Hello
Looking at the above and not sure which direction to go in - where to land etc. Thought of travelling by train at this time of year.
We are from Australia (also Budapest could be in there as well but again not sure of direction or length of stays). Sounds like Seefeld would be a good base though.
Any ideas appreciated.
Leanne
Im really biased but I would start in Italy and end in Budapest. http://goo.gl/maps/RgOM8 For a month it looks like a pretty nice trip. But since you are going from Prague to Budapest you might consider stopping in Cesky Krumlov, Vienna and Gyor on the way to Budapest. Oh, why does my bias impact all of this? I love Budapest and I can’t think of a better place do decompress after a long trip. Two or three times a year we take trips like, London/Budapest, Paris/Budapest, Romania/Budapest, Bulgaria/Budapest, Slovakia/Budapest, Czech Rep/Budapest, etc/Budapest. Its Budapest where we sit with great food in great surroundings and relive the previous destinations. Since you said December you might want to investigate all the Christmas markets in Central Europe and plan you trip with those in mind. If you are into classical music, opera, theater, etc then it is also a great time for that.
To make it logistically as easy as possible for train travel I would fly open jaw: to Munich and back from Budapest. There will be Christmas markets in every city you want to visit. As a day trip from Munich you can do Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria. I heard that one of the best Christmas markets is in Nurnberg. You can stop there on the way to Berlin. Then to Prague. Northern Italy is somehow out of your way so if possible I would replace it with Vienna (has one of the best Christmas markets, too). So: Munich, (Nurnberg), Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest. For train time table check Deutsche Bahn website. If you want to visit some picturesque small town besides big cities go from Prague to Vienna via Cesky Krumlov and stay one night there.
Hi,
Based on your itinerary listed with regard to where to arrive from Australia, I would choose Munich. First of all, a great airport and city in which upon arrival to get adjusted, and from Munich Hbf. access to all what you've got listed, direct too: Munich-Budapest, Munich-Berlin, Munich-Venice, Munich-Prague.
If you are considering an open jaw flight, I suggest departing from Berlin since that's the most northern point of the trip after swinging east and north. If not, depart also from Munich, depending...
I'd probably pick Berlin as one end of your trip and Milan as the other (but I'd change the Italian city based on where I found the best flight deal into or out of). I'd pick my direction, since it's all in December, based on the better flight options.
This time of year I'd prefer the train. The weather is unpredictable in winter and Brisbane doesn't prepare you very well for winter driving.
For length of stays, I always look at guidebooks to get an idea what I want to see. I schedule only two major sights in a day but keep a list of lesser sights I might like to see if I have time. I normally divided my must-sees by two, the number of days I want to stay, and add one, the number of nights I need to stay to have that many days.
Remember days will be quite short this time of year.
Count the days on either side as travel days. Even if your travel leg is pretty short, a large part of your day will be consumed by packing, checking out, getting to the station, catching the train, making connections, getting to your next hotel, checking in, and unpacking/getting settled. Sometimes you will have enough time to see a sight on arrival day, but it's better not to plan for it.
