Advice requested re days in Prague Vienna Salzburg

[KDD]

Hi - I've been reading what I could in the TUG archives, Frommers and Steves, but I still have some questions that maybe some of you Marriott travelers could answer:

We have a 7 night category 6 hotel certificate from Marriott to spend and 4 nights of a European sampler, and we are wondering how to distribute our time between Prague, Vienna and Salzburg. We will be traveling to each city by train and would like to take side trips by public transport to whatever is interesting at each town. We have two weeks to spend.

We dont know if we should spend 7 nights in Prague, and 4 in Vienna or vice-versa. We hope the Marriott Prague and the Marriott Vienna (on the Ringstrasse) are in the historic area of each city. We dont care for the atmosphere or the location of the Salzburg Marriott at all and would rather look for a room at a small hotel or B&B within the historic area just - but we also dont know how many days to alot to Salzburg.

Would anyone with any experience at these cities like to make a recommendation?

Thanks much!

 

[pwrshift]

That's such a personal decision based on what type of things you are interested in. I suggest you see if you can get the Rick Steves TV shows on those two cities. www.ricksteves.com

How did you get a 4 night stay European Sampler? Do you not have to use them all over a 7 day period (in row)?

Brian

 

[GetawaysRus]

This seems more like a FlyerTalk question, but here goes... You might want to check out the Marriott forum on Flyer Talk for more information. Trip Advisor is another good site.

I stayed at the Marriott in Prague last summer. It is right across the street from the Prague Renaissance (closed for renovations while I was in Prague). I have also visited all 3 of these cities at various times, though have not stayed at any Marriotts in the other 2 cities. My visit to Prague was recent and is fresher in my memory. We were in Vienna and Salzburg a number of years ago.

In terms of days to allow for sightseeing, I think Prague and Vienna should carry reasonably equal weight. I would budget a bit less time in Salzburg.

Prague is a relatively small city, and most of the sites are within walking distance if you are in normal health. My wife and I are in our early 50s - we walked to almost everything we visited in the city. There is also public transport (streetcars and train lines) that can help you get around more quickly. We used the Rick Steves Prague book as our guide.

It was probably a 10 to at most 15 minute walk from the Marriott Prague to the central square. The Jewish quarter is just a short walk further. You will also want to go across to the other side of the river. Again, you can walk across St. Charles Bridge over the river, and then it will be an uphill walk to the Castle quarter (or you can try to catch a streetcar). St. Vitus' Cathedral is beautiful and should not be missed.

If I recall, we "budgeted" about 5 days for Prague. This was more than adequate, and did allow enough time for a side trip. We chose to visit the Terezin Concentration Camp. I have not visited any other camps, but we did find this quite sobering.

You've picked nice cities to visit, and I think that the 2 weeks that you have available should allow an enjoyable trip at an enjoyable pace.

 

[KDD]

Re
How did you get a 4 night stay European Sampler? Do you not have to use them all over a 7 day period (in row)?

Hmm, this is the first time we will be ordering the sampler and didnt know that they had to be used in a week. Someone at Marriott reservations or rewards told me about them as an option, but didnt mention the time period requirement. We had planned to use the last 3 nights in London on the way home but thought we could space them out. We might have to look at the order of cities differently and just do what we can. Thanks for bringing it up.

Boy, this using points for the planes and hotels is taking quite a bit of planning, and under a bit of time pressure too, despite it being almost a year from traveling. We have the flights taken care of, now its a matter of the hotels. I thought I was getting the hang of it, but maybe not so good

 

[kjd]

We took this trip about four years ago. Here are some ideas.

1. See a lot of Switzerland. We started in Zurich. We took the Alps trip that Eurorail offers. You select your own hotels. You get on an off the train at three different cities.

We found that Best Western International (I know, I was skeptical too) has a lot of very nice botique hotels (75 rooms or less) in great locations in Europe. Due to the fact that you're in the mountains, many Swiss hotels do not have air conditioning. If it's important then find a hotel that has it. We went in July and found it was not necessary.

2. After the Alps we took the train to Salzberg. The trip is about four hours. I recommend that you buy first class Eurorail tickets so that you have a separate compartment. It's especially needed if you have a lot of luggage.

3. I recommend that you stay in the old town section of Salzberg. There is a very nice BW there called the L'Elephant. This location is close to the Mozart home and you can walk to the old castle that looks down upon the city. They have good concerts at night at the castle. The concerts are inexpensive but with the value of the US dollar you'll take a beating on just about everything in this part of Europe.

4. While at Salzberg I recommend a trip to Eagles Nest. It's Hitler's vacation retreat in Bavaria. It's a day trip on a tour bus and worth it. There's also a trip to a salt mine (It's called Salzberg) and a boat ride on the river. There is great shopping in the old town section. Salzberg is probably worth about 3-4 days.

5. You can get back on the train and head for Vienna. The Ringstrasse is the place to stay. There's lots to do in Vienna including the Summer Palace, outdoor cafes, music every night (Winter Palace) and several day trips. Public transportation is excellent. Vienna is probably worth 5-7 days. It's sort of like Paris but with more emphasis on music.

