My vote would be Budapest…you already have some good places in Germany

Berlin or Budapest would be a toss-up for me, but I’d probably lean toward Budapest. However, with your over-all plan, I liked Salzburg so much better than Vienna that I’d pick the Berlin route..

Thanks for the comments so far!

Finnegan – I feel the same way, that if I went to Berlin i would be spending too much of my trip in Germany.

Oldlady – I know, I heard that Salzburg and the Austrian countryside is much more enjoyable than Vienna. I actually had another alternative route of: Munich —> Salzburg —> Prague —> Budapest. With this route I would pass Vienna on the way to Budapest but not actually spend anytime there. But I feel like if I am there, it would be a waste not to see the city.

Additionally, would you recommend that I book the hostels ahead of time? I am booking the hostel in Amsterdam for sure, but I am hesitant about booking any others as I don’t want to be “locked” into a rigid itinerary. Since I’m going in June, will I be beating the summer rush?

June is often pretty busy. Groups of teens and tweens on school trips fill up some hostels. I doubt you’ll ever end up on the street, but you may spend more time and effort finding a bed than you’d like if you wait until you arrive in a new city. I’d try to book a couple of days in advance by phone or internet.

Wow… well I’ve been to Berlin multiple times and Budapest not yet, so personally I’d lean more towards the latter…. but still…. Berlin is just an amazing city! So yeah, that’s pretty tough!

As for booking, I would always advise doing so, but I know a lot of people like this seat-of-your-pants sort of travel, so whatever

EDIT: Damned infernal double-posts!

budapest…berlin is lovely, but budapest a little more interesting…for one its not german and you already will see alot of germany

It seems like you have a few too many cities on your list… I’m not sure you have time to see much of Berlin once you get there on this itin. so I would lean towards Budapest as it is smaller, if you insist on keeping Austria.
If you cut out Austria, I would say it’d be a toss-up between going Munich-Prague-Berlin and Munich-Prague-Budapest. The 2nd one would be a longer travel time, fastest trip is around 7hrs, although you could do an overnight train, whereas Prague-Berlin is 5hrs but no night train, cutting into your sightseeing daylight.
Also, it may be cheaper and easier to find a flight back to Heathrow from Berlin than from Budapest.

Additionally, if you wanted to do Berlin, you might instead go:
Amsterdam (night train to)— Berlin— Rhine/Stuttgart— Munich— Prague— Vienna (or Munich— Vienna— Prague).

Thanks for all the feedback everyone! Your advice has really helped me with planning this trip. I’ve decided on going to Budapest instead of Berlin, as 1) I’m already spending a large chunk of time in Germany already and 2) based on my crammed itinerary I don’t think I will have enough time to explore all of Berlin.

Kayling05 – I was only planning on staying in Vienna for a day or 2, tops. That would give me 3 days in Prague and 3 days in Budapest. Would you recommend cutting out Austria completely? I have heard mixed reviews on Vienna, so I’m still debating whether to spend a few days there or not. Also, i checked flights from Budapest and Berlin to London, and the difference is only around $30-$40 so it is not too big a deal for me.

I was also looking at backpacks this weekend, and just learned about the difference between travel packs and hiking packs. Would you recommend one over the other? I am leaning more towards hiking packs as they generally seem to be lighter and more comfortable to wear, and travel packs to me look like oversized backpacks and look kind of goofy.

A travel pack shouldn’t be that much heavier than a hiking pack of the same size, and will typically have features like detachable a daypack, a way to cover or hide straps when you check your pack on the plane, and panel loading (as opposed to top loading in hiking packs) that make travel a little easier. There are a lot of travel packs out right now that are backpack/rolling suitcase combos that just don’t seem comfortable for carrying whenever I try them on. A good travel pack should be just as comfortable/practical on your back as a hiking pack.

Vienna is kinda cool, but it’s gigantic. Going there for just one day would kind of be a waste of time, IMO. There is a lot of neat stuff to see there, but you need to have the time to SEE it, you know? Not to mention, it’s also like an hour away from a bunch of other nice daytrips; Bratislava Slovakia, Hungary, and even other nice places along the Danube are really close, comparatively speaking. So yeah, if you were thinking of going there for only a day or two, I’d just skip it and use the extra day or whatever somewhere else.

Vienna is beautiful especially if you are into art and architeure and great coffee houses. It is definiley a cosmopolitain city. I think Salzburg has a little more charm (visit the castle for a great view of the City and surrounding area). Salzburg is a must for anyone into Mozart

Didn’t Mozart spend all of his time in Salzburg trying to get to and then back to Vienna? Anyone into Mozart should probably visit both.

Good point…anyone whow was anybody at the time wanted to hang out at court in Vienna, but as his birthplace, Salzburg has a special claim to Mozart. There always seems to be a Mozart concert, Mozart organ recital, Mozart buskers, etc. going on in Salzburg.

Not to mention the statues…