Fall trip Salzburg to Frankfurt

Two routes from Salzburg to Lindau. One takes the train to Munich where you change to a train, probably regional to Lindau. The other route, probably more interesting, would be to take an Austrian train from Salzburg to Feldkirch via Innsbruck. That route goes without stopping through Germany from Salzburg to Kufstein via Rosenheim, then up the Inn to Innsbruck. After Innsbruck it goes through the Tirol via St. Anton to Feldkirch, on the Bodensee. At Feldkirch you take a local train around the lake via Bregnez, Austria, to Lindau.

I would definitely recommend Lindau. We spent 4 nights there in fall of 2017. It's lovely, an island city just of the coast of Germany, with a picturesque harbor.

When we were there, we went next to Rothenburg odT. That was about a half day trip by train. The scenery on that route is pretty, but nothing spectacular.

From Rothenburg it would be a pretty long day's trip to the Rhein Gorge (Rüdesheim) via Würzburg, Frankfurt, and Mainz. I assume you would be planning on taking a boat trip on the Rhine to Boppard, maybe with stopovers in Bacharach and St. Goar.

What you want to do is best done by car, and start wiith a 2 day trip to the Dachstein area in Austria-- Go S of Salzburg on the expressway to Rt 162 to Gosausee to Hallstatt to the N side of the Dachstein & take the cable can up toteh glacier, ice cave, and view (good weather only). Return to Salzburg, follow the Deutsch Alpinestrasse to Lindau. Consider Augsburg & Nordlingen on teh way to Rothenbunrg. Then Wurzburg & Heidleburg to teh Rhine. Allow 1-12-2 days for the Mosel. Add Cochem, Bernkastle, & Burg Eltz. Skip Rudeshiem

At the very least, rent a car in Koblenz for teh Mosel rt trip becaues teh train often gets away from the river.

Michelin Green Guides are essential.

Shelly,

As kb1942 points out, I also believe this trip is best done with a car. While you can do it by train, you will spend a lot more time on trains and making connections than you would just driving point to point. The only places you would have much of an issue parking at your lodging would Salzburg and Rothenburg o.d. Tauber. In Salzburg, we found what looks to be a cute little Pension with free parking that is walking distance from the altstadt. I decised to stay in Dinkelsbuhl versus Rothenburg as parking will be easier & free.

If you decide to rent a car, I would consider flying in to Munich and out of Frankfurt because the rental car will be a lot cheaper. Just remember to stop at the Austrian border and purchase a toll vignette.

I am taking basically this same trip in May. We will spend 4 days in Salzburg (after flying into Munich), one night in Hall in Tirol (Swarovski Kristallwelten/Innsbruck), two in Hohenschwangau (Neuschwanstein Castle) via Garmisch-Partenkirchen, two in Dinkelsbuhl (Dinkelsbuhl, Rothenburg o.d. Tauber, Nordlingen) and finally three in Zell (Mosel & lower Rhine) before flying home from Frankfurt.

I plan to submit a trip report when all is said and done...

I also prefer smaller places but I think 12 nights is too rushed to see everything you want to see. I presume you have booked your flights and that you will use public transport (car drop-off fees will be very expensive even if you rent in Freilassing, and you'll also require a larger model).

After Salzburg you have four bases in mind - Lindau, Rothenburg, the Rhine and Mosel. You will waste alot of time travelling. I don't like changing bases so I'd add one night to Salzburg (plenty to do close by, if you require a few tips) and choose two others for four nights each. I prefer the Mosel to the Rhine but it's a good idea to end up on the Rhine if you are flying out of Frankfurt. Bacharach is the best spot for me and, depending on the time of your flight home, you can catch an early train to the airport.

Lindau, a few places to see on the German side: Meersburg (which I like a little more), Uberlingen, Insel Mainau, Salem, Kloster Birnau. Insel Reichenau is nice to walk around. Boat ride, maybe a lunchtime cruise if you are lucky.

Rothenburg: Dinkelsbuhl, Nordlingen, Wurzburg, Iphofen, Schwabisch Hall are all worth a visit but I'm not sure on the public transport times. I like Rothenburg alot more than some on this site but I'd probably give it a miss.

Mosel: I was in Cochem for 11 nights a couple of years ago, I liked the Mosel alot. Berkastel-Kues was my favourite of the larger villages but it does not have a train station, so I'd base in Cochem if using public transport - I believe you can hit Bernkastel via Wittlich (not worth stopping at), as well as Trier, Burg Eltz and the little gem of Beilstein. Kobern-Gondorf is little visited and very pretty. You can spend a day on the river, cruising to Zell and back (name-dropping, I sat near Lou Diamond Phillips both ways). If you had more time and a car, you could explore the Vulkan/Eifel area, which is full of attractive backroads and pleasant hiking.

Bacharach: day cruise, obviously.Those in the know (not me, I did the opposite) recommend taking a train down to Bingen and taking the boat back northwards to Sankt Goar or Boppard. I was in Rudesheim many years ago and liked it but it may be overrun now from what I've read (that's never put me off). Eltville is worth a visit, as is Marksburg Castle. The Rheinfells ruin at Sankt Goar is fabulous, if you like that sort of thing.

I drove so cannot help with public transport times from, say, Bacharach to Bernkastel or Cochem, if you decide on one base in that area.

Thank you. This is all very helpful. I have not actually booked flights yet but have to do so very soon. I almost feel like we would have been better off to skip Salzburg this time as it seems a bit out of the way. I have been with my niece before but she was hoping to go back and experience it with our husbands. Sounds like we may have to eliminate some of the places.

We have 12 nights. Not including Salzburg, right? That's a nice amount of time. It would be good to have dates but I'll try without...

