My band is performing at a Festival near Hamburg, Germany at the end of July. My wife will be traveling with me and we would like to see some of Europe in the 10 days we will be there afterward. Neither of us has been to Europe. I am looking for travel, accommodation, and itinerary advice. Flying in to Amsterdam, returning flight is out of Paris. We will have a day or two in AMS before playing the show in Brande, Germany. We have roughly 10 days after in which we are on our own. From Hamburg I was thinking about visiting Berlin, then Prague. I would like to go back through Switzerland to Paris. I was considering a Eurail Saver Pass, but we like to do back roads (around US, at least) and take side trips if they sound interesting. I priced a car rental from AutoEurope and it was very reasonable and we could pack a bit heavier (but considering fuel and driving is Switz..not sure). As far as accommodations, I am open. I have even considered going the full experience and renting a car and packing some camping gear. Anyone have any ideas? I realize this is very general. I haven't planned anything, and we may just end up winging it (although I have had unpleasant experiences doing this in the past) ;) Thanks in advance!!!
Posted by
California USA
4103 posts
Is this trip starting in two weeks or in 2012?
Posted by
OP
Evergreen, CO, USA
6 posts
Thanks for your response. This is in two weeks! I am sure that it will all work out fine, whatever we do. I will just be happy to be visiting other countries! I have thought about it some more, and a friend in Germany recommended we visit Sylt since we will be close. I might shorten the Berlin sightseeing. I noticed that the Eurail ride and drive was pretty reasonable, and looked like a good deal. This gives you train transport for the long hauls, and auto rental options once in the city. I am think we will visit Sylt overnight via car rental from Hamburg, then return the car to Hamburg where we will start using our Eurail and travel to Berlin. Then to Prague. From Prague to Switz and ride the Jungfrau train. From there we will finish up in Paris and fly out from there. I could possibly push the flight back a day or two. I know some will say we are trying to do too much, and this amount of time is not enough to see everything, but honestly, I don't think there is ever enough time to see everything... If we are able to get a taste of several things, we will have a great time. Brice
Posted by
California USA
4103 posts
I think that your clockwise circle is too big for 10 days of travel. You will spend nearly 5 of the 10 days seeing scenery from the car or train. Maybe you could look at casting a much smaller circle and still have some of the experiences that you want. Germany city exploring could be more time in Hamburg or off to Berlin, mountain experience could be in Garmish-P still in Germany, on to Paris for some sightseeing and your flight home. At this late date I'm not sure that you could get a Eurail Pass, saver 4 country pass, 5 days of travel, for about $465 each delivered to you before you depart, you'd need to check on expedited shipping. If you consider car rental don't forget to factor in the price of gasoline which I believe will be >$8 per gallon. You can get a good idea for driving distances and fuel cost from www.viamichelin.com. You can get a good idea about point to point train tickets from the DBahn website http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en. Good luck with your planning. We are off to Europe next week.
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9371 posts
For a ten day trip, I wouldn't consider packing camping gear. You're already going to have band gear, right? If the car rental seems reasonable to you, you can plan the legs of your trip at www.viamichelin. com to get an idea of how long each drive would be. Once you look at how far everything is (as well as estimated fuel costs and tolls), you'll have a better idea of what you can do in the time you have. I think I would skip Switzerland on this trip. It's expensive, and you will find plenty to interest you in Germany, Czech Republic, and France.
Posted by
Grand Falls-Windsor, NL, Canada
307 posts
Yeah pretty short notice to make any major plan, and perhaps accommodations is going to be your main issue, given that your traveling during peak tourist season and haven't booked anything yet. A couple things to keep in mind...Berlin is a great city, as is Prague, but its a long journey from one to the other so with only 10 days, you want to try and maximize your time and not spend it all traveling from point A to point B. Driving in Europe is as easy as driving in North America, so I wouldn't be too concerned if you want to drive yourselves, keep in mind that a number of car rental agencies won't allow you to take the car into eastern Europe( eg Czech Republic)... with 10 days and first time to Europe I think I might try to focus on Austria, Switzerland and southern Germany as this part of Europe is stunning( although ALL of Europe is worth seeing! )... you could easily spend 2-3 days in the Berner Oberland area of Switzerland, which has a definite WOW!!! factor......
My Europe travel has been primarily by train, although I did rent a car in Innsbruck Austria to travel around southern Germany( Neuschwanstein Castle area) and northern Italy..
Posted by
OP
Evergreen, CO, USA
6 posts
It appears that the train from Berlin to Prague is only 4h 45m. Maybe this is long for some people. This is not very long for me. If we travel late, we should be able to catch a bit of sleep on the train (maybe)... or even better, I have heard that this train is a really pretty ride. Maybe we do this in the evening to catch the sunset.
Posted by
OP
Evergreen, CO, USA
6 posts
Glenn, thanks for that advice. Bernese Oberland looks awesome. Maybe stay in Interlaken and do the Jungfrau from there. Maybe we have to extend a day or two ;)