Bavaria Itinerary Suggestions

For me I would pick May - more things will be open in May in the alps, you may still get some snow. I am also a huge fan of Spargel, (White asparagus) which is in season in May. Germans even have a separate menu for it. Spargelsuppe (Asparagus Soup) is one of my favorite dishes. White asparagus is a bit sweeter than the green kind. I think I had it every day during out last trip from flatbread to soup to it with potatoes, ham and a sauce.

Maybe add one more day on to Salzburg - We did a half day Sound of Music trip, and then walked around the town. But there was so much more there to see, so I am putting it back on my bucket list to see what we missed.

I would add one more day to Berchtesgaden and do the Königsee and make sure to do the hike to the Obersee - it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.

Then I would round out the rest of the trip in the Garmish-Partenkirchen area. There is a hike to a falls that we haven't done, but is on my bucket list.

You could visit the Zugspitze which is the highest point in Germany. The gondola ride up to the top has some amazing views. You can also be in Austria and Germany at the same time up there, which is fun.

One day I would go up to the Wieskirche - it is a breath taking church in the middle of a meadow. Then stop at Oberammergau. They host a Passion Play every 10 years. There is museum you can go through in the years they are not offering the Passion Play. It is a cute town with fun paintings on the houses.

On the way back to G-P you can visit Linderhof Palace and Ettal Monistary. The monks brew beer and spirits so could be fun to pick some up for mom and dad.

Another day trip would be to Mittenwald. They make violins there and you can watch artisans do their magic. I believe there is also a museum you can go through there.

"...the the sites of small villages over large cities."

What you have so far is CITIES and RESORT areas that begin filling up with tourists after Easter.

There are many nice smaller, old-world towns in Bavaria which did not make it onto the pages of Rick's guidebook. If those are what truly interest your family, I suggest you have a look at some other guidebooks and online resources. I will also make a few suggestions below.

Northern Bavaria:

Half-timbered House route in Franconian Bavaria will meet your expectations. The linked pdf file contains a list of small towns with a map for driving the entire route. Of these, I have visited only the first three - Ochsenfurt, Marktbreit, and Bad Windsheim (with its excellent open-land museum) which are all located (roughly) in between the cities of Würzburg and Nuremberg. (The file is in German only, I think, so I suggest you research the towns listed to find information in English. Look also on Tripadvisor.)

Near these three are some additional small towns worth your time:

Rothenburg (walled town, very famous, touristy)

Iphofen (walled town, less well known.)
Sommerhausen (very near Ochsenfurt and Marktbreit on the Main River.)

Besides Würzburg and Nuremberg (good for WW II interests) a couple of smallish cities should get your attention:

BAMBERG (UNESCO World Heritage status for its medieval old town)
BAYREUTH

I would also look into COBURG and COBURG FORTRESS in the same general area.

https://www.schloesser.bayern.de/englisch/palace/index.htm

The Bavarian Palace Administration website is a nice place to start and with hot links it will keep the kids amused for at least 15 minutes.

https://museen.nuernberg.de/memorium-nuernberger-prozesse/

Up until the Pandemic the original Nuremberg Trials courtroom was still in use as a daily courtroom, with museum exhibits upstairs. Now the entire facility is devoted to the Nuremberg Trials.

If I may note - even for me as an adult - Dachau was still harrowing. It only takes half a day even with public transport. The kids may say they want to do it... but... it can be too much in the moment. And plan something fun for the afternoon to change the tone of the day. Maybe the Residence with all the old family jewels.

Doubt you will be able to get to the Eagles Nest in April or early May. Remember it could be very chilly and if you decide on the Zugspitze, it will be cold on top of the German Alps. A little confused on the Olympic Village you have under Berchtesgaden. As suggested Konigsee is a great place for the family. Enjoy the boat ride. The towns of Ochsenfurt, Iphofen, and Markbriet although cute are just look and see and have very little things to do for the family. Iphofen has a great little ice cream shop but then again Germany is not a warm country until late May or even early June. My suggestion is getting to Rothenburg. Very touristy but fun for the family. Wurzburg, which is only an hour away has the Castle, Residence, and great shopping and restaurants for the family. I wouldn't even think about trains. Auto would be easy and allows great roaming around to the towns suggested. One other thing is Germany people seems to really enjoy little people and it has been my experience that you get a little extra help when they see you towing around with OMG 4. Have a great time.

Also toying around with this since it's sounding like getting in to the Alps may be tricky in April/May:

Munich (2 nights)
Regensburg (2 nights)
-Old Town
- Day Trip recommendations??
Nuremberg: 2 Nights
Wurzberg: 2 Nights
-Day trip to Rothenburg
Frankfurt
-Fly out

Try to spend the night in Rothenburg. After the day trippers leave, it becomes magical. The kids would love the Night Watchman's Tour in Rothenburg.

Daytrip from Regensburg
a) Passau along Danube River
or
b)Kelheim and the Danube Gorge to Weltenburg Monastery
or
c) Altmühl Valley near Riedenburg with its Castles

I don't know your children, but I have the same concerns as Nick above. I know mine couldn't have handled it at the ages of yours. Take a look at what the website suggests as regards children. Scroll down. https://www.kz-gedenkstaette-dachau.de/en/visit/faq/#:~:text=Is%20the%20Memorial%20Site%20appropriate,when%20accompanied%20by%20their%20parents.

I see that one is "enamored" by WWII - have you considered Munich's NS-Dokumentationszentrum? https://www.nsdoku.de/en/about-us/the-nsdoku

In Munich, mine enjoyed the Deutsches Museum around the ages of yours. https://www.deutsches-museum.de/en

In your latest plan to spend your 9 nights in Munich, Nuremberg, Regensburg, Würzburg and Frankfurt, sorry, I am not picking up on how you intend to indulge your stated love of the outdoors or your interest in small villages when you are basing yourselves in these cities (which btw are better suited for TRAIN travel than CAR travel.)

What outdoor family activities do you see yourselves doing? Hiking, biking? Canoeing? Thes activities should be possible to some degree in April, but you will probably want to spend at least some nights where "the great outdoors" is more readily available and enjoyable.

I'd like to caution you about taking kids that age to Dachau. We took our then 11 y/o whom was always mature for his age and if I had it to do over again would not have taken him. At the time he kept telling me he was bored and really wanted to go, but after talking to him about it later I realized it was just too overwhelming for him. Fast forward 2 years and we visited Mauthaussen with him and he was fine.

It's too bad you can't fit in Rothenburg. It was a favorite of my then 11 y/o.

I always vote for extending your trip so 10 days (or more). Think of how much of your budget is just flying to Europe. Spread that fixed cost over more days if you at all can.

I think it’s unnecessary and duplicative to leave Berchtesgaden for Garmisch.

A car is nice (not necessary) for Berchtesgaden. The roads are absolutely fine for a van. Public transit vans and busses make their way on the same roads.

I’d maybe add a day (jet lag recovery) to Munich; especially since you’re spending a half day in Dachau

Even with your schedule, You could easily add a Romantic Road location as you work back to the airport.

Sounds fun!

Here’s what we did with kids in some of the same spots…
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/germany-june-2022-with-2-kids-munich-alps-saltzburg

from the NY Times - 36 Hours - Munich