Considering Best of Germany 2017

You said "...am starting to feel like it would be nice to have someone else handle the details..." Can't argue with that for a moment. You also said "...happy to pay the listed tour price x 2, but...(adding the daughter) might start to put this a bit over our budget." With those thoughts of yours in mind, would be feasible to take the RS trip and have your daughter contribute at least part of her cost of the trip? College is expensive, and I appreciate that, and assume she contributes to at least some of the many and various expenses of school. Her contribution to the trip might even be considered an investment in education as well as giving her a stake in the trip -- something she can look at with an "I did that!" attitude. Perhaps setting up a budget for her for the extra expenditures during the trip (and there aren't that many) will provide some good lessons as well. Don't mean to get into family finances or affairs -- just something to consider.

I read over the itinerary. That tour doesn't call to me. Too many bus miles, too many places, too little time. The time in Berlin and Dresden is inexcusably short. The Rhine visit skips the two best castle tours (Eltz, Marksburg, both intact after overseeing many centuries of history) while the bus trip from Rothenburg "into Bavaria" (R'burg is already in Bavaria!) detours heavily to Neuschwanstein (for a 30-min. tour of a wannabe castle where original construction work was finished in the 1890's.)

With your Germany experience and language skills, I'm confident you'd be able to put together the elements of this tour that you find most attractive into a plan that suits your family's specific interests. What about Lutherstadt Wittenberg? Or perhaps seeing some nearby Thuringian towns (there are some really nice ones) and Wartburg Castle on your own schedule? Squeezing Nuremberg and Wartburg into a single day (as the tour does) with a start from Munich and ending in Erfurt is IMO nutso. And of course on this trip north you're bypassing the medieval Bavarian towns of Regensburg and Bamberg altogether (both of them, like Wartburg Castle are UNESCO WH as well.)

to TC -

OK, better phasing: another $3400 + on top of airfare to bring Daughter is definitely more than a bit over budget :)

I understand where you are coming from, as I worked all during school, paid my own expenses, and did it all with no financial assistance from my family; I did take out a small student loan which I paid off quickly after graduation.

Short version of long story: she is a student athlete and has little free time for a job when factoring in 6:00AM P.T., classes, afternoon scrimmages, study time, and matches. This Spring she worked during the semester and her grades suffered...so we prefer that she focus on school. We started saving for college when she was young and have money set aside for school expenses. If she does not do well in school during the semester, she has to pay us back.

She did work a summer job last year; if she joins us, this trip will actually cut into her summer job earnings.

To Russ,

After your post I took some time more time to look at the itinerary...and you make some strong points.
I'm going to take a deeper dive into the RS itinerary...it's just at the moment I'm feeling some planning fatigue!

There's no way for me to know, since there hasn't been a tour departure yet, but it is possible that you may stop at some other places that aren't listed. Our Germany, Austria and Switzerland tour stopped at Wieskirche, even though it wasn't listed. One of the things I love most about the RS tours I've taken are all the little extra surprises that are included. It's a tough call with the budget. I know we could have done these itineraries less expensively than the tours, but all the extra information provided by the tour guide, the time that is saved that allows do much to be seen and experienced in such a short time, and the camaraderie with like minded travelers are priceless for us. But everyone likes to travel differently.

Veronica,
Having lived in Germany, I agree with Russ that the itinerary isn't quite what I thought it would be. But then no itinerary is perfect. Tamara stated "...we could have done these itineraries less expensively than the tours....". And she is correct, but one does miss a lot by traveling on one's own. I guess the bottom line is there will inevitably be a trade off of some type. Should you decide to forego the tour and travel independently, feel free to pick our collective brains to help with some of the research and planning. We have tremendous amount of knowledge we're willing to share.

Would you consider another of the tours that touch on Germany? Munich, Salzburg, Vienna and MyWay Alpine cost less. I did MyWay Alpine in 2013. It was great. I am looking forward to Munich, Salzburg, Vienna this December. Perhaps you could take a day or two pre and post to visit something in Germany you especially want to see. Maybe a somewhat shorter tour augmented by visiting some favorites individually?

OR, perhaps introduce your daughter to the Andy Steves travel group. That is linked to Rick's website. Specially geared to college age folks - i.e., there may be other opportunities for her and not this particular trip. Is there something she particularly wants to see?

Hi,

In your situation and your skills, I would do a trip to Germany alone, ie, just the three of you, no reliance on an organised tour. Organise your own itinerary and plan the trip.

