Trip Planning
12/Feb 2015
After quite a bit of research and discussion, we have at least the outline of a plan for the trip. Originally, my thought was to pick up the car in Munich, drive south through Austria to Venice, then on to Rome and Florence, making stops in the countryside (Umbria and Tuscany) along the way. Then head back up through Switzerland to Germany and finish our sightseeing there before dropping the car back in Munich and flying home.
The things I didn’t like about that plan were the amount of driving and bringing my new car to Rome, Florence and Venice where it would just be a hassle. Instead, we decided to fly into Rome and do the three Italian cities at the beginning of the trip by train. We will then take an overnight train from Venice to Munich to pick up the car.
The rest of the trip will be by car, through Germany, Austria and Italy before dropping the car off in Nice, France and heading home. So we’ll do the big cities by train without the hassle of parking, low-emission zones and city driving. We’ll have the car to visit the smaller towns and to see the countryside. And by dropping the car off in Nice we reduce the around of driving.
Here’s the outline:
| Day | Description |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | Arrive in Rome at noon |
| Day 2 | Rome |
| Day 3 | Rome |
| Day 4 | Rome |
| Day 5 | Train to Florence in am |
| Day 6 | Florence |
| Day 7 | Florence |
| Day 8 | Train to Venice in am |
| Day 9 | Venice, overnight train to Munich at 9 pm |
| Day 10 | Arrive Munich 7 am |
| Day 11 | Pickup Day, Factory tour at 11:45, pickup at 3:30 |
| Day 12 | Munich |
| Day 13 | Drive to Rothenburg, Night Watchman’s tour |
| Day 14 | Rothenburg. Drive to Bacharach. |
| Day 15 | Rhine Cruise |
| Day 16 | Mosel Valley drive, Burg Eltz |
| Day 17 | Drive to Reutte, Austria |
| Day 18 | Ludwig’s castles, Füssen, etc. |
| Day 19 | Zugspitze, some Alpine hiking |
| Day 20 | Drive to the Dolomites in northern Italy |
| Day 21 | Alpine passes, Bolzano |
| Day 22 | Drive to Contignano, Tuscany |
| Day 23 | Assisi/Umbria hill towns |
| Day 24 | Tuscany |
| Day 25 | Tuscany |
| Day 26 | Drive to Volastra/Cinque Terre, by way of Lucca |
| Day 27 | Cinque Terre |
| Day 28 | Drive to Nice, dropoff car, fly home |
I’ll post more details on our itinerary soon. In the mean time if you have suggestions, please post them in the comments.