First trip to Germany - transportation questions

bcreads, I hope this helps.

Q1: Is it possible to catch a train to Berlin at the Frankfurt airport, or must we go to the downtown Frankfurt train station to do this? Or should we fly?
A1: No need to fly, FRA Airport train station (named Fernbahnhof) will certainly take take you to Berlin HBF or other Berlin train stations. Visit Deutsche Bahn bahn.com.

Q2: Can we take a train to Salzburg using a German rail pass? I believe I have read that often adjoining countries have a shared rail pass.
A2: Deutsche Bahn can offer you tickets from Frankfurt or Berlin to Salzburg. Certainly worth the stop. I can whole heartedly recommend you look at staying at Hotel Laschenskyhof just a little bit out of town and an easy bus ride into Old Town Salzburg. Lovely place and people and the locals love the restaurant which is always a good sign. Hotel Laschenskyhof

Q3: We would like to rent a car while staying in Rothenburg and Nuremburg.
A3: I have had best luck with Avis or Hertz for my rentals, this is only based on the success I've had with both. Rent in Nuremburg at /near the Hauptbahnhof. Make sure your Rothenburg hotel has parking arrangements as parking is limited within the city walls. I can recommend Burg Hotel.

Nice itinerary and you should be able to see and do quite a bit.

Scott

4 nights in Rothenburg

I get 4 nights for Berlin and maybe 4 in Nuremberg, but that's a very long time for a small town that takes about half a day (Rothenburg.)

You're traveling to FRA for the flight home... I would allocate 2-3 of those nights just west of FRA in the Middle Rhine Valley. It's filled with medieval castles, old town walls and towers, and wine villages with half-timbered buildings; it's been named a UNESCO World Heritage site and is one of Germany's most scenic spots. Many visitors choose to spend their final pre-flight night in one of these towns as an alternative to airport hotels and modern Frankfurt. (This place is also too attractive to pass up, as you said.)

Middle Rhine Valley
Scene near Bingen, gateway to the MRV
Boppard wine garden
River cruise near St. Goar

Regarding Salzburg, the DB site lists the area of validity.

Valid on all trains operated by Deutsche Bahn including the stations Basel Bad Bf (Switzerland) and Salzburg (Austria) and the ICE to Lüttich and Brussels (Belgium). In Austria and Italy on the EuroCity trains operated by DB and ÖBB to Kufstein, Innsbruck, Bolzano/Bozen, Trento, Verona, Bologna and Venice (DB-ÖBB EuroCity train)

A little more detail on a DB site devoted to rail passes, here.

This is new to me. Can you go from London to Venice on a German Rail Pass?

London-Venice? I haven't tried it but I believe the answer is "yes" as long as you can use the specified train equipment, observer the weekends-only restrictions, and have a pass that covers the number of travel days you will need to do such a trip by land.

Rothenburg is a day trip, but Nurnberg is good for three days at least. I'd add more time to Berlin, lots to see there!

I agree. Would reduce days in Rothenburg and add them to one of the more interesting places.

Rail passes never work out financially in your favor as you are paying a premium for total flexibility. It can even be cheaper to just walk up to the counter on the day of travel and purchase your tickets. In case you haven't already done so, please look at this website for some expert train tips - https://www.seat61.com/Railpass-and-Eurail-pass-guide.htm#railpass-or-point-to-point-tickets

Berlin is clearly the geographic outlier here, but it is well served by Air Berlin which is a great, but low cost airline. I would suggest a one-way flight to Berlin from Frankfurt, which will be cheap. Perhaps then fly from Berlin to Salzburg and work your way north.

Another comment is that you are not staying in any rural areas. Perhaps that is your style, but you will be in rural wonderland. Consider, for example, taking some days from Rothenburg and adding a 3 night stay in the Salzkammergut region of Austria? Or consider somewhere on the outskirts of Passau or Regensburg?

"Rail passes never work out financially in your favor as you are paying a premium for total flexibility. It can even be cheaper to just walk up to the counter on the day of travel and purchase your tickets."

IMO these statements require some qualifications. First, beware the word "never." Nearly every day, someone posts here trying to figure out what happens to their train-specific, cheap saver fare ticket they bought from FRA to City X if their flight is delayed. Let's say City X is Berlin, City Y is Munich, City Z is Frankfurt, and the flights are in and out of FRA. What happens is that if you don't make your train from FRA, you can't use your ticket; you may get some residual value for a new ticket, but a couple walking up to the counter for a ticket to Berlin will shell out 256 Euros for FRA-Berlin. If the couple had pre-purchased a 3-day German Rail twin-pass instead, the pass could be used for FRA - Berlin - Munich - FRA... Total cost for two = 292 Euros.

It often works out that train-specific fares ARE a very good deal and worth the inconvenience. I use them all the time. But IMO it really is unwise to discard the rail pass comparisons out of hand. People often waste $ on rail passes because they use them for very short trips they could pay for more cheaply at the station, but a pass is sometimes both a convenience AND a savings device if bought strategically. It just depends on one's travel plans.

Seat 61 does a very good job of explaining the p2p saver fare options for high-speed, long-distance trains. It does not address the myriad local train options for short journeys, which are way beyond its scope and quite complex; you're better off asking specific questions about short trips and regional trains on this forum.

BTW bcreads: The area between Rothenburg/Nuremberg where you plan to drive is well-served by local trains- an easy and inexpensive way to get around. A couple could travel all day long within the "VGN" area for about 22 Euros/day on a "Tagesticket Plus" day pass, which also covers Bamberg, Bad Windsheim, and other great destinations.

http://www.vgn.de/liniennetze/schienennetz_gesamtraum/