Since you are staying in several large cities, Krakow/Prague/Vienna/Budapest I would think a car would be a disadvantage to this trip. There are trains that take you between all those options and parking will be very expensive and navigating busy city traffic where you don't speak the language sounds very difficult.

I have heard multiple times that Bratislava is good for a daytrip from Vienna but not really to stay there.

I would add a night to Cesky Krumlov, Krakow and Vienna. In Vienna you can daytrip to the Melk Abbey also.

i am so jealous that you can take a 6 1/2 month trip to europe with your significant other. enjoy! sorry i have nothing to add other than that as i have not been to eastern europe.

Lindy27

Thanks for the suggestions on adding nights in those spots. Also Melk Abbey looks like a great day trip - just checked out some pictures.

Parking will be expensive in the cities but I'm sticking with the car. For me it's just the preferred means of travel...trains aren't my thing.

May I just ask if you have a passport from an EU country that enables you to stay in Europe for 6.5 months? All the countries you list are in Schengen and if you have already spent over 5.5 months in Western Europe you are exceeding the Schengen limit of 90-in-180 days, unless you have interrupted your Schengen stay with 3.5 months outside, such as in UK and Ireland.

Alec, I'm aware of the schengen requirements thanks. Really just looking for advice on the eastern europe itinerary...

As long as you will have a car and be driving, consider trading off time in some of those cities with some time in smaller towns. Several years ago, we made a trip that began in Prague. Upon leaving, we picked up a rental car, then spent two nights each in Telc, Olomouc (both in the Czech Republic), Levocin (eastern Slovakia), Eger (Hungary), then ended up in Budapest. We were primarily interested in visiting castles, of which there are many in that part of the world.

I have just noticed I have already commented on your visa status back in February when you were asking us to help with your trip planning. While you stay within Schengen, chances are your overstay will probably won't be detected, but the crunch comes when you leave Schengen to fly home to US. I have noticed that external border is quite strictly controlled, and there is a likelihood of getting stopped and questioned. As I've said, even with an Italian residence permit, you can only stay in other Schengen states for 90-in-180 days. I suggest you leave Schengen from Italy to minimise the chances of detection.

Lexma90, thanks for the suggestions. Of 3 smaller towns, which one would you recommend the most?

If you are keeping the car, I would consider dropping a few of the larger cities to see some smaller towns or countryside where your car will come in use and not just sit in a parking spot.

Possibly do a Prague to Krakow to Budapest loop, stopping along the way. I've never been to smaller towns along that way but I know the Czech Republic has a ton people love and southish of Krakow is a mountain range that people also like to visit.

I recommend Zakopane in Poland for a night or 2. It isn't that far from Krakow and is a beautiful mountain village.

If you are after more specific advice on itinerary, the roads in Central Europe are significantly worse than in the West and paucity of motorway/expressway means roads are more congested and slow moving. This is particularly true of Poland, Slovakia and Hungary in my experience. Journeys to and from Krakow will particularly be slow, so I suggest you put in some intermediate stops and rejig your plan somewhat. Good place to stop includes Olomouc. The road from Slovak border to Krakow has no motorway, with heavy lorry traffic and will be very slow, with frequent stoppages because of accidents or roadworks.

hi burke,

well, we liked Bratislava [ended up there as it's ryanair's "vienna" airport] and loved the hotel we stayed in. you could use it as a staging post between Vienna and Budapest - the hydrofoil from Vienna takes just over an hour.

the hotel we stayed in was the Hotel Marol's [still don't get the apostrophe!] just outside the very centre but close enough to walk there and to walk to the hydrofoil dock. it's a very interesting place, lots of nice restaurants and museums, but mainly with just a lovely atmosphere.

if you can, I would add a night to Vienna or [as you will have a car - I just spotted that!] stay nearby for a night - Baden is a lovely place, or a place we liked was Gumpoldskirchen, about 30 minutes south of Vienna. it's full of Heurige - wine taverns that serve their own wine - and if you stay overnight, you can enjoy their offerings to the full!

