ED Trip Suggestion

[wideopenthrotle]

Hey all-

I just finalized my ED pickup date: Monday, July 3rd

Here are my current vacation plans:
Th June 29 - Fly to Prague
Fr June 30 - Prague
Sa July 01 - Prague
Su July 02 - Prague, night train to Munich
Mo July 03 - Munich, get car, tour factory, drive to Salzburg
Tu July 04 - Drive to Venice, see Venice
We July 05 - Venice
Th July 06 - Drive to Rome
Fr July 07 - Rome
Sa July 08 - Rome
Su July 09 - Rome, drive to Siena
Mo July 10 - Siena
Tu July 11 - Florence
We July 12 - Florence, Drive to Cinque Terra
Th July 13 - Drive to Nice, drop off car, tour Monaco
Fr July 14 - Bastille Day in Nice (pretend I'm Canadian) :tsk:
Sa July 15 - Fly Home

Any suggestions?

[Me530]

Its going to be a pain to have the car in Rome.

[bimmer12safrad]

A beautiful thing. I must hook up with you since we g=have the exact dates for some. I do Prague June 29, the train to Munich and stay for few dats then to stutgart for Worl Cup gane july 8, then South to Switz, Italy, austria and will do a weekend drop off in Munich. Loving it already

[mattb65]

I'd say spend more time in Florence. It's an amazing city, the people are exceptionally friendly and just exploring the town is a lot of fun.

[wideopenthrotle]

Thanks all-

I have a lot of reading to do before chiseling my travel plans in stone. I got all the appropriate Rick Steve's books and "Go To Europe 2006 ed." Any other book/video recomendations?

I already reserved the Europe nav disc from BeeWang.


Its going to be a pain to have the car in Rome.

Yeah, I'm worried about that. We'll probably stay outside of Rome to save on hotel costs. Hopefully there will be a bus into the city instead of driving.


A beautiful thing. I must hook up with you since we g=have the exact dates for some. I do Prague June 29, the train to Munich and stay for few dats then to stutgart for Worl Cup gane july 8, then South to Switz, Italy, austria and will do a weekend drop off in Munich. Loving it already

Yeah, it's my 1st bimmer, and I'm pretty excited!!! I've done Bavaria, the Castles, the Rhine Valley, the Black Forest, part of Austria, and Oktoberfest before, so I'm concentrating on Italy for this trip. We'll have to get in touch in Prague.


I'd say spend more time in Florence. It's an amazing city, the people are exceptionally friendly and just exploring the town is a lot of fun.

It's a toss up there. From what I've read, all the major sights are closed on Mondays. That's why I have Sienna scheduled for Monday. It may be worth seeing the lower draw attractions that are open in Florence on Monday, sleeping in Sienna, and finishing Florence on Tuesday & Wednesday. The drives on that leg of my trip are only a few hours (pending traffic), so changing the schedule around shouldn't be hard...

[aprilED]

Given that you are planning to spend a lot of time in Italy, I recommend spending some time on articles and forum posts here

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/

http://slowtalk.com/groupee/forums/a/frm/f/862600685

am visiting florence, rome and venice from 19-28 Apr. Can give you my impressions afterwards

[vern]

Thanks all-

I have a lot of reading to do before chiseling my travel plans in stone. I got all the appropriate Rick Steve's books and "Go To Europe 2006 ed." Any other book/video recomendations?

.
Go to your local library, you can get Rick Steve's video's there and save yourself a lot of time and see all the pictures you would want. Good lick
cheers
vern

[smokeminside]

an evening...i'd leave your car in Florence (or Siena) and take a train or bus between the two, and back. Florence is hard to drive in, and the interesting places can be reached on foot. Siena's center is also a pedestrian zone. You'll miss the Palio by about a week--an amazing horse race around the town square--but there may be some residual excitement...

Your trip sounds great...have fun.

