lvon

In March my husband and I will be taking our first trip to Germany. Arriving and departing Frankfurt, we will have 6 days. We have planned to stay the first day in Rothenberg, and the last night in Heidelberg. We will be driving. We do want to visit Munich. We want to see castles, and the countryside. I have perused the forums and I have bits and pieces along with a dozen travel books from the library. I am overwhelmed! Can anyone suggest an itinerary ? Thank you!

bmw732002

Ivon:<BR><BR>If you perused the forums you would probably gather that 6 days is not enough to do everything on your list.<BR><BR>But...you still can get a quick peek at one beautiful part of Europe!<BR><BR>Rothenberg deserves at least 2 days. One for jet lag alone!<BR><BR>Head down to Garmish and spend 3 days. Do the castles and Oberammergau, Ettal Abby, Mittenwald, Weiskirch...Check the forums.<BR><BR>Head back up to Heidelberg for the last day. I think you can get an early start out to get to Frakfurt for your flight. Save Munich when you come back agai...ad you will come back again!<BR>JOHN

Marge

you might want to check out: http://www.bavariaben.com<BR><BR>there's trip reports with photos, inn recommendations, suggested itineraries of varying lengths.<BR><BR>hope you come back and post a trip report

uncle_sam

Ivon,<BR><BR>That was exactly what we did on our first trip to Europe in 1990!<BR><BR>We landed in Frankfurt and drove to Rothenburg, spent the afternoon there and drove on to Munich that night.<BR><BR>Stayed in Munich two days and then on morning of the third day we drove to Fussen to see Neuschwanstein and then drove over to Garmisch -Partenkirchen for the night. <BR><BR>Spent the next day driving through Tirol to Zurich and spent the night in Freiburg...great little cathedral town. <BR><BR>From there drove to Heidelburg and on to Frankfurt.<BR><BR>Caught the plane home the next morning.<BR><BR>We were hooked!<BR><BR>US

uncle_sam

BTW, the previous poster is correct that you do not have enough time to do this ...unless you just want to get a taste as we did. <BR><BR>We got to see Rothenburg, Munich, one of Ludwig's castles, the ski village of Garmish-Partenkirchern, the mountans of Tirol, the gothic cathedral of Freiburg and Heidelburg.<BR><BR>We did not see it in detail but we got a great over view for the trips that we took later (6 more times to Germany in the 90's)<BR><BR>Hope this explanation helps!<BR><BR>US

richardsonsnm

my wife and i often fly in and out of frankfurt. very easy rental car pickup, i suggest getting a car with navigation, it really helps, especially in places like munich. munich is an easy day's drive down the romantic road. salzburg is a few hours max from munich. we love zurich, great restaurants and you can walk everywhere. so many places to choose from. you might go to viamichelin.com to check driving times from city to city, you will be surprised how close everything is. have a good trip. DEFINETLY have a brat at an outdoor stand in munich!!!

Dutch

The last night in Heidelberg might be asking too much, especially if you have to catch a morning flight in Frankfurt. The traffic around Frankfurt can sometimes be crowded. The car return and check-in at the airport can be hectic as well.<BR><BR>I would recommend staying the last night in Frankfurt. There are some interesting things to see/do in and around Frankfurt itself.<BR><BR>The first night in Rothenberg or Wurzburg makes sense. Then four nights in Munich. Then head home. <BR><BR>Is there just the two of you? You might consider the train instead of driving. Munich is a headache with a car.<BR><BR>Good luck and eat a pretzel for me.

Bob1

Ivon: We have lived in Germany and done many trips over there, in and out of Frankfurt. The first poster, bmw, gave you the best itinerary. Skip Munich this trip.<BR><BR>Go to Rothenburg and enjoy that town for at least two nights...one to get over the jet lag. Then head to Garmisch and base there for the rest of the trip.<BR><BR>As to Heidelberg. We have used this location for our last night in Germany many times. The airport is on the south side of Frankfurt and the drive up on the autobahn is easy. We usually leave on a Sunday, so traffic is not an issue. If you are leaving Monday to Friday, you need to consider traffic. <BR><BR>The other alternative is to stay at the airport and we have done that also. We arrive late to stay at the Sheraton on the airport grounds and then out of there the next day. My preference is Heidelberg.<BR><BR>If you insist on Munich realize that the town has traffic. To see it this trip will eliminate some of the time you can spend in the Alps and Garmisch. My only advice on this is to try not spend all of your time rushing from one spot to the next. You get home and realize you saw a lot, but enjoyed little as you had to get in the car again. Just slow down and have fun. Munich can be the next trip.<BR><BR>Great area! Dress warm. March can be cold in Germany.

julies

Frankly we enjoyed some of the smaller less touristed areas around Rothenburg (such as Dinklesbuhl) more than we did Rothenburg. Get the Cadogan guide to Bavaria. It has great descriptions of the area, and I'd highly recommend it. You could spend weeks wandering around the area.

lvon

Thank you all for the information. It is most helpful. I think we will save Munich for a return trip!

jor

The best advise I can give you is from my own experience.<BR><BR>I have never traveled in Europe with an itinerary. Dump your itinerary. An itinerary is like an employee manual. Go with the flow and change your plans as you go.<BR><BR>In all of my trips to Germany and other European travels I have always been able to show up on schedule for my return trip to the US. Make an &quot;itinerary&quot; which only includes one thing. Return Frankfurt, xx date for flight xxxx.

garybear

As far as itinerary, I like &quot;jor's&quot; suggestion the best. There is so much to see and do, that you will not be disappointed no matter where you go.<BR><BR>Here is an important word to learn for your German vocabulary: &quot;stau&quot;, it means traffic jam, and there are lots of them in the Frankfurt area. I just came from Heidelberg, I left at 8:30 Monday for a 12:45 flight from frankfurt. Arrived at the airport at 10:00 and finally got through the last security checkpoint at 11:30.<BR><BR>Frankfurt Airport is huge and not easy to find your way around in if you have not been there before. Be sure to give yourself plenty of time because you will surely get lost once or twice!<BR><BR>Viel Glueck und Schoene Reise!

ccdugan

Here is my suggestion for an itinerary with an overview of everything...I assume you arrive into Frankfurt in early morning, I find you don't get really tired until Day 2, you are too excited the first day...I would depart the airport and go right to Rottenburg - look around a bit, eat lunch, head to a hotel in Munichat around 3 or 4 pm. Pick a hotel on the outskirts of Munich so you don't have to deal with traffic, go to bed EARLY, spend the next day possibly seeing Dachau, and the pedestrian areas of Munich, head south to Garmish/Fussen area and apend 2 nights in that area visiting the 2 castles, the city of Garmish, and driving around a bit, head back up to Heidleberg and spend one or 2 nights there depending on when your flight out of Frankfurt is. Generally, if your flight is before 11am, you can check in the night before which can allow you a little more time to sleep in if you choose a hotel near the airport. This trip would not do Munich or Rottenburg justice but if you aren't travelling with kids and it stays light out a bit longer it might work just fine.

lvon

Again, thank you! This has been all good , especially the &quot;you won't be disappointed&quot; and &quot;you will be back&quot;.<BR>With that, I think we can play it more by ear and take what comes. We will go to Rothenberg first....and finish in Frankfurt. From what I understand we won't have a problem with lodging ...<BR>I feel somewhat relieved not worrying about an itinerary...thanks for all the advice.