Car or no car - Colmberg, Rothenberg, Stuttgart, Füssen, and Munich

I assume you're going to Colmberg for the castle? Take the train to RodT and a taxi to and from the castle (if they don't have a shuttle). You may want to check with the castle folks and see what they suggest. I've no suggestion on the leg to Fussen, but to Munich just take the train.

Please take care. Name of town is Rothenburg ob der Tauber, not Rothenberg ob du Taber. You will get wrong search results in transportation search and navigation tools.

You can do it all by train and the taxi to/from Colmberg but I think it would be much easier with a car.

Since you have family in Stuttgart, I suggest you consult them regarding your outings. The outing to Füssen involves a lot of driving for a single night's stay, and without more time - and in light of your goal to "tour the castles" - you are unlikely to have adequate time to explore the real charms of the German alps. And the experience may or may not be what you are thinking anyway. US tourists (along with other international tourists and Disney fans) have seen the glossy photos of Neuschwanstein with its impressive turrets and often assume it's a castle from the Middle Ages. But both N'stein (with its fake castle exterior) and Hohenschwangau were built long after the medieval period. Germans call N'stein "Palace Neuschwanstein", and for good reason - it was built just before 1900 and is only a few years older than Walt Disney would be today (were he still with us.)

If it's real castles you are after, your Stuttgart connections will likely have some good alternatives in mind. Guttenberg Castle might be one of those, and it's a good bit closer to Stuttgart. Of course history has had its way with many medieval castles, so there are ruins, castle-palace rebuilds, and many palaces that don't require such a long trip. South of Stuttgart near Reutlingen is Lichtenstein, a castle/palace hybrid. Also in the area is Hohenzollern. And just north of Stuttgart is a very popular baroque palace - Ludwigsburg.

You might want to have a look at the Burgenstrasse (German Castle Road) options as well.

Interesting to have an opinion on car or not without knowing date of travel or experience OP has in driving on Germany or at maybe snowy conditions. OP shall take this into serious consideration.

Thank you, Mark. That's a fair point. We're traveling the first couple of weeks of September and we have not driven in Germany before.

So no winter issues to consider.

If you are from US you need to adapt to local traffic rules and signs quickly and accurately because southern Germany has a higher traffic density than northern Germany. All doable but a non-permitted turn on red can become very expensive. Also some supplemental street signs, e.g. on street conditions or traffic jams are in German.

Never underestimate the physics of your and others' speed: Double speed means 4x stopping way.

Be aware in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg are still summer vacation until Sept. 9 - more street traffic expected.

Stuttgart is "famous" for being stuck in its own traffic, also around Munich you will find a lot of traffic; within Munich it can be full during rush hours.

If by car I would erase the loop back to Stuttgart - not meaningful. Just drive down Romantic Road.

Take care of valid driving permission (not license only).
Kids likely need special seats, depending on age and body masses.

Consider mixing rail and car.

To visit Rothenberg ob der Tauber on the Romantic Road, is best done by car. However, utilize rail to avoid heavy traffic areas.
I lived in Stuttgart for almost a year. It is terrible. The Germans called it stau city. Stau means traffic stop.

To visit Rothenberg ob der Tauber on the Romantic Road, is best done by car

Unfortunately, due to the miserable state of public transportation in the US, "rent a car" is always the default answer to getting places in the US, and for many Americans, that is the paradigm they take with them to Europe. But Europe is not the US! I would check out the public transportation options in Germany before assuming I needed a car. Rothenburg odT and Colmberg are both in the Verkersverbund Greater Nürnberg (VGN, www.vgn.de) as are Dombühl and Leutershausen, which are stations on the rail line from Stuttgart to Ansbach/Nürnberg. There are regular buses from Dombühl to Rothenburg and from Leutershausen to Colmberg, as well as a bus between Rothenburg and Colmberg. You don't need a car. It's only about 45 minutes longer from Stuttgart to Rothenburg by rail/bus than the minimum time by car (with no stops for food or potty, and no delays due to traffic).

I attended a wedding a Burg Colmberg last year, and we drove from Stuttgart and stayed overnight in Rothenburg OdT to make a more leisurely trip and finally do the Night Watchman's tour. IMO, this is the thing that really sets Rothenburg apart from other similar medieval towns all over Southern Germany. You don't say where you're arriving from, but if possible I would suggest going straight to Rothenburg, staying overnight, taking the tour, and visiting Colmberg before returning to Stuttgart, all via rental car.

But as others have pointed out, this is a lot of doubling back and forth. Why not visit Stuttgart first, then Rothenburg overnight, drive down to Fuessen, overnight, see those castles, then head on to Munich, dropping off the rental car in Munich? That makes more sense to me. If you really want to visit Hohenzollern, you can do so as a day trip from Stuttgart including Tuebingen with your family.

Because some have commented on it, I'll just clarify that we're arriving on the high-speed train from Paris on Wednesday, September 4th. We go to Rothenberg on the 5th and stay at Colmberg Castle that night. The weekend, we have a wedding to attend (festivities on Friday evening and Saturday the 7th with some quiet time with family on Sunday the 8th. We fly back to the States out of Munich on the 11th. We're talking about driving from Stuttgart to Füssen or nearby on the 9th and staying overnight. We have a hotel near the Munich Airport for the night before we leave.

My daughters are Girl Scouts and plan to work on some badges that are available in Stuttgart and Rothenberg. There's another badge available in Garmisch, but I don't think they'll have time to earn that one. They've seen the Rick Steves Bavaria episodes and think they'd like to see Neuschwanstein and try out the luge.

There's another badge available in Garmisch, but I don't think they'll
have time to earn that one. They've seen the Rick Steves Bavaria
episodes and think they'd like to see Neuschwanstein and try out the
luge.

If you want a fun time, go to Garmisch, get the badges, take the Sommerrodelbahn (luge ride) there, visit nearby Mittenwald for the violin museum and the Karwendelbahn lift and a hike in the alpine splendor. And take everyone to the "Bavarian Evening" at the Fraundorfer Inn in Garmisch - a great place for traditional Bavarian food, music, dance and fun. Neuschwanstein offers an overcrowded and overpriced tour of just 30 minutes, sometimes in marginally understandable English - and it's a long, dull, uphill slog with the tourist horde to reach the place on foot.

The Partnachklamm or the Leutschklamm - both spectacular river gorges, one in Garmisch, one in Mittenwald - are worthwhile as well.

When it comes to the Alps, Rick's materials are extremely non-comprehensive. I offer the same advice I'd give my best friends - consult additional materials and look into the other options that Rick chooses to omit.

Mark made some excellent points. I agree with him.