Please help reviewing my itinerary before I book my airline tickets

Drop a night off one of your 3 night stays

Drop Kranjska Gora. It's nice there, but the Dolomites, which you just use as a stopover (Bruneck) are better. Spend two full days there, one in the eastern, and one in the western part.

Why would anyone want to stay in Füssen for three nights, of all places?

I mean, I am sure it's a nice town and all, and yes, Neuschwanstein castle is nearby (not that I understand why anyone would want to go there, but that's a different matter ;-) ), but if that's all you're going to see of Germany, you might as well drop it altogether or cut one night there.

Maybe one night in Fussen and 2 nights in Munich and drop a night in Kranjska Gora

Thank you for all the comments.
Anna, we will be travelling from Colmar to Bavaria, so I thought Fussen sounded like a good base to explore places like Zugspitze, Oberammergau and the castles. Which other Bavarian towns close to the Alps would you rather suggest?

The idea with Kranjska was to go to a less expensive ski resort compared to the resorts in Austria. And we wanted to use it as a base for exploring Slovenia.

Oh, I see, you want to explore more places in the area, not only Neuschwanstein. That makes more sense.

What I just keep being surprised about (= which was the reason for my previous post) is how Americans especially want so see Neuschwanstein and think they've seen Germany. :-)

Just imagine Europeans going to Disney World only and saying "I've seen America"! ;-)

First of all You Know Best.

Second, this is a very busy itinerary. Lots of travel days and hotel changes. Not so much time on the ground.

Which is okay, but some of people need encouragement or permission to improve their trip by cramming less in.

You don't have to go to France at all, for instance. It is pound-foolish to go there to save on airfare. Your 15 days are valuable too! Spend them wisely.

If, as it seems, France is just not a priority, spend the time elsewhere. "Elsewhere" = one of the other destinations you've ID'd, not more places.

You are right. Three nights in one place, making that two full days, seems fine if you only want to do a bit of local sightseeing. But on the whole, this trip is trying to do six countries within 15 days. That is way too much. Basically, that means just hitting each of these countries and getting a quick glimpse, and then rushing on.

What I said above about "having seen Germany" basically goes for all of the countries you will be visiting. You will have seen one or two major tourist places, and that's it.

"Prioritize" is your magic word. Your itinerary, as it is, is lacking priority. Fifteen days is not a whole lot to explore even ONE of those countries. If I was to visit Africa, would you recommend I spend three nights in Johannesburg, three nights in Tunis, three nights in Madagaskar, and three nights in Kairo? Of course you wouldn't.

Now here's my advice: Decide which of these countries is most important to you, and then go from there.

I'm sorry, but I don't find this itinerary really do-able in the month of December.
It's not the best time to make your first trip to Europe, and especially to travel over The Alps in a rental car.
The distances on this itinerary are greater than you realize, and just getting to all these towns under the best of circumstances is somewhat difficult.
I agree that you should figure out where you want to visit--and fly into there.

Just another thought: You will be traveling at the end of December. Consider the weather at that time of year. It's not going to be the nicest ever in most of those places, to put it mildly, and you may easily encounter some sort of delay, no matter which means of transport you choose, especially by car or by plane (less likely by train). Keep that in mind when planning.

Edit after seeing David's post:

You're right, I somehow thought he would be doing most of those transfers by plane, but only now do I see that he is planning to rent a car. I agree, that makes the trip undoable.

You need to pick your rental up in Germany, not France due to winter tire requirements and drop fees.

Wow thank you for all the replies. I really appreciate all the advise. It sounds like I need to rethink my itinerary. I did'nt realize the distances could be such a problem but I do understand that there could be delays in winter. In South Africa we would easily drive 8 hours between cities but we have milder winters.
Apart from the airfares being the best to Paris and Prague, those 2 cities would have been part of our plans anyway. I would really love to see Paris and Prague and the Alps. And we have a 15 old son who wants to visit a ski resort for 2 days. in south Africa the December/January holiday is our longest and therefore best time to travel abroad. And we really wanted to see Europe in winter with some snow.

Would flying between some of these places and making use of trains make this itinerary more doable and would I just need to sacrifice one of the countries such as Slovenia or Czech republic?

With only two nights in Paris, you really only have about 1 1/2 days there. That is hardly enough to see much of anything especially jetlagged.

That is not your typical first time to Europe Itinerary. For that time of year I'd head South and see Italy and Rome along with Paris.

Hi Richard yes Italy sounds like a good option and we will consider it but where would first timers go to see snow and visit ski resorts?

Paris, Prague and the Alps is doable in 15 days, your itinerary includes much more!

Check distances and travel options with Rome2rio.com and focus on your priorities before adding countries. Consider trains and flights, especially considering winter weather.

The French Alps provide excellent skiing! There's a ski train that runs on Saturdays in season though it may not work for you since Paris deserves 4 or 5 days. But taking a train to the Alps and flying to Prague may work much better than driving.

You may not have jet lag since you are not crossing time zones but you still have a long flight to Paris which will impact how much you can do/see on day 1. When planning what you want to do in each place remember 2 nights only gives one full day to do things. So to ski for 2 days you really need 4 nights.

