First Germany Trip with Kids - Itinerary Advice

I think your itinerary looks great! I loved Regensburg. It's a gorgeous town with a lot to see and do and you can also do a day trip or two if you like. There's plenty of beautiful towns and villages in that area that are worth visiting.

With regards to the Rhine, I stayed in Boppard and really enjoyed it there. My hotel was right on the river and about a 30 second walk from the KD cruise dock. The train station is a about a 10 minute walk and there's a lot to see and do in the town, and plenty of good restaurants. I loved visiting Burg Eltz, which is an authentic and fascinating castle, in a beautiful location. Don't miss it.

i just saw that you want to stay in a castle so that will affect the town you want to stay in.

Your plan generally sounds reasonable and doable as a family. Nice job. One thing I'm not sure about...

• Only staying 2 nights in Munich July 23-July 25 as we have been told it's not great to visit with kids. I went there years ago, and it wasn't memorable.
• Regensburg for 4 nights July 25-29. Like the idea of an intact medieval city that is walkable, with beer gardens and playgrounds.

Based on your experience with Munich, I don't understand booking there. Direct trains from MUC airport serve Regensburg every hour - it's roughly 85 minutes to the northeast. That's not all that much longer or difficult than traveling south to Munich's central station (about 40 minutes.) And you won't have to backtrack to Regensburg later.

Regensburg is a good choice, though 4 days might be too much. With your preferences in mind, I would subtract a night from Regensburg, then using the 2 nights you saved by skipping Munich, spend 3 nights somewhere that interests you in Franconia. This has the added advantage of shortening your train trip to the Rhine Valley.

You can see on this map the relationship of Franconia to Regensburg.

https://wikitravel.org/upload/shared//d/d2/FranconiaRegionalMap.png

There are many good options here. Nuremberg, Bamberg, Würzburg, Bad Windsheim, Bayreuth... Have a look into these places to see if they'd work for you. Nuremberg is particularly good for train travelers looking to day trip to other destinations. Bad Windsheim's excellent open-air museum is good day trip from Nuremberg, and from other places too, for all ages:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g198421-d284746-Reviews-Frankonian_Open_Air_Museum-Bad_Windsheim_Middle_Franconia_Franconia_Bavaria.html

Nuremberg's castle is also a hostel with family rooms / private bath. And it's a castle that is "in-town" and in Nuremberg's core old-town - somewhat unusual for castle accommodations. The city has a train museum, a toy museum, a kids' museum, and lots of other interesting museums as well.

https://www.jugendherberge.de/fileadmin/hauptverband/downloads/en/castles/family-adventure-project-48-hours-in-djh-nuremberg-hostel.pdf

https://tourismus.nuernberg.de/en/discover/museums/

We went to Germany with our 4 kids ages 6 to 14 earlier this year and had a great time. Our trip focused around Berlin and Munich - a week in each with a few day trips from each. Retrospectively, I wish we had made one more stop but it was our first trip back to Europe since COVID and there is so much to see and do, particularly in Berlin. I had also been to Germany one other time before kids and have been to other cities but have not been to a few of the places on your itinerary. The places I haven’t been to are my future wish list, so good choices.

My one question or caution as a fellow parent traveling with kids is the number of stops you make. Kids and families are different, have different tolerance levels for movement but my advice is to at least consider this. I also understand the desire to see as much as you can because these trips are and times together are magical and not possible every day and so you want to maximize. Know your kids and know what they can do is my advice.

We are like you, though, in that we want our kids to experience other cultures and experiences. And, although we consider our kids and get their input on our plans, we don’t make it a kiddie themed vacation. This has worked well for us. Excited for your family!

Enjoy!

Direct trains from MUC airport serve Regensburg every hour - it's roughly 85 minutes to the northeast. That's not all that much longer or difficult than traveling south to Munich's central station (about 40 minutes.

