Help please for my next vacation

Where are traveling from? Why do need big suitcases?
You do not have to rent a car in Europe.
Why did you include Frankfurt?

Hi suki ,I’m travel from Saudi Arabia , because we always travel with big suitcase and really help us for our clothes and if we buy anything there , I put frankfurter for visit cologne and maybe Cochem and Heidelberg , Do I have to delete it from the plan and replacement by another city ?

It will be difficult to travel by any means of transportation with 5 big suitcases. Most train cars will not have space for all 5 on the same car and you need to be able to see them. You will do better for each person to have one smaller suitcase and a large backpack. Since you are planning to stay in each destination for a few days, you should plan to take one week's worth of clothes and find a laundromat in each city.

......Most train cars will not have space for all 5 on the same car and you need to be able to see them...... I am sorry but that is a little misleading. If the thought is to place your luggage on the overhead rack (and not all trains have overhead racks) then it is somewhat correct in that the overhead rack is not large enough for a large suitcase -- only carryon size fits. However, all trains have large luggage storage bins that will easily accommodate all of your large suitcases. While most here will argue against taking large suitcases, it is your travel style and what works for you. Just remember everyone will be able to quickly handle their luggage in very crowd doorways getting on and off of trains.

Some people are very paranoid about their luggage but you do not have to watch it every second. We have been putting luggage in the train storage bins for 20+ years with no problems. Someone might grab a backpack or a small carry-on but no one is grabbing a large, heavy suitcase. You will be fine using the storage bins.

You can easily travel by train between all of those locations. Trains are frequently with lots of capacity so you can easily obtain tickets when needed. Not like flying with the limited schedules and capacity of airlines.

It will be warm in Europe in July and August, though not as warm as you're used to in Saudi Arabia. It will also be crowded. If you can fly "open-jaw" into Paris and home from Prague, or vice versa you will save time and money because you won't have to backtrack. Or you might find better flights in and out of Frankfurt.

Trains can take you to any of the cities you mentioned, and you can use buses or local trains to get to smaller towns. But driving is a better way to visit rural areas because it frees you from train and bus schedules and lets you stop when and where you want.

Big suitcases can travel with you but they will be harder to handle, carry on and off trains, transport to and from hotels, etc. This may not be a problem if you'll be using taxis or uber. But with the time you'll have in each city, it will be easy to do laundry (or have the hotels do it). There's lots of information on packing light on this forum and this website.

Unlike many first-time visitors to Europe, you have allowed plenty of time in each city. For some, like Frankfurt, maybe more time than you'll really know how to use. Have fun planning this trip, and then taking it.

Thank you guys for answering I have another question,1- if I rent a car in Freiburg and return it in Munich it’s better than use the train in whole trip ?2- or if I rent a car just in Freiburg (Black Forest) and return in same place,I heard in city I don’t need a car ,but I can depend on train and bus in annecy/Switzerland to go to lakes ,towns,waterfalls? i don't like driving But I'm afraid if I not drive there many beautiful places i can’t see it?

We rarely rent cars simply because the public transit systems are very good. The simply answer is that you generally can get a bus or train to just about any specific point. However, if you want to drive the country side for the scenic views and the ability to frequently stop to see things, then a car is needed. Five people with lots of luggage is more than the average, European car can handle. You can get five people inside the car but the large amount of luggage is the problem. So you will need something like a very large sedan or even a small van. That can get expensive. One alternative would be to use the train/bus for point to point. Once there, hire a local driver or taxi for the day or half-day who could drive you around to see the more scenic areas.

To add to Frank’s answers about luggage and train/car luggage capacity, if you take a taxi from a train or bus station to your hotel, that might also be hard to fit 5 large suitcases, plus all 5 people comfortably in one taxi. Unless it’s a van taxi or an arranged car service, you might need to take 2 taxis at once. And sometimes the fastest and easiest way somewhere is walking.

And generally, the farther away from the equator you go, and the higher into the mountains, the cooler the weather should be, just like in Australia. And there could be some rainy weather, especially in the mountains in July/August, but the rain probably won’t last for a long time, and you could have sun again in an hour or two.

we 5 persons so we will have 5 big suitcase

I plan to travel light every single time, and I end up with a big suitcase every single time... so I can understand how this happens. However, traveling with five people and five suitcases is a bit different from traveling with just two people and two suitcases!

