Where do I go?
 

Ok, so I'm not sure if this is the right spot for this topic but figured I'd give it a shot - I've only posted a couple times on this forum and they've usually been for mileage programs.

So I won a trip to Germany with 3 other people from my sales dept. and the executive team of my company (CEO, VP's, CTO, etc) and we're going to Munich on Feb. 6th for a couple days of a conference (staying 6 days, 3 free days and the rest are work). On the final day we're all going to Switzerland for one day of skiing and then coming back to Germany to go home (Baltimore, MD).

We have been given the option of staying back for the return trip - they pay airfare and we only have to pay for hotels/expenses after my executive co-workers leave. Another guy from sales and I have already decided we're staying back for a couple days and we are thinking of traveling to a couple cities via train and then coming back to Munich to leave or getting a return trip back from a different airport. The question is... where do we go? We've both been to Venice and are thinking maybe Rome? We're also thinking Amsterdam/Brussels? We will definetly do it via train as to keep money spent low. What would YOU guys do? Keep in mind that we will only be there a couple days extra and the reason I'm thinking of not going to Rome is becuase I think it's better to come back and do a week stay there just by itself. I have only been to Paris (3 nights), Geneva (9 hours), and Venice (3 days).

This is for all those people who have gone to Europe and know what cities are great. Thanks for the tips guys! Oh and no pressure but I need to put in my word by noon tomorrow :D (1/3/07)

Please continue to follow this thread in the FT Europe Forum.
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator

So many choices.....

I would definitely fly out of whatever city you end up in, rather than taking the train back to Munich for your return flight. This will definitely save time, and it may end up being cheaper for you as you won't need to pay for a return train ticket.

In terms of where to go, I'd suggest Prague Amsterdam, or Spain. Prague is a great city- lots to see and fun bars/restaurants. The only issue might be the weather - Prague is definitely cold at that time of year. Amsterdam is always a great choice. If you wanted something a bit warmer you could easily head to Spain on a LCC. I'd suggest Barcelona. Finally, the other option would just be to stay in Switzerland after your day of skiing and turn that into a four day trip. If you are a skiier, you could easily amuse yourself for more than a day.

Of course, it'd help if you said what you're after. Having said that, Air Berlin is a LCC out of Germany that offers super cheap LCC fares. That may open up some possibilities other than ones bound by the train.

Another option is to start from Switzerland. Swiss is a LCC that flies to quite a few places, cheap.

Lastly, if you really want to take the train, I'd suggest either Salzburg or Vienna.

Air Berlin can be a bargain if booked well in advance. They seem to have a different model than US LCC's like Southwest though and with little advance notice they can actually be fairly pricey.

Yes, consider flying back from somewhere besides Munich, and don't assume the train is always cheaper as the LCC's can be very inexpensive if the seats are purchased early.

I agree - Salzburg, Vienna, Amsterdam, and Prague are probably the best choices via train. All are great places to visit. Amsterdam is a personal favorite and Prague is the least expensive of the four. A Munich-Prague-Berlin train trip is worth considering.

Spain, the south of France, or Italy may be of interest if you want some days at the beach, with Barcelona being a nice mix of a major city with local beaches. All of these places are less expensive than the major northern European cities. But in Feb, I wouldn't expect it to be warm enough to really enjoy any beach in Europe north of the Canaries.

For what it's worth, a European in that area would likely spend a few days off in Feb by going to the Alps, with many going to small Tyrolean towns.

Finally, Lisbon deserves mention as a good tourist destination that's not expensive and can be reached at a reasonable rate.

well, SWISS is not a LCC actually, but the former government owned airline of switzerland now owned by LH and offers pretty good service.
However they sometimes have good offers out or Zurich. And AirBerlin is expanding it´s base in Zurich with a regularily increasing number of routes to all over europe.

In cooperation with Flyniki there is a regular service to vienna e.g. which I personally would recommend as it is my home town ;-).

I would also recommend not to go back to munich as it is much too time consuming.

So they are alloting about $500-$600 for the airfare since the trip from BWI-Munich is only $440 roundtrip.

We have found a deal that is $500 to go:

Outbound: BWI - Munich
Inbound: Rome - BWI

and a roundtrip ticket from Munich to Rome is $150 (1-way is about $500 so we will just not use the return part of that ticket).

Any other suggestions? We're pretty open and we have about 2-4 days that we can use for another city after Feb. 12th (which is when our Munich trip is over). I know some people know of some good deals but to tell you the truth there are just soooo many choices that I just didn't know what else to pick and figured Italy was a solid choice. The travel coordinator for my office is going to check the tickets and get back to me but if that doesn't fly I was thinking Greece?

Any ideas on hotels in Rome? Nice hotels for average pay? Maybe $100-$150/person/night?

Are you ok with flying a low cost carrier between Munich and Rome? If so, $150 seems rather expensive. Blue Express has a Munich Rome flight for €40 on Feb 12th (actually it's a €0.99 fare, and €40-ish in taxes :D ). Condor has a fare of £35.00 if you want an evening flight.

There are tons of great choices of destinations. People will probably be able to give you better advice if you have an idea of what you are looking to do. For example - musuems, active stuff, drinking and nightlife, sitting on a beach and hoping it's warm enough to swim...

I think that sight seeing/museums/history/nightlife is what we're after, we're two 24-28 year olds who enjoy culture and history but can also drink at night and party. Beach's aren't important at all

I'm throwing in another vote for AMS. Great nightlife, lots of arts and culture, and there's just so much to do and see there. Perfect for a 2-3 day jaunt, imo.

2/6/07 - United Airlines 902 IAD (Dulles)-MUC (Boeing 777)
2/12/07 - Condor Airlines 842 MUC-Rome (Airbus A320)
2/15/07 - United Airlines 8801 - Rome - Frankfurt (Airbus A320)
2/15/07 - United Airlines 8827 - Frankfurt - IAD (Dulles) (Boeing 747)


Yay!