Germany 1st Time - Itinerary and Heneral Help

You might start by window shopping for flights. Lufthansa flies TPA to Frankfurt nonstop 3 times a week, but you will have to pay a premium for nonstops. Surprisingly, the flights are cheaper in October, so that is something to note. I guess November 1 is when they expect Germans to start heading for warmer weather.
Saving $, use a single stop connection. I use this site for airline research: http://matrix.itasoftware.com/
If you go with a connection, think about open jaw. You could return from Milan or Zurich. It will save a small amount on the airline ticket, but mostly saving the time and money returning to Frankfurt for the return.
With the matrix website you can look at everything in a month for round trips, or multicity with plus or minus 2 day function, specify the maximum number of stops, etc.
In the mean time flesh out where you want to go and how many days each spot. for 10 days, no more than 4 stops. You mentioned Black Forest, Munich, Lake Constance, and Lugano/Lake Como. You should probably stick with that. Trains work well, I love 'em cause we really don't have them here and they are so convenient and can be quite a bargain with advance purchase tickets. I find a car a hassle; parking, tolls, vignettes, and you will never complain about high gas prices again after filling a 15 gallon tank and spending over $100.

Hi,

You say you'd want to see the Black Forest, Munich and Bavaria. You also want to go to Como or Lugano and see some of Switzerland and Italy. With this list, I can't see considering flying into Amsterdam or Brussels.

With 10 or so days I think that's way too much anyway. Traveling in November or April, the daylight hours are much less also.

I would look at Munich, Bavaria and Austria (Salzburg and Innsbruck), flying into and out of Munich. You could fly open jaw if you still want to Include Switzerland (fly home from Zurich)and/or Italy (home from Milan). I'd stick with Bavaria and Austria in 10 days.

If you can go late November, then the Christmas Markets in Munich, Berchtesgaden, Salzburg and Innsbruck are an added bonus. We visited these areas many times and our last two trips traveled in late Nov./early Dec. (2010 and 2013) for this reason.

www.flickr.com/photos/pjbassplyr/sets

Paul

Traveling in November or April, the daylight hours are much less also.

It's also worth pointing out that in addition to reduced daylight hours, the atmosphere tends to be damp and overcast. Meaning that those Technicolor postcard views of your European dreams are usually hidden behind a gray haze. This doesn't affect urban site-seeing much, but it could mean that instead of that glorious view of the Alps from the Bodensee, you see nothing but the edge of a foggy lake. Or instead of the rich green hues of the mountains of the Black Forest, you see only the general indistinct outline of the foothills.

having just spent a month or so travelling around the areas that you mention, I second Paul's recommendation. We would go back to Bavaria in a flash, we definitely can't say the same thing about Amsterdam, Brussels, Ghent, Bruges etc. they were nice, but with your limited time they can be left out. IMO.

Dont spread yourself too thin!!! As Rick says, always assume you will go back, and I have.. many times!

This is just a suggestion, but this is what I did back in February.
Flew into Berlin, first day is a down day. No plans. Just walked the area near the hotel to shake off the jetlag.
Then we stayed 3 days. Then we rented a car (used Sixt) and from there drove to Frankfurt. Explored that area for 3 days, like a day trip to Cologne, then moved our way to Munich for a few more days, with a stop in Rottenburg along the way.

The down side of getting a car is parking. Finding some, and paying for it. I'd get a small compact car. But it gives you a lot of luxury in traveling to the small nooks and towns within Germany (or your case Amsterdam and Germany?). If you just plan on sticking to the big city, you can train it, and rent a car as needed.

Don't worry about where to sleep. There's PLENTY of places for any budget. Since we had a car, we picked hotels that were a bit outside the city, but with access to bus or trolley.

Remember that your first day in a new city will be pretty much a down day. You need to get acclimated to the new town, check in, unwind, and so add at least +1 day just for that.

Your guidebook will answer a lot of questions. Neither April or November are ideal, but you could get lucky. If you never driven in Europe, please note that it is different, and likely stressful. Not to mention expensive, especially when dropping car off in a different country. Rail travel is not like it is in the US. It is very convenient and easy to get from center to center just about anywhere. I would look a multi-city airfares, flying into Frankfurt (or Munich) and out of Milan. With only ten days (how many nights?), you only have time for maybe three good stops, or four unsatisfying ones. The day of arrival and departure pretty much don't count. You'll spend a lot of time just getting to and from rail stations or looking for parking spaces if you drive.