[LDV330i]

Hey all-

I just finalized my ED pickup date: Monday, July 3rd

Any suggestions?You are trying to cover way too much. I spent 2 weeks doing a less extensive route and it was not enough time. I did Venice, Florence, Genoa and Nice. Venice needs a least 2 complete days to visit and Florence needs close to 3 days.

Why are your returning you car early in Nice? Go to Monaco and return the car that afternoon.

[Boraxo]

You are trying to cover way too much. I spent 2 weeks doing a less extensive route and it was not enough time. I did Venice, Florence, Genoa and Nice. Venice needs a least 2 complete days to visit and Florence needs close to 3 days.

Why are your returning you car early in Nice? Go to Monaco and return the car that afternoon.

Agree 100%. Your itin is great, but you will need > time in Venice and Florence. Also, why take the night train (crappy sleep before you drive off in a new vehicle) when you can take a 6 hour afternoon train (as we did)? Also you would be surprised how long it takes to navigate each place, looks close on the map, but takes longer than anticipated.

Tough choice, they are all wonderful places. Personally I would save the South of France for another trip, you could spend a couple of weeks there on the next trip... :thumbup:

[wideopenthrotle]

Thanks everybody - Lots of great suggestions, info & links.

[cwsqbm]

I agree with touring Monaco via your own car. As far as Rome - make sure you have a secure parking garage, as you aren't going to be able to explore Rome via car. I chose a hotel near a subway stop so that I didn't move the car during my three days in Rome. As far as too much, it all depends on what you are trying to do. For me, I liked driving so my sightseeing days were planned to give me a rest from driving. Still, I was wiped after two weeks and over 2000 miles of travel (including trains).

[adc]

Hey all-

I just finalized my ED pickup date: Monday, July 3rd

Here are my current vacation plans:
Th June 29 - Fly to Prague
Fr June 30 - Prague
Sa July 01 - Prague
Su July 02 - Prague, night train to Munich
Mo July 03 - Munich, get car, tour factory, drive to Salzburg
Tu July 04 - Drive to Venice, see Venice
We July 05 - Venice
Th July 06 - Drive to Rome
Fr July 07 - Rome
Sa July 08 - Rome
Su July 09 - Rome, drive to Siena
Mo July 10 - Siena
Tu July 11 - Florence
We July 12 - Florence, Drive to Cinque Terra
Th July 13 - Drive to Nice, drop off car, tour Monaco
Fr July 14 - Bastille Day in Nice (pretend I'm Canadian) :tsk:
Sa July 15 - Fly Home

Any suggestions?

Why not fly to Munich? Pick up your car, do the factory tour, then drive to Prague. You can do this in day 1.

Then drive down to Venice, a 1 day trip through gorgeous terrain.

I would also spend only 2 days in Prague, all other destinations considered, and increase Venice by 1 day.

And frankly, I'd stop after Italy. There is so much stuff going on in Italy, your brain will be fried at the end (ask me how I know :) ). You may not have enough energy to enjoy Southern France...

adc
03 330 ZHP
05 X3 3.0 ED

[wideopenthrotle]

I need to know more about the "brain frying" in Italy!!

I had heard hearsay of stolen car issues in Prague - especially Bimmers, so I figured I'd take the safe bet and fly in - train out. I assume others driven their cars to Prague without incident? Please fill me in...

As for 3 days in Prague, I agree that 3 is more than necessary, but with the Monday pickup, I'm kinda stuck. I figure it's a weekend in a party city, and another 30 something single guy is going with me, so we can get all the super hardcore partying out of the way before getting the car. I'm guessing Sunday will be a weekend recovery day anyway. If Prague is really safe enough to take the car, I could probably still change my delivery date.

My travel buddy really wants to see Munich and Salzburg. I've already been, but I told him I could easily take a day for that (and I could). Hopefully, Salzburg to Venice will be a quick drive, and I'll get 1/2 a day or more in Venice. Then possibly leave Venice after lunch on the 5th and arrive late into Rome. That would be another 1/2 day, giving me 2 days total.

