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3 week retirement trip..help..

Posted by (Groveland, MA, USA) on

I am planning a 3 week retirement from teaching (44 years) for September. In 2006 we did Bavaria and Austria. Now I would like to visit the following:
Black Forest
Alsace region of France
Bastogne & Huertgen Forest
Normandy
Bruges
Amsterdam

I need help on the "order" with which to do this and hopefully avoid the outrageous surcharge for dropping a rental car off in a different country than where it was rented..if at all possible. Does thsi make any sense???

Fly into Frankfurt and rent a car
use car for Black Forest and Alsace region (1 week)

Drive to Bastogne & Huertgen Forest area (2 days)

Drive to Normandy (Roen & Bayeaux area (4-5 days)

Now it gets fuzzy....

I guess I could drive to Lille, France and return the car (and pay a huge surcharge) and then take trains for Belgium & Amsterdam part of our trip.

Could I drive to Aachen instead ( sight seeing stops along the way??) return the car and take a train from Aachen to Brussels and then Bruges? Then use trains for the rest of out trip in Belgium and Amsterdam. Fly home from Amsterdam
I am in need of an order that makes sense. I don't mind long drives as long as there are places to stop and sight see along the way.

Thanks everybody!!!!

Posted by
8889 posts

Normandy is the outlier here. How about:
- Into Frankfurt airport, train to Amsterdam.
- Train to Brugge
- Train to Lille (not a bad little city) pick up French car.
- Normandy by car.
- Bastogne etc. by car.
- South to Alsace / Black Forest by car.
- Drop off car in Strasbourg (no international one-way hire surcharge). Train or bus to Frankfurt airport.

It would be even better if you could do an open-jaw flight into Amsterdam and out of Frankfurt (or Vice versa)

Posted by
7072 posts

  1. Train from FRA to Black Forest. (Train travel within the BF is free with the KONUS program during your stay if you stay in the smaller villages.)
    KONUS details
    Trains get you around the BF nicely. Be sure to travel the scenic BF Railway line and visit some towns there:
    BF Railway line map
    BF Railway description and towns
    HASLACH isn't listed above but is a very nice village on the German Half timbered route.
    SCHILTACH is nearby and lovely as well.
    GENGENBACH is on the BF railway - a magical little town and a good base town.

  2. You could then take the train to Aachen (if you want to see it) then to Maastricht (NL) which is very close - almost in Germany. The Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery is near Maastricht, by the way. Pick up a car in Maastricht for the rest of your trip (Hürtgenwald, Ardennes, Normandy, Belgium and on to Amsterdam. No drop-off fees.

Posted by
7814 posts

Congratulations on your upcoming retirement!

I hope you'll add a couple of days in Paris to your France portion of the itinerary - such a lovely city to celebrate your retirement....on top of the Eiffel Tower, perhaps?

Posted by
101 posts

Thank you so much. It is a bit clearer now..Whew...

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