Driving in Germany plus picking up car in Frankfurt and drop off in Munich

We did this last year. Picked up a car we rented from Autoeurope at the Frankfurt train station and dropped it at the Munich train station. Price wasn't too bad. I found driving in Germany not bad outside of the cities. Big city driving is like big city driving everywhere. You have to get used to high speeds on the autobahn in some places. But, German drivers seemed very good to me. A GPS for the navigator was very helpful when you don't know where you are and the sign aren't in English. As for Switzerland, price out what it is to drop a car in another country. The drop fees can be high to do this. So it may be better to train over and get another car if you do need to drive there.

No problem crossing the border in a hire car, but renting it in one country and dropping it off in another usually incurs a large surcharge, dropping it off in a different place in the same country is usually no problem. Therefore do not drop off the car in Zürich.
The Romantic road doesn't go near Munich. And in Munich (like most big cities), a car is useless.
I suggest you drop off the car somewhere on the Swiss border (but on the German side), for example Konstanz or Lindau, then proceed by train to visit wherever in Switzerland.

Except, if you want to visit Munich, drop the car off there. The problem then would be that the train route from Munich to Switzerland is slow, no high speed trains.

Driving in most of Germany, even in cities, is not particularly hard. It's actually very easy to navigate, even without a GPS. However, Munich is the big exception. Not only is a car useless here, navigating the city is very difficult even with a GPS and parking is both expensive and scarce. So, drop the car off as you enter the city.

And just so you're aware... the Romantic Road itself is not a particularly interesting drive for that region of the country. The towns along the route are the attraction, not the scenery along the actual road. Feel free to make liberal use of A7, the Autobahn route that more or less runs parallel to the themed route.

My husband and I have a deal: he drives and I read the road signs and GPS to hopefully plan ahead for turns. As stated earlier, driving on the autobahn is easy. What's a problem for us is the 'Innenstadt' downtown areas, where streets are narrow, many pedestrians, and one way streets are common. Then try to find a parking spot... ugh. Salzburg, Austria was the worst because our hotel was in the pedestrian zone; lots of people in our way as we crept towards our hotel.

Driving isn't too tricky in Germany, just a little different. Radar speed traps, narrow streets... lower blood alcohol limitations. The trick is dealing with rental companies. There is a LOT of dissatisfaction with major-name rental outlets at Frankfurt airport - you can browse the Germany forum at Tripadvisor to read the experiences, but the problem is usually big repair bills in the mail once the renter gets home for damage the renter was completely unaware of. Hertz, Avis, Budget, Dollar...

The train system is generally very efficient and relatively inexpensive. I use it exclusively when I visit Germany these days.

NO, you can't take a train down the Romantic Road. But you CAN easily visit most of the Romantic road towns by train, if that's what you want. Würzburg and Rothenburg in the north have train service. In the south, Nördlingen, Harburg, Donauwörth, Augsburg, Landsberg, and Füssen all have train stations. These are the main ones anyway... there are some others too.

One reason not to take the Romantic Road south, if you have some time, is that the RR SKIPS way too many nice places.
Bamberg
Nuremberg
Iphofen
Marktbreit
Bad Windsheim
Regensburg

No problem getting to any of these places by train.
And all these towns are accessible on the Bayern Ticket, a day pass for Bavaria that costs €29/2 adults/day for nearly unlimited travel. Hard to beat. The Bayern Ticket is valid on inner city transport too - buses, trams, subways. Read details here - but note the new price structure (€25 + €4 per additional passenger.)
http://www.munich-touristinfo.de/Bavaria-Ticket.htm

Allow me to give a quick primer on easily navigating through most German cities or large towns (once again, Munich is the exception). First of all, don't regard GPS directions as infallible. Some will take you on the most geographically direct route, but this may not be the easiest. Stay on priority roads until you are very close to your destination. Unlike in the US, short cuts through back streets rarely save you any time and often make things far more complicated.

As you approach the inner city, you will often see a color-coded sign that lists the major parking areas, sometimes even with a digital display indicating the number of available spots. Look for the parking area that corresponds to the landmark you wish to see. Failing that, go with "Mitte", "Zentrum", "Markt", ''Altstadt", "Innenstadt" or "Rathaus", all of which are usually a good bet for the most historically interesting part of the city. Follow the Parking signs to your desired area. If your destination is a hotel, you will often see smaller signs along major roads or at intersections that will point you in the correct direction. Don't panic if the GPS-favored route is blocked by road construction. Follow the Umleitung (detour) signs.