I just finished the GAS tour which included a family if 3 including a 20-yr old daughter. They all seemed to be having a great time!

My own experience as the planner and family travel was going to Italy with my brother, SIL and their 2 sons who were 25 and 20 at the time. Doing the RS Heart of Italy tour took ALL the pressure off me and allowed me to enjoy the trip without worrying whether the hotels would be OK or if people would like the itinerary, etc. The nephews mixed with everyone on the tour and the family memories we built were priceless!

No comments on the itinerary as I am not that experienced with travel in Germany.

I think the 3 of you can certainly put together a far better tour seeing the sites you really want to see at a fraction of that cost. Why go to crowded heavily touristed sites when you could visit better ones. Taking the train is easy, though perhaps a car works better for you in some spots.

Write down the places that attract you the most, get out a map to plan a route, see if a train works well for you or not, check some hotel prices. Consider flying into one city and out of another so you don't have to go in a circle or back track.

$3400 for a tour of 11 days net is way to expensive. I'd suggest you to get a good travel book (e.g. the Green Michelin Guide) and to write down your preferred itinerary (focus on reformation history?), so that we can calculate the approximative costs for a self guided tour. I'm confident that you could end up with 50% of that sum.

A tariff of US$927/day (for three) is pretty stiff. Since you’ve lived in Germany, have experience with the logistics of planning ventures like this and with the added benefit of having German language skills, if I were in your shoes there would be no choice at all. My wife and I are not aficionados on Germany but we've been there four times and never considered a tour and, regrettably, we don’t even speak German. While we may have missed some of the history of the places we’ve visited (that we may have picked-up on a tour), we think going to places that specifically interest us and on our own schedule was of greater value than hearing a more-or-less “prepared script”. In this day of access to history at the speed of light, consider doing some reading about the places you and your family may want to go, and then go immerse yourselves in them (rather than be told about them).

Admittedly, it is tedious to book a slew of lodgings, but if you select a "gateway" location (or two or three) that is/are central to places you'd like to visit and make day trips, you only have to unpack and pack-up 1 or 2 or 3 times. With a rental car you could even avoid "backtracking" when returning to the gateway.

Hi Veronica:

I have taken 8 RS tours varying in length from one week city tours to 21 days tours. I have found them to be a great value for the money to me. The best part for me is not to have to do the major planning. I have a job that requires me to plan, coordinate and manage people. When I go on vacation, especially to another country I want to get there and then just relax and decide what I want to do in the cities where the tour stops.

The tours include your hotels, breakfasts, transportation, half your dinners, guide, driver and any fees that are charged when the tour goes to a site. On the one week Paris trip included a metro and museum pass. The Seine boat trip was covered including champagne, as well as several really nice dinners. Other tours have included stops at little out of the way towns, gelato breaks that were paid for the guide. In Switzerland it was gondola passes to several places and boat rides on the lakes, chocolate tasting on the bus and some of the most interesting local guides I have had.

So if you are just considering the costs of transportation and accommodation be sure to add in the costs for everything you want to see and do. Also as one poster has suggested try a my way tour. That provides the transportation, lodging, and an escort. You do all the planning when you arrive at a location.

But honestly, for me, the best part of the tours is what I learn from the guides and the tremendous fun with the other tour members. So when considering tours vs. no tours, remember to consider everything that is included when making your final decision.

We just signed up for the tour, we are a party of 3. We have traveled a lot on our own and have take n 2 RS tours. Im finding I don't have the time or gumption to plan. I feel we got to see a lot in a short time as everything was planned for us. We enjoyed our free time. For this tour we are going to stay an extra day on each end. I enjoyed the bus part of our prior tours as we learned a lot, it was very comfortable and was scheduled to work well with what we were doing or seeing. I think it has a lot to do with personal preference.

Btw: we took 2 of our kids last trip and one paid their way and the other borrowed from us.

I've never taken (and probably never will take) a RS tour, so I have no opinion whatsoever on their value relative to price.

But allow me to make a comment on something you wrote: We are thinking of just replicating the tour itinerary and renting a car instead.

Other posters have noted that the pace of the tours is very difficult to replicate if you try it on your own, simply because the tours arrange all of the logisitics for you. So, if you try to DIY, add a significant amount of time.

My family (me, H, 2 kids, now adults) has made several trips to various countries in Europe over the past 12 years. None have been with a tour, and all have been great. H and I did 3+ weeks in Germany and eastern France, rented a car, did all the planning ourselves, ate, drank, and slept well - all for less than RS. We will split up and go in different directions, sleep in, eat late or early or not at all.