If the airfare is a great sale price and your dates fixed, you can commit now and fill in the details later.

Enjoy the planning and the trip!

In South Africa we would easily drive 8 hours between cities

Oh, you can easily do that too on icy roads. As long as the cities are no farther than 100km apart. ;-)

Kidding aside:

I would really love to see Paris and Prague and the Alps. And we have
a 15 old son who wants to visit a ski resort for 2 days

Well, now we're talking!

Three stops within 15 days, that should work out quite well. Right now it looks like it's four stops, but you can easily make that three. "Alps" and "ski resort" go together quite well as only one stop, don't you think? Or is there any particular reason you need to go to all the way to Slovenia to find a resort when the Alps are full of them?

Here's my suggestion:

Fly open jaw, either flying to Paris and returning from Prague, or vice versa. And in between, use trains as much as you can. They are, on the average, your most reliable means of transportation that time of year. Make sure you get reservations for window seats so you can enjoy the ride as much as possible.

I don't know how much experience you have driving icy and snowy roads, but even if you do, it can just really slow you down a lot. And I can hardly imagine you are going to enjoy driving major parts of your trip at 20km/h.

Spend four or five nights in Paris, then go to the Alps from there. Look for some nice resort either in the French Alps or somewhere on the Northern Side of the Alps. Just make sure you avoid having to cross the Alps. Then move on to Prague, and spend four or five nights there.

I personally would feel that that's quite enough for an enjoyable vacation, and I am sure Paris and Prague offer much more than you can see within four days. Plus, you can always add day trips from there.

If you feel that you absolutely must add another stop, have a look at your route once you have decided on a ski resort. And then add a place that's along the railroad route or within easy reach from there.

Thanks again for all the comments. I went to bed feeling very despondent about our trip but the last two comments gave me new hope this morning. It sounds like I will have to leave Slovenia for a next trip and focus more on my 3 main points. I realize i did'nt do enough research on crossing the Alps in winter. And it looks like it could be a huge problem especially between Germany and Slovenia.
Just to answer your question about Slovenia Anna. Our currency is quite weak against the euro so we looked at more affordable places to ski and also read amazing reviews about the scenery in Slovenia. The value of the Rand was one of the reasons for wanting to spend almost half our time in Slovenia and Czech Republic.
I also read many many conflicting reviews about rental cars and trains on other forums and my reasoning behind the rental car was to reach smaller towns and ski resorts and be more flexible. But I gather this could be a big mistake if the weather turns against us.

Hi Lieslvn,

I understand your concern about the currency. On a budget, I would certainly avoid the Swiss part of the Alps, Switzerland having the reputation of being an expensive place.

You may also want to have a look at the vacation times of other countries. German schools usually have their Christmas vacation until Jan. 6, so hotel prices of all ski resorts that are popular with German families may drop considerably after Jan. 6 (make that Jan. 7 in 2018, Jan. 6 being a Saturday).

I am glad that you are becoming more aware of the distances and the road conditions we are talking about here. The more advantageous currency of Eastern Europe isn't going to do you much good if you're going to be spending a lot of time and/or money getting there.

Also, consider what you are going to be saving: Places like Füssen and Salzburg are major tourist destinations; hotels and restaurants are not going to be cheap there either. Also, keep in mind the cost of gasoline. Things like that add up.

if the weather turns against us.

It's not so much a matter of the weather (unexpectedly) turning against you, it's a matter of the weather (expectedly) being what it is that time of year, especially at higher elevations. That is, unfortunately, the downside of getting the cheapest flights. Not meaning to discourage you, but they are cheap for a reason.

That said, take appropriate clothing and don't let that spoil your trip! If there is one thing that can really spoil a trip for you, it's inappropriate clothing. I've seen visitors from African countries completely underestimate European winter temperatures and moistness. You may end up spending valuable vacation time and money on having to buy warm clothing in the most expensive places (buying clothes in touristy places is not a smart thing to do if you're on a budget). Remember the saying we have: There is no bad weather, there is only bad clothing. :-)

You should pick up and return your car in Germany. Driving in The Alps in winter does involve a high degree of caution and possible delays.

Arrive Paris - 3 nights
Train to Strasbourg/Colmar - 2 nights
Pick up rental car in Stuttgart
Drive to Fussen - 3 nights
Drive to Kranjska Gora - 3 nights
Drive to Berchtesgaden - 2 nights
Drive to Munich - 2 nights
Drop off rental car in Munich
Depart Munich

You should pick up and return your car in Germany. Driving in The Alps in winter does involve a high degree of caution and possible delays.

Paris definitely needs more time.
Perhaps leave Prague for another trip (with Budapest, Vienna, Berlin), and finish up in Munich.

Arrive Paris - 3 nights
Train to Strasbourg/Colmar - 2 nights
Pick up rental car in Stuttgart
Drive to Fussen - 3 nights
Drive to Kranjska Gora - 3 nights
Drive to Berchtesgaden - 2 nights
Drive to Munich - 2 nights
Drop off rental car in Munich
Depart Munich