I am looking to travel to Germany with my family of five. I have put together an itinerary. We want to visit the town where our family immigrated from to start our trip and them spend a few days exploring Germany before returning home. Wondering if what I have planned seems doable. We would be renting a car for the duration of the trip.
Day 1: Arrive in Dusseldorf
-Depart Dusseldorf Airport en route to Munster
-Settle into Münster for the evening
-Explore Munster's Old Town
-Overnight in Münster area
Day 2: Münster
-Drive to Neuenkirchen-Vörden
-********** Farm (Neuenkirchen-Vörden, Germany)
-St. Bonifatius Church (Neuenkirchen-Vörden, Germany)
-********** Farm (Holdorf, Germany)
-St. Paulus-Dom Cathedral (Munster) ***
-St. Lamberti Church (Munster) ***
-Wochenmarkt Muenster (Munster -Flea & Street Market-Wed. & Sat.)
-Overnight in Münster area
Day 3: Cologne & Middle Rhine Area
-Depart Munster for Cologne
-Cologne Cathedral ***
-Chocolate Museum *
-Depart Cologne for Middle Rhine Area
-Aachen Cathedral in Aachen
-Bonn Minster Catholic Church in Bonn **
-Schloss Drachenburg near Bonn
-Schloss Drachenburg Castle in Königswinter **
-Overnight in Boppard or Sankt Goar
Day 4: Middle Rhine & Moselle River Areas
-Eltz Castle in Wierschem***
-Eltz Valley trailhead at Ringelsteiner Mühle in order to do the walk up to Eltz
-Hike of 15-20 minutes from the parking lot at Eltz
-Hängeseilbrücke Geierlay Suspension Bridge in Morsdorf ***
-Reichsburg Cochem Castle in Cochem ***
-Burg Rheinfels Castle Ruins in Sankt Goar **
-RheinBurgenWeg (Rhine Castles Hiking Trail)
-St. Severus Church in Boppard **
-Sesselbahn chairlift in Boppard ***
-Overnight in Boppard or Sankt Goar
Day 5: Middle Rhine and Moselle Rivers
-Rhine River cruise between St. Goar and Bingen
-Marksburg Castle in Braubach (English tours at 1:00 and 4:00 every day) ***
-Hike to Marksburg from the station in Braubach (which is significantly shorter, maybe 25 minutes, but also steeper-Mittelrhein Klettersteig (Hiking Trails)
-Cablecar Koblenz (views of two iconic rivers and the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress)***
-Schloss Stolzenfels Castle (Thurs.-Sun.) **
-Overnight in Boppard or Sankt Goar
Day 6: Middle Rhine to Bamburg
-Depart Boppard/Sankt Goar area for Bamburg
-Marienkapelle St. Mary Chapel in Würzburg **
-Würzburg Cathedral in Würzburg ***
-Würzburg Residenz in Würzburg ***
-Hofkirche Chapel Würzburg (next to Residenz)
-Bamberg Cathedral in Bamburg ***
-Bamberg Altstadt (old town) in Bamberg ***
-Rose Garden at the New Residenz in Bamberg **
-Overnight in Bamburg
Day 7: Bamburg to Rothenburg ob der tauber
-Depart for Rothenburg ob der tauber
-Walk the medieval wall in Rothenburg ob der tauber
-Siebers Tower in Rothenburg ob der tauber
-Visit best woodcarving in Germany (Riemenschneider's altarpiece) in Rothenburg ob der tauber
-Night Watchman’s Tour in Rothenburg ob der tauber
-Overnight in Rothenburg ob der tauber
-Hotel BurgGartenpalais, Hotel Altes Brauhaus garni, and Hotel Herrnschloesschen are all three good options with AC
Day 8: Rothenburg ob der tauber to Fussen
-Depart Rothenburg ob der tauber for Fussen
-Visit Dinkelsbuhl (Romantic Highway) **
-St George Church in Dinkelsbuhl **
-Old Stone Bridge in Regensburg **
-Historische Wurstkuchl -Old Sausage Kitchen **
-Cathedral of St. Peter’s in Regensburg **
-St. Emmeram’s Basilica in Regensburg **
-Basilica of the Nativity of Our Lady Regensburg ***
-Weltenburg Abbey Brewery in Weltenburg ***
-Brauerei zum Kuchlbauer GmbH & Co.(Restaurant) in Abensberg
-Leutasch-Klamm Wasserfallsteig
-Overnight in Füssen
Day 9: Füssen
-Schloss Hohenschwangau Castle
-Schloss Neuschwanstein Castle
-Blaubeu
-Zugspitze
-Overnight in Füssen
Day 10: Füssen to Dusseldorf
-Depart Füssen in route to Dusseldorf
-Bad Urach
-Schloss Lichtenstein Castle
-Hohenzollern Castle
-Esslingen
-Overnight in Heidelburg
Posted by
Green Bay
21749 posts
Day 3: Cologne & Middle Rhine Area
-Depart Munster for Cologne
-Cologne Cathedral ***
-Chocolate Museum *
-Depart Cologne for Middle Rhine Area
-Aachen Cathedral in Aachen
-Bonn Minster Catholic Church in Bonn **
-Schloss Drachenburg near Bonn
-Schloss Drachenburg Castle in Königswinter **
-Overnight in Boppard or Sankt Goar
Stop right there. I don't see how this is even remotely possible to do in 1 day. Half the time will be spent looking for parking places.