From the OP:

Taking the train through the Brenner pass to Munich on July 23.

We want to travel by train only,

So looking at trains only.

5;26 from Verona to Munich Hbf.

7:05 (or :06 or a bit longer) with a 16 minute connection at Munich, or stop there for a meal or leg stretch and catch the next ALEX train which about hourly to Regensburg.

Your plan is fine, but I would say that there are actually loads of things in Munich which would be great for kids of those ages....

You can't go wrong either way. The kids will love the trip. Do they get to be in the wedding?

Schloß Rheinfels - This is a hotel in a mansion of sorts next to Rheinfels Castle ruins.

Liebenstein and Auf Schoenburg: Castle-hotels indeed but coming and going to nearby places there is next to impossible for train travelers because of their clifftop locations. My suggestion is to book your first night in Auf Schoenburg, spend all your time there until checkout, and book something more convenient to the railways down by the riverfront in Boppard for the remainder of your nights. Boppard is a great location and all hotels there offer free rail travel around the local area to all guests! Getting to Burg Eltz castle, Marksburg Castle in Braubach, to Rüdesheim and other destinations nearby will be entirely free of charge with the Guest Ticket you receive upon check-in:

https://www.vrminfo.de/en/tickets/tickets/leisure-tickets/vrm-guest-ticket/

Good catch on my bad read, Nigel.

Train travel directly to Regensburg instead of Munich, in that case.

Thanks, this is all great advice! Russ, that's an idea to consider, going straight to Regensburg. We will be coming from Bolzano, so I was trying to break up the train travel into manageable chunks because of the 4 year old. I figured Munich has at least a day of little kid friendly sight seeing in it? Most specifically beer gardens with playgrounds, of which there are a few. But other cities are probably going to be better? I had considered Bamberg but it felt out of the way. I had been looking at Nurnburg, but I was concerned with adding another stop in an already short and busy trip, and thought since it had been destroyed in WWII it wasn't as authentic?
I definitely see what you're saying about Liebenstein, that looks out of the way without a car. Schonburg in Oberwesel is only 15 minute walk to the train station at least? It looks easy enough to move around to the other towns from there or is it hard? I've never been to the Rhine. When I was a child my parents took me to Europe a lot, and my strongest memories were when we stayed in castles or old buildings. I guess that's where I'm coming from.

Oberwesel is only 15 minute walk to the train station at least?

Auf Schoenburg Castle, overlooking Oberwesel

Perhaps. But it's straight uphill on foot in the opposite direction unless you taxi up. I like a good hike, but I wouldn't want to do it every day, even without a child or two or three. For a family it's far more convenient to be in town, I think, where in all these small towns you'd be just a few steps from the station, the sights in town, the bakeries - and those other needs that inevitably come up. Assuming you will be visiting Burg Eltz, Marksburg, and/or Rheinfels already, all of which require uphill hikes of some distance after your arrival by train or bus as well as some footwork and steps during the tour, there's already plenty aerobic exercise on your plates.

Boppard and Oberwesel are pretty much the same short travel distance from St. Goar and Rheinfels. But Boppard will put you closer to Eltz and Marksburg; from Boppard your round-trip journeys by public transport will be shortened by 35-40 minutes - and the walking time between the stations and your room(s) and back will likely be around 10-15 minutes tops instead of maybe 35-40 (15 down, 20-25 up?) minutes for Auf Schoenburg Castle.

I think the problem with Schpenburg is that it on a hill and not an easy walk, especially with the young ones.

Between Regensburg and the Rhine, I would stay in Rothenburg ob der Tauber. for a couple of nights

The chairlift in Boppard is a favorite of mine, but it would only work for you if the 10 year old can do it by himself with the other 2 being with 1 parent each.

Doing by train only is easy to do

I don't have feelings one way or the other about Munich, myself. It sounded as though you weren't all that interested.

