Driving from Frankfurt Airport to Rothenburg ob der Tauber - car rental question

Do I understand correctly that you have 3 nights in Rothenburg, then it's off to Koblenz?

What day trips do you plan to do from Rothenburg?

My best advice is to cancel your reservation in R'burg, forget the long trip to get there and the car, and instead head STRAIGHT to the Koblenz area from FRA. See the old world towns that your GAS tour ignores. Cruise the Rhine and Mosel rivers instead.

Rüdesheim
Braubach
Bacharach
Cochem
Other Mosel towns
Oberwesel

You can do all these places easily and quickly by train. FRA > Bacharach or Rüdesheim takes only about 1 hr by regional train.

One big issue with the car is you are attempting a long drive in a car that you don't know well through unfamiliar territory RIGHT after stepping off an overnight flight and doing the security and baggage routine. Most people are at best a little beat up and underslept, possibly jet-lagged or exhausted. You may be a danger to your family and others. It's enough to just ride a train that morning. Direct trains from FRA to many of the Rhine towns are possible.

Rothenburg is vastly overhyped.

I appreciate the suggestion, and we have considered it, but as of now, we do want to pursue Rothenburg (my partner has been to all or most of these places already, and is set on returning to Rothenburg).

So having said that, does anyone have any tips about renting a car? I just ran a quick quote through the "Auto Europe" website, and came up with a basic quote of 200 Euros for 4 days, rising to 250 will all insurances thrown in (I know I can avoid some of that potentially by paying with my credit card). The specific company was Hertz, and I'm familiar with them. I did notice that the drop-off for Hertz is not in Koblenz proper, but the suburb/adjacent town of Mulheim-Karlich. When I changed the selection to a car from Enterprise, the drop-off was in Koblenz itself. But in either case, a short taxi ride away.

With the Hertz selection, I was given the option to cheaply add the extra insurance coverages but with the Enterprise selection, I was never given the choice. I then went directly to the Enterprise site, and got a somewhat similar quote.

PS I also got different options / conditions when I visited the european AutoEurope site (www.autoeurope.eu) vs the US AutoEurope site (www.autoeurope.com)! On the US site, I could not deselect 'electric vehicles', as an example.

The Hertz company site indicates the Hauptbahnhof (the main station, not in a suburb, but near Koblenz center) as a Vermietstation (rental location.)

https://www.hertz.de/p/mietwagen/deutschland/koblenz

My 2 cents. It's the condition of the driver after a red-eye flight to a destination several time zones away from home - and the issue of driving in in a strange car in a new place with its own driving culture and signage in a different language - that should be of concern IMHO. The thing is, there's no way to know now what sort of condition you will be in once you get behind the wheel, even if you drove successfully in Italy immediately after your flight. If you aren't up to it once you're there, it's likely too late to change your mind without losing €s on the rental. Jet-lagged driving has often been compared to DUI.

On the practical side... changing trains a couple of times is not an issue. Get off, move to the next platform, get on. Much simpler than picking up and dropping off a car, inspecting it thoroughly, taking on the legalities of rental contracts and driving rules, dealing with rental agents who might not have the car you reserved, parking fees/tickets and the machines that sell them if needed, etc. One reason I asked about your day trip destinations was to noodle out what your in-city driving/parking experiences might require...

The Hertz company site indicates the Hauptbahnhof (the main station,
not in a suburb, but near Koblenz center) as a Vermietstation (rental
location.)

https://www.hertz.de/p/mietwagen/deutschland/koblenz

Interesting. On that site (translated to English) I see this:

https://imgur.com/TCk9322
There's the Bahnhofplatz location, which is I presume the 'Hauptbahnhof'), and the Muhlheim Karlich location, which is where my drop-off was shown.

I wonder - the station location opens 10:00-15:00, while the Muhlheim Karlich location opens 07:30-17:30 - a much wider range. So the station location seems more of a satelite operation. I wonder if they only support outbound rentals, not returns? My return time was stated as 14:00, which is within the limits of BOTH locations.

I'll re-run my search and see if I can get it to show the station ...

