It has been a while since an update has been posted, but in recent weeks, we have decided on the dates for this trip, and are about to lock in our flights. We have changed the itinerary slightly, it is more defined to include the actual places we expect to visit along the way, but certainly subject to minor detours here and there as time allows.
One of the biggest changes is our plan is that we will not be renting a car in Milan, as had initially been contemplated. Instead, we will be taking a lot more trains. Most of the areas in and around Cinque Terre are more accessible by train that by rental car, and once there, using the trains between towns is certainly easier and cheaper. We will not be renting a car until well into the trip, only needing one once we are in Germany.
Included in this post is an updated map showing our revised route. We are expecting to fly into Milan, Italy, and stay one night before heading out on a train to the Cinque Terre area of Northern Italy, which lies along the coast, south of Genoa. Once there, we plan on staying for three nights, either in one of the 5 (Cinque) towns making up the Cinque Terre, or in an town nearby named Levanto.
We will leave the Cinque Terre area and travel via train to Pisa, either for the afternoon, or possibly overnight. We have already been to Pisa on a previous trip, but had been disappointed to see scaffolding on the Leaning Tower. We hope to see it without scaffolding, and also possibly spend some time in the Baptistery or Cathedral, neither of which we toured on our last trip there, as part of a cruise. If we find out the Tower is still under repair, and is covered in scaffolding, we will not go into Pisa at all, opting to go directly to Florence, Italy as a substitute.
From Pisa, (or Florence) we will travel by train to Venice, Italy and stay for three nights. We visited Venice briefly on our Honeymoon Transatlantic Cruise, but really did not have enough time to visit as many of the areas there as we wanted. After our time in Venice, we plan on taking a night train to Vienna, Austria. The night train seems to be a little difficult to coordinate, the schedules are a little inconvenient, and the actual information on the costs seems a little sketchy. We are looking into getting a Double Compartment for the trip, realizing we would prefer to spend a little more money than to have 4 to 6 “friends” sharing a Couchette compartment for the night with us.
The plan is to then spend 2 nights in Vienna, then travel from there by train to Salzburg. We will stay one night in Salzburg before taking another train to Munich. We might opt to stay an additional night in Salzburg, and one less night in Munich. Hotel prices in Munich are out of sight, Oktoberfest is going on while we will be there. We are hoping to go to Oktoberfest, but with hotel costs running about $300 per night, we can’t afford to stay long! However, to be this close, we have to go and see what Oktoberfest is all about, even if it is just for a few hours.
From Munich, we will travel by train to Wurzburg, Germany. This is the start of the “Romantic Road” that runs south to Fussen, Germany. The plan is to stay one night in Wurzburg, then rent a car the next day, and begin the driving portion of the trip. We will have about 7 days to wonder around this area in Bavaria, hoping to visit towns like Rothenburg, Ulm, Fussen, Konstanz and ending up in Freiburg, where we will turn in the rental car to avoid any extra rental car drop off charges we would incur taking the car into Switzerland.
We will train from Freiburg, Germany to Lucerne, Switzerland, spend the night there, and then train to Zurich. After spending one night in Zurich, we will fly home to Florida.
We plan on having some flexibility in the last portion of the trip where we are in Germany, we are not sure where we will want to visit along the way, but having the rental car will give us some flexibility. We may find that we see more in this area quicker than we expect, and as a result, end up getting to Lucerne earlier than currently scheduled. If so, we will plan on taking a scenic train trip to some of the areas nearby. Switzerland has several “scenic rail” routes.
We will then make the last train ride to Zurich, Switzerland, where we will depart on our flight back home to Florida.
As we look into the details of the trip, I am sure we will make a few more modifications to the itinerary. The next step will be to look for and reserve hotels in the more accommodation limited cities on the trip. Certainly, this will include the area in and around Cinque Terre, Munich with Oktoberfest, and as always, trying to find a good, but reasonable place to stay in Venice.
Here is a Map of the route described above, with a listing of the cities for each alphabetic location on the map.
- A – Milan, Italy
- B – Levanto & Cinque Terre, Italy
- C – Pisa, Italy
- D – Venice, Italy
- E – Vienna, Austria
- F – Salzburg, Austria
- G – Munich, Germany
- H – Wurzburg, Germany
- I – Rothenburg, Germany
- J – Ulm, Germany
- K – Fussen, Germany
- L – Konstanz, Germany
- M – Freiburg, Germany
- N – Lucerne, Switzerland
- O – Zurich, Switzerland