Do you guys recommend staying in Rome and Florence, or staying in the outskirts and bussing in daily to see the sights?

My only objection to ending the trip in Italy is having someone else drive my car back to Munich. I know that's dumb, but this is my first brand new car. That, and getting a picture of my Monaco Blue car in Monaco is too tempting (cheesy, but tempting). Puls, I may just spend the last day being lazy on the beach pretending to be Canadian and listening to the French people talk about their new employment laws.

My only other thought is that I will return to Europe a few more times in my life (hopefully someday with a wife), so if I miss a few things in the major cities, I'll be back to see them in the future.

Keep the suggestions coming!!

[fishskis]

Hey all-

I just finalized my ED pickup date: Monday, July 3rd

Here are my current vacation plans:
Th June 29 - Fly to Prague
Fr June 30 - Prague
Sa July 01 - Prague
Su July 02 - Prague, night train to Munich
Mo July 03 - Munich, get car, tour factory, drive to Salzburg
Tu July 04 - Drive to Venice, see Venice
We July 05 - Venice
Th July 06 - Drive to Rome
Fr July 07 - Rome
Sa July 08 - Rome
Su July 09 - Rome, drive to Siena
Mo July 10 - Siena
Tu July 11 - Florence
We July 12 - Florence, Drive to Cinque Terra
Th July 13 - Drive to Nice, drop off car, tour Monaco
Fr July 14 - Bastille Day in Nice (pretend I'm Canadian) :tsk:
Sa July 15 - Fly Home

Any suggestions?

A few random thoughts:

- Prague is incredible. I tend to get bored easily in most cities, and I often leave early; my first trip to Prague I was supposed to stay 3 nights, and I ended staying for a week. Three nights is great, especially for a single dude; I would not shorten it.

- I have not been to Siena, but I have been told by many people that it is not worth staying overnight; I would just add another night to Florence, or stay in some little village like Montepulciano (though that might be a little boriing for two single guys). I just got back from my ED; I was originally supposed to go to Florence and Tuscany etc. - one of the challenges in planning was that many of the Tuscan cities and towns are walled, and driving and staying within the walls can be a pain - so plan carefully and understand the pedestrian zones and parking situation.

- The last half of your trip looks like a lot of things fairly crammed in. Personally, I would not want to go to a city like Rome and not stay in the city; that kind of seems like going to New York and staying in Queens.

- If you haven't been to the South of France, you might want to consider getting another day or two there - it is a spectacular place to drive (as long as the traffic is under control). Monaco is tiny, and IMHO, a day there is plenty; Nice is a nice city, Cannes is nice, and a little more resort-like, and there are some great little villages and towns in the hills overlooking the sea.....

At the risk of making a radical suggestion (this is a driving trip,right?).... I would consider getting rid of Rome completely, and just doing Tuscany, the Italian Riviera, and the French Riviera. Much better from a driving point of view, and probably more fun for a couple of single guys. Rome is a great city, but it is mostly about history, and ruins and the church; and your car will be sitting in a garage for three or four days. Obviously though, it's your trip and you should follow your instincts.

Good luck.

[smokeminside]

to visit, but not linger, in Siena. Don't get me wrong: I love Siena, but I'm married with three kids. Spend more time in Prague, or Monaco.

[Boraxo]

I just returned from ED, Prague, Venice, very similar to your plans. We flew directly into Prague as the price was the same and the time savings was high (why waste 6 hours BOTH ways from Munich?) You don't need a car in Prague, in fact it would be a hinderance as public transit is cheap, not to mention that many of the sights are walking distance from the popular hotels. Frankly, 2 nights and 1 full day (also a Sunday) was not enough in this fascinating city, but we had to get to the olympics! Since you have no similar excuse, I would recommend at least 2 full days in Prague or more. And it is quite the weekend party town these days, so you won't be bored...