EDIT TO ADD: - I just visited the Hertz Germany site, and entered my search criteria (returning at 14:00), and chose the Bahnhofplatz location, and got this error:

RETURN NOT ALLOWED THIS LOCATION - SELECT ALTERNATE RETURN

I'd seriously consider renting from Sixt instead of the two US based companies. I know I get better rates from them, and nicer cars.

Download the Waze app and use that. it is easy to use and has the most current, to the minute, route info.

Driving from RodT to Koblenz is problematic. The shortest route will have you backtracking through Frankfurt. The problem with this, other than the fairly boring drive, is that A3 from Frankfurt is known for staus (traffic jams) and speed cameras. The longer route via Heilbronn on A6 can be crowded, but after it joins 61 the issue is road construction. If you don't have a time crunch I'd take the secondary routes, like 47 to Erbach and then to Darmstadt, Mainz, and then either 260 to Koblenz or cut over to Bingen and take 42 along the Rhine. Slower, yes, but much more scenic, and rarely touristy.

PS. Sixt is showing a VW Polo for 29 Euro/day in OCT. with pick up in FRA and return a week later in Koblenz.

noting the previous comments about the route to Koblenz and issues thereabout, is it not true that the A7 is still a mess too?

We just returned from Wurzburg Germany after a two month stay. We rent cars from Auto Europe usually the rental company is Hertz which I feel offer the best rates and insurance. This vacation we leased a car using Auto Europe out of the Frankfurt Airport. When you leave the Airport in Frankfurt you are almost on the autobahn headed to Wurzburg. There was no work on A3. Rothenburg is approximately 2 hours from Frankfurt. Set your GPS to Rothenburg Parking P1. Parking is 8 euro for a day ticket. Machine takes card or cash. You know if you feel like driving and only you know. Some of the remarks about it's dangerous after an all-night flight etc. are comments only you can be a judge of. There are a few rests stops along the way, and I suggest a stop for a snack and coffee. Driving Germany is safe and the roads are the best in Europe. I have always considered the German driver to be one of the best. Do remember to stay out of the left lane unless you want to pass.

Picking up the rental at the airport is fairly straightforward, but depending on which company you rent from there could be a decent walk. Our 2023 rental was through Enterprise and it was the last rental car kiosk in the long line of rental car kiosks. Rothenburg is about a 2 hours drive from the airport and at the limit of what I feel comfortable driving after a long flight.

Google maps maps worked well in Germany. Last time I visited Rothenburg in 2012 there were a number of free lots just outside the wall. No idea if they are still free.

On that trip we reserved an intermediate car and we’re given a Hyundai Tucson hybrid.

For more than 45 years it has been my habit to fly into Frankfurt and then rent a car. I have never found it to be a particular problem. Driving in Germany is quite easy. Roads are well marked and if you pay attention to the signage, you should not be concerned about getting fined for traffic infractions. Even parking is pretty easy in that public (and often private) lots are easily located. The advent of google maps has made finding parking a piece of cake. Also, directions, speed zones and limits are all very clearly displayed if you have a vehicle with a navigation system. Most rentals do....
I also like to use trains, so if you prefer to chase platform to platform and sit in a station with your luggage hoping for the next one to arrive, go for it. I tend to make my trips a combination of train and car travel and find advantages to each. Having said that, a car helps me to avoid getting dopped off in a remote small countryside station where I next need to wait for a bus or hope to gather up a taxi. I can't count how often that has happened to me.
For car rentals, I have been very impressed with SIXT. They have always had a car for me. They often upgrade my reservations. The people I have dealt with have been extremely professional and helpful, including at the Frankfurt Airport. I would recommend them over the others.

Last summer, my friend and I rented a car at FRA with no problems at all. It did take us a hot minute to find the desk, but we had no trouble picking up or returning the car. The deposit wasn't credited back to her card for several weeks, which was a hassle. We used the cheapest provider that came up on AutoEurope.com. If there is a traffic issue with driving between Rothenburg and Koblenz, you could always return the car at FRA and take the train the rest of the way. Probably costs less to drop off at the same location.

Thanks for the ongoing suggestions!

We're still debating the pros and cons of train vs car.