Yes, I know that plenty of families do RS tours, but my kids would have hated it. Too restrictive.

I think it is interesting the strong comments against RS tours by posters who have never actually taken a tour. I'm curious as to how they are forming an opinion if they never been on a RS tours. I even was private messaged by someone telling me to take a tour from another company. I think it is only fair to comment on your own experience. You can say factual information such as the cost of the tour was more than the cost of my tour, but I think it's odd to put in other opinions without having the actual experience. I have been on both my own planned trips and RS tours and have enjoyed both and feel there are pluses and minuses to each.

"I'm curious as to how they are forming an opinion if they never been on a RS tours."

In that case, I will share how I formed mine. First off, I have ZERO RS tour experience; while I'm pretty sure there are some things to like about RS tours in general, the OP's question was about THIS specific tour - a new tour with no ex-participants - and mostly about this specific itinerary, which she says she might choose to duplicate on her own if she does not take the tour. Using what I know about the destinations from my own travels, the schedule information from the tour link itself, and my solid understanding of the 24-hour day, I think the tour will be a bit of a blur. This accumulated information doesn't come from taking two or three different RS tours. I can see how RS tour experience tells you something about the hotels, the guides, the buses, etc., but I really don't see how even a dozen RS tours (with completely different itineraries) could inform an opinion on THIS itinerary.

Also, because of the OP's question - should she replicate the same itinerary on her own? - I felt invited to share some improvements/positive changes (as I see them anyway) since the OP would have the freedom to make changes with an independent trip.

Please don't mistake my opinion for a comprehensive assessment of Rick Steves tours or of this tour. That would require far more experience than I'll ever have.

Hi,

You can think of doing a RS tour or not by considering these questions: What is the incentive for doing a RS tour given your skills and situation? Conversely, what are the disadvantages , the downside, to participating in a tour? You basically weigh the pros and cons, like a balance sheet. Is there an incentive for the three of you going by yourselves? If there is an incentive, then forget the RS tour. Likewise, if you come up with an incentive, choose the tour.

I have planned a few of my independent trips to Europe using the RS tour itineraries as a guide. The tour schedules are really fast paced so if you're doing it on your own you should definitely add some more time.

I've also taken two RS tours and found the schedules to be very nearly perfect when someone else handles the logistics like transportation and lodging. Both times, I have gone home thinking that there was no possible way I could have done all of that on my own in that timeframe. I have also really enjoyed visiting a few sights that I would never have been interested in if they had not been included in the tour.

First, I want to thank you all...and I'm still looking for input!

I like the idea of someone else handling the logistics, and I love the idea of meeting people on the tour.
On the other hand, the RS tour starts in Hamburg...which is not an area of interest for us at this time. We would prefer to spend more time in Füssen/Schwangau, Nürnberg, and in "Lutherland".

Here's something closer to an itinerary I'd like, by car:
Fly into Frankfurt, drive to Rhine Valley area. That's about an hour to hour and a half of driving to the town mentioned by the RS tour (Bacharach), which is not a bad place to start in the area.
Do something relaxing yet outdoorsy that first day - like a river cruise - while we are acclimating to the time difference.
Sleep 2 nights in Rhine Valley area, giving us the chance to explore select castles/fortresses.
Get up and drive to Rotenburg odT, maybe 3 hours' drive. Have lunch, explore during the day, catch the Night Watchman's tour, etc.
Sleep 1 night in Rothenburg.
Get up and drive down to Füssen/Schwangau area for Mt. Tegelberg (cable car up the mountain, do the slide). That's about 2:30 hours. See Hohenschwangau, probably hike around Neuschwanstein. None of the family have seen mountains...and the area is beautiful.
Sleep 2 nights in Füssen/Schwangau
Get up and drive north, catch the Wieskirche on the way to Munich. From the Wieskirche to Marienplatz in Munich is about 1:30 of driving.
Explore Munich - walking tour, the Residenz, maybe the Alte Pinakothek...Nymphenburg...
Sleep 2 nights in Munich
Leave for Nürnberg - that's where I lived in the early 80's.
Depending on schedule, stop at Dachau on the way north. From Dachau to Nürnberg is about 2 hours.
Visit Old Town, the Castle, the Germanic National Museum, and the Documentation Center
Sleep 2 nights in Nürnberg
Leave for Lutherland and resist the urge to sing "A Mighty Fortress"....Eisenach, Erfurt, Wittenberg.
Sleep 2-4 nights somewhere around Lutherland to see all the sights, including Dresden before Wittenburg. It would also be fabulous to hit Leipzig while in the area.
Then onto Berlin for 2-3 nights...lots to see and do there.
Fly home out of Berlin.