6. I'm not sure what to say about Prague. We hired a guide and drove there for a day. It's probably worth 4-5 days, maybe more. There are some side trips to other cities but frankly these can also be done from Vienna. It's a former communist country struggling with capitalism. There's a lot of young people from the US and Europe living there.

You have selected a great trip. I know you'll enjoy it.

 

[vacationhopeful]

Been to Prague twice. Agree with GetawaysRuss on the Prague Marriott/Renaissance location, only I stayed at the Renaissance (had an indoor SMALL pool). Get a suite as the rooms are standard hotel and the suite had a sofa and table (I recall it being a corner location - my sister had the suite, I had the room). The upstairs "club" was another option sis had with free internet and a great free breakfast while the downstairs lobby deal was about $20 pp. Sis also had $25 day in room interent (ok, she had the expense account option).

The Marriotts were a very short walk to the old town square and were next to a metro stop. The intercity bus terminal was easy 2-3 block walk. Both of my trips to Prague were at Thanksgiving time - outside dining was possible due to portable gas heaters and if dressed decently. State Opera House (National Theatre) was open and tickets very reasonable BOTH years (~$10 - just beautiful - get a box for a few dollars more) and on a par with Vienna (smaller) and Budapest (harder to get tickets to). Go to the side ticket door at Opera House during the day and pick your seats - BRING CASH. Also, Prague has an earlier version of the Paris Effiel tower (1/16 the size) .. take the funicular in Petrin Park and walk to you right to the park. Can walk to the top for a small fee - first Nov it was open at night; 2nd it was not. Look for the American flag between tower and castle - American Embassey, nice place to know when one loses her passport.

Outside of Prague, there are a couple of different castle sites. Didn't have time. Did get to Karlsbad, also know as Karlovy Vary - 2 hours west of Prague by the intercity bus. Stayed 4 nights the first year and 2 or 3 nights the second year (left as it snowed). It was where the "Last Holiday" and "Casino Royale" were filmed - see first for a real tour feel (no fake props). Not a castle, just more Baroque buildings and charm with a 2 mile pedestian zone, Moser cystal factory, china, mineral spas, and the liqueur factory Becherovka (tours & samples, buy the honey liqueur). Intercity bus RT was $22 - day tours much more expensive. Ok, most of us loved Karlovy Vary more than Prague. Take the funicular behind the Pupp Hotel. Offseason pensions for 2 with breakfast, just a block down the pedestian from the Grand Pupp Hotel were 60E a room with balconies overlooking the river.

Don't know what the exchange rates are doing and my prices were from 3.5 years ago.

 

[KDD]

Thank you all. Boy, how have I missed reading Flyertalk! There was lots there on what to consider in spending points - and more. We also checked out the Rick Steves videos and they clarified things quickly - I can see that we will find more things to do in Vienna and Salzburg and the surrounding areas than in and around Prague, so we'll divvy the points and certificate as 3-4 nights Salzburg, 7 nights Vienna, probably 3-4 nights in Prague. We'll fit in a few B&Bs along the Danube, in Hallstat and along the Romantic Road to and from Munich. We'll have time to fine tune this. I'm glad to hear that Vienna is reminiscent of Paris. It will be nice if the streets are as pleasant to walk along as they are in Paris.

Marriott's European sampler is called a "European Hopper" and they can break it into either 1 or 3 certificates: 3 nights-2 nights-2 nights or 3 nights-4 nights. And while they each require spending contiguous nights at one hotel, we dont have to use them contiguously. In fact Marriott gives a year to use them all.

Thanks again!
Kathleen

 

[vacationhopeful]

Rick Steves has may nice facts in his books ... but I would never had visited Karlovy Vary it I just referenced his books. My travel buddy is from WA states and buys only his books ... and therefore refused to consider a short visit. I had to give up Vienna (was there in years earlier and had a good time)as our next stop to get 1 night there; on the ride into town from the train station, the architecture was so striking and varied, he suggested 2 nights just to look at the buildings. We were so enjoying ourselves, we stayed 4 nights. Prague was the pits on our trip (3 nights); Budapest was #1 (5 nights), Karlovy Vary #2(4 nights), Aushwitz Concentration Camp (1 day) was most soul-reflecting.

Second visit - went back to Prague because DS and DBIL had business trip; did 3 nights after in Krakow (which was 2X higher enjoyment than Prague either years). DBIL managed to get robbed while on the subway for 5 minutes with me - I tried to save him but he brushed me off.

Per kjd post, Prague is only "struggling with capitalism" as they try to get as many dollars for a product as the West (with service not yet mastered). Our pension the first year, served leftover mixed vegetables (canned version) as the main breakfast entre with fried rice as a second entre one morning vs the spoiled food on another morning. The coffee was recycled too. Found the bread to be good with teabag and hot water.

Sorry, Prague is not on my return list ... a 7 day visit, IMHO, is way too long without 3 or 4 entire day tours to other towns. It was certainly the most tourist trap feeling place I had travelled thru in Eastern Europe 3-4 years ago.