I'm a veteran of long-distance, overnight driving (eg, SF to Phoenix non-stop, 14 hour marathons!) and my secret weapon is ... NAPS! I don't hesitate to pull over and close my eyes for 15 minutes if I feel drowsy. I find this happens to me equally whether I'm jet-lagged or not (just being in a car has a weird hypnotic effect on me).

My biggest apprehension about renting a car is the inevitable argument / debate about insurance coverage at the 'pickup desk'. In the US, and in the UK, they invariably give me a hard-sell on 'full coverage' and I hold firm on not buying it (my credit card covers me, as does my travel insurance). But - when looking at Hertz via Auto-Europe last week, their 'extra cost' for full coverage seemed very reasonable so I'd probably just go for it and avoid the argument.

The other thing about having a car is the parking situation. Last time I was in UK, most of the parking lots were using 'App' based payments, but still offered coin payments in some cases. It seemed, casually, that everywhere we went used a different 'app', and I found myself having to 'sign up for the app' (entering credit card details, etc) on my phone while trying to park the car for an hour! I don't know how it will be in the towns we are visiting.

I'm also considering taking the car back to FRA and then getting the train from there to Koblenz.

As of now, I'm back in the 'take the train' mode, but I'm still evaluating both options.

Hi, I have been posting on your other thread - yes to taking the car back to Frankfurt and the rest by train. I would much rather have a car for the Bavarian leg of the trip because of the difficulty of getting in and out of RodT by train, but Frankfurt to Koblenz is easy, relatively quick, and you will not need a car for trips up and down the Rhine.

There are lots of different approaches to car rental companies - we have used many companies directly (Sixt, Hertz, Europcar ...) and all have been fine for us. One thing we did do recently was use a broker, Auto Europe, which consolidates offers from car companies. We did this because I heard that if something goes wrong you have the broker to advocate for you. We didn't need this, but it seemed like a good idea. If you are worried about getting scammed, take photos of the car before you leave the carpark and make sure you return the car filled up with fuel. That way you have evidence of the state of the car and you control where you buy your petrol and how much you pay.

Lavandula

Revisiting the Auto Europe car rental consolidator, there are two sites (as mentioned above) - autoeurope.com and autoeurope.eu.
https://www.autoeurope.com
https://www.autoeurope.eu

Here are three comments from posters above in this thread, relating to Auto Europe:

(From Lifetime Travel, unknown location):
We rent cars from Auto Europe usually the rental company is Hertz which I feel offer the best rates and insurance. This vacation we leased a car using Auto Europe out of the Frankfurt Airport

(From G3rryCee, US):
We used the cheapest provider that came up on AutoEurope.com.

(From lavandula, Australia):
One thing we did do recently was use a broker, Auto Europe, which consolidates offers from car companies.

As a US resident, I was able to visit the autoeurope.eu and get through an entire quote, right up to the point of paying, when I stopped as I wasn't ready to proceed. Then I ran the same parameters through the autoeurope.com site, and got COMPLETELY different results - more expensive rentals, more expensive insurance, fewer car rental companies (no SixT, no Enterprise, etc), different car options for the same categories, etc etc. EDIT TO ADD - and no, the differences weren't just due to USD / EUR differences! I could get a mid-size SUV with Hertz for 250 EUR with full coverages on the .eu site, while a mid-size SUV was 390 USD with similar coverages on the US site.

Since I didn't pull the trigger on the .eu site, I can't say for sure whether it would allow me to complete, or not. So a question specifically for poster @G3rryCee - (US resident) - you mentioned using the .com site; did you try the .eu site? And poster @Lifetime Travel - are you based in the US, or elsewhere, and if in the US, did you use the .eu site or the .com site? Since poster @lavandula is in Australia, I'm assuming there's not much they can say to help here!

I answered your autobahn question on your train thread

Bavaria Ben ( former great blogger ) used to always recommend Gemut.com

Always used autoeurope.com

From the OP's other thread, they are now going by train exclusively.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/getting-a-discount-on-german-trains

When we rent in Europe, we go with Hertz or another American company. We buy all the insurance through the rental car company. Forget the CC offers, forget your auto insurance in the US. I’ve witnessed people getting hassled upon returning their car and I’ve read many DB’s on this topic. My time, energy and cash are valuable and I’ll pay $100 or whatever to avoid a problem. I call it my sanity-no-worrying tax.