There are always other options. July 23:

1) Direct train from Bolzano > Munich 10:34 - 14:27. Drop bags in lockers. 5.25 hours' break for Biergärten and Spielplätze.

2) Direct train Munich > Regensburg 19:44 - 21:12; there'll still be light in the evening sky. Or change the destination to Nuremberg and arrive 20:54.

In Germany, "original" should be measured cautiously.

The medieval castles you can stay in today or that you stayed in with your parents were all drastically remodeled so that today's generations could stay there in some level of comfort. Auf Schoenburg is eye-poppingly beautiful, a far cry from the Middle Ages.

Nuremberg of course was heavily bombed but restored with much thought given to how it should look today. The old town sector is totally lovely IMHO.

Rothenburg was about 40% destroyed as well. Regensburg is not totally original either, of course. But it survived better than many. Photos/dates:

https://kriegsende-regensburg.de/fotogalerie#galleryaf2dd15853-33
https://kriegsende-regensburg.de/fotogalerie#galleryaf2dd15853-34
https://kriegsende-regensburg.de/fotogalerie#galleryaf2dd15853-35

Well, yes, if I was expecting the bathrooms to be original to the Middle Ages, that would be weird. LOL. The furnishings at Schonburg look very grand, but more 18-19th century. Still a far cry better than anything I can find in Seattle! ; )

So are there not any taxis in Rhine towns?

Nigel: It's a family wedding, but the kids aren't in it. They haven't been to any weddings yet, so an Italian wedding will be extra special. There will be a traditional serenade happening too! We would stay and travel in Italy, but the heat will be intense. We didn't have any choice in our dates!

Taxis: sure, check with your castle-hotel on details for your in-town needs in Oberwesel or wherever.

If you'll be sticking with Oberwesel, here are your transport options to the major castle destinations in this area.

For Marksburg, "Funk Taxi" is local. (See VRM link in #2 below for Oberwesel > Braubach train ticket.)

For Burg Eltz:

1) Train to Moselkern + 1-hr. walk to castle via Eltz Creek. This walk is a nice one and has been common practice for tourists for years. (See VRM link in #2 for train ticket.)

2) Train to Hatzenport + bus + walk or shuttle: Nowadays you can reduce the walking distance from the station with a newer connecting bus (#365) to the "Burg Eltz, Wierschem" stop. This public bus picks you up at HATZENPORT railway station and drops you as close as a public bus can get to the castle. One ticket covers your family's round-trip journey on both train and bus from Oberwesel (and most other Rhine towns) - the VRM Mini-group Ticket (Minigruppenkarte) priced at €27.60, which you can buy in Oberwesel from a station ticket machine or using the DB/German Railways App. From the public bus stop, an additional private shuttle bus to get you even closer at €2/€4 round trip each - see link with map: https://burg-eltz.de/en/homepage#ui-id-1

3) Train + taxi: VRM Mini-group ticket again. The previous link provides taxi contacts near Burg Eltz.

For Rheinfels Castle: Train from Oberwesel > St. Goar and back (VRM mini-group ticket, €12 for this short distance.) A private shuttle operates from town up to the castle and back, €3/€6 round trip each, kids half price.

(Of course you'll have the taxi add-on within Oberwesel, if needed.)

If you base instead in Boppard for a few nights, the VRM Guest ticket takes over, and the VRM mini-group ticket costs for train (and train + public bus to Eltz) go away. No taxis from Boppard will be needed either. That leaves just the taxi for Marksburg (and possibly Eltz) and the private shuttle for Rheinfels (and possibly Eltz.)

Russ, you are a wealth of information, thank you so much. I think Italy to Regensburg, Nuremberg, then Oberwesel would be a great itinerary. That Bad Windsheim open air museum is exactly what I would pick. Good for parents and little kids at the same time. Reminds me of the living history forts on the Oregon coast that we used to go to, or Connor Prairie in the midwest. Thank you so much, I would have never found it.

