Help! Vienna or Salzburg?

Wow! That itinerary wears me out just reading it! I think your instinct to cover a little less ground is probably a good one. As too whether to cut out Vienna or Salzburg, I am a bit biased because I live in Vienna and love the place. It depends what you are in the mood for. A typical 1 or 1 1/2 day stop in Vienna probably means just downtown Vienna with its great Cathedral, Hapsburg palace, world class museums and sidewalk cafe's, etc. Very nice. But you will already be doing the big city thing in Munich and Prague. On the other hand, if the weather is fine, Salzurg offers breathtaking scenery, a glimpse of nature, and one of the best hilltop castles in Europe. Salzburg might diversify your trip a bit. One thing I want to mention: The UEFA Cup European soccer championships will be held in Austria & Switzerland all through JUNE. Accomodations in either Vienna or Salzburg may be tough to find. Book well in advance! Happy travels and good luck!

Kristen, I have to agree with Thomas. That's a "busy" Itinerary for a 14-day visit!!! How many days were you planning to spend in each city? Planning to see a maximum of seven cities in two weeks (plus transportation times) is going to be a challenge! I'm especially wondering about a side trip to the Amalfi coast?

While this Itinerary might be feasible, I suspect things might be quite busy in June and with such a limited time it doesn't provide much leeway for "unexpected delays" in transportation (which can happen very suddenly in Italy).

Perhaps this will be possible? It will be interesting to see some further opinions.

Good luck!

That's way too ambitious for a 14 day trip. Since Thomas mentioned the difficulty of getting a room during the UEFA Cup, I would just skip Austria totally (sad to say). The MOST cities I would plan for a 14 day trip would be 4. Remember that finding your hotel, packing/unpacking, getting to the train station, etc., all take plenty of time. Far better to come back with fond memories than pictures of all the train stations that you've been to. When planning, look at your guidebooks. Many larger cities have other, smaller cities that can be reached as a day trip, thereby stretching your stay in a city. Two suggestions: First, Munich, Venice, and Rome. Second, Munich (with a day trip to Salzburg), the Romantic Road, a stop in Baden-Baden for a recharge, then see the Rhine/Mosel area, flying out of Frankfurt.

Geez! Ok, I LOVE the feedback- I am pouting over possibly eliminating Austria altogether and regrouping with a new itinerary......

Don't cut out Salzburg ! It's an amazing place and everyone I've spoken to has loved it too. although I really enjoyed Vienna. I think you can do that trip. I did Rome, Vienna, Drove to Hallstatt, Salzburg, Germany, Paris, Dublin, London, Zurick, Home. I'm glad I covered as much as I could. That way I know where I want to go on my next trip.

Drop the credit card, step away from the map, and take a deep breath.

You're talkin' crazy stuff here. Prague + Germany + Austria + Italy...in 14 days = bad craziness.

Pick 2 countries here, not 4. If you want to rush from one place to another, pick 2 countries with a blurry side-trip to a third.

My advice would be to cut Italy entirely; it deserves more time, and it's not going anywhere - it'll still be Italy when you can get there. Can't bear the idea of skipping Italy? OK, then certainly cut the Amalfi coast AND Prague - both are out of the way. Yes, by US standards, things in Europe are somewhat closer together, but it still takes the better part of a day to go from any of these places to another (even from Salzburg to Vienna, when you figure in time to pack, check out, schlepp to the train station, take the train, find you hotel, etc. - that's at least half of the day, and you'll be exhausted after a few days of this and you'll just want to take a nap. Slow down!