As noted previously, if you rent a car in Germany and return it in Germany, there are no surcharges. With that in mind, rent at the Frankfurt airport and return it in the closest German town to Zurich. We rented a car in Singen and then took a one hour train ride to the Zurich airport (train station located in lower level). Call AutoEurope, Kemwel or Europcar to find the closest rental car location.

Another option would be to fly out of the Basel/Mulhouse airport and return the car in Loerrach. You could then take a taxi to the Basel airport from Loerrach.

Driving in Germany is not complicated, however, the road signs can be confusing. Study the signs for DO NOT ENTER, ONE WAY STREET, etc. before your trip. Many rental cars in Europe come with an installed GPS. However, I take my own TomTom with European maps that I purchased on Amazon. The GPS is extremely helpful, however, I also take my Germany Michelin map to have an overview of my route.

In reference to Munich, you could stay on the outskirts of the city and take the U-bahn or S-bahn into the city. I have done this several times. I have also parked by the Deutches Museum and walked to the city center.

I found Germany to be one of the easier countries to drive in, and I have driven in eight or nine countries over there. Just don't camp out in the fast lane. How hard it is to drive depends a lot on what cities and towns you are trying to drive into, and what time you arrive, but my general experience has been that German towns are easier to drive into that those in France, for example. Do not try to drive to Zurich with the car, huge drop fees will likely result. (Are you just going to Zurich to catch a flight?) Get rid of the car before Munich if you do choose to drive. I drove through Munich on the freeway but not in town, we dropped in Dachau. Only downside was the rental office was closed (AutoEurope said they'd be open) and the rental office was actually a really long walk to the train station (a friendly local pastor ended up giving a ride!) We drove the Romantic Road and I agree the road itself is not the attraction. We did not feel like stopping a lot so it was ho hum for us.

I find Munich to be overrated (though it has great art museums), and Nuremburg to be underrated. I like Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Baden Baden, although many people on this board dislike both. The Rhine and Mosel area is a definite winner.

You can really have a great trip to Germany on the train, unless there is some definite reason why you have to drive. The Landes tickets as someone pointed out are a steal for day trips, especially in Bavaria which is very large.

Germany is a much-underrated country to visit, I am sure you will have a great time!

Thank you all for the help. We definitely will not take a rental car from Germany and drop off in Zurich! Good to know. I'm working out train connections vs car travel and I appreciate the unanimous vote that driving in Germany isn't difficult, just watch out for cities and know your street signs. I definitely agree on The GPS directions not always being the best which is why even in the states, I always use a road map as my base. I've never used Rick's forum and I am impressed with the knowledge and help that is out there.

Hi there! My husband and I did a similar trip. We picked up a car at the Frankfurt Air Port (GPS was a life saver...worth the extra $$) and traveled to Munich and dropped the car there and trained to our hotel. Driving was no problem at all. Just be alert on the autobahn :)

In regards to the route from Frankfurt to Munich, we took the romantic road an took some detours as needed. We started in Koblenz and did a day tour down the Rhine and spent some time in the villages exploring the castles. We also did Heidelberg for a night which was such a quaint city. Cross the river and hike Philosopher's way...beautiful views of the city. Rothenburg ob der Tauber was one of our favorite spots! We stayed 2 nights and it was great. Make sure you do the nightwatchman tour if you go there! Hiking outside the city walls down by the river was also a fun afternoon.

We took a trip to Neuschwanstein and it was a fun afternoon. (side note: In the same area they have a Toboggan ride in the hillside at a park with views of the castle).

Munich was great too. Loved the market in the city center. We went everyday to get fresh food for breakfast. The city is beautiful and you will enjoy it. The food in Germany is wonderful! Enjoy your trip!

Driving in Germany is not terrible. Just remember the left lane is the passing lane. Triple check your blind spot before you move over into the passing lane. As the fast Lambos and Porsches will not be there one second and then zooming past you the next.

Where I always get into trouble is the parking, (and I know better!!) If you park in a garage, there will be a little kiosk before you go back to your car to pay for parking. Make sure you leave fairly quickly after paying. We took too long once (like 10-15 mins) and then at the gate had to jump out of the car and go put more money on the parking ticket. Much to the joy of the people behind us honking their horns.

Also if it looks like it is free parking, it might not be. Learned that one the hard way too. In Rothenburg OdT, What I thought was a free parking lot, was actually you park, then find the little machine to get your ticket. We got a parking ticket there. The rental car company paid it, but then they added that and an additional fee onto our credit card.

For where it says two hour parking, there is a little clock looking thing in the door pocket that you put what time you leave on it and then you put it in the window.

Also make sure to have your rental company put the GPS into English. We have had to ask for that the last few times we have gone.