Help with Germany, Austria, France Sep-Oct itinerary

If you can get to Hallstatt, do it! We went based on RS recommendation in a program. We loved it so much, we stayed an additional day, just so we could relax and drink in the beauty.

First, you're going to have to make sure you can rent a car that will be allowed to go everywhere you want to drive. That may not be easy.

It may be better to take the train from Reims straight to Konstanz unless there's something you really want to see around Strasbourg. Then you can see Mainau, which is much better than Lindau, and there's a nice ferry that will take you right to Meersburg, so you don't have to drive there and fight looking for parking. It drops you off right in the lower town. Or, you can take the car, and then drive down to the south end of the lake and into Austria, and avoid driving half way around the lake at 15 mph.

I'm not sure why you're planning on returning the same route (through Strasbourg); I wouldn't. I'd head for Basel from Innsbruck, and then head north via Nancy. A much more scenic route.

Hi, sounds like you might be looking once again for "a perfect mix of history, beautiful towns, nature, touristy and less touristy experiences."

Your "Explore Austrian Alps" does lack specifics. IMO your interest in visiting Salzburg is not wrong. It's by no means a "backdoor" destination, and September will still mean plenty of fellow tourists, but you sound like perfect candidates. And if it turns out to be pricey, or booked up, no worries, as there are other places nearby where family accommodations should be available. I won't bore you with Salzburg's offerings, but I will point out some ideas for family-oriented sightseeing within the general area.

• 20 mi. from Salzburg in the Salzkammergut region (accessible by bus from Salzburg)... Wolfgangsee (lake) cruise + 4 more area "treasures"... https://www.5schaetze.at/en/wolfgangseeschifffahrt.html

• In nearby Werfen (accessible by direct train from Salzburg)... Hohenwerfen Fortress and falconry exhibition... https://www.salzburg-burgen.at/en/hohenwerfen-castle/

• In nearby Werfen: The Sound of Music Trail... https://theperpetualsaturday.com/sound-of-music-trail-werfen/

• Near nearby Werfen, special bus access only... Eisriesenwelt Ice Cave... https://www.eisriesenwelt.at/en/

• The Koenigssee, lake near Berchtesgaden (Germany)... lifts, hiking, cruises, more... https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g198481-Activities-oa0-Schoenau_am_Koenigssee_Upper_Bavaria_Bavaria.html

• Keltenblitz, Summer Bobsled near Salzburg... https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g608657-d4433820-Reviews-Sommerrodelbahn_Keltenblitz-Bad_Durrnberg_Hallein_Austrian_Alps.html

• Burghausen Castle (Germany) 30 mi. NW of Salzburg... https://www.burg-burghausen.de/englisch/tourist/index.htm

I am a little puzzled by your choice to do so much driving on this trip. Take Day 4, for example... Strasbourg > Lake Constance can be done by train, and the trip uses one of Germany's most scenic railways, the Black Forest Railway, to get there. Starting from Kehl or Offenburg, Germany instead of Strasbourg, the cost for this regional train trip to a lakefront town like Lindau is €36 with a day pass. The train journey from there to Salzburg, again by day pass, is €42. That said... your itinerary seems quite short on German destinations... A train trip from Lindau to the precious alpine town of Mittenwald would break up that trip and also costs just €42 for the family on a day pass.

Mittenwald... https://hastingshouse.typepad.com/hastings_house_us/2007/04/mittenwald_germ.html

Then make the train trip from there to Salzburg on another day pass.

Alternatively, you might hit Mittenwald on your long journey back to France from Austria... It is not far at all from Innsbruck by train.

If you can spend 5 nights in the Salzburg area, I recommend the farm apartment here - www.neuwirtgut.at. It is just outside Salzburgnand has parking

Hi everyone, thank you so much for your detailed and thoughtful responses! Gives us something to consider.

@KGC, can you please clarify what you mean by ‘getting a car that will be allowed to go everywhere”? Is this to do with permits or type of car or something else? Thank you.

P.S. We’re going through Strasbourg because that’s where my sister lives and we also wanted to see Colmar and surrounding Alsace villages on our way through. But looking at your responses I can see that it may not be the ideal travel route.

Edited to add - our thinking around driving was that it would be cheapest to pick up and drop the car off at the same place (Strasbourg), and that train tickets add up so it should work out cheaper overall. Last time, we had a situation where one train (Trento - Munich) was several hours late so we missed our connecting train to Frankfurt and had to get last minute tickets for the next one, which was several hundred Euro for the four of us and was quite stressful. Not sure how common this is.

bondi_zen,
It may seem cheaper to drive everywhere, but be sure to calculate cost of gas, parking and tolls when comparing the cost of a car to train fares. They can add up to quite a bit, and the train, if convenient re times and dates, gives the driver a chance to see the scenery and relax. Gather all your facts before deciding.
Also, some car rental agencies don't allow taking the car into another country even if returning it to the same location. I don't think that is as common as in the past, but definitely check it out.

I wonder about the two mountain areas back to back, for a total of nine days. I know that's driven by geography, but I think I'd rather have something in between. But I'm not a hiker, so I may be totally off base.

In addition to being restricted for use in any other country, there are also issues of "Sustainability" window-stickers, which might be on the car already only for its home country. Then you have requirements for IDP and possibly insurance that can be different in different countries. You're not going to Switzerland, so you don't need a "toll" sticker "vignette." Some countries now denigrate diesel autos.

That's a lot of driving and a lot of hotel changes. You don't mention harvest/wine festivals for the fall, which might be worth researching.

Austria requires a vignette of some sort.