We were planning to spend 3 nights in Salzburg and then take the train... I would possibly like to visit... but am open to any suggestions... I honestly don't understand the "take the car instead" recommendations when you were clear about taking the train and you don't really have a firm itinerary yet.

Let's start with night 12. Suggest you avoid the airport itself and instead stay in Mainz (25 min. by local train from the airport) where you can do some lightweight sightseeing, stroll the pedestrianized streets, do some shopping, have a nice meal...

Nights 7 - 11: Rhine/Mosel - great area with many good options. Because you want to include Trier I suggest both a Mosel base (Cochem) and a Rhine base (St. Goar.)

St. Goar makes train outings on the Rhine easiest - Boppard is north about 12 minutes, Oberwesel and Bacharach south 5 and 10 minutes respectively. VERY easy. Rüdesheim is on the opposite river bank. So you use the St. Goar ferry crossing (3 minutes?) and hop on a southbound train to R'heim (about 30 minutes.) And then you take a day cruise ship from R'heim back to St. Goar (this is the very best part of the Rhine to cruise) which puts you back home. That cruise takes about 1:40. Doing R'heim + a cruise on the same day would be far trickier from Bacharach or other towns without a ferry crossing.

Cochem is a very good Mosel base, not just because of Cochem itself, but visiting Burg Eltz Castle and for making a day trip to Trier (direct train, about 50 minutes.) You can also take a short river cruise to the pretty and very popular Beilstein (1 hr. each way.)

All the outings you'll do from Cochem and St. Goar will be very inexpensive - day passes offering unlimited travel and that cover trains and ferry crossings will cost around €6 - €10 each since you're in a group of four. Same for the trip to Mainz for Day 12.

Nights 1-3: I suggest looking into Oberammergau, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, or Mittenwald. These mountain towns are full of charm and ought not to be missed. Getting to this area is also possible by inexpensive day pass (Bayern Ticket) and simple by train. All towns are very well connected by train and bus for outings. Linderhof Palace and Ettal Monastery are some additional places you might check into.

Nights 4-6: Except for Trier and Garmisch-P, everything else so far is a small town. So for some small cities, I'd suggest looking on the direct train route north to the Rhine/Mosel. Look into Tübingen and Esslingen. Stay in one, visit the other. (Trains get you there and in between.) ALTERNATIVELY, head over to Lake Constance for Lindau and Meersburg. Both are charming as well, but will lengthen the journey north. Meersburg will require an easy bus connection.

You can check all the train schedules at https://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en - once you choose a firm itinerary, we can help you with the ticketing (some will be bought as you go, some in advance; or it's possible that a rail pass option would be a convenient if more expensive choice, depending on where you finally end up going.)

Russ,

Your suggestions sound great. The unfortunate part is the 12 days do include Salzburg but I do think a lot of this can still work. Our dates are Sept 29 - Oct 12, 2019. I do prefer not to rent a car.

Here is where I am at:

Night 12 - Mainz (great idea) I would prefer that to staying in Frankfurt. (done)

Night 7 - 11- Rhine/Mosel - also love the suggestions. (done)

Nights 4-6 - Like your suggestions. I will look at the train route and all of those places look great. If I had to pick from those as a must see and perhaps not to difficult to get to from Salzburg what do you recommend?

I was looking at google maps and it looked like Nuremberg or Wurzburg may not be to difficult either or would your suggestions be easier? Esslingen and Tubingen look intriguing.

I've been to Heidelberg and thought it was a lovely place but think I would prefer somewhere new. (not that you suggested that it just looks like it's on the route)

This has been very helpful! I appreciate the great ideas. I do want to get my flights booked asap.

Thank you!

If you think you'd prefer the Nuremberg / Würzburg region (Franconia) to the mountains, I won't strike up a debate with you. It's a wonderful place. Nuremberg has half a million people so let's just strike that for the moment. Getting to Würzburg is no trouble - about 4 hours, one change in Munich (Oct. 2 example: Lv. Salzburg 8:00, ar. W'burg 11:52.) W'burg has 1/4 the population of Nuremberg. You'd have many choices for sightseeing in town and in terms of outings from there. If you've sorta had it with Salzburg you could spend just 2 nights there and travel to W'burg in the pm instead on Oct. 1 - that way you have 4 nights and 3 full days for Franconia. Rothenburg is a day trip. Nuremberg could be a day trip if you want. Bamberg could be a day trip. Charming old-world Iphofen could be a half-day trip. All are accessible by train (direct train except Rothenburg) and cheap day passes again are your friend. Rick has hotel suggestions for W'burg (including the Barbarossa, which was OK IMO and had a very good breakfast) but the closer to the station, the better if you plan on train outings. We stayed at the IBIS - nice but a bit far for frequent trekking to the station - so you might look into the Regina as well, which is closer (not sure about noise level there though - read reviews.)

Then when it's time to head for the Rhine/Mosel, it's not that far - 3-3.5 hrs. to St. Goar.

Besides sights like the Marienberg and the Residenz, W'burg has a number of nice spots for food and drink.

http://kunstdirekt.net/bildarchiv/orte/wuerzburg/einkehr/stachel-01/stachel-01-xl.jpg
http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/02/d8/5f/74/goldene-gans-frankischer.jpg
We even found the Kaufhof cafeteria (top floor) pretty charming - some tables look out over the Marktplatz.

That is great advise. I don't know if we would prefer it but at first glance it looked a bit easier. I will research both regions. However you do make Franconia sound great as well. I certainly don't want to debate either. I just hadn't heard of the suggestions you mentioned. You certainly have been a wealth of knowledge. I don't know why but I have been struggling with getting it all sorted out. I think these posts have done that for me. Now that I feel like I can actually move forward and get busy booking.

Thank you so much! Any other tips and tricks you have are appreciated.