Hi- we are visiting Europe for the first time this Oct. 9-18th. Our plan in our heads is to start in Munich, go to Stuttgart (Porsche factory/museum), go south from there to see some castles- we are hoping this can be done in 1 to 1 1/2 days. Then we will head back to Munich and start through Austria. We want to travel from Salzburg all the way to Venice and then across to Milan and back up through Switzerland (Lucerne) and then back to Munich to fly home. My question is- is this a conceivable plan for the amount of time we will be there? And is a car the best way to achieve this adventure? We were thinking of the rail system but don't want to miss out on anything along the way. But after reading some posts on the forum about the Autoban traffic jams, I'm not sure if driving is a good idea. Any suggestions is helpful.
~Shannon
Posted by
Paradise
7072 posts
Stuttgart, Munich, Salzburg, Venice, Milan, Luzern... Your first day is the 9th (often a mostly "wasted" day as that's also how you may feel after a transatlantic flight) and leave on the 18th - so the 10th-17th for sightseeing means 8 full days for 6 major destinations and all the travel in between. I say you do not have time to do all these places justice, whether you go by car or by train. Drop at least one destination, and don't worry about what you are "missing" in between the others - you don't really have time to dilly-dally en route.
Don't fly out of the same airport you fly into - it requires extra ground travel.
Consider Zurich (fly in)/Luzern - then Stuttgart - Munich - Salzburg - Venice - Milan (fly out.) Maybe you drop Milan and fly out of Venice.
Also - these are mostly major cities where you don't want a car and you don't want to pay to park it (not that you could even drive into Venice.) Consider advance-sale discount train fares - these require you keep a schedule for the most part as they are train-specific, but they are likely to be much cheaper than the multi-country rail pass options.
Zurich-Luzern-Zurich (Swiss Railways)
Zurich-Stuttgart (German Railways - "DB")
Stuttgart-Munich (DB)
Munich-Salzburg (DB, Bayern Ticket day pass DB, E28/2 adults)
Salzburg-Venice (Austrian Railways)
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
So you're on the ground for 10 days, or maybe less if those are actually your flight dates, and you want to visit at least 5 destinations. That would be moving pretty fast even in the case of smaller towns, closer together. The legs to and from Switzerland use up a whole day for transportation, as does Salzburg-Venice, although that one offers an overnight train option.
Rick’s Train Travel Time & cost Map gives you an overview of faster train travel times in hours and driving times would not be any better. For exact timing, see the DB link at How to Look Up Train Schedules and Routes Online, either www.viamichelin.com or Google Maps for driving, and www.skyscanner.com for flights. www.rome2rio.com will compare various methods side-by-side, but don't rely on them for the fully accurate details.
Posted by
OP
7 posts
Thanks- we leave Seattle on Oct 8th and get into Munich on the 9th in the early afternoon, so technically I guess this would be a wasted day. We already have our flight home booked, which is out of Munich. I guess we can cut out Italy all together, we were just thinking of doing a big "loop" so we don't back track too much. After reading some post on this forum, we might cut out Lucerne and find somewhere more NE to visit (any suggestions). Our "must see" cities are Munich, Stuttgart, Salzburg, Hallstatt and possibly Oberammergua. Seems like a better plan, considering the short time we are there, would be to stay in Southern Germany, Western Austria, and NE Switzerland. There are a lot of castles we want to see in those areas too.
Posted by
Paradise
7072 posts
IMO if you aren't going well into the Swiss Alps, you aren't getting that much out of a trip to Switzerland - except really high prices. Focus on Germany and Austria (which are blessed with Alps as well!) with your limited time. Here's a train strategy for such a trip...
10/9: Short day. I'd get a room in Munich for at least the first night - here's the train ticket into Munich - airport-city day ticket.
10/10: Pre-purchased Saver Fare to Stuttgart for 2 nights, 2.3 hours on long-distance train - best price E19 each if you buy 91 days in advance from DB.
10/12: Pre-purchased Saver Fare to Salzburg for 3 nights, 4 hrs. on long-distance train - best price E19 each if you buy 91 days in advance from DB.
(Day trips to Hallstatt, Hohenwerfen Castle in Werfen, Berchtesgaden/Koenigssee?) Check Austrian Railways for tickets to Hallstatt and Werfen; it's a short and cheap bus or train ride to B'gaden, buy on day of travel.)
10/15: Purchase Bayern Ticket day pass to Munich for 3 nights - buy at Salzburg station, E28/2 adults, 2 hours on regional Meridian train.
(Day trips to Oberammergau and elsewhere - maximum E28/2 adults/day w/ Bayern ticket, buy at station; airport-city day ticket to Munich Airport on 10/18.)
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
Agree with Russ, stick with the Alps in Germany and Austria. A general rule of thumb with the Alps is that it's better to spend more time in fewer locations. Ideally, you should budget at least three nights for each Alpine location. Why? This is a safe hedge against the always-fickle weather patterns in the mountains. Spend less time bouncing around more locations, and you're likely to lose entire destinations to bad weather.