Booking trip for my parents, their tour ends in Prague with 10 days left to explore Germany during Oktoberfest (simply a coincidence).
1.Prague - Munich transfer
2. Munich
3. Munich
4. day trip to Neuschwanstein Castle - (suggest tour company)
5.Nuremberg
6. Nuremberg -day trip to Bamberg
7 Nurenberg - day trip to Wursburg
Do people manage to visit both towns in 1 day or it is better to spend day at each town?
8. trip to Rothenberg and return to Nuremberg? or not?
9. transfer to Frankfurt
10 Frankfurt
11 Flight home

I am also deliberating whether to book 2 nights in Frankfurt or just 1 and to spend additional night in Nuremberg to visit Resenburg. My parents wouldn't have a car and I am trying to organize everything so that they do not have to carry luggage with them as much.

Another option, perhaps to go Prague - Resenburg (overnight?)-Munich

For hotels - I will be using SPG points or priority club points except if I book 1 night in Rothenberg.

Please critique this itinerary.

At this point I am puzzled by train transportation in Germany as on some routes people suggest buying 2 separate regional tickets, or mention cheap offers which I do not understand how to find and book.

This is not really a German tour- rather a tour of Bavaria and Franconia. Sounds like fun tho. I personally would skip Frankfurt for Dresden, far more interesting for first time visitors to Germany, maybe even Dresden and nearby Meissen.

Perhaps my article on Munich will be helpful in terms of some interesting things to see (I used to live there, so please take it from the perspective of having advised visitors for a long time)

Jonathan Spira's Munich

DrLudwig,

Thank You for advice about Dresden, but our acquittance advised differently - to skip Dresden unless one wants to see Dresden Gallery.

Jspira,

Thanks. I will certainly read it.

As others have said, this is a trip to Franconia and Bavaria, not Munich. I think this is better, though, than trying to squeeze all of Germany in a few days. It will give your parents more time to enjoy and it will be less hurried than other trips that might be suggested...

1. that there is Oktoberfest in Munich does not mean that there is Oktoberfest in other places. That's good - Munich is, in my opinion, not a very fun place to be during that time (too many drunk tourists...). But, yes, if they have not been there, I think 2 days Munich is a good idea.

2. Neuschwanstein: I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Neuschwanstein is completely overrated. If they want to see a typical castle or palace, this is *NOT* the place to visit. Rather, Neuschwanstein is the Disney land view of Germany. So, unless they need to tell their neighbors that they've been there, do not waste the time. Rather go to Salzburg instead (easy to reach round trip by train within a day from Munich).

3. Bamberg: They will need one day to see the city (I live there, most of my visitors need more than one and then usually come back. yes, it is very nice, and, no, I did not grow up here but moved to Bamberg without ever having been there before...).

4. Wuerzburg: The residence alone takes 2-3 hours. Your parents should be aware that some parts of the city were badly damaged during WWII, so while the city is still nice, apart from the residence area it is not as nice as downtown Bamberg. So I'd go to Wuerzburg first and Bamberg second (although it they want to only go to one of the two cities, go to Bamberg and not to Wuerzburg).

5. Rothenburg: very nice medieval town, however, also very touristy. Since they will have seen the old town of Prague and the like, they might want to skip this city. As others have said, Dresden is a very nice alternative and also culturally different to what they will have seen so far. One alternative would be to go to Dresden on Day 8, which would give them half a day in Dresden, then spend Day 9 in the Dresden area (e.g., Schloss Pillnitz - very nice palace, not touristy, or Meissen), and then leave Dresden for Frankfurt on the late afternoon of Day 10).

6. Frankfurt is not worth it. IF they don't want to skip Rothenburg and go to Dresden, visiting one of the nicer cities around Frankfurt is a good idea. I suggest Mainz or Cologne. It's easy to reach FRA from Mainz, so if they want to skip Rothenburg, go to Cologne on the morning of day 8, stay an afternoon and the night there, do some more sightseeing in the morning of day 9, then take the train to Mainz around noon and spend a nice afternoon and evening there. It's easy to get from Mainz to the airport, so there's no need to move to FRA.

Concerning your train question: for local transports: use the S-Bahn from Nuremberg to Bamberg and a cheap "Bayernticket" for the local train from Nuremberg to Wuerzburg (they can buy these tickets just before taking the train from the ticket machines in Nuremberg central station).

Use the ICE between Munich and Nuremberg and Nuremberg to Frankfurt/Cologne/Dresden/Mainz, depending on what they want to do. Check prices on www.bahn.de beforehand (you can switch the language to English, the button is there, even if it is difficult to find in the top menu bar) and as early as possible, to get the "Sparpreis" for these connections. These are much cheaper, but you have to take the train connection you're selecting. See the other threads on German trains in this forum for the details...

