german itinerary April 2018

DO NOT use Google for trains. It is useless.
"Trains only run on Sat.?" - that is the sort of rubbish Google spews.
The standard for an average train service is one train per hour, 7 days per week, and that is what you will find on most routes.

For a beginners guide to train travel in Germany, see here: https://www.seat61.com/Germany-trains.htm
You can look up times and book tickets (tickets within, to and from Germany only) on the DB (German Railways) site: https://www.bahn.com/en/view/index.shtml

For a rail map of the state of Bavaria, as an indication of how dense the network is, see here: https://www.bahn.de/p/view/mdb/pv/deutschland_erleben/allgemein/tickets/pdfs_laender-tickets/2015/mdb_190311_streckenkarte_bay_2015.pdf

Otherwise, it is basically a good plan.

Thanks for the tips Chris. Helpful.
I was also thinking maybe going to Wurzburg from Salzburg and day trip to Nurenberg from there.

I am thinking that there are many 1-night stands in this itinerary.
You might think about going to Salzburg directly from the airport and spend 2 nights there.
Then to Munich for 2 nights.
Then to Rothenburg for 2 nights. Visit Nuremberg from there as a day trip. It a VGN Tagesticket Plus.
Stop in at Wuerzburg on the way from Rothenburg to Bacharach.
Stay in St Goar or Cologne, not Koblenz, just my opinion.

Yes, Google is a secondary source and every researcher knows to use primary sources, in this case Deutsche Bahn. They operate the trains, so their website is gospel. Also, its the best train planing website there is.

The best link for the Germany Rail website is here. Other links will take you here eventually; why not start here?

I like Sam's suggestion, but I would take the train from St. Goar back to Bacharach for the night rather than fuss with luggage on the boat, then proceed to Amsterdam on day 9

Yes, the distance between Bacharach and St Goar is insignificant compared to going to Amsterdam.
In fact, it can actually be faster from Bacharach because a Regional Express to Koblenz stops there that by-passes St Goar. From St Goar, there is just the Mittelrheinbahn that makes every stop along the way.

I think your plan is mostly doable - just needs a pinch here and there to make it easier.

day 3 train to Salzburg, night in Salzburg
day 4 Salzburg
day 5 Salzburg to Nurenberg
day 6 Nurenberg then to Rothenburg, night in Rothenburg

If you leave Munich early on Day 3 it's less than 2 hours by train to Salzburg. You'll have most of day 3 + day 4 there... but then look at Nuremberg - very little time there by comparison. I would spend the evening of Day 4 not in Salzburg but traveling to Nuremberg. Leave 17:15, arrive 20:31 (sample journey from current schedule.) Then wake up on Day 5 for a full day in Nuremberg.

day 7 Rothenberg to Bacharach, night in Bacharach, long trip, I know
day 8 morning in Bacharach, Rhine cruise on KD to St. Goar then onto Koblenz or Cologne by train
day 9 Koblenz ( Cologne) to Amsterdam

I'd find a way to spend nights 7 & 8 in just ONE Rhine town. Koblenz itself lacks the charm of the smaller Rhine towns and probably doesn't justify the move. You don't mention doing a castle tour... Rheinfels castle ruins/museum is right in St. Goar. Then there's the fully-intact, medieval Marksburg Castle tour in Braubach, south of Koblenz on the opposite river bank. With 2 nights in the area you could visit both, see nice towns, AND have a nice river cruise. What's tricky here is the boat/train logistics...

The cruise: Rick's book suggests that Bacharach-Bingen is a viable cruise but I think most of us here see this 40-minute trip as way too short. The day-cruise boat providers like KD allocate the most boats per day to the most popular segment, and that's not just from Bacharach north, but from BINGEN north to St. Goar. The great scenery begins in Bingen - here's a sneak preview near Bingen - so you should plan to board there, or you will miss half the best part. The cruise from there to St. Goar takes 1.5 hours. Here's a map of the zone to focus on.

if you cruise on Day 8 or 9, you need to take a short train ride to Bingen before your cruise. If your home is Bacharach, you will need to catch another train that backtracks back to Bacharach later that day. Logistically, St. Goar is an easier base town... one train south to Bingen, cruise north to St. Goar, and you're "home." (step off the train in Bacharach on Day 8 to explore on the way to Bingen?) St. Goar makes the castles easier too - Rheinfels is right there see it anytime - maybe right after dropping your bags at your St. Goar hotel on Day 7. And Marksburg is easier to reach from St. Goar as well - use the St. Goar ferry (runs all day) to St. Goarshausen and catch one train 20 minutes north to Braubach.

