Upcoming Europe trip

I made the Rhine River trip out of Amsterdam twice in two years--we liked so much. One year, we visited Venice, and next year we went on over to Vienna.
But since then, we've discovered the benefits of travel by inexpensive European airlines. We'd be more likely now to visit London and catch EasyJet out of Gatwick down to Venice--working our way north.

We'd take a train up to Innsbruck and rent a car there to see The Alps.

A 2 hour train ride, and you're in Munich. It's a 4 day city at a minimum, and it's a glorious place to be in mid-Summer hitting the English Gardens and a few beer halls. We've also visited Dachau a couple of times over the years.
We'd also take a train up to Cologne--a very underrated city.
And Amsterdam is a straight shot from there.

As far as rooms, it's best to always book rooms in the first and last cities you visit. If you're carrying a Chromebook or telephone with internet service, you can go on Booking.com and make room reservations a day ahead in most places. You're going high season, and rooms might be a little harder to find on short notice, however.

Thanks for the advice. We are just wondering ho much we would save by booking in advance, and if it is worth losing the flexibility. We were definitely planning to book the hotel/airbnb/homeaway in London before we get there, but thought that we might leave the rest to chance. Is it dramatically more expensive to book that way? Also, in looking for car rental, it seems to be somewhat reasonable, but we wondered if there are a lot of fees to drive between countries. We really liked the idea of driving from Munich to Venice, staying a few days, and then returning to Munich. Is the drive from Munich to Venice scenic? We hear a lot about the Swiss Alps, but haven't heard a ton about that drive.

You have a nice chunk of time, but are covering a lot of ground. As a veteran of 16 Europe trips not counting business trips, I definitely recommend booking ahead, unless money (and location, quality of accommodations, etc.) is no object. We have always booked ahead on every trip since 2010, it's so easy on the internet that if you don't, you suffer from the fact that everyone else does. (On out 2008 Portugal trip we did not book ahead for one stop, in Nazare). Multiple car rentals could be expensive too. Not quite clear on the plan to drive from Munich to Venice. I think the route could be very scenic (having flown over it), but parking a car in Venice and also paying for a hotel in Venice could get expensive too. Here too, if money is no object then go for it.

Thanks. So, our plan for car rental, was to rent a car in Mainz, Germany and drop it off in Munich, Germany. We would only rent one car, and have gotten a few estimates and it could be 3-600 depending on the car we want. We know that there will be additional expenses for gas, which can add up. We were thinking of staying just outside of Venice, and using public transportation to and from. We heard that this can be done fairly easily and save a lot of money. We are still flexible on the itinerary, as we have only purchased our airfare. We were budgeting 10-12,000 for the whole thing. Does that seem feasible?

You will enjoy Venice much more and also maximize your time if you stay in a hotel on the islands vs the mainland or Mestre. Check the total cost of transport to /from the islands when considering total cost comparison, also.

As u are in Europe peak season, it is very wise to fine tune your itin and reserve your lodging. U could be spending alot of time looking for a place with vacancies. I have been traveling europe during the summer for the last 14 yrs and it is quite easy to set your routing soon. It will also tell u if u are doing too much. Most travelers do reserve ahead for a gd reason., of course off season it is less of an issue.
If u do decide not to reserve in adv plan on looking for lodging along the way by noon.
U could also benefit by staying at european chain hotels like accor.com for Ibis , Novotel etc at least u old use their website to see their hotels along your way.
Gd luck.

Booking accommodation ahead - It is not about saving money, it is about saving precious vacation time. Do you really want to spend possibly hours each time you around a new location finding a place to stay? In high season?

Well fortunately with the internet finding hotels is much easier now than in years past. Sites like booking.com & Expedia are great for finding available rooms. I don't know that you'd save a lot of $$ booking hotels in advance as most places set a rate for the high season no matter when you book. If you leave some flexibility in your destination then I expect you will find rooms along your journey - even in high season. They may not be in the very popular touristy towns but you will find places. I am assuming that in the days from Cologne to Venice you will be moving every night to a new place? Road trip style? From Heidelburg it's an 8 hr drive to Venice - easily done over 3 days. You will stay in Venice? That you might want to book ahead.

I'd do it - even in July.

