The key to enjoy travelling within Europe efficiently is to pick countries close to each other so you can reduce travelling time. Afterall we do not have unlimited leave days nor unlimited fund.
Our suggested itinerary covers several cities within three countries: Germany, Czech Republic and Austria by train.
How to book your train
Train tickets during this trip will need to be booked online in the following Railway Website:
- Germany Railway Website: https://www.bahn.com/en
- Czech Railway Website: https://www.cd.cz/en/default.htm
- Austria Railway Website: https://www.oebb.at/en/
Read here for more tips on travelling by train in Europe.
When to Go
These 3 countries are beautiful to visit in all four seasons. Generally I try to avoid peak season of December, Jun and July when I am not travelling with my children as during peak seasons airlines is much more expensive, airport is chaotic and visa processing takes longer to approve and appointment is difficult to get.
If you cannot stand cold, choose to go on spring (March, April, May) and summer (June, July, August). Day light is the longest during these months so you will get to visit more places during the day and weather is more stable.
Autumn (Sept, Oct, Nov) is my favourite months to travel as the scenery is more beautiful with leaves turning colour to yellow and red and the weather is cooler but not as cold as winter. The disadvantage is daylight is shorter with the sun sets around 4 to 4.30 am.
Winter (Dec, Jan, Feb) is when you should travel if you want to see snowy scenery. But bear in my mind that December is expensive being a peak season with Christmas coming but it is also a chance to see Christmas Market and Germany is known to have the best Christmas market. January is a low season however weather can be unstable and very cold, being peak of winter. Daylight is also shorter with the sun sets around 3.30-4 am. Read here for tips on how to dress for winter.
Itinerary
Day 0 – Fly into Berlin
Day 1 – Landing Berlin in the morning.
Berlin Wall memorial, Check point Charlie, Topography of terror, Gendarmenmarkt
Day 2 – Explore Berlin
Brandenburg Gate, Holocaust memorial, Reischtag, Alexanderplatz, Berliner Dome, East Side Gallery
Day 3 – Train to Prague (direct train around 4.5 hours)
Old Town Prague, Dancing House and Petrin Hill
Day 4 – Explore Prague
Charles Bridge, Mala Strana, Kampa island, Strahov Monastery, Loreto, and Prague Castle
Day 5 – Day trip to Cesky Krumlov (Train or Bus)
Day 6 – Train to Vienna (direct train around 4.5 hours)
Belvedere Palace and The Prater.
Day 7 – Explore Vienna
Breakfast in Naschmarkt and stroll around Vienna (Rathaus, Hofburg Palace, Albertina etc), Stephanplatz and end the night watching orchestra
Day 8 – Explore Vienna
Schonbrunn Palace, Stadtpark, Museums and watch Opera at night
Day 9 – Train to Hallstatt (2 trains ride and a ferry which takes about 3.5 hours)
Strolling thru lake Hallstatt and Hallstatt view point
Day 10 – Explore Hallstatt
Panorama funicular, Salt Mining, Hallstatt skywalk, Hallstatt market square.
Day 11 – Train to Salzburg (ferry and 2 train rides which takes about 2.5 hours)
Schloss Mirabell, Mozart birthplace, Makartsteg
Day 12 – Explore Salzburg
Original Sound of Music Tour in the morning, Stiftskirche St Peter and Hohensalzburg Fortress
Day 13 – Train to Munich (direct train 1.5 hours)
One day exploring Munich: Marienplatz, Asamkirche, Peterskirche, Neus Rathaus, Michaelskirche and shopping day
Day 14 – Day trip to Neuschswanstein Castle or if you have enough of castle and prefer a shopping day instead you can do day trip to Ingolstadt Factory Outlet, 30 minutes away by train from Munich.
Day 15 – Flying out
Happy Holiday!