I haven't been to Bratislava or Cesky Krumlov, but I've been to (and enjoyed) all the other destinations you list. In general, I like your time allotments EXCEPT that I don't believe you are including travel time. Or rather, I would like your time allotments if they were the times you actually have in each destination. You might consider spreading your extra 4 nights around to cover you travel time. Enjoy!

HI Burke30,
For smaller cities/towns, I highly recommend Telc, Cesky Krumlov and Karlovy Vary. If you wish, you can click on my name to read my trip report from August 2009.

After staying in Prague for 4/5 days, we rented a car & drove through the Czech Republic. We loved CK & stayed there 2 nights. We spent one night in Telc & I highly recommend staying there. It is such a very pretty place, with a gorgeous town square, (one of the prettiest I've seen), a beautiful castle, & 2 lovely ponds. It is very peaceful. There are also lots of castles in this area.

We also thoroughly enjoyed Karlovy Vary. Architecturally, KV is very different from Prague & CK. We sampled the minieral springs, spent several hours at a spa, etc.

Tail ending...I'd subtract Bratislava and add a night in Vienna as suggested. Also consider as said a few smaller places. Also wonder about enough actual travel time. We (much older) did enjoy places you mentioned and wish you well in your adventuresome trip.

If just going between main cities as seems consider eschewing the car and hopping the train - trains in those countires are getting better and better. And with those many places the Eastern Europe railpass could save a ton over car rentals. Great sites for planning a train trip in E Europe - www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com. And first class is well worth the extra money

cars are great for staying in the countryside but pose many problems in cities where they are more and more a liability - don't leave anything valuable in your car in some Eastern European cities!

I loved Zakopane, Krakow, Bled (Slovenia), Cesky Krumlov and Prague. Just did a week in Croatia which was BEAUTIFUL from Dubrovnik to Split! Have you considered a day trip to Auschwitz when you are in Poland? Very sad and moving but glad I did it.

I thought Vienna was overrated...but dont change your itinerary on that observation!

We did it following the route of the Easter trekker trips (just to give you an idea - not recommending you do this).

http://www.easterntrekker.com/czechrep-poland-slovakia-hungary-croatia-tour

AND

http://www.easterntrekker.com/croatia-slovenia-austria-czechrep-tour

Of the three towns I mentioned (actually four, Telc, Olomouc, Levoca (got the name wrong the first time) and Eger, it depends on what you like to do, and what works best into your itinerary

Telc - the cutest, with a bunch of nearby castles to visit
Olomouc - just a nice, non-touristy town. We visited other castles between here and Telc
Levoca - stay here if you're planning on visiting Spissky Hrad
Eger - Oh, this is the custest town too. Historic castle within Eger, wine-producing area (didn't impress us much), and we visited one nearby castle

Follow up on Caroline_Jones idea...I always urge people to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau (I add the Birkenau as the large death camp built later by Nazis to better facilitate the killings). Let the world never forget and this includes tourists! Yes also to visiting Zakopane in the Tatra Mnts. Might be a day trip.

And old Jewish section of Krakow (Kazimierz) incl. Artistic Cafe in Hotel Alef where not only did Schindler visit with his wife but also where Spielberg relaxed during the filming. Was there in my birthday a few years ago!

Two side trips that you mentioned out of Vienna: yes, definitely do Bratislava from Vienna one trip by train and the other by hydrofoil.

Melk is definitely worth it, again, abandon the car. Take the train up to Melk, be sure to arrive before 10am, tour the abbey, then take the boat trip down the Danube (Donau) to Krems and train back to Vienna. The boat ride is through the scenic wine region of the Wachau Valley. Do check on the times for the boat departure, because my recollection is that there is only one departure from Melk and that's at 1:30pm (which is why you need to get to Melk Abbey before 10am). You could, of course, also overnight in any one of the stops along the river, like at Durrstein, which I found even more charming than Melk itself (apart from the Abbey, of course).

