Hi everyone. I would like some feedback about my rough itinerary for next May/June in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France. We have yet to narrow down if we will be going in May or June. My preference would be May, but based on my school schedule it will likely be early to mid June that we leave Columbus. Here is our rough itinerary: Fly into Frankfurt Frankfurt to Rothenburg Rothenburg through Romantic Road (Bavaria) Romantic Road to Munich Day trip from Munich to see castles Munich to Salzburg (day trip to Halstatt) Salzburg to Vienna Vienna to Luzern or Berner Oberland (night train?) Berner Oberland to Burgundy Burgundy to Paris
Fly home Our plans were to keep the trip to three weeks max. Are we cramming to much into one trip? I wasn't sold on Vienna but my husband wants to go there. What do you all recommend? Also - when is a good time to purchase flights if we plan on leaving in May/June next year? Current flights are between 1200 to 1400 which I didn't think was too bad. I would like to spend closer to 1200 or even less. We are flying from Columbus, OH to Munich and flying home from Paris to Columbus. Any suggestions are welcomed! Thanks!
Posted by
OP
Hilliard, OH
26 posts
No Kids!!!! Makes traveling easier. We have been to Europe before. At this time last year we went to Ireland and Italy for 18 days. We LOVED it and clearly caught the Europe travel bug:)
Posted by
San Francisco
14980 posts
Hi, For three weeks I would suggest going to Vienna. It is indeed awesome, it will be time well spent, save Switzerland for next time.
Posted by
OP
Hilliard, OH
26 posts
Thanks everyone. I have heard mixed things about Switzerland. That was actually the place I wanted to go the most! Unfortunately, I don't know when a next time will be. This is our last hurrah before starting a family. I wasn't sold on Vienna but my husband was. He will be very happy to hear this:)
Posted by
Portland, Oregon, United States
907 posts
Switzerland is beautiful. Austria as well, Vienna and Salzburg. Switzerland is expensive, very expensive but worth it. I loved Luzerne. Berner Oberland is Interlaken and fantastic Alps. I cannot recommend Switzerland enough, it is simply spectacular. We were in Switzerland in May and Munich the end of June. The weather was fine. A bit chilly in Munich but Switzerland weather was good. It could have been better for picture taking as the humidity made it hazy, but we loved it anyway.
Posted by
Ojai, CA
591 posts
If you decide to go to Vienna, think about spending a night in Hallstatt en route so you won't have to backtrack. It's a long haul from Vienna to Lucerne but I wouldn't recommend taking a night train for 2 reasons: 1) You will be missing some awesome scenery 2) It's difficult to really get a good night's sleep. Instead, you could break up the journey about half way and spend a night in Innsbruck.
I usually go to Europe in the late spring and start looking for flights about mid-January. Spring deals are sometimes offered in Jan & Feb.
Posted by
Fontainebleau, France
893 posts
I would encourage you to sketch it out day-by-day. How many days are you planning for each of those? You seem to have a lot of movement in your schedule: moving from one place to the next + day trips. You may want to alter your itinerary once you realize how much (or how little I should say) time you have to actually explore the places you really want to see.