Czech to Croatia

Hi everyone!

I am thinking of an eastern europe trip in 2009. The plan is to start with Czech and move down to Austria, Slovenia/maybe touch Hungary, Croatia.

1) I can do it either in the first couple of weeks of April or 2 week of May on wards. Is this a good time for all these countries? I want to do it when it is warm and I probably won't require more than a light sweater!

2) To do a route as above, would getting a rail pass make sense? or would point to point tickets be ok?

3) I have previously been to UK, but this is my first europe trip. Would you suggest I replace Croatia with Italy?
In Italy, I was really keen on exploring the Tuscan region...

4) Also, for the above itenary (roughly), how would you budget per day- i hope to do it with as less as possible!

thanks!

1) April might still be a little cool, but it should start to warm up around May, and since it isn't in the peak season (July/August) it shouldn't be as expensive so it is a good time.

2) The amount you spend will probably be similar if you get a rail pass or not. I think they are more handy in Western Europe rather than Eastern Europe (as the travel in West is more expensive). It's kind of up to personal preference and what kind of deal you can get. eg. if you are planning to use trains frequently and don't like buying tickets each time its probably better, but if you want more flexibility you might be better to buy them 1 by 1 and then you can use a bus/plane if you want.

3) Depends what you like! Italy is probably more rich with culture, history (at face value anyway), more expensive, a bit more cliche but might be a refreshing change from Central/Eastern Europe.
Croatia is great for nature, its islands, cheaper, although the people in the tourist industry might not be very friendly :P

4) To get by on a budget I'd say you should allow around 50-60 Euros per day - a general rule is the further east the cheaper really. It really depends where you go, and how frequent you travel from place to place. Tourist-hoarding capitals like Prague and Budapest aren't very cheap.

[ Edit: Edited on Dec 30, 2008, at 5:04 AM by Erik85 ]

Hey - thanks!

I guess the idea for me is to check out some off-the-regular-route towns/ cities for just a feel of european life, some history ( i am thinking prague and castle hopping in Bohemia and Vienna will give me a good fill of that), and a bit wineyards, coast as well. I guess the choice of Croatia over ITaly was primarily because parts of it is compared to Tuscany and of course its coastal towns ...

but if Italy would be a better choice over say prague for a bit of history, i could re- juggle i guess...

Also, i was wondering how easy it is to fix a do it urself cycling tour in any of these places?

For Czech : I am thinking Pragues, go to cesky budejovice or soem place there - base myself to do krumlov, budejovice, Telc. I see lots of places thrown around in bohemia, but which would eb the best?

i found these recomendations on the web... any must sees , thoughts on any of these?

Castles: Bitov, Bouzov, Buchlov, Cesky Sternberk, Cervena Lhota, Frydlant, Hluboka, Jaromerice nad Rokytnou, Karlstejn, Konopiste, Kost, Krivoklat, Lednice, Loket, Orlik, Pernstejn, Rozmberk, Sychrov, Valtice, Vranov nad Dyji

Towns: Mikulov, Cesky Krumlov, Brno, Trebon, Jindrichuv Hradec, Kutna Hora, Jihlava, Marianske Lazne, Litomerice, Trebic, Pelhrimov, Policka, Pisek, Slavonice, Tabor, Znojmo

For some reason, i can't find anything interestin about Austria... any suggestions for this country?

Quoting aprilsgal

For some reason, i can't find anything interestin about Austria... any suggestions for this country?

That would be very odd! Search for Vienna, Innsbruck and Salzburg, or even The Sound of Music for starters! Austria is also home to some good ski-resorts but perhaps April/May is not the time to go.

Austria generates more money from the summer guests than from the skiers!! A great country! Croatia - leaves everyone breathless but the people may seem cold at first. Once you break them in, you will have a REAL friend for life. Actually, I prefer that than "thank you/please" type of service all the time and all over the world.

[ Edit: Sorry, no promos please. ]

@ sapphyre:

Great, will look those up. Well, I am not into much of skiing. Since i anyway hope to be seeing some tons of castles in Czech, and a lot of history, I was trying to identify something different I can do in Austria. Or maybe, something is better in Austria over Czech, so I should chuck it from my Czech itenarary... that sort of a thing!

So, if i am not into skiing, whats the suggestion for Alps?

@asparoth00 : thanks! will keep that in mind.

hi from austria

if youre not into skiing but still want to go to the alps there is hiking and cycling. most lifts run in summer too.. you can still hike further up but you dont spend 6 hours walking up to have a nice view. it can get expensive though.
2 weeks ago i went up the mountains north of innsbruck (the first station is actually in the city) the scenery was amazing, and it was pretty cheap to go up (more than 2500 m) its called "nordkettenbahn" (http://www.nordpark.com/en/winter/links-top/home-en.html)

there are tons of cycle routes in austria.. thats the first page i found: http://www.radtouren.at/en/start.html
i dont recommend cycling in vienna. or maybe im just too scared myself

i hope theres something for you too.. austrians take all the money they can get from tourists

i can give more suggetions if you tell me what youre interested in.

hey mee,

thanks a lot for the info on cycling. will look it up. probably, i shd look up the hikign trails in the alps as well. as off now, i am just loooking for ways to combine light hiking and cycling as i explore towns, history and architecture ...

and of course, was hoping to check out the opera in vienna. i saw some ny times articles on ball dancing which happens... but not sure if there is something like that in april/may - would you know?

thanks!