjoy Germany/Switzerland /Amsterdam in July.. when weather will be nice .. Paris may be hot, but you are only giving it one day anyways,.

For one day in Paris try and have it fall on a day when Louvre is open till 9.. then you can squeeze more in that day.

What if you would take the train from London to Paris, then take a flight into Frankfurt, Germany drive down towards Switzerland then towards Austria fly out of Salzburg, Austria to Madrid and then back home. This way you could see a little bit... of 6 countries without needing a vacation right after a vacation ;) (skip Netherlands or fly into Dusseldorf Germany instead and take a quick day trip there before driving down to Switzerland)

Just an idea :)

You can make it happen! All the best!

Regarding the previous poster's comment, correct me if I am wrong (I don't tend to rent a car when in Europe) but aside from the outrageous drop off fee if you rent in one country and drop off in another, isn't there a minimum age of 25 or 26 with a lot of the rental car companies in Europe, and if lower, I think car rental places sometimes assess an additional fee for what they deem "young drivers" (the OP is 24 and has a budget for this trip).

Don't know about renting a car in Europe if under 25 but there is definitely a surcharge here in the US. If he did rent in Germany she could drive back to Munich from Salzburg and drop the car there. On this kind of a whirlwind trip the only way I would do it is with a car. At least then you can change your mind on the spur of the moment if you haven't purchased train tickets, and in March should not have a problem with lodging. However, having been to Italy (Rome, Florence, Venice) during July it was really hot and worse yet, very crowded and lines were long everywhere. In Rome a few years ago in March and we pretty much had the place to ourselves.