Obviously I haven't included details of every single thing we'd like to do, but this is closer to my ideal trip.
If we had time, I'd swing east towards Salzburg after Füssen/Schwangau.

Thoughts?

Veronica, Are you sure you want to drive the same day you arrive? Even though it is a relatively short drive, jet lag, lack of sleep, and not being familiar with the local road system around Frankfurt can all be a problem. There are some people that are not bothered by any of those things. Others think they are ok but are really driving somewhat impaired. Still others are complete zombies and should never drive the same day. Don't mean to rain on your parade, just something to think about. You might want to consider taking the train to your first stop and renting your car there the next day. Much, much less hassle than driving in F'furt.

TC -
Good point!

That could be a good idea, if we found the right place (i.e. a good car rental agency location in the Rhine Valley that was also easily accessible by train).

If he had to rent in Frankfurt and drive that day, I'm sure I could manage it. I've done some crazy business travel and actually sleep on flights eastbound across the Atlantic :)

Do a Google Search for "car rental in Bacharach". You might also try Mainz which is on the rail line between F'furt and Bacharach.

"Thoughts?"
Sure. A few anyway. First off, if you want to minimize the planning burden, a car is indeed helpful. No grand need to book within walking distance of the station wherever you stay, only to find a good place to pick up and drop off. (That said, I don't do cars anymore in Germany and would not for this itinerary - I prefer the planning hassles to the other numerous hassles that come with a car.)

"Fly into Frankfurt, drive to Rhine Valley area."
I share the previous poster's concern. It is possible to pick up a car after you reach the Rhine Valley (Mainz? Koblenz? Nearby Emmelshausen or Bad Kreuznach?)

"That's about an hour to hour and a half of driving to the town mentioned by the RS tour (Bacharach), which is not a bad place to start in the area. Do something relaxing yet outdoorsy that first day - like a river cruise - while we are acclimating to the time difference."

The cruise is a solid idea on Day 1. Drop your bags and go... However, Bacharach might not be so ideal for a river cruise that day or for exploring towns and castles the next. For a travel base I would choose another town the Rick Steves mentions instead - St. Goar - since the logistics will be easier for your outings. A cruise through the most scenic part, Bingen-St. Goar, takes about 1.5 hours one way.

Here's a map:
http://www.bingen-ruedesheimer.com/images/map/rhine-valley290.jpg

As you can see, Bacharach is in the middle of this section. If you get on in Bacharach, you can cruise only half the section (45 minutes north to St. Goar, or 90 minutes to Bingen.) Then you would either take the train or another boat back to Bacharach - and you would still be missing out on half the scenic part (and there are some fine castles and other visual treats in each direction.)

(Although it's possible to drive to Bingen to start the cruise, you would then have to return to Bingen by boat or train to fetch your car - not a great plan.)

An alternative plan from Bacharach would be to catch the train to Bingen + boat to St. Goar + train back to Bacharach. You'll cover the whole scenic part this way but it takes 2 train trips.

But the most straightforward and efficient way is to begin in either St. Goar (or Bingen.) From St. Goar, train to Bingen + boat back to St. Goar. When you get off the boat, you are "home." If you then feel up to it, you might visit Rheinfels Castle. It's right there in St. Goar. If not, you can tour it the next day.

"Sleep 2 nights in Rhine Valley area, giving us the chance to explore select castles/fortresses."

The other mighty Rhine castle besides Rheinfels is Marksburg in Braubach. It's to the north on the other side of the river. And the easy way to get there is to cross the river from St. Goar (a ferry runs all day long) to St. Goarshausen and catch a train (22 minutes) to Braubach. If you already have your car, well, the ferry takes cars too:
http://www.schiffbilder.de/1024/personen-fahrzeugfaehre-loreley-vi-zwischen-18381.jpg

RS has room rec's for St. Goar. I've stayed in separate apartments there. Here's the town TI list:
http://www.st-goar.de/612-1-host-directory.html

Some of Bacharach's inns have a problem with train noise because of the location of the tracks. Do scan the reviews carefully if you stick with Bacharach. St. Goar's situation is less problematic. IMO St. Goar has the best river scenery of any Rhine town and some good places to eat (I like Alla Fontana) and makes a nice base. The Rheinhotel St. Goar gets very good reviews. St. Goar has lovely Boppard to the north, and Oberwesel and Bacharach just to the south - so it puts you central to the most commonly visited west bank towns. Braubach (adorable old town) and Ruedesheim are on the opposite river bank; use the St. Goar ferry.

