Switzerland/ southern Germany in 8-9 days

Munich in Oktoberfest and a tight budget don't go well together. However, I stayed in Landsberg am Lech the last night of Oktoberfest 2007, and they hadn't raised their rates. Landsberg is less than an hour from Munich Hbf by regional train, €21 RT with a Bayern-Ticket Single, which will also include any local transportation in Munich while you are there. When you go from Switzerland to Bavaria, you can get a Europa-Spezial fare ticket starting at €39. This ticket will take you from at least your last station in Switzerland to any station in Germany (that could be Landsberg, or Munich, or even Salzburg). Some locations in Switzerland (like Interlaken Ost) can be included on that Europa-Spezial fare, even if they require travel on one or more trains entirely in Switzerland. It might not even be necessary to go back to Zurich.

You have two choices in my opinion. Zurich to Lake Constance/Bodensee (including Mainau, Meersburg), north to Stuttgart (vibrant, modern city with lots of historical stuff), west to Strasbourg, then south through Basel/Mulhouse back to Zurich. OR you can head past Lake Constance, east to Munich, south towards Fuessen/Oberammergau/Garmisch, perhaps down to Innsbruck then west to Lucerne, then Zurich. Both ways give you some big city and small town experiences.

Keep in mind that travel from Zürich to Munich by train will take 4+ hours (there are direct trains with no changes if you like). To that you will add the travel time from your destination in Switzerland back to Zürich. If you really want to go to Oktoberfest, you should book your accommodations now, unless you wish to stay an hour away per Lee's suggestion. If you want to be in Munich and close to the Fest grounds, I suggest Hotel Uhland. They still have some single rooms available, in the range of 22 to 27 September, for 158 euro inc. breakfast. During mid-week you could stay for one or 2 nights rather than the 3-night minimum imposed on weekends. If you do 2 nights in Munich, you still have 6 or 7 for Switzerland. For maximum culture, history and nature, I suggest you head straight to Luzern from the Zürich airport. There are direct trains. With 2 or 3 nights there, you could spend a night or two up on rigi, which is a real treatnice hiking with views over the lake. Then head to the Berner Oberland (Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, or Mürren) for 3 nights. the challenge is going to be meeting your budget. Switzerland is expensive, especially Luzern. Chalet Fontana is a great budget option in Mürren which can offset to some extent the higher prices you will pay in Luzern and Munich. Also look at Hotel Alpina on Rigi. This makes a figure-8 trip> Zürich to Luzern, 1 hour; Luzern to Lauterbrunnen, about 2.5 hours; Lauterbrunnen back to Zürich via Bern, 2.5 hours; Zürich to Munich, 4 hours 10 minutes.

In Switzerland, nothing is cheap. But if you spend some time in Germany, you'll save enough to make it doable. You can take in Switzerland's best scenery in the Bernese Oberland. A trip from ZRH to Lauterbrunnen will cost you about 75 CHF, to Interlaken a little less. Head up to Mürren or Grindelwald for some great views. Consider a pricey ride to the top of the Schilthorn for an unbelievable view of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau peaks. www.schilthorn.ch/en/schilthorn/jb-breakfast/ L'brunnen hostel: www.valleyhostel.ch/pages/en/home.php?lang=EN From there, head north via Bern to Basel (about 63 CHF) and into Germany. The Black Forest is a great place to hike, mountainbike, and explore nature - and cheap too. 130 BF villages offer the free Konus Card, which gives you free train and bus travel throughout the BF: www.blackforest-tourism.com/konus List of participating villages: www.schwarzwald-tourismus.info/service/konus/was_ist_konus/uebersichtskarte/hier_erhalten_sie_ihre_konus_gaestekarte Private rooms are usually a great deal. I just returned from the BF where I had a pleasant single room with breakfast for 18 Euros/night in St. Georgen. I was here a couple years ago: www.bensbauernhof.com/hausliebermannloeffingen.html More choices: www.bensbauernhof.com/accommodationsschwarzwald.html Just north of the BF near Stuttgart, there's another "Oktoberfest" with lots of tents and lots of beer: www.cannstatter-volksfest.de/index.php?id=19&L=1 A B-W daypass will get you there, and back to the BF if you want: 21 Euros for one: www.bahn.com/i/view/GBR/en/prices/germany/laender-ticket.shtml To return from Stuttgart to Zurich for 19 Euros, get an advance-sale ticket (available 92 days in advance): http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

Personally I really loved both Zurich and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, so just wanted to throw it out there that they are great cities to stay in. If you are interested in Garmisch, I stayed in Hotel Mercure which I got for a really good rate (I think it was around 80 euro for two of us, somehow) and it included their delicious, amazing breakfast in the morning. The breakfast alone was probably worth 10 to 15 euro each. Very comfortable. It is quite a walk (with heavy suitcases) if you're thinking of walking from the train station, so you may want to choose a taxi. I enjoyed walking around the city and exploring some nature there, and you definitely have the opportunity to visit trails and springs around the area.