Prague.. Budapest..Austria

Only you will know how long to stay in each ! Start by listing all of the activities/sites you wish to see in each of these cities, using Rick Steves books and Lonely Planet as guides. You will get a sense of days needed. Then look up train schedules on Rick's bahn.de site on this website to give yourself time to do all of your activities AND get to the train on time.

The experts here will want to know where you are flying IN and OUT of to help guide your itinerary….

Thanks for your prompt response!!
We certainly have the days roughly decided for each of these cities however suggestions will help to seal the plan.. Also the order of travel/itinerary will assist us to take a call on our arrival and departure destination .. For instance if Budapest should be the first leg we ll prefer flying there rather than to Prague or Vienna first..

If you have not yet purchased plane tickets, then booking a "multi-city" flight itinerary such as into Prague (or into Innsbruck, Munich, or Salzburg) and home from Budapest will save you the time and cost of one train ride.

Seven cities in 14 days is already too much when they include such large and interesting cities as Vienna, Prague, and Budapest. I would like to give at least three nights to each (and have stayed longer in Vienna more than once). You can get by with one night each in Hallstatt and Cesky Krumlov and maybe two nights in Salzburg to slow the pace. I haven't visited Innsbruck proper, and suggest cutting it, but assume you're going there for a mountain view. As far as adding another country, you could visit Bratislava as a day trip from Vienna or simply view a portion of Slovakia from a direct Prague-Budapest train, but those are really far down the priority list.

Note that from either Innsbruck or Salzburg to either Prague or Cesky Krumlov requires train connections and a bit more time, while other parts of your route have direct train service. Faster, private shuttle vans to Cesky Krumlov have been frequently mentioned in this forum.

The cities might be crowded, but at least you're not trying to go to the beach in August!

I visited Vienna, Salzburg and Budapest in the 3rd week of August and none felt overly crowded--busy, but not in an overwhelming way. Prague is likely to be jam-packed, I was there in mid-May and fought my way through crowds everywhere the entire time.

1 day minimum in each city, except Budapest which deserves a life time. G-d Blešs

We went to this area last October, Praque was underwhelming, I'd not focus too much time there. As the other post said, Bratislava is charming, small, you would just need a day there....my favorite was Budapest. A beautiful city, we could have spent a week there easily....hot springs, museums, river strolls and cruises, and we went to the funnest club, I think it was the Ruin Bar, in a building that had no roof (bombed in WW2). So Cool! I hear there are several clubs like this in Budapest. And the food....oh, the food!
Vienna and Salzburg are also quite wonderful...

Budapest Ruin Pubs: http://ruinpubs.com/

Okay, for Peter.

If these were my 14 days I would restrict the trip to
1 arrive Prague. Prague is a visually stunning city. But get off the tourist circuits and see the best parts of the living culture.

2, 3, 4 Prague
5 Prague to Cesky Krumlov using Bean Shuttle
6 Cesky Krumlov to Salzburg using Bean Shuttle
7 Salzburg
8 Salzburg to Vienna (early morning Train)
9 Vienna
10 Vienna to Budapest (late afternoon train)
11 Budapest
12 Budapest
13 Budapest
14 Home

Touche James!

Thank you for seeing the light. And no US greenbacks, forint or koruna were harmed in the process. (Inside commentary between James and myself).

I'm overwhelmed with all your responses.. Thanks a lot everyone!!

Carla you are absolutely right Innsbruck is only for the mountains so il stick to it.. And yes multi city itinerary option will work best for us.. Bratislava sounds interesting will try to fit in if possible ..

The shuttle van idea sounds great from Krumlov .. I hope they will be as safe as train and bus .. Should we directly book it there or pre booking is suggested..

Christa my travel dates are around the same time .. 13th to 27th Aug .. I'm definitely looking forward to Budapest .. Ruin pubs is now on the list..

James appreciate your efforts for laying out the itinerary beautifully.. This will help to a great extent.. :)

Thanks again everyone !!

Peter paid me.

One more concern about sightseeing.. Will it be wise to book the tours to museums/palaces and other places in advance or we should directly book it locally at our destinations..
Please advise..