2 month trip May & June

[rheajayde]

Hi!
So, Ive got a rough idea of the places I want to visit but not really sure how to make them fit into a logical route lol.
Im in Paris working so I leave from Paris

So far its something like this
Amsterdam 3 days (if i havent done a weekend trip there already)
Hamburg 2 days
Berlin 3 days
Krakow 4 days
Prague 4 days
+Cesky Krumlov day trip
Vienna 3 days
+Salzburg day trip
+Bratislava day trip
Budapest 4 days
Innsbruck 1 day (in transit)
Munich 2 days
Luzern 3 days
Interlaken/Grindelwald area 3 days
Lausanne 3 days
+Geneva Day trip
Fly to Florence 1 day then train to Rome 4 days
Ferry to Dubrovnik 2 days
Sarajevo 1 day(in transit)
Split 2 days
+Trip to an Island (Hvar?)
Zagreb or Rjeka 1 day (in transit)
Ljubljana 2 days
+Bled Day trip (better to stay in bled or Ljublijana?)

Total 50-55 days

I would like to see Scandanavia too but don't know anything about it other than the captial cities.
It is possible I will do another trip in mid September, would it be better to do Scandanavia then or in Late June?
I would like Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Latvia, Estonia

So any feedback regarding how I should route it, I would like to avoid Austria during FIFA and also try and be in Croatia mid to late June so that the ferries are all running etc.

I've already been to Spain, Belgium and Venice so thats why they are skipped over.
thanks for any input!

[herrbert]

Hi Rheajayde,

I think you are already on the right track, so just some ideas:

Prague 4 days
+Cesky Krumlov day trip
Vienna 3 days
+Salzburg day trip

Vienna needs enough time, and a would use 4 days to see Vienna. If you are gonna take the daytrips to Cesky Krumlov, and Salzburg, I would suggest to not do these as daytrips but to stay one night in Cesky, and one (or maybe two) in Salzburg. And to see them as part of your route.

Go Prague - Cesky Krumlow - Salzburg - Vienna.

If you travel in the summer, you can make a daytrip from Salzburg to Werfen, and visit the castle at Hohenwerfen, and the beautiful Ice Caves, in the mountains: www.eisriesenwelt.at

In Vienna you can hop on a boat to Bratislava, it takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes. www.twincityliner.com/english/fahrplan.shtml

I don't see how Innsbruck fits in as being in transit towards Munich. If you like the mountains, then know that Austria is a bit cheaper as Switzerland, and offers just as beautiful views. (My favourites are the Hohe Tauern region, which might be a bit harder to get to, and Imst.)

I would take some more time in some places, and maybe a little less in others. Like I said, in my opinion Vienna really needs at least 4 days (without daytrips), Berlin really is a big city, with the sights and attractions spread out over the entire city, so I would also give 4 days to Berlin. Florence also can do with a little more time (esp. if you want to visit one of more of the museums)

You will find that Gimmelwald is the favourite place of most on this forum for seeing Switzerland.

From Dubrovnik, it is also possible to fit in the town of Mostar. And maybe it is worth to give some time to the region of Istria, on the coast in the North.

[rheajayde]

I've been to Vienna already, so that's why I only have 3 days there. All the + daytrip are extra on top of the city's days.. so total for Vienna is 5.. so prague is 4 plus one extra for cesky krumlov..
Florence -I am not at all intertested in art, only modern art, so Maybe one museum and the tower, hence the short time.
Innsbruck I just sort of threw in, so im not fussed whether i miss that or not..
How expensive are night trains in eastern europe... ? I am going to venice next weekend and using a nightrain from Paris it cost 75 Euro. Is this average?

