Family of 4 (all adults) Heidelberg/Colmar/Lucerne/Salzburg/Munich - logistics!?

CAR FROM LUCERN TO SALZBURG

Then you would be dropping a Swiss Car in Salzburg, That would be expensive as they would have to ship the car back to Switzerland before it could be rented again. Guess who has to pay for that as well as the lost rental availability time. You're better off taking the train to Salzburg. A 45 minute train to Zurich HB, then the Railjet train to Salzburg. It's a pretty ride.

You have the same problem driving a German car to Colmar, but maybe you could drive to Freiburg (Breisgau) and turn the car in there before taking a train to Luzern. You want to go to Triberg, so tie these together.

Thank you. I had a feeling there would be some car/train logistics so really appreciate the help!!!

I will add that cruising the Vierwaldstaettersee by boat is a much better way to see the lake than driving. There is regular service plying the full extent of the lake with a full service restaurant on board.

Look into staying in vacation apartments ( ferienwohnung ). More room and almost dertainly cheaper than 2 hotel rooms. I usually book direct but have also used Booking.com

I would do Strasbourg as a day trip from Colmar, either by train or driving and parking outside the city since it has strict car regulations.

E-biking Route du Vin should be fun. I regular biked it years ago

• Agree with stephen; do Strasbourg as a day trip from Colmar.

• Heidelberg is the wrong travel base for you. To see the Porsche Museum in Zuffenhausen, Ehningen, Tübingen (and other places like Esslingen, Herrenberg, Calw) you need to base yourselves further south (Maybe Zuffenhausen? There's a train station right at the museum and hotels too.) Also, Heidelberg has a set of castle RUINS that looks interesting and scenic in a photograph but does not match up compared with other castle tours.

• The itinerary reads like a rushed bus tour right now. The hefty detour into Switzerland is less worthwhile in late October. I would save Switzerland for some later trip. For some Alps, take a side trip from Salzburg or Munich near the end of your trip.

Suggest this revision, which preserves most of what you have planned...

Day 1: Train from FRA to MAINZ (just 25 minutes by direct train) for 2 nights. Sightsee, settle in, adjust your inner clocks. Take a Rhine River Cruise (through Oct. 27) and tour an intact medieval castle on Day 2 (Marksburg.) The train will take you to the Rhine Gorge town of Bingen for your cruise through Germany's most scenic river valley - and it will bring you back to Mainz after your castle tour.

Day 3: Train from MAINZ to STUTTGART/ZUFFENHAUSEN (2 hours) or thereabouts for 3 nights. Do the museum and outings mentioned above, either by train or by car.

Day 7: Drive through the Black Forest (Triberg, Gutach, etc.) on your way to COLMAR for 3 nights.

Day 10: Drop car somewhere in Germany (Stuttgart?) and take the train to SALZBURG (about 4 hours by train) for 3 nights.

Day 13: Train to MUNICH (1.75 hours) for 3 nights.

I believe this leaves you with one additional day/night to play with. It would be possible to day trip by train from Munich into the German Alps to visit Garmisch-Partenkirchen (1.3 hours) and/or Mittenwald - or to add a night wherever you feel you might not have adequate time.

Thanks for all the feedback. Honestly, I don’t see us taking a big European trip with just the kids again so was trying to do it all. Why is Switzerland not ideal in October? Heidelberg was on the list because I recall loving it some 20 years ago on a quick business trip. I guess it’s a 1 hour or so drive to Stuutgart - just trying to keep it to 4 or 5 locations max for hotels/AIRBNBs/apartments. Will keep working on the itineary. Thanks again!