Munich to Venice

"I feel like we would be on the road almost every day and I'm not sure I want that.' Possibly your inner self is trying to tell you something? Many travelers to Europe prefer not to be on the road every day.

You say you have two weeks and only mention two town: Munich and Venice. You are totally silent as to what, if anything, constitutes Italy. If it is strictly northern Italy like Lugano, Lake Como, Milan and Venice, you have time for Munich and perhaps a day trip to Fussen. If you are venturing further south in Italy, forget it.

We plan to fly into Munich on May 4, Bolzano May 7 and Venice May 8. We will be meeting a small group of friends in Florence May 10 for three days, see a few hill towns in Tuscany/Umbria and travel on to Rome where we will fly out May 21. We have never been in Germany and are tossing around having a few days there before meeting the group. We weren't sure we could see much in that time period and wondered if having a taste of Germany would be worth the effort. Thanks to both of you for responding.

Hi Martha, My opinion is you have the time. Munich to Bolzano is about 4 to 5 hours, so why not spend a night or two along the way. You could easily spend the 5th and 6th in say Mittenwald or Garmisch (we prefer Mittenwald) areabefore heading on to Bolzano. Also, the "logical" route from Munich to Bolzano would be via G-P, Mittenwald, Innsbruck. Bolzano to Venice is just a couple of hours also. Paul

Thanks for the encouraging post Paul! Do you have any hotel/inn/b&b suggestions?

Actually, ViaMichelin gives three routes from Munich to Innsbruck, the "quickest", the "shortest", and "sightseeing". The quickest, 1 hr 39 min is the route the train follows, to Rosenheim, then up the Inn to Innsbruck. I've been on most of that route, and it is not particularly scenic. The shortest, 2 hr 42 min, Munich to Garmisch-P, then to Mittenwald and over the pass at Seefeld, AT, and down to Innsbruck. Not particularly scenic until you get to Ga-P. Mittenwald is fairly pretty, but, IMHO, a little too touristy. Lastly, the sightseeing route, 2 hr 6 min, straight south out of Munich to Holzkirchen, then Bad Tölz and over Achen Pass meeting the Inn around Jenbach. I've been on the Holzkirchen to Bad Tölz part of this route and thought it was scenic. Finally, a combination of the last 2, Munich to Holzkirchen, Bad Tölz, Kochelsee, Walchensee, to Mittenwald. Then via Seefeld to Innsbruck. That would be the most scenic route if you wanted to see Mittenwald.

Thanks Lee! This is very helpful!

Hi Martha, In Mittenwald we stayed twice at the Pension Schwalbennestl. Basic, clean rooms, good buffet breakfast and terrific location with great views of the Alps. www.schwalbennestl.de The site is in German but you can e-mail in English. http://www.worldisround.com/articles/324763/index.html Paul

Martha- In March of 2010 my parents and I took the train from Venice to Munich. It took 8 hours, but we loved every second of it. Talk about gorgeous. Mountains, Vineyards, Castles, Brenner Pass. Absolutely breathtaking. Just a thought!

You didn't say how long you want to stay in Munich or how much time you want to take getting to Venice. To give you an idea, we landed in Frankfurt and drove to Innsbruck for our first stop so you should not have a problem leaving from Munich. We left Innsbruck for Venice with a few hour stop in San Martino di Lipari. We also made a few other stops. Taking a wrong turn and not paying attention to road signs put us into Venice a little later than we would have liked. I would not be concerned about being in the car too much between Munich and Venice.

It appears that you have the arrival day, 4th, and three more prior the the 8th in Venice. You don't say why you are going to Bolzano. All the prior suggestions will have you firmly ensconced in either a train or car part of most every day. If that is what you want and a "stop in Bavaria" is train/car travel, they are good plans. However, it would be less hectic to spend a couple of days in Munich, then train to Bolzano (assuming that is a high priority), then train to Venice.