Hello everyone, my daughter and I are planning a trip to Germany in October 2027. Our general itinerary is as follows: 10 day trip: Day 1-2 - Munich; Day 3 - Neuschwanstein Castle; Day 4 - Bavarian Alps - Garmish Partenkirchen; Day 5 Rothenburg ob der tauber; Day 6 Heidelberg; Day 7-8 Rhine River Valley: Day 9 Cochem - Moselle Valley.
Any advice on site seeing pros and cons, must see sites not listed and any other suggestions are welcome.
From me a couple of thoughts...
These are all great places to visit. They appear to be your must see list.
I do suggest you sit down with Google Maps and "take the train" from each city to the next, asking yourself if you are traveling too much over these 10 days? For example, it will be a 5-6 hour train ride from GP to Rothenberg odt. And if flying home from Munich, nearly 6 hours from Cochem back to Munich.
Check and see if a night in Fussen before or after Neuschwanstein will give you enough of an alpine adventure to replace G-P.
Finally, ensure that you have enough time in each city to see what you want to see.
Travelers have different preferences in terms of speed of travel. My preference is to go at a slower pace and to move less. I know people who have done fast-paced itineraries like yours and said they enjoyed it; I also know people who have done itineraries like yours and did not enjoy it.
I personally would think about consolidating stays a bit. I like jkh's proposal to look at Fussen to see if it provides an adequate Alps experience for you the day after your Neuschwanstein experience to save one day of changing lodging.
Likewise, consider choosing a Rhine River town as a base that would make sense for exploring the Rhine Valley but also for a day trip to Cochem and the Moselle Valley to save another lodging change.
I have a few questions that might help the forum to give you better advice. How are you traveling from one location to the next location? From from what city are you returning back to the USA? What are your main interest when traveling?
As was already stated, it seems like you will be traveling a lot and seeing very little. Think about that it would take you about half a day to change locations every time you move. It would be ideal if you decide on a homebase and day trips to one place or another. Also, my opinion would be that you travel to fusion the same day you arrive from the US since your bags would be already packed and you can relax a little on the train.
Have fun
I agree with the idea to put in train travel times to see how much time the travel will be taking. I would skip Hedelberg and combine Fussen and GPa, and combine Cochem with the Rhine
Rick Steves has a recipe for putting together an itinerary. Maybe you have seen it: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/germany/itinerary
I don't think the destinations he suggests are necessarily "the best" way to get a first impression of Germany. The best itinerary for you should probably include one or two elements that you and your daughter are the most interested in. But I'm unsure what those might be, so my suggestions will include some guesses about that as well as my own ideas.
My guess: you have a strong interest in places with old-world character (Rothenburg, Heidelberg, Rhine and Mosel Valley towns) and natural beauty (Alps, Alpine towns/Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Rhine and Mosel Valleys) and in castles (Neuschwanstein, Rhine and Mosel Valleys.)
Like the others, I think your 10-day trip may be too rushed. It's not easy visiting a new country on an itinerary that is too tight, and it might just be less fulfilling as well if you end up spending too much time traveling. So I suggest you do some trimming. Here's what I would keep if I were giving my best advice to my best friend:
Day 1: Fly into MUC airport. Stay one night nearby. Take the train into Central Munich (45 minutes) or to Freising (10 minutes) depending on whether you want a big city or small town stay. The point after an overnight flight is to just tend to your personal needs and get adjusted to the new time zone, stretch your legs a bit, MAYBE see something, get a meal and a good night's sleep if possible.
Day 2: Train to MITTENWALD for 2 nights. 2 hours from Munich or 2+ hours from Freising. The train to Mittenwald stops in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on the way. Mittenwald is the quintessential Alpine town, much more walkable than sprawling Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The Karwendelbahn Mountain lift, the violin shop/museum, the Leutasch Gorge, and the old town itself are terrific.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g187300-Activities-Mittenwald_Upper_Bavaria_Bavaria.html
If you wish to see something specific in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, you can make time for that; either 1) get off there on your way to Mittenwald on Day 2 (put bags in a station locker while sightseeing) or on Day 3 take a short train ride (20 minutes ) there and back from Mittenwald.
Day 4: Train to NUREMBERG for 2 nights. The train trip from Mittenwald takes 3.3 hours. This is the "big city" you should visit because its old town zone feels small and adorable, just as Rick Steves says: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/germany/nuernberg
I do not place a big priority on visiting the Nazi-era things that Rick is so enthusiastic about. Perhaps you will. But the great thing about Nuremberg is that there are so many OTHER things to see and do. And Nuremberg has its own castle too, right in town.
https://tourismus.nuernberg.de/en/discover/places-of-interest/kaiserburg-imperial-castle/
https://tourismus.nuernberg.de/en/discover/places-of-interest/
https://tourismus.nuernberg.de/en/discover/museums/
Day 5: Train to ROTHENBURG for 1 night. The train trip takes only 1.25 hours. Rothenburg is small and does not require a lot of time. My choice would be to stay an extra night in Nuremberg and visit Rothenburg on a day trip. But my opinion is in the minority - most people will tell you that you have to sleep there to enjoy the town fully, and Rick does the same, so...
Day 6: Train to BOPPARD for a 3-night stay. You need 3 nights here because of the 4.5 hr. trip to get there on Day 6 plus the trips you will need to make in order to see the area. Burg Eltz + Cochem. Marksburg Castle + Braubach. These are the true medieval castles which are worth your time and your tour dollars. Ehrenbreitstein Fortress. Bacharach. The Rhine Cruise. Use Boppard's free VRM Guest Ticket for free train travel while there.
Day 10: Train to Mainz for a visit there and your final night. From Mainz you are just 20-25 min's from FRA airport.
@Nestor: Hello! Good to hear from you again on the Germany forum. I think you've provided a lot of good tips here in the past and hope you'll return here often.
