Thanks to all of you who gave me info. As I understand it, October vs November. October more tourists, more rain; November less tourists, LESS rain, lower costs, colder.
Anything I have left out?
Also, we have 2 1/2 weeks to travel. We like to take our time and really "feel" a place. I suspect 4 days might cover Prague. Where would you suggest going from there... Vienna & Salzburg? up into Germany? More of Czech Republic?
Thanks again for your thoughts.
Jay
This is in answer to both this question and the one you posted about cheaper fares to Prague. Check out local airlines like Wizz Air based in Poland and Hungary. They fly everywhere, and in the off season have amazing fares. You might be able to fly from SF into London Gatwick then take a train to London Luton to catch a flight to Prague. Wizz Air keeps their rates down by using out-of-the-way airports so there's additional ground tranportation costs, but with the overall savings it can be well worth the extra hassle. Plus you could look into flying to another destination after Prague. Trains are fun, especially the first time, but, believe it or not, in the off season airfares can be cheaper. I flew round trip from Krakow to Rome in early March, 2005 for the equivalent of $100. ---Which leads me to your other question: Might I suggest Krakow (my personal favorite) or Budapest? Both cities are beautiful, easy to get around in, and lend themselves to letting you get the local "feel". Unlike some major destinations, you actually feel that you are mixing with locals and not just other tourists (well at least if you get off the main streets).
Good luck!
Thanks, Penny. Something new to contemplate. Do you know if they are on the Euro?
No, the Czech republic uses the koruna.
I agree with your idea about really "feeling" a place. I don't care for trips that hit the major cities of several countries; my preference is to stay in one country and see a mix of major cities and smaller towns. How about spending the whole time in the Czech Republic? There are a number of historic towns that merit visits. For the southern part of the country, you might pick a city like Tabor as your base and make day trips to towns such as Cesky Krumlov and Trebon. West of Prague there are several spa towns that are worth a look, along with my favorite little castle town, Loket. This is easy to do by rental car. Just look through a variety of guide books to the Czech Republic and design your own trip.
You can do a circle route from Prague down to Budapest and back to Vienna. We also did an overnight train from Prague to Budapest on that trip. But Krakow sounds good too, as does spending time in the Czech countryside. Depends on what you want to see. We chose to spend our time in Prague and Budapest seeing those cities, having not seen them before, but less in Vienna, since it was our third visit, and instead spent more time along the Danube, staying in little villages and bicycling along its banks.
Are you into cars? How about the Skoda factory and museum at Mlada Boleslav? It's one of the oldest car manufacturers in the world (and now a Volkswagen subsidiary). From there continue onwards to Liberec, side trip to Spindleruv Mlyn area, spend a day or two in the Krkonossky national park, climb Mt. Schneekoppe (Snezka in Czech) from where you can enjoy a spectacular view over the Silesian plains (Poland). Then continue onwards to Zittau, Germany, spend a night, visit Oybin castle. Then on to Görlitz where you can again cross into Poland as well. From there go to Dresden (one day at least) and then follow the Elb river upstream via Swiss Saxony (great in winter, too) back to the Czech Republic and Prague.
Hi Jay,
I think that either October or November would be great times to travel--colder in November of course, but still o.k.
I think that you could cover Prague in 3 days. You've already gotten some great suggestions about where to go from there. You could also consider taking the train to Berlin (6 hour trip) with a stopover in Dresden.
With discount airlines and 2 1/2 weeks there are lots of options. Check airline possibilities at www.flylc.com
