We're still in the early planning phases, but were thinking of hitting the Rhine (probably St. Goar to Rudescheim) prior to hitting Rothenburg, and then Munich. There doesn't seem to be a very easy way public transportation-wise between the Rhine area and Rothenburg unless I'm missing something. How hard is car rental in that area? Where would be the best place to pick up and drop off a car if we went that route? And would it be better to hit Fussen (maybe driving?) or Munich first from Rothenburg? (Definitely don't want car in Munich)
Posted by
Atlanta
4844 posts
You should be able to do it all by train. We took the train from the airport in Frankfurt to Wurzburg to ?? to Rothenburg. We "reversed" that and went from Rothenburg back through Wurzburg to Frankfurt to Mainz to St Goar. Was not difficult at all. No need, in my opinion, to rent a car.
Posted by
Paradise
6644 posts
There are direct ICE trains from Koblenz to Würzburg (2 hours, 40 minutes.) Have lunch in Würzburg, or take a tour of the Residenz Palace (UNESCO World Heritage status) or do both. Stow your bags in a station locker during your stopover.
These ICE trains leave Koblenz at 8:48, 10:48 or 12:48.
After 2-3-4 hours in W'burg, ride the train to Ansbach (change trains there) and one more to Rothenburg. It's about 1 hour altogether for this part.
Lv W'burg 13:41, 14;41, 15:41, or 16:41. Arrive Rothenburg 14:51, 15:51, 16:51, or 17:54.
This doesn't seem dificult to me. If Koblenz isn't where you want to stay the night before, consider either Boppard or Braubach. Both of these towns are handsome old-world towns with good railway locations and only 10-15 train minutes away from Koblenz.
Posted by
West Michigan
156 posts
My husband and I did this exact route in 2013. We spent a few days on the Rhine lodging in St. Goar. We then took trains to Rothenburg ob der Tauber where we stayed for three nights. After that we took trains to Munich where we stayed for several days. We no longer rent a car as we discovered using public transportation in Germany is less stressful for both the driver and the navigator. And we enjoy not having to search for parking every day. That being said, we do not consider time spent riding trains, transferring to another train, etc. wasted time. It's part of the adventure. There are those who would not consider this a good use of their vacation time. But this works for us. We have traveled by train in Switzerland and Germany on several trips since 2000.
Whatever you decide to do, I wish you a great adventure. Happy planning!
Traveler Girl
Posted by
Greeley, co, usa
2408 posts
I did that last Sept. No problem, just 3 different trains. The last leg to Rothenburg is co-ordinated between the 2 trains.
Posted by
Paradise
6644 posts
Eleanor: Some additional options for your train journey to Rothenburg...
I should have mentioned that those direct ICE trains to Würzburg also stop in MAINZ to pick up passengers. If you are able to stay in Mainz rather than Koblenz before a morning journey to Rothenburg, you will shorten the overall travel time by 50 minutes.
Staying in the SOUTH end of the scenic Rhine Gorge instead - on the MAINZ side of the river - might also be feasible. BINGEN might be a good choice. It's directly across the Rhine from Rüdesheim. Example... From Bingen Hbf, the 8:55 train gets you to Mainz in 30 minutes, roughly 15 minutes before that first ICE train to Würzburg leaves Mainz (9:39.)
The NH Bingen hotel is right on the river, with nice views. The Bingen Hbf station is a short walk from there across the bridge which you see on the right in that first picture.
You originally mentioned staying in Rüdesheim. The ICE train to Würzburg doesn't stop there - that's why you are finding so many changes of train. With your hotel in Bingen, however, you can reduce the changes of train on your travel day AND visit Rüdesheim the day prior by using the passenger ferry to cross the river. The ferry dock to Rüdesheim is also near the NH Bingen hotel.
(Side note: Rüdesheim has no "c" in it because it is not pronounced with the English "sh" sound. It's pronounced "Roo-dess-hime", roughly. The "s" sounds end the 2nd syllable, and the "h" shound starts the 3rd syllable.)