Two more details:

Don't cruise from north to south (like from St. Goar to Bingen.) It takes about twice as long because of the strong river current.

There is normally an additional convenience fee for renting from an airport location vs. a city location. Also: There are some notorious rental agencies at FRA airport. I have not rented there myself but there are dozens of very long threads complaining of unscrupulous practices if you care to check the postings on the Tripadvisor Germany forum - Budget, Hertz, Sixt, and other well-known names are four-letter words for many ex-customers... So expect to spend a certain amount of time vetting the agencies.

Hmm, looks there is a train from the Frankfurt Hbf to St. Goar. That might be better than driving after the long flight...

What I'm not seeing is any rental car place going in the direction of our next stop (Rothenburg odT) until Mainz. Maybe we take the train from the Frankfurt airport after our flight, use train and various public transport while in the St. Goar area, then train to Mainz/pick up rental car to head out for Rothenburg. Does that sound reasonable?

Yes, reasonable. Just make certain you can either pick up at Mainz Hbf station or get an agency shuttle to their rental yard. If Mainz isn't convenient, Wiesbaden could be an option as well - you'd just ferry across from St. Goarshausen that morning and catch a train to W'baden from there.

Day 1 trains:

Use the Regionalbahnhof station at FRA. At a ticket machine, buy one-way RMV tickets for FRA-Mainz (4.25 ea.) + 1 Rheinland-Pfalz ticket day pass for 3 (E34.-) which covers Mainz-St. Goar, St. Goar-Bingen.

Alternatively, rather than cruising AFTER your train trip to St. Goar, make it simple - just take your cruise ON THE WAY to St. Goar. A RMV (local transit authority) ticket from any FRA Regionalbahnhof ticket machine costs E8.25 for the train ride to Bingen. Walk to the dock w/ bags and board the cruise boat to St. Goar. This way is not just cheaper and more efficient - it's also nicer (as long as you've packed as Rick advises and are able to carry your bags to the dock) because you'll see the river for the first time by boat. It's a short, easy walk from the St. Goar KD dock to most hotels.

Day passes for your outing on Day 2: The mini-group VRM ticket or the Rheinland-Pfalz ticket will get you around on this day by train (they also cover the St. Goar ferry.) Which one you use depends on your destinations.
http://www.vrminfo.de/en/tickets-and-fares/ticket-offers/leisure-ticket/

Day 3: For St. Goar - Mainz: it's around E35/3 adults, with either the R-P ticket or standard tickets.

However, if you are traveling on Day 2 by train through Koblenz anyway (which you might be doing on your way to/from Marksburg Castle in Braubach, or to the Mosel towns,) you COULD just pick up your car there on Day 2. I've previously picked up a car at Koblenz station.

Veronica,
A big vote for taking train from Frankfurt airport to St. Goar. Very easy to move between there and Bacharach by train or boat. When you are ready to leave that area, taking the train to Mainz and getting the car there makes a lot of sense.

Folks often comment (accurately) that if you want to replicate a Rick Steves itinerary, you need to slow down / add days. I remember hearing him say -- probably during a PBS pledge-drive interview -- that his goal is to make it possible for people to see 30% more sights in the same amount of time. (I think I'm right about that percentage.) That sounds like a reasonable expectation when you have professionals planning a tour for you and pre-arranging hotels, dedicated inter-city transportation, meals and sightseeing.

Taking a good tour seems like it could be a good choice for many people who have the money, especially if they have limited vacation time so slowing down isn't a practical approach.

I spend a lot of time in small cities and towns, places that often have infrequent and circuitous public transportation options. I've often thought what a joy it would be to be whisked to the next town on an air conditioned tour bus.

Veronica,

Not weighing-in on the RS tour vs not, as we have never been on one. We have, however, planned and driven on our own extensively throughout Germany; it is very easy. With regards to Lutherland, if you do travel independently and can splurge one night in a hotel, try the Hotel Auf der Wartburg. It is located immediately to the right of the Wartburg in Eisenach. The castle views and views over the Thuringian Mountains from the dining room are spectaular. As Luther said, it is as if you are in "the kingdom of the birds". Enjoy your trip! (My husband is also a Lutheran pastor.)

