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Prague Budapest Vienna Salzburg Geneva

Hi all, Im new to the forum and Im planning my first ever Europe trip. Hope you can help me with my queries. I am going on an 18-day trip. I plan to fly from London to prague then make my way to Geneva. Is the following the best route? London-Prague-Budapest-Vienna-Salzburg-Geneva? I have roughly made my tentative itinerary. May 1-4 Prague 4-6-Budapest 6-8 Vienna 8-12 Salzburg and hallstatt (visiting a friend) Night train to Geneva
13-18 Geneva and nearby towns. I am flying out of Geneva on the 18th. Is the above the best route? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Posted by
257 posts

the route look good, but it will take about eight hours train from Salzburg to Geneva. You might want to consider making a stop in between or fly.

Posted by
17634 posts

Lets see if I understand: On May 1st you are arriving in Prague. So: May 1 Half day at best in Prague and you are pooped out from the trip. May 2 Your first real day in Prague. Great May 3 Another real day in Prague, great May 4 You are going to spend 7 hours on a train to Budapest. You arrive late in the day and pooped out from the trip. May 5 Your first real day in Budapest May 6 Now you are back tracking on a 3.5 hour train to Vienna. Not bad. You get a half day in Vienna. May 7 Vienna May 8 You leave Vienna for Salzburg so you get a half day in Salzburg May 9 Your first full day in Salzburg May 10 Visit your friend May 11 Maybe still visiting? May 12 Still in Salzburg May 13 Arrive Geneva pooped out because you cant really get a good nights sleep on a train.
May 14 etc. I am going to guess Switzerland has a great appeal to you. Everyone is different so my opinion means nothing unless you share some of my feelings on things. But for me I would go back and re-evaluate the trip. An awful lot of time traveling and not enough time on the ground. Your stay in both Vienna and Budapest is a little hurried. Skip one or the other; Budapest would be the most logical from a transportation point of view; or move some time from Switzerland and or Salzburg to Vienna and Budapest. At a minimum I would think most people would want two full days in each city. But that's just me.

Posted by
14481 posts

Hi, I know you're flying out of Geneva, but it seems to me you have alloted too many days for that city. A day and a half would suffice, but then I'm not interested in Switzerland. My suggestion is to shorten the stay in Geneva (or maybe even Prague) and add the extra time to Vienna or Budapest.

Posted by
6 posts

Hi Jen, This is going to be a great, diverse trip! I agree with the others that, especially if this is your first Europe trip, it seems ambitious. Although Salzburg has the appeal of the friend you're visiting and serves as a nice middle point between Vienna and Geneva, the town of Salzburg itself is, in my opinion, only ok. Even if you are a major Mozart fan and a major Sound of Music fan (I am both), there isn't a ton to do there. Two days, max. (Maybe you could skip it and your friend could meet you in Vienna?) Another thought: Prague, Budapest, and Vienna are all GREAT cities (and I have lived in two of them), each with its own unique character and charm. That said, I think you'd get more out of staying in one or two of them for longer and planning a return trip for the others. Doing all three on the same trip would probably start to feel a bit repetitive after a while. Enjoy!

Posted by
3 posts

hi all, thanks so much for your insights! I have decided to take out Budapest from my list. main goal for my trip is to be able to visit family and friends and spend time with them. I am indeed staying a bit longer in Geneva bec I am visiting my cousin and nephew. I will tweak my itinerary and post it again.