Hello nsrider165. If you will go to London, and Amsterdam, and travel south through Germany, I think also going to Venice would be too much. A rental car is not needed. Ride in railroad trains. A rail pass for Germany could be a good value in this trip.

I would reserve now for London and the next big city, whether Amsterdam or Venice. Train connections from London to Amsterdam can be expensive at the last minute (e.g. over $300 per person for Eurostar and Thalys with a connection in Brussels) and flight prices will also go up. You can currently book flights from $77; see www.skyscanner.com for service from several London airports, including London City.

Booking ahead for a rental car is usually minimum risk, as details can usually be changed or cancelled; confirm when booking. If you don't book a car ahead, you might end up paying for a larger, more expensive one than you wanted.

Thanks for all the info. We know that it may be cheaper to rail through Germany, but we like the idea of driving through. We also appreciate all the info on prebooking things now, and our plan is to definitely book our lodgings in London and Amsterdam, as well as the trains from London->Amsterdam and Amsterdam->cologne. We were then thinking of traveling down the Rhine, kind of haphazardly. Does anyone have any experience or thoughts on this? We thought we could just take river ferrys and travel at our leisure. Is that possible? perhaps you are right, that it would be best to have something already booked in Venice, as a sort of guide when travelling south through Germany. Does anyone know if there is some fee for "stickers" or something to travel by rental car between countries?

If money and time is no object, then you can afford to be flexible with your accommodation. You are travelling peak school holiday season, so places will be busy and expensive. Most Europeans seem to book holidays far more in advance than many Americans do - if I were going to the States, this would have been booked back in January! So, leaving it to chance, you risk not getting the best choice of accommodation, which may already have been taken.

Certainly book London and Amsterdam asap. In London, a good chain is Premier Inn - their prices increase as the travel date approaches. The best value rooms are booked 11/12 months in advance to give you an idea of how popular places are.

Amsterdam has enough interest to fill at least 3 full days. Buy Eurostar tickets asap too - they have been available for months and have already increased in price significantly. Try not to travel Friday or Sunday evenings or Monday mornings for the best prices.

I wouldn't leave southern Germany to chance in July - June yes, but not then, as this is the most popular area for Germans to holiday.

If you are going to Venice, stay on the islands, not on the mainland, which is what the cheap tours do and then bus in hundreds each day. You have the issue if what to do with your car. Personally, I wouldn't want to visit Venice in July - the queues will be too long. Like others have suggested, please consider dropping this, as it makes your trip too rushed.

You need an International Driving Permit and vignettes for driving in Austria or Switzerland. Let your hire company know that you are taking the car out of Germany - they may charge you more. Last month I took a car from Portugal to Spain and it cost an additional 30 euros. So much for EU harmony!

I would undertake a spontaneous driving trip in June or September along your proposed route, but not in July or August, as there is a risk that you may struggle with accommodation in some areas.

If you plan to drive don't forget to go to AAA and get an international drivers permit before you leave home.

Thank you all for your tips. We understand that our situation may not be ideal, but are trying not to focus on that. My wife is a teacher, and we have to travel during her time off. It sucks, as everything is more expensive, but we don't have much choice. As far as booking sooner goes, we were unsure as to whether we would be able to make it happen, and are planning to try and have a baby after we get back. We are planning this as our, kind of, last hurrah, and understand we may have to pay a little for our delay in booking.
We were looking at trying to stay in central London (Soho, Mayfair, Westminster) to be central to a lot of the things we would like to see, but it seems that this will be quite a bit more pricey. Would it be ok to stay a little more outside the city and tube in or public transportation? Some cities are better than others. I lived in Tokyo and it was great, and would have been no problem.

We are looking to start booking things, and will post a revised/current itinerary tomorrow. It would be great if we could get some feedback.

We stayed in cheap accommodations in London within walking distance to sites as well as the tube. It was clean, comfortable with elevator and air condition- Travelodge! There are many around London, as well as other similar hotels like Premier Inn. We stayed outside the craziness of the tourists in Southwark, still central London.

As far as booking ahead, I don't think it will save you money by booking ahead, unless you can't find lodging and then are forced to spend more than you like, or settle for less than you wanted. What you are saving is time. I can't imagine ending my day early and take away from something I want to see to go out and scout for places to stay. What sounds like freedom might turn into a real burden, and disappointment in accommodations.

