19 days in Bavaria & Salzburg

You know yourself and your granddaughters best and are best qualified to put together a working itinerary. Two sites for starters.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g187293-Activities-oa0-Bavaria.html

https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/germany/itinerary

Rick Steves focuses on Munich, Nuremberg, Bavarian Alps, and Würzburg in his itinerary advice for Germany. Have a look at what he says about those places as well as Tripadvisor's list of popular destinations to see what fits your interests, your budget, etc.

Before deciding how many days to spend in a given place, there are other considerations. How long will you want to spend in a tiny town vs. a huge one like Berlin? Chances are very good that you'll want more days in Berlin, I think. Also, what good places are near the places you choose to visit? For example... if you chose to visit Nuremberg AND Würzburg, could you stay in Nuremberg and take a day trip to Würzburg and back? That might be more enjoyable than moving.

Put together a plan that you think will work for you, then return here and run it by the forum members for feedback. That usually works best.

Please ask your granddaughters as people here tend to be on the older side and some of Rick's picks for Bavaria are more geared for adults. I would also mention that Bavarian has the Bayern ticket that allows all day train travel for 25Euros for all three of you and for 25Euros all three can ride the train to Salzburg.

@heather, I think you might be a little behind the times, pricewise. Nowadays, it is 27 EUR for the first passenger and 9 EUR for each additional passenger. A 15 y-o counts as an adult, so it will be 45 EUR per day.
https://www.bahn.com/en/offers/regional/regional-day-ticket-for-bavaria?dbkanal_007=teaserSliderBigImage_3-1_link_laenderticketbayern

granddaughters’ interests ?

Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Munich, Salzburg, Meersburg ( on Lake Constance ), Gengenbach , Heidelberg is one possibility

Another - Middle Rhine ( Bacharach or Boppard ), Limburg an der Lahn, Stuttgart, Lindau. Salzburg, Munich. Either fly out of Munich or train to FRA

A multitude of routes and places to visit. Get a couple of guide books with lots of pictures and make some decisions

Please ask your granddaughters as people here tend to be on the older side and some of Rick's picks for Bavaria are more geared for adults.

That is excactly what I thought. Munich's and even more so Salzburg's typical tourist attractions are not extremely exciting for teenagers rsp. young ladies.
Well me as a 20 year old wasn't interested in just looking at museums for a whole vacation, going to beer halls or admiring the twentieth beautiful building was as well not on my list :-)

Just ask the two what they want, because especially in Munich (Salzburg I don't know) there is also a life for younger people. If you know what they like and what they think is cool, then let's see what Munich has to offer.

Consider taking The Romantic Road (Wurzburg to Garmisch/Fussen),
https://www.romanticroadgermany.com/
The first visitors were friends and families of the American soldiers stationed in the large bases in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg but the idea of the trail from Würzburg to Füssen soon became wildly popular.

It's not too hard to see the reason for the popularity - despite the modern roots of the idea, the tour combines the historic cities of Würzburg and Augsburg with the three medieval walled towns of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Dinkelsbühl and Nördlingen, and then finishes off with the tourist highlights of Neuschwanstein Castle and the Alps.

The road has several walled medieval towns and small cities as well as larger cities like Wurzburg and Augsburg.

Then spend some days in Garmish, see the famous castles, go up the Zugspitze (tallest mountain in Germany). From there, you could cross over to Innsbruck, Austria for a few days then head to Salzburg, or go directly to Salzburg. After a few days head to Munich, stopping for a day in Berchtesgaden. Do the Eagles Nest.

Spend some time in Munich, then take in Regensburg and/or Nuremberg and Bamburg.

Your granddaughters should look at Rick's videos and see what appeals to them.

Want to thank all of you that replied. My granddaughters have been to Europe 5 times and enjoy large cities, but they wanted to see Germany as my husband and I lived there. I'll get busy and hit the websites and tour books for a good itinerary.

You could plunk down in one place like Schönau am Königssee and soak it all in. Take day trips and allow time at home base. Time of year would drive my recommendation.

Where were you living??

Wurzburg, Schweinfurt & Ascaffenburg

Main Franken then. May - June Spargel season. We'll be in Prichsenstadt in May. Drive the Main and visit again. Vogelsburg, Volkach, Nordheim am Main, Schloss Hallburg etc. eBikes are great here. Some new things like the Baumwipfelpfad Steigerwald in the area too. Handthal is small, but a hidden oasis. Much more traffic than you will remember. Some towns like Iphofen have gotten much more touristic. I would skip Miltenberg. It has become a real tourist magnet.

Maybe visit the towns you lived in and bring some old photos to compare to today.