I'm planning a trip to Germany with my family - wife, 15 year old daughter and 18 year old son. Would like some advice on a 7 day itinerary that includes city culture, Bavaria, and the best sites for teens. I'm not clear on the choice of car or train and lodging. What works best for a family of four with two gals that want their luggage!
Thanks
Could you be more specific? What time of year will you be traveling, seven days on the ground (not including flight days)?
What do you mean by "two gals that want their luggage?" When you ask for best sites for teens, what are they interested in--history, science, music, fun? You will get better replies if you provide better information.
A lot of luggage is a problem either way. By train you have to lug it around with you making it hard to use public transportation and lift it up and down from the trains. If you choose a car, you'll need one that has enough trunk space for all the luggage.
Since it sounds like you'll be checking luggage, I suggest that for the outbound flight, you mix the packing up. For instance if you and your wife split your stuff and put half of each in each suitcase, then if one gets lost or delayed, you'll still have most of what you need for the beginning of your trip.
When you are going and what your interests are matter for the best advice.
Chani writes, "A lot of luggage is a problem either way. By train you have to lug it around with you making it hard to use public transportation and lift it up and down from the trains." True enough that it can be a problem on longer trips, but with just 7 days (does that include any flight days?) and substantial luggage, you probably don't need or want an itinerary at all. I'd probably book one apartment for the week in a nice town and use it to do luggage-free day trips to places of interest (which is easy to do in Bavaria.)
With the clues you've given, there are several good options. One would be Prien on Chiemsee Lake, home of King Ludwig II's Herrenchiemsee Palace and a beautiful spot near the Alps with outdoor recreational options (biking, sailing, hiking the Kampenwand, just minutes away.) It's an ideally located small town for day trips to Munich (1 hr. by direct train,) Salzburg (1 hr. by direct train,) and Alpine destinations like Berchtesgaden (about 45 min. further) and the Königssee. Getting into the heart of Munich and Salzburg by train is much easier than by car.
Prien, aerial view
Chiemsee Lake with Herrenchiemsee Palace
Herrenchiemsee Palace
Königssee
Berchtesgaden (Hitler's Eagles Nest, Documentation Center)
Kampenwand (there's a gondola ride to the top from Aschau.)
The Bavaria Ticket (Bayern Ticket) Daypass is a great deal for families doing day trips by train and/or bus in Bavaria. You can use it to travel within Munich on the subway, trams and buses as well. You could use the Bavaria ticket to travel to and from Prien from Munich Airport as well.
Find Prien information and accommodations here.
Rule number 1 - each person is in charge of his/her own luggage!!
Russ has good info. Bavaria Tickets for 4 is 35 Euro per day. Consider staying at an apartment (ferienwohnung or fewo for short). Cheaper, more space, less luggage hassle. Many allow stays less than a weeK, I've had 3 and 5 day stays.
Your "First week of April 2015" is pretty specific.
You mentioned Bavaria, so probably flying into Munich. We did this last April. There are many good choices. We like trains; but everyone has to be able to carry their own luggage. Try to be reasonable in what you take for a week. Public transport:
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en
Our first stop was in Landshut, bus & train from the airport. A beautiful little town on the Isar River. It has many colorful building facades and its own castle. We had excellent weather. Try the Hofbräuhaus (not like Munich's) or Augustiner at St. Martin's church for very good German food. We stayed at the Cafe Himmel and liked it. Our pictures from April:
http://mcchelsea.smugmug.com/Other-2/April-2014-Landshut/38726799_vsK4kd
A short train ride from Landshut is Regensburg, a Unesco World Heritage Site for its Middle Ages buildings. Wonderful walk around town. I really liked the Kunstforum Ostdeutsche Galerie Regensburg, which is a small, somewhat quirky art museum. Regensburg has a several great churches including an 1141 A.D. cathedral. It also has Roman ruins. Good to read its history (~Wikipedia) before you go. We like the Weidenhof Hotel about 4 blocks from the train station and are staying there again this coming April.
From Regensburg you might visit one of several places: Bamberg, Nürnberg or the Rothenburg. Rothenburg is an infamous tourist haunt but beautiful and fairly quiet in April. It is a great place to take pictures. A bargain stop is the Hotel Raidel. Gasthof Greifen is very picturesque. Bamberg is another favorite of ours. Hotel on Dom was very nice. Nürnberg is a beautiful old town but April is trade fair season and rooms are hard to find except on weekends.
We usually finish our trips in Freising, which is closer to the Munich airport than the city itself. We like the Hotel Bayerischer Hof or Hotel zur Gred. Visit the Domberg (cathedral on the hill) where the prior pope was ordained. Freising claims the oldest operating brewery in the world: Weihenstephaner. It is also a school of brewing. There are shuttle buses every 20 minutes to the airport for about 4 euros per person. You can also catch a taxi for about 30 euros. Our rainy April pictures from 2006
http://mcchelsea.smugmug.com/Travel/Freising-April-06/1402301_pTGGtq
These are all walkable towns of various sizes. I have left out much more than I l have mentioned. We have visited 3 times in April with mixed weather but enjoyed every trip. Not too expensive umbrellas are available there if you happen to have rain.
We made all our reservations through Hotel Reservation Service: HRS.Com
Munich can also be a fine home base if you like the big city vibe and are interested in museums. I found the BMW factory tour very cool - reserve ahead. On the other side of the country, Berlin can be an even more exciting big city, with day trips possible by direct to destinations like Dresden (2 hours away) or Leipzig (closer to 1 hour). From either city, you could visit both a castle and a concentration camp memorial. Neither requires a car.
Hello, we will be traveling March 27th through April 5th.
i'm thinking of arriving in Munich the morning of the March 27 and departing Monday, April 6. That is 10 total nights to see the sights. The kids are interested in History and Castles. We would like to experience Munich and then move around to see the best sights. I'm thinking two or three main locations for lodging and taking day trips from three key locations.
What the OP didn't mention is that April 5 is Easter Sunday, so their week starts just before Palm Sunday. Does that change anyone's advice?
Thanks for all of the great advice! I'm still planning this trip…is the following possible?
Day #1 Fly into Munich arrive 730am
Day #2 Neuschwanstein and Herrenchiemsee then overnight in Salzburg
Day #3 Berchtesgaden (Hitler's Eagles Nest, Documentation Center)
Day #4 Depart Berchtesgaden and drive to Prague
Day #5 Prague
Day #6 Depart Prague and drive to Bolesławiec, Poland to Polish Pottery Factory
Day #7 Depart Bolesławiec and drive to Dresden (WWII history?) or some other recommended stop along the way to Nuremburg Day #8 Nuremburg - WWII sites then return to Munich
Day #9 Munich
Day #10 Munich - Easter Sunday (what to do on this holiday in Munich?)
Day # 11 Depart Munich 12pm
Rent car and drive or take the train to these locations?
Hi,
Going from Munich to Neuschwanstein, then to Herrenchiemsee and then Salzburg in 1 day? I don't see it. Our visit to Herrenchiemsee took nearly 3 hours alone. This is how it goes: you arrive in Prein at the boat dock. You take the ship to the island the palace is on (that's 15 minutes each way). You buy your palace tour tickets and walk about 15 minutes to the palace. Then the tour, which is about 30 to 40 minutes. Then walk back to the dock, take the ship back to the car. That's about 2 hours without any waiting for a boat or a tour or walking around the grounds.
Then the next day stay in Berchtesgaden for the Eagles Nest, etc.? Do you realize that by car (you say drive) Salzburg and Berchtesgaden are only 30 minutes apart?
Paul