I'm a little partial to Austria too. I spent 3 1/2 months in Vienna in 2004 and will be returning this summer for a few weeks. I traveled with a family of 5 to Salzburg to Bavaria and Neuschwainstein Castle to Rothenburg up the Rhine to Cologne. That was about one week. My rule of thumb was to use one day for travel and small sightseeing upon arrival and then the next day seeing the city. All of these cities could use more time but I still feel like I got to experience each one. We stayed 2 nights in each place. Granted I had 3 kids (one was 6) so we moved a little slower. I used the train time for resting. Vienna is a great city and there is so much history there. You can really understand the Hapsburg's influence on Europe. But, if it is crowded because of the soccer matches - it might be miserable to try to see it in a short time. I would personally skip Munich (even though I loved it) before I would skip Austria. Salzburg is lovely but it is the small town not big city

I love Germany, Austria and Switzerland so I would spend more time in each place and enjoy my vacation. Stay at least two nights in each place. I would fly into Munich and use it as base for three nights. Take day trips to the castles, Dachau, see Munich and do the third reich tour or the beer tour. Rent a car and drive to Rothenburg for one night and do the nightwachman tour. Drive to Salzburg and spend three nights. See castle and old town, and do the sound of Music tour. Drive to Berchesgarden and see the saltmine and do the eagles next tour. Drive to Venice and stay three nights. There is lots to see in Venice. I love the Doggs Palace and having a coffee in the square. Fly out of Venice. Have a fun trip whatever you do.

I, too, would agree with cutting Italy entirely. Fourteen days for Munich, Austria and Prague is definitely doable. I did that trip with my parents a few years ago, and it worked out really well. Italy is a trip itself. Save that for your next big trip!

Italy is wonderful but I suggest that you save it for later when you can do it properly.

Do not cut Vienna, Salzberg or Prague - especially if you will not be able to get back to that area for some time Add Rothenburg if you can.

Salzburg is great and close to Munich. Vienna is a long way East and will take time. If you don't do Vienna you can probably keep short visits to Salzburg and Rothenburg.

Rome takes time because there is so much to see, getting a good Rome visit and Amalfi into the schedule may also be hard.

Kristen, you can make that itinerary work, but it will take a ton of planning and a can-do attitude. Personally, I'd cut out Prague and Vienna and combine that with another 14-day trip that would also include Berlin, Dresden and Budapest.

But if you want to make this work you'll need to do the following. Take night trains whenever possible to maximize your transit time and sleeping time. If you don't want to take night trains then flying is a must. But you still might end up spending a good portion of a day flying from Prague to Venice when you take into account transit time to and from the airport.

Also, you should be willing to spend a premium to be efficient. Take the fastest route, not the cheapest.

I did a 13-day trip starting in Munich, to Salzburg, Venice, Siena, Cinque Terre and Milan with stops in Ravenna and Pisa. I didn't feel rushed, but I know a lot of people on this website might have been. Still, I'd recommend saving Prague and Vienna for another trip.

Woah...that is quite ambitious. If you suspect it might be your only trip to Europe, it might be worth it, but if you can, drop some cities and take it a little easier. Rome needs a week of its own, therefore Italy needs its own trip.

I'm planning my own trip this fall, with a somewhat similar itinerary, so I've put thought into many of the same questions you're asking. My decision was Munich, Venice, and Vienna, with plenty of time relaxing in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (a solid week, with two day trips to Berchtesgaden and Rothenburg) to relax between Munich and Venice.

If I might make a suggestion, go to Bratislava instead of Prague. Two reasons. First, Slovakia's not on the Euro (yet), so Bratislava will give you the Eastern European Capital experience a lot cheaper (and less touristy) than Prague. Second, if you're already going to Vienna, Vienna and Bratislava are the two closest European Capitals at about 30 miles separation, so you won't waste an entire day traveling. My parents have been to both Bratislava and Prague, and they say Prague's been "ruined by tourists", while Bratislava's still relatively pristine.

I'd go to Bratislava only if I was interested in checking off European capitals - there just isn't enough to see or do in that city to warrant a day off a very busy schedule. On the other hand it is only a short train/bus ride away from Vienna, that it may be worthwhile for some. The savings with Slovak koruny just aren't in the cards.
If you have to get out of town for a day, let me suggest the Burgenland region east of Vienna - a huge nature-filled lake (Neusiedlersee), vinyards, and a very Hungarian-appearing atmosphere with attendant cuisine and culture. Little wonder - until 1921 this state was part of Hungary (as was Bratislava).