We are spending almost 2 weeks in Central Europe in late July, early August, arriving in Vienna and flying home from Prague. We want to spend 4 days in Vienna at the beginning, 4-5 days in Prague, allowing for day trips to Cesky Krumlov and Teresin. We want to go to a lake in between. Which is better, Lake Balaton or Lake Bled. We realize it%26#39;s not exactly on the way, but it%26#39;s too expensive to change air travel.
We can either rent a car or go by train. Which place would you recommend or is there someplace else that you can suggest for a few days of relaxation by a lake-hiking, swimming, beautifull natural scenery and taking a respite from urban sightseeing?
Thanks.
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Both Lake Balaton and Lake Bled are way off your route.
Why not go to Brno, which is in between the two http://www.brno.cz/index.php?lan=en. It is a very relaxed city and will provide some respite after Vienna - you will find it much cheaper, as well, but brace yourselves for Prague... There are plenty of recreation and hiking options there, and there is a large lake as well that is surrounded by forests and it even has its very own castle - Veveri. There is a steamer service or you can relax in one of the fish restaurants that is on its shores, or you can just chill out like all the others.
Also near to Brno there is the Moravian Karst region which should tick all your boxes www.moravskykras.net/en/macocha-abyss.html On a hot day there is nothing better than to go into the magnificent Katarina cave or go on a tour of the underground Punkva river by boat (but bring some warm clothes with you!)
Just a suggestion - if you do go to Cesky Krumlov, stay overnight as you will enjoy it a lot more - otherwise you will spend 7 hours on a bus and three hours in the city - it is very hot to do that sort of thing at that time of year. The evenings are much more pleasant there as it gets swamped during the day, and it is only a small place.
And don%26#39;t drive - public transport is cheap and efficient and gets you to everywhere that you need to go to.
Hope this helps!
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Or the Salzkammergut lakes near Salzburg? They will be quite busy at that time of year but try Fuschl, that never gets really busy.
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if you have 2 weeks by car, I%26#39;d check out Slovenia and lake Bled. Stay in Bled, a lovely place. The castle has a nice terrace, some wonderful views.
Going here will give you the benefit of seeing another country. It%26#39;s not that far out.
IMO when touring, a car is the way to go. It gives you so much more flexibility and independence.
Stoofer
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The problem with renting a car for your itinerary is that you will be renting it in Austria and dropping it off in Prague - most hire companies will charge you a lot a) for taking it into the Czech Republic in the first place and b) for dropping it off in another country - this can cost many hundreds of Euros extra.
I agree, a car is great for flexibility and for going of the beaten track, but car hire companies do need to keep in business :) Also with petrol costs, motorway fees, etc, it can work out very expensive. And in Prague you do not need a car so you would be wasting money for every day of inactivity, plus astronomical parking costs ...
In short, if you do take a car, make sure it is your own (and that it is insured to the hilt!)
But the train is very comfortable and cheap, and goes everywhere (eventually) :)
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I would still be tempted to hire a car out of vienna and return to vienna before taking the train onto Prague for last leg of trip. 6 days out on the road would be fun.
When I booked a car in Salzburg, they didn%26#39;t seem too phased about going over borders, it was about 20% difference. + £50 extra insurance.
All different bods, horses for courses etc. :-)
Depends how important it is for the O.P. to go to Slovenia and off the beaten track, or more to the point, off the %26#39;rail track%26#39; because trains do limit you to a high degree and of course you don%26#39;t have the option for spontanious %26#39;Wow, let%26#39;s stop here today%26#39; type discoveries that are possible by car.
Stoofer
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