July - Munich/Slazburg/Vienna - Driving Trip

Take the train. The scenery is about the same, whether you go by auto or rail. All three of those cities are nightmare for driving and finding parking, unless you can be assured that your lodging provides parking.

Thanks for the thoughts on not driving.

We really had thought that we wouldn't drive once we're at the cities, but just to get there.

We felt that driving would allow for the ability to see more and experience more along the way by stopping at various towns and whenever we wanted to take some pictures. If we took the train it would be difficult to get off alot along the way and because we'd have our luggage, felt it would be less manageable.

gary

OK, I've read through some of the threads from the other similar questions and found quite a variety of opinions (which is good to hear as many experiences as possible).

What I have basically found the themes to be are:

1) When the autobahn is running smoothly it's good. When there's an accident, it's REALLY bad.

2) The trains are a good option, but they may or may not accommodate luggage, and it still would be a hassle if you want to get off a few times to visit anything.

3) Don't drive in the cities (which don't plan on other to get to the hotel)

Yes, we do have that "New England" driving mentality, but it's what we enjoy doing. Hitting the backroads and stopping along the way. We fully expected to take what we were told is a 2 hour drive from Munich to Slazburg on the autobahn, and turning it into more. Maybe 4 hours, 6 hours? Who knows as long as it's fun.

So who out there has gone off the autobahn for some unique routes? What problems might you have found? Good routes you'd share?

Thanks!

gary

If you do drive, definitely hit the Salkammergut region outside of Salzburg. It's got all that pretty scenery from the Sound of Music -- mountains, lakes, that kind of stuff. Lots of quaint towns, too.

Gary, if driving is your idea of a fun trip, then by all means you should do it! It's your time and money. If your idea of a trip is to meander along and stop at anything that looks interesting, not sticking to a fixed timetable, then driving is the way to go. There are some pretty rabid anti-automobile folks here, but car vs train has it's points on both sides.

I can't help you in Austria as far as driving goes, but the tip about the Salzkammergut is spot on. I would also include Berchtesgaden. This past spring I rented a car for the first tiem and drove the Romantic road from Munich to Würzburg and I really enjoyed the freedom to stop where I wanted to at any town that looked interesting. We even stopped and bought some homemade food items at a roadside stand.

This is all great info!! Thanks Maureen and Steve!

I do agree that there are advantages with either mode of transportation, but driving just sounds like too much fun if I can find the right paths.

gary

I'm one of those "rabid" rail fans. We've been to Europe more than 40 times and NEVER driven. The trains are so easy. Luggage is not a problem if you pack light. We take one "carry on" each and one day pack- which keeps getting smaller and smaller. Each of our suitcaes weighs less than 15 lbs. My hubby's usually weighs in about 7 lbs! That makes getting on/off trains very easy. Austria is great by train. We like to relax and let "someone else" do the driving. If you decide to drive- you need to realize that parking is a nightmare and often very, very expensive in Europe. Gas is also EXTREMLY expensive.

Greetings all

I must apologize. It has correctly pointed out to me that I mistakenly added an "h" at the end of Salzburg in the subject title. I must have been typing too fast as I generally don't as you will find in some of my other posts.

Sorry about that!

Dear Gary,
I hope this resource helps you out:
http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/viamichelin/gbr/tpl/hme/MaHomePage.htm?redirect=true
It's a great site!
You might want to consider driving parts of the way on the Autobahn, and part of the way on the secondary roads.

How are the windchills in NH? I lived in NH for many years :-))
Corinna

Hi Corrina

What a cool site. Haven't been there before but will play with it some more. Thanks!

Winds are picking up in New Hampshire as another front comes through. Tonight we're expecting to be around -5 where we are, but getting kind of used to it.

Hi Gary,

I came across this link,
thought it might be of interest to you:

http://www.austria.info/xxl/_site/us/_area/417411/_subArea/415558/_subArea2/415550/_aid/302681/dreamroutesaustria.html

hope you have your snowshovel at the ready ;-))

I can't help you on the routes. I just wanted to tell you my husband and me went to Munich Sept. '06. We rented a car at the airport when we landed.

We spent a few nights in Munich and then drove to the following:

Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Garmisch, Zugspitz, Oberamgau (sp?), Eagle's Nest, Salzburg, Venice and back to Munich.

We did this trip in just over 3 weeks. We were able to stop whenever we wanted to "smell the roses" and took hundreds of photos at out-of-the ways spots we would never have seen from a train.

We are returning to Bavaria again this Sept/Oct and renting a car. We intend to visit areas we didn't visit before.

To let you know the conditions of the autobahn (massive congestion) in the various areas you might be passing through - use this handy school vacation calendar website.
http://www.holidays-info.com/School-Holidays-Germany/2009/school-holidays_2009.html

Go to each towns tourist website to get an overview of fests, concerts, special museum showings, etc.

Gary,
Jo makes an excellent point! July is the beginning of summer vacation in Europe. The traffic can be horrendous as families head out for vacation. Do check the links she has provided.