BUT... my preference would be to cruise Bingen - St. Goar on Day 7, on the way to St. Goar. This saves time and allows you a "virgin" look at the river valley from the best perspective - the middle of the river - when you first pass through... sample plan across 3 days:

• Day 7: Rothenburg (9:16) to Bingen (13:16.) - Walk to KD dock, find lunch nearby, board 14:30 KD boat. Cruise to St. Goar (15:55) then drop bags at hotel and tour Rheinfels Castle.

• Day 8 in St. Goar, Bacharach, Oberwesel, and/or Boppard (train only, short distances.)

• Day 9: Train to Koblenz, drop bags in locker, train to Braubach/Marksburg (10 min.) for tour. Afterward, the trip to A'dam means a stop in Koblenz anyway - so pick up bags in between trains.

I presume that you and your wife have already decided that one-night hotel stays, with the overhead of check-out, train station, ride, find, check-in to be worth the increased number of cities. We try to stay three nights in a rich location, and do short day trips, even (gasp!) bus tours (Sound of Music, salt mine, etc.), to avoid a car rental. I trust you are flying home from Amsterdam and not returning to Munich. Because of good commuter train service, it is easy to make a five-day stay in Amsterdam extremely rich, with many lovely small and historic cities all around. I'm not going to accuse you of "check the boxes" touring, because you seem confident and firm about your choices.

7 cities in 9 days is a lot but doable.

I would also point out that the end of April is Frühlingsfest (Springfest) in Munich. It's like a mini Oktoberfest but without the tourists and high prices.

DJ

First of all, thanks to everyone for your advice and thoughts. I think we will blow off Nuremburg this time around. That'll give us 2 nights in Rothenburg. Still looking over everyone's thoughts about the Rhine part. I'll let you all know what I've decided. It is a lot of ground to cover, as someone said, 7 cities in 9 days. I can cut back but I feel like I'm leaving something out. I'm giving ourselves 4 to 5 days in the Netherlands. I've a cousin in Goes who is in her mid-70's and I don't know how many more times we'll get to see each other, so I want to allow time for her and other sights up there. Otherwise I'd concentrate on Germany and Austria and save Holland for another time.
Again though, thanks for all the input. I'll seriously consider everyone's opinion.
Warren

Also Tim, yes, planning to fly into Munich and out of Amsterdam. Not totally firm about checking those boxes, as you put it, I've basically done this trip before but want my wife to experience some of where I've been and throw a few new things in there for me. It is a lot but I don't think we'll be too exhausted. DJ, thanks also for the tip about Springfest in Munich.

"I think we will blow off Nuremburg this time around. That'll give us 2 nights in Rothenburg."

Your choice of course but...
...the fastest routing to Rothenburg takes nearly 5 hours on 5 different trains.
...that route passes through Nuremberg anyway, which lies just 3 hours from Salzburg. N'berg is a good place to break it up.
...Nuremberg is a vibrant German city with an attractive old town and many good sights; smallish R'burg's only purpose these days is catering to tourists (English menus, shops, souvenirs, etc. - even Rick refers to it as a "medieval theme park") and requires no more than a few hours, really (if you go at all...) 2 nights with 1.5 days there is overkill.

If you choose to leave Salzburg as you planned on Day 5 with nights 5&6 in Rothenburg, you ought to at least spend a good part of Day 5 in Nuremberg. You'd get there around 11 or 12 I guess and could leave at around 19:00 or so for R'burg. The station has lockers while you sightsee there. They are pretty big!

Thanks Russ, your take on Rothenburg is noted.
Having seen some RS videos, my wife has now altered her opinions of some towns, leaving a re-think of some of this itinerary.
I am reviewing everyone's thoughts, which have been helpful. Again, thanks everyone.