I neglected to enthusiastically second the recommendation stephen made for Boppard. The chairlift is a lovely ride up that also provides for some terrific views at the top. A short walk from the "Bergstation" (mountain-top station) is Gedeonseck, a great little outdoor venue with refreshments and food.

https://s3-media1.fl.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/T9oxNMwLvt_-r5nCsce-jg/o.jpg
https://img.restaurantguru.com/r3e6-GedeonsEck-design.jpg
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/10/5f/9f/105f9f15be84e2de4f860a4b0cac7098--koblenz-wiesbaden.jpg

From Regensburg you might go to Kelheim and take a boat thru the Danube gorge to the Weltenburg Abbey (beer garden and food). There are walking options at least one-way too along the north side taking a small boat across the river by the Abbey. You will pass thru whats left of a Kelten Oppidum walking too. There is also is the Befreiungshalle. Not to far away from Regensburg is Kallmünz, a nice small town with a neat castle ruine where the Naab and Vils rivers join. You won't find many tourists there.

Those are lovely ideas! It doesn't look like we could get to Kallmunz by train though. I had seen Welltenburg Abbey and it looked interesting, but it looked difficult to get to Kelheim by train too.

Thanks to the suggestions, I have amended the trip to go straight to Regensburg, and added Nuremberg instead. I am going to stick with the Castle hotel in Oberwesel, though, as it looks so lovely, and we are a close train ride to Boppard and St Goar and all that. We will just become familiar with the taxis when we have our bags, and enjoy the climb when we don't. We are active enough that I'm not worried. I'm hoping that the experience will outweigh the hike!

Its not that difficult to get to Kelheim Wöhrdtplatz (where the boats to Weltenburg Abbey leave) from Regenburg

20 minutes from Regenburg Hauptbahnhof to Saal Donau (RE 17 or RB 18)
from there a 15 minutes busride to Kelheim Wöhrdplatz (Bus 6022)
(then a 200meters walk down to the river)

Check int.bahn.de/en enter Regensburg to Kelheim Wöhrdplatz

so about 0,5 hrs from Regensburg not so much time. and worth a visit.

You can also go with a small train uphill from there to the Befreiungshalle (nice views)

https://www.ludwigsbahn-kelheim.de/

Thank you so much for this post! I'm planning a similar trip to yours with similarly aged kids and interests and found this thread so useful. Do you mind sharing how your trip went and any adjustments you'd make?

Dates are July 2024!

So sorry! I was checking the post dates and missed that you were traveling this summer. I hope you have a great trip!

I understand about Italy in summer, but I have spent some heatwaves in Germany as well. If I were traveling in July and not sleeping way up a mountain, I (today) would want air conditioning. However, even in luxury places and big Hiltons, I have found that European air conditioning is not to the icy standard demanded in the USA. Examples, Kempinski (now "Bristol") Berlin, Hilton Leipzig.

Tim, good point. We are used to sleeping without air conditioning, it's not common in the PNW.

Op - did you ever narrow down an itinerary? Looking at doing something similar with our children and have been following this. Thread. Thanks

It has gone through so many iterations it's ridiculous. I cut out Mittenwald because I realized that a small town centered on hiking might not be the best use of our time. I prefer old towns, churches, and history, and larger towns allow kids to rest in the hotel more often while one of us can walk around. Added Bamberg because the town core looked very beautiful and walkable.
But then! My father in law wants to go to Stuttgart and Rothenburg, so Oberwesel and the Rhine is cut out. A travesty.
So Regensburg-Nuremberg-Bamberg-Rhine was the dream, and I would recommend!
Our current plan is Regensburg-Nuremberg-Bamberg-Stuttgart-Rothenburg. It's probably too many stops but we don't day trip well with the 4 year old. Better to have a home base, even for just one night.
We also might blow the whole plan up and meet them in Switzerland where they will be coming from. Travel with family in an exercise in patience.