My friends and I are planning to do Oktoberfest this coming September. We are planning on traveling for 10 days. We would like to end up in Munich for the last 3-4 days. My friend has her heart set on doing Budapest, which would be easy for us to fly in/out of (we'll be coming from NYC). I am thinking we could do 3 days there in the beginning. We are also very interested in spending time exploring Switzerland for about 3 days. Does anyone have a suggestion of where to fly into from Budapest and then a possible itinerary that could involve us ultimately taking a train to Munich? I've read that the Berner Oberlands are beautiful. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!!
Posted by
Seattle
4637 posts
My educated guess is that you can fly directly to Zurich from NYC. I don't know if there is a direct flight to Budapest. I would fly from NYC to Budapest either directly or if there is not a direct flight then with one change. Then from Budapest fly to Zurich (or other Swiss city). If you have only 3 days in Switzerland then Berner Oberland would be my choice. From Switzerland by train to Munich. Fly back from there to NYC.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
A train ride from Zurich to Budapest takes 11 -12 hours, whether by day or overnight, so that's your main incentive to fly, instead. www.skyscanner.com is a useful search engine.
Posted by
Los Angeles
4412 posts
Pick up Rick's Switzerland book and come up with 3 days of stuff you want to see. It won't be hard, it's a beautiful but quite expensive destination.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
You can simplify your plan considerably by substituting the nearby Bavarian/Tyrolean Alps for the much more distant Swiss Alps. Lodging and food costs are much more affordable. You lose the better part of the day traveling from Munich to your destination in Switzerland (unless you're looking at Appenzel, Graubunden or St. Gallen), then you're kind of screwed if the weather turns. If you're dead set on including Switzerland, at least budget yourself more than three days.
The Berner Overland might be beautiful, but so is practically all of the Alpine mountain chain.