On the Czech Republic: as someone has mentioned there are many castles in that part of Europe and some of the most charming are in the CR. This part is definitely do by car region.

Here's one list:
http://www.czechcastles.com/

Just google "Czech castles" - there are also websites with maps siting the various castles which maps can help you plan your trip. Distances are not that great.

My favorite castle so far is Zvikov while my friend's was Hluboka.

The countryside of Hungary is also great for a driving trip. Consider driving up and around the great bend of the Danube - to places like Szentendre and Esztergom.

Have a great trip! Nice not to have to worry about Schengen!

The Melk by train - abbey - boat down the wondrous Wachau valley and Durnstein, Krems is fantastic - and you can buy an all-inclusive ticket in Vienna at train station that iancludes train to Melk, abbey entrance, boat fare and train fare back to Vienna from Krems - a friend told me she did just that!

We loved Hluboka, too! We spent at least half a day there on our way from Prague to Cesky Krumlov. Had a huge, delicious lunch in the town before we toured the castle.

In Cesky Budovijice (sp?) near C Krumlov you can also tour one of the original Budweiser breweries - the town gave its name to this type of beer - Anhauser-Busch has been trying to buy the brand name but to no avail and still cannot I believe market their Budweiser beer in Europe.

Several years ago, I ordered a "Budejovicky Budvar"" in the main square in Cesky Budovijice and got

a bottle of American Budweiser!

What a disappointment! As against wanting a genuine Budvar from tap.

Believe Anheuser-Busch in more recent years has lost its lawsuit to claim exclusive use of the name "Budweiser" throughout Europe. Not sure how American Budweiser is now marketed in Europe.

Kwoo: Hluboka IS a more impressive castle, but I loved Zvikov because it stirred up my imagination of King Arthur days.

I have a picture somewhere of the handle to the Hluboka castle main gate showing the Austrian eagle pecking out the eyes of a Turk. War and hatred of the enemy can't get more graphic than that!

Easytraveler,
I know exactly which handle you are talking about! We took the same photo! We loved Hluboka & that's one reason I advocate renting a car whenever possible. Without our car, we wouldn't have had the freedom to stop there, & if it weren't for the owner of the pension we stayed at in Prague, I wouldn't have known about Hluboka because my guidebook didn't mention it.

Where in the CR is Zvikov located? We didn't have time to go there, so all the more reason for another trip to the CR

kwoo: on the following castles map, if you draw a straight line between Prague and Cesky Krumlov, Zhikov would be the second blue marker above Hluboka.

http://www.czechtourism.com/CMSPages/Map.aspx?category=IsCastlePalace


Here's the writeup in wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zv%C3%ADkov_Castle


There are so many castles in the Czech Republic that I would like to spend several weeks or even months just driving from one to another - maybe, some day...

Thanks everyone for all of the tips! I'm thinking about skipping Bratislava, maybe daytripping it from Vienna. The toughest part I'm having right now is deciding where to go in Slovakia (for 2 or 3 nights en route from Budapest -> Krakow). Any suggestions on this?

Adding Telc per suggestions (thanks!) for 2 nights. Also adding Bled, Slovenia 2 nights and taking one off Ljubljana.

Updated looks like this:

4 nights Budapest
2 nights SLOVENIA (Bratislava? Other suggestions??)
3 nights Krakow (daytrip to Auschwitz)
3 nights Prague
2 nights Telc
1 night Cesky Krumlov
3 nights Vienna
2 nights Bled
2 nights Ljubljana
1 night Budapest before return flight

Still need to fill one night...any suggestions on route from Slovenia to Budapest?

I'd add it to Vienna - there is SO much to see and do there! But that's a personal preference.

well 5 nights in Budapest unless you have family there is way too much for the average tourist - two days more than enough.