Posted by
Greeley, co, usa
2662 posts
Try to stay in a FERIENWOHNUNG ( vacation apartment ). Much cheaper than 3 rooms will cost, more room. Best to find on the town website and book direct. Town website usually has the format www.town name.de
Posted by
Southeast US
4128 posts
Wondering if what I have planned seems doable.
If you are trying to hit all the places on your itinerary, no, it is not doable. You have planned far too much pretty much every day.
Posted by
Northwest Arkansas
794 posts
By Day 5 at least one of you will be asking "did the same person build all of these castles and cathedrals?" and you will be ready to push your car into the nearest river.
Posted by
Green Bay
21749 posts
I guess that would be the Rhine.
Posted by
Paradise
7242 posts
Your best tip might be from stephen; get a Ferienwohnung in strategic spots and use it as a base for outings to SOME of the nearby destinations. Your plan looks out of control IMO in terms of the amount of ground travel and the things you hope to see/do. The following plan amputates a major leg but will give you a shot at seeing much of what interests you and getting back to Düsseldorf on Day 10.
Nights 1-2 in Münster
Nights 3-5: Base yourselves on the Rhine River near Koblenz in Boppard, Braubach, Spay, Rhens, or Osterspai, wherever you are able to locate a suitable Ferienwohnung.
Nights 6-8: Base yourselves on/near the Main River south of Würzburg in/near Ochsenfurt, Marktbreit, Sommerhausen, Kitzingen, or Iphofen. See Würzburg on the way to your base town. Daytrip from there to Bamberg, Rothenburg, Dinkelsbühl or the other towns just mentioned.
Day/Night 9: On Day 9 drive WEST on the German Castle Road (Burgenstrasse) between Rothenburg and Heidelberg.
https://www.burgenstrasse.de/upmedia/Uebersichtskarte_Burgenstra%C3%9Fe-und-Europa.jpg
Guttenberg Castle (near Gundelsheim) has tours and a falconry exhibition. Bad Wimpfen is lovely too. I would look for a place to stay in this general area for one night.
Day 10: Visit Heidelberg and other places on the Rhine you did not have time for your way back to Düsseldorf.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thanks to all of you for your thoughts and suggestions. I will prioritize the sites we intend to visit each day and hold those with lower priorities as back-up sites. Again I appreciate the feedback.
Posted by
Chicago
98 posts
I did a similar 10 day trip last summer. Your trip sounds quite ambitious.
Day 3: Cologne & Middle Rhine Area
Aachen seems like a stretch. I did a day trip from Dusseldorf to Cologne with the same activities plus lunch and it filled the day. Aachen is another 2 hours of driving plus activities.
Day 8: Rothenburg ob der tauber to Fussen
That's a lot of stops in between. I'd recommend trimming a stop or two to spend more time in the Alps OR eliminating the Alps from your trip altogether.
Day 10: Füssen to Dusseldorf
I assume you're flying back that day. Can you replace Dusseldorf with Munich or Frankfurt? One of the many reasons your trip is hectic is because you're attempting to go back to where you started. Pick a different start and end point. I started in Dusseldorf and ended in Munich.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thank you. I was returning to the start location for rental car return purposes. Maybe it is not an issue to return the car back to the original pick-up location?
Posted by
Green Bay
21749 posts
There may be a charge for that, but renting at one airport and returning it to another airport in the same country should not be a problem if it is one of the big outfits (Hertz, Sixt, Europcar, etc).
Posted by
Cleveland
384 posts
Impressive planning! Right attitude of dropping things if days get too rushed! I think you'll have a great time!
Happy travels!
Posted by
San Francisco
15250 posts
Good that you're visiting Münster/Westf. I spent a few days there too on my first trip to Germany.
However, I believe you should decide more closely which places you intend to visit.,...much too much here in your list.
How about seeing Beethoven's House as part of the Bonn visit. ?
Posted by
Chicago
98 posts
Maybe it is not an issue to return the car back to the original pick-up location?
Shouldn't be. We rented our car from Sixt and picked up in Dusseldorf and dropped off in Munich. Both rental places were near the train stations.