For us, we like clean, and a private bath. And, I always book ahead, know how to get there, and know the cost ahead of time. For us, the accommodation matters. It isn't just a place to lay our heads, we enjoy meeting people from around the world, so often we find places to stay that this will likely occur.

If you are unsure of how long to stay in places plan on a minimum of 3 nights. That will give you two full days. I doubt you'd be bored or done with a location that soon, and if you found you would have liked more time, plan to go back on another trip. For bigger cities plan at least 4 nights or more if you like.

"Does anyone know if there is some fee for "stickers" or something to travel by rental car between countries?"

You want to make sure your rental car company ok's you taking your rental into other countries. But, it shouldn't be a problem. If you drive into Austria or Switzerland then you must buy a vignette sticker to put on your car. This is instead of tolls. Other countries may have toll roads. You enter a toll road, pick a ticket (like a parking garage) and then use it to exit the toll road. Often you pay machines other times people. Make sure you get your international drivers permit at AAA before you leave. Be familiar with road signs before you leave and watch your speeds because you will get a ticket in the mail if you go over. We find that the roads/ freeways change speeds frequently in Germany, so be alert and watching for it.

I don't believe there are any fees if you return your rental car to the same country. In Germany you need to get a parking card at any local store. I don't recall the name of it. It is a plastic sheet with a clock on it. You set the clock for the time you park so any parking officer will know how long you have been there.

If you have a car in the small villages of Germany then you might find accommodations easier. If you can't then you drive further away. But, again...it is really cool to find a little medieval village that you can stay in and that might take a reservation.

Thanks. We will make sure to get the permits from AAA this week. We appreciate the heads up on the parking pass, and will make sure to ask about that. As far as the street signs go, we will start doing some studying now, so that we are aware.

I think our plan will be to book London, Amsterdam, and Cologne, now. As we get a better plan mapped out about the rest, we will start booking Munich, and Venice if we decide it will work. As far as the rest goes, here is our current itinerary , please give us your thoughts:

June 30- Depart Denver
July 1- Arrive London (9 am- hoping to sleep on the plane so that the jet lag will not be too terrible.
July2- Walk around Hyde Park and city
July 3- Buckingham Palace/ Big Ben
July 4- Travel to Cotswolds and Stone Henge (Is this ok for 1 day?)
July 5- Kings Cross Station
July 6- Travel AM to Amsterdam (Not sure about flying or train)
July 7 - Tulip Market
July 8- Amsterdam- Red Light District Tour?
July 9- Amsterdam? Any suggestions on what to see?
July 10- Travel to Cologne (Train or plane, thoughts)
July 11- Cologne
July 12- Cologne (recommendations?) Travel PM to Koblenz on KD line
July 13- Koblenz, Travel PM to Mainz on KD Line
July 14- Mainz, Rent car in Mainz, leave in PM

We have not mapped out the rest, but are working on it. I would like to see a town in Germany that we used to live, Pirmasens, which is 1 1/2 hrs from Mainz. I would just like to walk around a little and see where I used to live. From there we mapped out a drive through the Black Forest (3 1/2 hours) to Hechingen. Next we planned to drive and see Neuschwanstein Castle (about 3 hour drive). We look at the driving, as part of the fun, and don't mind a 2-3 drive. Next, we thought of a nice drive through the Alps, maybe staying a night or two, possibly ending in Venice. We plan to come back and spend a vacation in Italy on its own, so we are ok with not spending more than a day or two here, just to hang out and then head back and finish in Munich. So, that is our current plan, how does that sound?

I think most people here get reservations, but that's just a feeling.

I do book hotels when a part of my itinerary is fixed (arrival night, night before a prebooked train/plane flight).

I've traveled with and without reservations. In many ways I prefer traveling without because I think it gives you more flexibility.

Some say with reservations is better because you can book better places but I always go to new places so I don't have any favorite place to stay, and I've had as many bad hotels where I booked ahead as I have booking at the last minute.

In the past, when I traveled without reservations, I had a premade list of potential places to stay and then called around in the morning for a room for this evening/next few nights.

These days, Tripadvisor is a good place to find and book last minute accomodations.

Will the "best" places be gone? Possibly. Will you find someplace to stay, often for less than if you booked early? Definitely.

The distance from Amsterdam to Cologne is just a bit over 150 miles, so that would be a train trip.

Are you sure there are tulip markets in July?