O.k., and now I am going to have to do a lot of disagreeing. :-)

So you will need something like a very large sedan or even a small
van. That can get expensive. One alternative would be to use the
train/bus for point to point. Once there, hire a local driver or taxi
for the day or half-day who could drive you around

I am sorry, but that doesn't make any sense to me. This calculation might work in some low-wage countries, but have you ever tried hiring a local driver or a taxi for a day or half in a country like Germany? You can probably rent a van for four weeks for what that half day would cost you.

However, all trains have large luggage storage bins that will easily
accommodate all of your large suitcases.

Certainly, and then no one else in the train car is going to have any room for their suitcases. People are really going to love you if you enter a crowded train and use up all the storage space that is meant for everyone for just your party. More likely though, you'll enter the train and find the storage racks packed with other people's luggage already, with just enough space left to add maybe one or two suitcases. Then what?

Someone might grab a backpack or a small carry-on but no one is
grabbing a large, heavy suitcase.

Sorry to disappoint you, but I've seen it happen. I always keep an eye on my luggage at least during stops.

Trains are frequently with lots of capacity so you can easily obtain
tickets when needed.

He/She is going to be traveling in July/August. That's the main vacation time in many European countries. Trains are going to be packed.

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Having said all that, I would nonetheless recommend going by train and not by car, especially if you are going mostly to big towns that have good train connections and limited parking, for one very simple reason:

i don't like driving

If you are not comfortable driving, you'll hate driving in a foreign country. You are going to be totally stressed out instead of getting to relax and enjoy your vacation.

Do your research on good train connections and on the dates of school vacations of the countries you will be visiting. Avoid traveling on days when school vacations begin or end, or on the weekends of public holidays. Make seat reservations.

Most important though: Get a good guidebook and find out what you want to see, or at least do some research on Wikivoyage for starters. Excuse me for saying so, but your current itinerary seems kind of clueless, like "we want to see all of Europe in 41 days but don't really know what we want to see". What are you interested in? Tell us, and we can also give you a hint or two.

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There is one alternative that you should consider: Book a tour.

You won't have to do any driving, and your luggage will be taken care of. And the tour guides know where to take you so you won't waste your time ending up in places that aren't really that interesting.

Hi guys again ,after I read the comments , i decided 1- we will take small/medium 5/4suitcases 2-I change the itenary little bit l add extra days 45 days before I start I i want to tall you what we interest : city life , shopping, cafes,theme park like Disneyland ,Europe park , nature , cold or beautiful weather and beautiful views, so yeah we love everything (:,ok now to the itenary the trip will be open jaw arrive at Paris and return from Prague :
-pairs 7 days ,take a train to Freiburg im Breisgau it take 3 hours
- stay in Freiburg for 7 day and rent a car visit Black Forest, Baden-Baden , Europe park,colmar,Strasbourg and maybe to Heidelberg, (I thinking if I want to go to towns take a train or bus and use the car whene traveling between the cites / or when go to country side and lakes etc)
-should I take Eurail Pass?. -—and it’s good idea?,
-then to annecy for 5 days it take by car around 4 hours so we will stope in bern for break
-then to Grindelwald around 2hours and half /3 hours and stay for 6 day
-then to Maienfeld it take 3 hours and stay for night
-maienfeld to zell am see it take 4 hours and stay 7 days
-zell am see to Munich 2 hour and return the car (stay in Munich 5 days )
- Munich to Prague by a train take about 5 hours and stay there for 7 days
- How is the itenary?

You would need at least two cars with five big suitcases, and big cars at that. A reasonable sized car, like a compact, can barely fit a carry on and a day pack for two people in the trunk. It’s temtping to combine far apart places like this early in your travels, and it’s your choice, but I would try and visit places that don’t require traveling such long distances.

They have 45 days. Let’s not go off in a tangent about to much travel.

There are a lot of good suggestions on this forum for how to pack light that you might want to check when you get to that point.