Here is my current plan for my husband and my trip to Europe this summer (he has never been)! It is an extended honeymoon. We like outdoorsy spots and try to avoid super touristy areas. Here is the current itinerary I have planned! I've never had to do this before, so I'm looking for any input I can get! Also, if you had an extra day or two within this itinerary, what would you do with it? I'm not sure where we will be staying in Switzerland. I am considering Gimmelwald (sounds neat) and Lauterbrunnen (more convenient). I like to get to know people when I travel. Any thoughts on where to stay? Day 0- Leave AM and fly to Zurich Day 1- Arrive Zurich (8:30am) and train to Lauterbrunnen (2.5-3 hours through Bern and Interlaken) Day 2- Lauterbrunnen Day 3-Lauterbrunnen Day 4-Lauterbrunnen Day 5- Lauterbrunnen to Salzburg (10 hours- through Interlaken, Bern, and Zurich for cheaper tickets) Day 6- Salzburg Day 7- Ice caves Day 8- Salzburg Day 9- Train to Munich (about 2 hours) Day 10- Munich Day 11- Fussen day trip Day 12- Dachau day trip Day 13- Munich Day 14- Train to Zurich airport and Fly Home One last thought: If I buy a Railpass it will be about $700-800 for both of us. If I buy tickets one at a time, it looks to be about $900-1,000. But, when you have a rail pass is that REALLY all you have to pay or are there a bunch of hidden charges? What if we miss a connecting train- will our pass cover us to catch the next one and not count as a trip? I have so many questions! Thank you for any advice you can offer! I love learning from other peoples' experience!
Posted by
Los Angeles, California
1986 posts
An extra day or two: consider; one of: Lucerne Vienna Rothenburg and/or another village on romantic road
Nuremburg
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
"If I buy tickets one at a time, it looks to be about $900-1,000." Where did you arrive at that figure? If it was through RailEurope, or EUrail, or some other 3rd party website, you need to recalculate using the various national rail websites- Deutsche Bahn for Germany, SBB for Switzerland, and ÖBB for Austria. If you can commit to buying tickets for certain trains in advanced, you can often get a substantial discount. You'll never see these fares of sites like RailEurope. Overall, though, looks like a reasonable plan. I would suggest that if possible, you fly open jaw out of Munich to avoid back-tracking.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33852 posts
I like it - that's a well thought out balanced holiday. I agree with Tom. Try adding the fares up again using his hints and DON'T use RailEurope's figures.