The 6-hour train to Munich is reasonably comfortable and cheap, however it was a bit of a pain to schlep our luggage during the train change at the border. Hopefully you won't have to do this on an overnight train. When you arrive in Munich it is easy to connect to the metro (u-bahn) to your hotel or the VDC. The drive to Italy via Austria is a piece of cake even without GPS as the major highways are well marked. Be sure to gas up before Italy, where prices are even higher than elsewhere.

I totally share your concern about dropping the car in Italy, that is why we dropped in Zurich, which was convenient and most efficient. You would probably enjoy Zurich as well, though I can see how the Riviera might be more fun.

Of course, you should do what is best for your schedule...

[adc]

I need to know more about the "brain frying" in Italy!!

You can go to Italy for many different things: the driving, the food, the history, the atmosphere... But when you get to a city such as Rome, or Florence, I find it impossible not to visit many of the historical sights - for someone of European origin or descent, those are the very things that made us who we are today, and immensely fascinating as a result. :dunno:

After Rome and Florence, I had started having trouble remembering which church had been visited where, and why I liked it. :rofl:

Come to think of it, this may be reason enough to go to Southern France afterwards, for a bit of relaxation, sun and fun.

I had heard hearsay of stolen car issues in Prague - especially Bimmers, so I figured I'd take the safe bet and fly in - train out. I assume others driven their cars to Prague without incident? Please fill me in...

Correct, without incident. Prague's automobile landscape is little different than that of it's westernly neighbours. You'll see plenty of luxury automobiles there and I never felt like our bimmer stood up like a sore thumb.

That being said, we parked in a locked/secured parking garage, courtesy of our B&B owner. Took the car out a few times to visit distant sites and driving in Prague is very low stress. The complete opposite to Italy, you'll get at least 3 heart attacks there, believe me (and I hail from a place not really known for it's curteous driving).

But my advice would be that everywhere you go, to never leave anything visible or of value in the car and to never park in a non-secure location. Simple preventive steps, to avoid unpleasant things that can ruin your vacation. :dunno:

I figure it's a weekend in a party city, and another 30 something single guy is going with me, so we can get all the super hardcore partying out of the way before getting the car. I'm guessing Sunday will be a weekend recovery day anyway. If Prague is really safe enough to take the car, I could probably still change my delivery date.

Hardcore partying was out for us, our toddler son would have surely objected. :rofl:
But don't eschew driving in Prague simply because of fear for your bimmer...

Do you guys recommend staying in Rome and Florence, or staying in the outskirts and bussing in daily to see the sights?

It depends how confident you are of your driving. I found both cities (especially Rome) to be a nightmare, with bad parking and extremely aggresive drivers. And those motorinos (mopeds) will drive you nuts, red lights are optional. :yikes:

We were there not during our ED, but with another occasion, with another car. If I were to drive to Italy during a future ED, I'd most definitely leave my shiny new bimmer outside of town, somewhere in the outskirts in a secure, covered garage. :dunno:

Or at least drive into and out of the city between 9PM - 6AM, when traffic is at it's lightest.


Hope this helps,

adc
03 330 ZHP
05 X3 3.0 ED

[RayC1]

Some parts of your itinerary match mine back in July 04. I agree with others that you are trying to pack a lot in. Why not skip Rome? Nasty people, crazy traffic. That would give you a day or two to actually stay in one of the Cinque Terre towns which are such a blissful antidote to renaissance Italy. In Florence we stayed right by the Duomo (parked in the Parterre garage) and in Venice stayed outside the city in a B&B in Mestre and took the easy, quick and cheap bus into town. Most posters here favor hotels in the city or in Lido. We drove through the tunnel in Monaco 3 times, but not at F1 speed! Rick Steves was an indispensible resource, as was the nav system in the car. Have fun! Ray