Visiting Germany and maybe Vienna/Prague (how to get around)

Shri wrote:
Hi

Planning a 7 to 10 day trip in early October this is on my way to
India, so cities I can fly into from the US are limited to Frankfurt,
Zurich. (london, rome, paris is doable but have visited them in the
past), and want to spend 7 to 10 days visiting this area, potentially
some combo of Munich, Vienna , Prague with maybe a day in Belgium/
Switzerland. (Alternatively can spend most of the time in Germany
depending on transportation option)

My question is whats the easiest and cheapest way to get around, I am
assuming my options are local trains (so for ex can spend all the time
in Germany), Eurail and maybe some cheap flights. Assume renting a car
is not a good idea?

Suggestions for ways to get around are much appreciated

A car rental is not necessarily a bad thing, depending on where you want
to go and how long you plan to stay in different locations. From my
experience, car rentals in Germany are cheaper than in some of the
neighbouring France, Denmark and the Netherlands, but if you are staying
in large cities you may find parking an expensive problem. Passenger
rail service in Germany is excellent and train stations are usually
close to decent hotels and tourist sites. Rail passes are a good deal
if you are going to be doing a lot of travelling, but you would probably
be better off with single fares.

Martin wrote:


One could easily make an itinerary that would occupy the whole of his holiday
just travelling, maybe another Cathy and Bill on vacation?


It could be like the one that I avoided going on with my brother and his
wife. They flew from Toronto to Paris ans spent two nights in Paris,
then down to Porto for 5 days, then up to Copenhagen for 2 night, and
back to Paris for two nights. They spent way too much time travelling
back and forth and never had enough time to do anything when they got
there.

Shriram writes:
Which is a better transportation hub btw? Frankfurt or Zurich.

Generally, the one that's closer to the other places you decide to go.

Because so much of Switzerland and Austria is mountainous, the
long-distance trains on those countries tend to be slower than in
Germany -- but, on the other hand, that means you get to see the
mountain scenery while traveling.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | "GUALITY IS FIRST"
| --slogan of "Dongda electron CO.,LTD"

My text in this article is in the public domain.

scRunge17 blabbles:

Why would the car not be a good idea ?


Only if you were in it and it crashed, dear scRunge...

:-)


--
Best
Gregory Morrow


"Shri" a écrit dans le message de
...
Hi

Planning a 7 to 10 day trip in early October this is on my way to
India, so cities I can fly into from the US are limited to Frankfurt,
Zurich. (london, rome, paris is doable but have visited them in the
past), and want to spend 7 to 10 days visiting this area, potentially
some combo of Munich, Vienna , Prague with maybe a day in Belgium/
Switzerland. (Alternatively can spend most of the time in Germany
depending on transportation option)

My question is whats the easiest and cheapest way to get around, I am
assuming my options are local trains (so for ex can spend all the
time in Germany), Eurail and maybe some cheap flights. Assume
renting a car is not a good idea?

Suggestions for ways to get around are much appreciated

Shriram

Shri wrote:
Which is a better transportation hub btw? Frankfurt or Zurich.

I think Zurich is the more charming of these two cities, there are other
cities in Germany which are more interesting than Frankfurt (Berlin is
superb). Its worth noting that these two particular cities are only
four hours apart by rail - and it's cheap I recently booked this route
for 45EUR with one months' notice.

a


--
Regards, Andy Davidson CTO, NetSumo Ltd
24/7/365 White labeled Network Operations team. - Network Consultancy
www.netsumo.com +44 20 7993 1700

"Martin" wrote in message
...

The night train idea is actually great and sounds like trains within
Germany are cheap but might expensive to go to say Prague or Vienna,
in addition to Munich/Germany I would like to do at least one of
Prague/Vienna

From someone who did NOT know this prior to my trip, do NOT ASSUME that you
can take a night train without reservations. They are usually booked well in
advance ( so I was told by the folks at the train station when I asked for a
ticket on an overnight train. They didn't quite laugh at me, but I'm sure
when I left the window they were saying to each other " another dumb
American ".)