Ive been looking into trains for the first route.. so ive got this..using mainly night trains
Hamburg to Berlin
Berlin to Krakow (O/n train)
Krakow to Prague (O/n train)
Prague to Budapest (O/n train)
Budapest to Vienna
Vienna to Munich (possibility via salzburg)
Munich to *Switzerland, not sure of swiss itinerary yet roughly 1 1/2 - 2 weeks (east to west)
Fly to Rome or Florence, from Geneva (easyjet & flybaboo)
Rome to Bari for ferry to Dubrovnik (or flights if its in season)
Dubrovnik to Split **Does the bus go via Sarajevo? I've heard it does.. Would like to visit there. even just a few hours in transit.
Split to Rjeka or Zagreb **Which?
Zagreb/Rjeka to Ljubljana *staying in Bled or Ljubljana?

Am i out of days yet? lol
Portugal and Scandanavia are bonus if i can

[herrbert]

I am not so sure about prices of nighttrains, I can't sleep on them, so I don't use them. If you are gonna do all of this by train, then you need to look for a railpass anyway, but you still need to pay extra for the reservation and the bed (couchette). I think that if you use p2p-tickets, 75 euros is a normal price, but other might be more up-to-date with this.

You can check if there are cheap flights available for these routes, if you can have a flight in the morning or evening, you'll still have half the day left to see something.

I did a bit of Scandinavia last year (Helsinki w/daytrip to Porvoo - Türkü - Stockholm - Copenhagen), and I liked it but it also is expensive. As you see i only have seen the bigger cities, and out of them i liked Helsinki the best. Judging to you other plans, it might be better to don't go there now, and keep it for a future trip. I did my trip at the beginning of September, and already a lot of attractions (like Skansen in Stockholm) didn't offer all the things they do in peakseason anymore.

From Paris CDG it should be possible to take a flight to Lisbon, with Easyjet, so maybe you can visit Portugal as a short trip. (maybe only Lisbon, but it's better than nothing )

P.S. for modern art: did you visited the Mumok in Vienna, when you where there? if not do it this time.

[rheajayde]

Yes Ive been trying to remember the name of that site where you can enter point to point destinations and it calculates for you, versus a rail pass. I was thinking maybe a 10 in 2 month pass would be sufficient but since it doesnt cover Poland/Croatia etc
I like the concept of night trains and like i said, i dont need much sleep, plane travel makes me more tired actually.
I am leaving scandanavia for another trip, maybe September.
No I didnt visit the Mumok. Perhaps this time.
Lisbon I am doing a trip to in late March so thats covered

Does the itinerary look doable?

[herrbert]

I think you mean www.railsaver.com. But remember that it an American based website, so it might recommend railpasses that can only be ordered from the US and Canada. As you are based in Paris, it can happen that you need to order from a site like www.interrail.net/

The initerary looks doable, but did you took a look at the time you need for travel? (e.g. at www.bahn.de (you can change the language to English) It can give you timetables from all over Europe, Also take a good look at the ferry to Dubrovnik. (maybe you can get an overnight ferry) which again saves you sightseeing time, but can also be expensive if you require a cabin.

Also Krakow, is a bit out of the way as far as the traveling bit is concerned, it takes some time to get there, and go to Prague, so take into consideration that it might also be a good thing to perhaps take a cheap flight from places further away, then Berlin in Prague (although it looks more logical on the map)

Haven't been to Croatia/Bosnia/Slovenia yet, so maybe some one else can fill in, if you need more time to travel here.

[rheajayde]

yep thats the one i want. Thanks

I can;t find the overnight prices for Berlin to Krakow, Krakow to Prague, and Munich to Luzern. At the moment it seems a rail pass is not beneficial but that is without the above train prices so i dont know for sure yet. Are these places not able to be booked online because they are international trips?

I have looked into depth the time travel, that is the initial part of my planning, which is why i am taking night trains for the long distance trips. I don't have a problem with them.
I have a Eurail Train timetable from another trip to give me the times.

I had a look already for the dubrovnik Ferry yes, and the overnight one leaves from Bari at 22h30

Krakow is one of my must sees so i am not bothered by the time travel to get there
*railsaver lists Berlin to Krakow P2P ticket as $69 so thats roughly 30euro plus the reservation of 20euro so using that as a guide compared to my paris to venice 75 euro overnight train fare, it sounds normal.

I was thinking the half fare card for switzerland would be good, but still have to work out the total cost of transport for switzerland.