Traveling to Different Countries

Would like to plan a vacay from the U.S. to Berlin and Munich (Germany) and then go to Vienna and Salzburg (Austria) and end up in Rome (Italy). Is this possible in 2 weeks and what%26#39;s the best and least expensive mode of transportation to getting to these destinations without flying? When are the low seasons? Any websites you recommend we visit for planning? Thank you!

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Of course it is possible to do all this in two weeks. Whether it is reasonable is a different question. In my opinion Germany and Italy are too big and too diverse to really experience them within a week each. You will spend more time on trains/rental cars than you actually have for sightseeing and - most importantly - you will miss a lot.

I would recommend to decide either for a Berlin - Munich - Salzburg - Vienna (in this order) trip, if that%26#39;s what you want to see or for a Salzburg - Vienna - Italy trip. Actually both Berlin and Rome are a bit off the track from the other destinations of your choice, so I think doing both is really not manageable.

Means of transportation: If you just want to stay in or near the bigger cities (as your itinary suggests), go by train. There are various offers for tourists and it is mostly faster and more relaxing than using a car. If you want to go sideways, see sights in rural areas and/or smaller cities, renting a car might be the better option. Beware if you do so, most cars you will be able to rent in Germany have manual transmission. Many Americans have difficulties to cope with that.

Low seasons: For both, Italy and Germany, low seasons are outside major holidays. May and September/October are good months if you are free to go whenever you want. The usual last advice: if you are not interested, avoid Germany between June 9 and July 9 because our country hosts the FIFA World Cup (soccer) this year. This is a MAJOR event with lots (and I mean LOTS) of additional tourists in nearly every major city. You will have a hard time finding reasonably priced accomodation in Berlin as well as in Munich during the World Cup.

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Of, I forgot the websites:

http://www.germanytourism.de/

http://www.deutschland.de/home.php?lang=2%26amp;

usembassy.de/germany/citizen_services.html

For hotels:

http://www.hrs.de

http://www.expedia.de

Transportation:

http://www.bahn.de (railway system)

http://www.skyways.de (cheap planes)

Have fun!