Lois

Many worthy points have been presented by the forum's experienced travelers. Each of us has different standards and expectations for our travel. Our experience would second the points made by Barbara 9/14 on their experience with Rick's Tours. The following for us are pluses for RS Tours:Our RS tours have been strenghened with the addition of very qualified local guides, the imput shared from like minded tour group members has been very benefical over our solo travel, the efficiency of the RS Tours reaching tour spots or hotels vs renting and driving it ourselves and the time committed, the knowledge of the guides who fill in the gaps to the established travel itinerary. Regarding your freedom of choice during the tour, your only obligation is make the bus schedule on time. After notifying the guide we have had tour members go off on their own (some on multiple days). We have experienced that you will often have a sufficient a amount of "free time" to choose things your wish to do. Our tour experience recently has been to extend our European RS Tour time several days before and after the tour, often in additonal countries--We are grateful that our own experince has been to travel on our own and drive most of Western Europe, and we are now considering the new Best of Germany after completing our fifteenth RS tour. Enjoy your traveling

Thank you all so much for the continued replies - I appreciate the time that goes into your thoughtful replies.

I'm still working on planning the trip but have had little spare time due to 3 weeks of domestic business travel. Next weekend I'll be working a bit harder to nail this all down.

Peace,
Veronica

Interesting comments. You mentioned no interest in Hamburg, and that is the starting city. If that is a deal breaker, don't take this tour. The value proposition: we will be on our 6th and 7th RS tours next summer. I enjoy planning and do a lot of it for our free time, restaurants, other museums, etc. Sometime after making dinner reservations, planning free time, our RS guide has a great idea or two and we follow her lead instead and it always works out. These are top shelf professionals and know their stuff. We've only had one guide we did not care for, more style than substance. Then there is the value of not having to plan about 80% of your tour. That is worth something as are the splendid local guides, rapid admission to places you'd otherwise wait a long time, hotels, meals, transportation. I see comments about the time spent here and there is not enough. That's fair. Your visits are not meant to be inclusive, but give you a taste if you will, so you can return at some future date. If you want a more thorough look at a place, join us on the Best of London tour next summer! We've done Europe both ways and it's very hard to duplicate a RS tour. We have met great people, and enjoy the camaraderie, and sharing stories. I think you get your moneys worth and then some. As a point of reference, we are a couple in our mid 60's (my wife is a Lutheran ministers daughter) and always take along our 33 yo daughter who is a special ed teacher. Our last tour, Spain, ranged from age 13 to 89 (!). Germany is a new tour, so their might be some bugs to be worked out, maybe some tweaks for year 2. I have found RS to be a learning organization. Feedback is solicited and changes occur based on that and Rick and his team putting in much on the ground research. Feel free to PM me with any questions.

We have taken a ton of Rick Steves' tours and have taken a ton of independent trips to Europe. We've taken an RS tour and then a few years later 'copied' it on our own with our Daughter and a friend several times. The planning and driving (or scheduling public transportation) can be fun, can be very stressful, can be exciting, can be a big drag. There are times we want the fun, the stress, the excitement, even the drag, of a plan it yourself independent trip. There are times we want the type of trip we would do ourselves (which RS tours are) and leave the stress and bother to an RS guide. So, obviously it all depends.
One thing though, I will state unequivocally; If you do a tour, and you like the Rick Steves style of travel, you will NOT find a better value for the money than one of his tours. You will find less expensive tours, even more expensive ones, but if the RS style is the same as your style, you won't find a better value.

We are booked!
We are doing a reverse - flying from JKF into Berlin first so that we can do without a car for a couple days, then hitting the road to the south.
Here is a rough sketch of the route

At the end of the trip we return via Dusseldorf directly to JFK.
I'll post our itinerary later.

I think you have planned a nice trip although you haven't specified nights per location. For me, I would want to spend 3-4 nights per location. One issue I have with tours is the need to be in a specific place at a specific time. I do not want to be in the lobby at 8 am only to spend time on a bus. I am sure that many people love the RS tours. That is just not the way I like to travel. To each his/her own.

I'll be creating a new thread with an updated itinerary for comments now that we have booked and are traveling independently.

We are still refining the itinerary; in general it will look much like the original one that I posted, but in reverse with some modifications - for example, based on our flight schedule (into Berlin, out of Dusseldorf) we will be adding the Cologne Cathedral the morning we leave, as it is less than an hour from the Dusseldorf airport and we are taking a late flight out.

I have also booked our first 3 nights in Berlin at Pension Peters, recommended in this forum and also in the RS guidebooks. Spoke with Uwe to confirm - yay Google Hangouts :)

Thanks so much to all for the great advice!

Veronica