Also, you say you are spending 3 nights in Interlaken and 3 nights in Munich, then on the 6th night

Hi all! Next year in January, we will be going to Europe for a 15 day trip. We have made some plans, but transport costs are adding up, partly due to our insistence budget car rental coupon code to drive on a select budget car rental coupon code part of the journey. Maybe someone could vet this and let us know if it's wise not to get any rail passes, and to carry on with this itinerary?
You've done your research and have found pretty much the most economical fares for your trip. It probably goes without saying that the main thing driving up transportation costs is the ambitious itinerary where you're traveling long legs (220km/125mi) each day or every other day. I'm not sure the purpose of the car rental, since you're not giving yourself enough time to leisurely explore the countryside.
I don't understand the car, either. Dead of winter is going to slow you down, and zooming around to all those one-night stays seems rather crazed. I can't see how you're budget car rental coupon code going to have time to see a thing.
What do you plan to do with luggage during budget car rental coupon code the day in Vienna and when you arrive in Prague in the wee hours of the morning? Hope you have located storage budget car rental coupon code because you surely would not want to tote it around all day? What are you going to do in Prague from 3:30 in the morning until things open up for the day, or are you checking into a hotel then?
Also, you say you are spending 3 nights budget car rental coupon code in Interlaken and 3 nights in Munich, budget car rental coupon code then on the 6th night take a bus to Vienna. Not possible to spend the 6th night in Munich and also on the road to Prague. That is a mistake somehow budget car rental coupon code because it would be the 7th night, so re-check your schedule.
I do know where you looked for car prices, but on the www.autoeurope.com web site, a Hyndai I10 (admittedly budget car rental coupon code a very small car) rents for $176 for the period you state at the "basic" rate, which means that your Visa card carries the CDW.
Where did you find a price of 124 for the 2-day Flexipass? I see much higher prices. You should consider a Half-Fare Card, which gives a better discounting the Jungfrau trip, bringing it down to around 99CHf for the return trip from Interlaken.
All the changes from place to place will make for considerable transportation costs. Although it is tempting to try and see as much as possible you really don't have enough time in most of your itinerary to enjoy the places you wish to see. For 15 days of travel, I would try to cut your stops to your top 3 or 4 as traveling between each place eats up most of a day. I would stay longer in Switzerland to start as you will need at least a day to recover from jet lag.
@Sassafrass: You are right. To think of it, it would be ambitious budget car rental coupon code for us to do Vienna in a day, even if we had included it knowing that all we wanted to do is to just get a feel of this place. We initially planned to take the overnight bus from Munich to Vienna that departs at 11pm, so we get to save on accommodation for that night.
@november_moon Thanks for pointing that out! The main reason why we wanted to drive is because we thought that it would provide some flexibility as to when we want to move out, without the rigidity of train schedules. We will be visiting places like Merzingen outlets and the Ritter Sport Museum budget car rental coupon code in Stutgatt, which are a little out of the city center. We thought that making stops at spots along the River Rhine in a car would be more convenient. Plus we wouldn't have to lug our backpacks switching between trains. Hmm.. Your comment on weather conditions gave us some food for thought..
But IMO your whole plan needs serious re-thinking. Even dropping Vienna, you want to visit 12 or 13 places in 16 days which allows NO time to see/do anything in most of them. You must allow for travel time. One night in a city leaves you a few hours free there. budget car rental coupon code Two nights nest you 1 days and maybe a few hours.
The above is obviously the number of nights in each city. The number of full days is always one less than the number of nights. This means that all of the one-night stays give you only a few hours to spend at the destination. You'll see a lot more of boring budget car rental coupon code trains stations or autostrade than of charming cities.
The main thing that's driving up your costs is the amount of ground you're trying to cover; Bruges is over 1200 km from Prague. I would drop EITHER Prague and Vienna OR Bruges and Ghent. That way, you'd have a more compact area, with more time in each place.
For an estimate of driving time, as well as tolls and fuel costs, www.viamichelin.com is a good resource. You have to also add parking costs and the cost (and time) for local transportation, because in most European cities, it's either not possible or not reasonable to park the car in the city center. I would agree that you probably shouldn't drive on any part of this trip. On most routes, the train would be both cheaper and faster, and you really budget car rental coupon code don't have time for the local stopovers you're considering.
on trains budget car rental coupon code at least - cheapest discounted ticket is 39 euros p.p. on a very few trains - 49 euros in practice the cheapest and that is for Zurich to Munich - Interlaken to Zurich may cost about as much.
You cannot use the Bavarian Lander ticket to go from Interlaken budget car rental coupon code or Switzerland to Munich - it is only valid after the German border around Lindau - you could buy an Interlaken to Lindau ticket budget car rental coupon code then get off the direct Zurich to Munich budget car rental coupon code train, buy the Lander Card and then only be able to take regional trains to Munich - meaning an all-day trip instead of 4 hours (Zurich to Munich).