Burg Eltz go or not to go

Driving or by rail? Either way, I'd hit Burg Eltz right off the bat, Koblenz is only 1 1/2 hours from Frankfurt airport. After that its an easy route to Heidelberg and points south. Head north from Venice to Interlaken, then its a straight shot to Paris and on to London.

carol, The destinations you're planning to see cover quite a wide area, so it's challenging to find an efficient route. One possibility that you might consider would something like this.... > Fly inbound London > Paris > Interlaken (are you planning to stay IN Interlaken, or somewhere in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, which is what most of us here prefer) > Koblenz & Burg Eltz (it's about a 6 hour trip with one change from Interlaken to Koblenz, which isn't too bad IMO) > Rothenburg ODT (about 4 hours with 2 changes from Koblenz) > Munich > Berchtesgaden (are you planning to do this as a day trip, or actually stay in Berchtesgaden?) > Venice (train from Munich is a fairly easy trip - usually one change at Verona Porta Nuova - there's a direct train departing Munich at 11:31, arriving Venezia S.L. at 18:10, which is probably the one I'd use). > Flight home from Venice There are lots of ways this could be arranged. As the previous reply mentioned, are you planning to use public transport or drive? Some additional information would be helpful. Good luck with your planning!

I had planned to use public transport as most people I have talked to say the gas prices and parking costs will outweigh the convenience of having a car. I would consider driving if it would really make the trip flow bettr.

carol, Another Itinerary to consider..... > D1/Apr15 - depart YYZ (check prices for Air Transat and Canadian Affair) > D2/Apr16 - Arrive London > D3,D4/Apr17,18 - London > D5/Apr19 - EuroStar London to Paris (book EARLY for best prices - seat61.com for details) > D6,D7,D8/Apr20,21,22 - Paris > D9/Apr23 - Flight Paris to Venice - EasyJet (time 1H:40M, use 07:10 ORY departure or 11:10 CDG departure - current prices €61.48 PP for 23 Apr.) > D9,D10/Apr.24,25 - Venice > D11/Apr26 - Train Venezia S.L. to Munich (7H:35M, 1 change in Verona, use 08:50 departure?) > D12,D13,D14/Apr27,28,29 - Munich, day trip to Berchtesgaden, etc. > D15/Apr30 - Train to Rothenburg ODT (~2H:30M with 2 or 3 changes) > D16/May1 - Rothenburg > D17/May2 - Train to Koblenz (~4H, with 2 or 3 changes) > D18,D19,D20/May3,4,5 - Koblenz, day trip to Burg Eltz (transportation can be "challenging" - check http://burg-eltz.de/en.html for info - a Bus operates Sat., Sun, Holidays, so taking the train to Treis-Karden might be the best idea - train trip from Koblenz to T-K is ~30 minutes). > D21/May6 - Train to Frankfurt Airport, flight to YYZ (train from Koblenz directly to airport is about 1H:15M) There were too many places for a 3 week time frame, so I cut Interlaken because of the possible weather issues. If you really want to see Switzerland, something else will have to go (IMO). Frankfurt might be better for return flight, as it's a major hub and has LOTS of flights. I tend to use Air Canada most of the time, as they always have flights that fit my timing. However, in London they use LHR, which I try to avoid at any cost which is why I suggested the other airlines. Cheers!

Agree with Ken. The Interlaken area and perhaps Berchtesgaden are very low yield destinations in April. Plus, if you're headed from Munich to Venice (or vice-versa), the Berner Oberland is out of your way. However, your direct line of travel takes you through the Tyrolian and Italian Alps. They won't be at their best at this time of year either, but at least they're on your way, and not a far detour.

Your original itinerary looks like a variation of the RS 21 day Best Of Europe. I am assuming you are going with someone else, so I looked at train pricing based on 2. My thoughts would be spend 2 nights at Koblenz (or thereabouts), Heidelberg, Rothenburg, Interlaken, and 3 nights in the big towns, Munich, Venice, Paris and London. Head to Koblenz directly from Frankfurt airport. There is a 29 euro sparpreis, but 46.40 on a regional train and you don't worry about a delayed flight. From Koblenz you can go to Moselkern and hike up to Burg Eltz, or catch a bus from another town. 21.20 euro with a VRM minigroup day ticket. Heidelberg, 29 euro sparpreis. Rothenburg, 42 euro sparpreis. Munich, 26 euro Laender ticket I'd say do Berchtesgaden from Munich as a day trip. 26 euro fro 2 over and back using laender ticket. You can pick the day based on weather. Venice, 80 euro sparpreis on the EC direct. Interlaken, combination 18 euro supereconomy Frecca to Milan, then 80 chf connection bought in advance online from SBB. Paris, the biggee. 168 euro advance online purchase from TGV. London, $132 US purchased from Eurostar online well in advance.
Weather is always a crapshoot. That's a rundown of best case transportation cost. There will be local transport costs in the stopovers.

The London and Venice mix of flights would make a lot of sense since it keeps you moving in a general north-south direction. Your list of destinations sort of hopscotches all over the place. I always put a map of Europe on a cork board and put in map tacks where I want to go. Then I sequence the trip. I have a bias toward driving because of the flexibility it allows especially on the inevitable rainy days when the car will take you to your hotel, not the train station. Possibly just drive between Venice and Koblenz and take the train from Koblenz to Paris. North of Koblenz the scenery is nothing much except for the Cathedral in Cologne but between Koblenz and Venice you will be passing through some spectacular ares that are worth the occasional side trip or brief stop to savor what is in front of you. As for the cost of fuel, if you rent a diesel the cost of fuel isn't that great when you are getting 40 - 45 mpg. If you do drive, don't forget you need an IDP in Italy and Austria. Berg Eltz is a must see. It is truly unique in that; 1)It is the real thing 2)It has never been destroyed or reconstructed from ruins 3) It has been in the family von Eltz for some 32 or 33 generations so it is as real as it gets.

carol, The train is not only more relaxing, but also a more efficient use of your limited travel time. If you use fast trains as much as possible, that will reduce your travel times and allow more time at destinations for sightseeing. No cars can (legally) travel at 300 kmH, so fast trains are the way to go (IMO). Cheers!

Thanks to all for the great advice I had not thought I was hopscotching or if so only with the Venice portion? I have checked out the driving and compared to Toms' run down of costs and I must say the train sounds more relaxing.