Hello Travelers,
I am in the beginning of planning a two week trip through Germany and France. There will be five of us ranging from 68-73, all fairly active. My wife and I have been to Europe on a couple of trips, the others are new to European travel. I have been tasked with the planning. I have planned our other trips for my wife and I but adding three friends increases the responsibility a bit.:) I have an outline tentatively done but have many questions so it could change.
We are looking to fly into Munich, dates aren’t set but it will be in October but after Octoberfest. Anticipating most travel done by public transportation.
Nights 1-3 Munich
Day trips to Dachau, Salzburg and Regensburg.
Night 4 Fussen
castles etc.
Night 5 Basel
Night 6-7 Colmar
Route de Vin
Nights 8-10 Boppard
Rhine Cruise, Koblenz, Cochem and Cologne (cathedral) train to smaller towns along Rhine.
Night 11 Strasbourg
Nights 12-14 Paris
My 1st question is regarding train travel. Is there any type of pass I should be looking at? Does this itinerary as is work for train travel or other suggestions?
I’m sure I will be back with many more questions once I have somewhat nailed down the route but feel free to offer any suggestions train or otherwise.
I have used many suggestions that have been offered by others on this site. The knowledge and willingness to share always amazes me.
Thanks
Posted by
Paradise
7158 posts
The itin does need further attention... you might not be aware of how much moving around you are doing. For active people, some of those long moves are going to be an annoyance; in a car, you'll be sitting immobilized, and in the train you can move about while you tick off the kilometers, which helps some, but all in all it's still a lot of sitting. Your day trip to Salzburg, just for example, will mean close to 4 hours of sitting. During your first 4 days, it appears to me that there will be almost no time whatsoever for Munich; Regensburg and Salzburg alone would take up most of your time, and the emotional impact of Dachau pretty much knocks out your chances for carefree sightseeing elsewhere that day.
So I'm inclined to suggest you to tighten up this wide-ranging set of destinations, which right now will demand bus-tour pacing.
I have used many suggestions that have been offered by others on this
site.
Sometimes, this strategy of assembling a piece from this thread and a piece that thread creates a "Franken-trip" - but I am struggling to give you tips for improvement, what to boot and what to keep, since it's hard to know what your group is like and how you all might have the most travel fun. It might help to explain that, if you can.
But here's what I would suggest, knowing nothing about you, and assuming you might be like me (we share the same age group) for a more practical trip that should tick most of your boxes.
Day 1: Fly into Frankfurt. Train to Boppard (1.25 hr. or so) from FRA, direct trains possible.
Days 1-4: 4 nights in Boppard. Cologne/Middle Rhine Valley stuff, possible day trip to Rick's favorite European Castle, Burg Eltz and Cochem.
Days 5-8 (9?): Catch a train south to Gengenbach for 4-5 nights. (It's an old-world town not unlike the Romantic Road towns in Bavaria.) From G'bach, day trip options include...
- A Black Forest Railway trip to Gutach (Black Forest Open Air Museum,) Triberg, etc.
- Basel
- Freiburg
- Strasbourg
There are some interesting options for sightseeing in between Boppard and Gengenbach. You could possibly break up this trip by using station lockers in Mainz, Heidelberg, or Speyer to visit one of these places for a few hours then arrive late in Gengenbach (which might make the case for a 5-night stay in Gengenbach.)
(Train travel from a Gengenbach base within the area is free of charge thanks to the KONUS Guest Card which comes with your stay.)
Days 9-11 (10?): Train to Colmar via Strasbourg. 3 nights in Colmar if you choose to stop over in Strasbourg on the way - then hit your Route du Vin destinations (rent a car for the day?)
Days 12-14: Train to Paris, as planned.
Regarding the omission of Dachau: There are WW II places which COULD be made to fit into this itinerary if there is a need... Cologne's Nazi Documentation Center... Remagen (of Bridge at Remagen Hollywood fame) and it's WW II musem... The Concentration Camp Memorial Sites in Worms (near Speyer) and in the woods outside Haslach in the Black Forest ( KZ-Gedenkstätte Vulkan. )