Thank You for such constructive breakdown of each town. The tour will include Salzburg day trip from Vienna, that is why I didn't include it in my itinerary. The tour ends in Prague. But flight home is from Frankfurt. So here is adjustment - fill in the blanks:
1.Prague - Munich transfer
2. Munich
3. Munich
4. ????
5.Nuremberg
6. Nuremberg -day trip to Wurzburg
7 Nurenberg - day trip to Bamberg
8. ??? Cologne?
9. ????Mainz
10 ???Mainz?
11 Flight home

Thanks

PS They have been to Berlin for 5 days about 2 yrs ago and loved it. They want to go back, but I suggest for them to see other parts of Germany and not be rushed.

Also, if they stay 5 nights in Nurnberg - what other towns can they visit from there? The reason I am asking is because I want to use SPG points for stay at Le Meridien (Sheraton Carlton is not available).

I absolutely agree!
I'd definitely agree with skipping Frankfurt and spending that time in Rothenburg. It's definitely nt as touristy as Prague and the whole town and its setting are wonderful. Dresden is quite nice as well.

))) I understand many like Dresden, but I do not want to include it. I will skip Frankfurt as suggested.
So whether stay in Nurenberg and take trip to Rothenberg (or overnight there?)and move to Mainz and Cologne OR other suggestions.

PS maybe I am concerned too much about luggage? Do all train stations have luggage storage? If so, problem is solved concerning 1 day sightseeing and moving on to another town.

The major trainstations should have storage boxes. The smaller ones on the countryside don't.

I wish I had known to avoid Neuschwanstein... And I know you don't want to hear it but I loved Dresden.

I recommend spending the night in Rothenburg ob der Tauber and doing the Night Watchman tour. I don't usually do tours but that one was interesting and entertaining. I visited at the beginning of May and had read about the droves of tourists arriving on tour buses, but that did not happen! Maybe the same will be true in October.

If your parents are into driving at all, driving is really easy between cities in Germany (with GPS) and could be a lot cheaper than the trains. 3 days of small car, one way, was about $110.

Thank you for the advise. Few questions:
1. Did you go inside the castle? I do see that many people recommend to skip it, but then ...you have to spend time somewhere. Others claim that castle has very interesting interior that can't be found elsewhere.
I just met a person from Germany who stated that Bamberg is boring after 30 min.
2. Dresden... If traveling from Prague it would be a "circular" trip north to Dresden and then south to Munich..
3.Which company did you rent a car from? Was it automatic?

I was just in Rothenburg at the beginning of May and loved it, but we stayed the night and got to enjoy the quiet streets and we were the only people walking the wall at 6 a.m. The Night Watchman tour was worth every euro - it was both educational and very entertaining.

We went to Neuschwanstein and enjoyed the views of the castle from Mary's Bridge, but even though we had tickets we left without taking the tour due to the crowds. Thank goodness we had used the Castle Pass to get the tickets so we didn't waste our money.

Thank you )),
Did you travel by car or by bus or by train? Which hotel did you stay at at Rothenburg?

Youre pretty opinionated! All these people suggesting Dresden but you do not want to include it.

Another vote from Dresden ... but enough about that.

You say they are doing this without car? Yikes...for me, too many stops and transfers for parents to manuever with suitcases. It sounds like more of a back-backing itinerary. I'm 50 and too old to rough it. I vote for a rental car.

I love MUC and Bavaria ... but any mention of Oktoberfest and I avoid the entire region. IMHO, the worst time to visit. (One of the previous posts mentions travel in October ... you do know that Oktoberfest is starts 9/21 and goes thru 10/6)

Another vote to avoid FRA. Nothing to do in FRA. It is an industrial/banking center. So many Americans believe, because it is their port of entry to Europe, that is should be on the "must-see" list, but nada! I only stay at the Sheraton FRA the night before a flight to an very-early wake-up call.

I like your idea of staying in Mainz. Lots of day trips in the area. If the weather is nice, I have suggested to several friends they take a K/D boat from the Mainz Wharf to Cologne ... beautiful scenery, castles, vineyards, etc. Get off in Cologne, stroll around, take the train back to Mainz.

I think the interior of Newschwanstein is worth it. However, during Oktoberfest: see previous paragraph.

When in Rothenburg, I either stay at Eisenhut or (as in many small towns) a B&B.

My parents are also in their 50's. And I am trying to create an itinerary where they would take day trips from town, like Nuremberg. That is why I am asking for suggestions on which town to visit fro there (Wursburg, Bamberg already on the list).
Is it inconvenient to travel from Nurmberg to stay overnight at Rothenburg (I want them to go on that famous night tour) with suitcases? and continue to Mainz/Cologne like you and others suggest?

I actually convinced my dad to take rental car - showing him that distance to cover in several days is not that much. We travel 300 miles to Las Vegas from LA in 1 day - the same distance needs to be covered in Bavaria in few days. I am concerned about traffic and how easy it is to travel on autobahns.

If taking a car - take it from Munich or travel from Munich to Nuremberg and take it from there? Use for day trips to Bamberg and Wursburg or only to Rothenberg and Mainz/Cologne?

Thank You