Germany - September 24th - October 15th

There are lots of walkers and bikers along the Mosel and Rhine Rivers. As for the towns themselves, none is all that large, so if just wanting to walk around then move on, each can be seen in a couple hours at most. Most can be seen in less time. On our current trip we’ve stayed in Saarburg, Senheim, and Bacharach. On a previous trip we stayed in Cochem.

If you like castles, Burg Eltz is somewhat near Cochem. On the Rhine, Marksburg Castle offers a daily English tour at 1pm. At both castles you take a guided tour and the castles are more houses rather than fortifications.

For our recent trip we booked hotels 5 months in advance. Especially along the Mosel and Rhine, many hotels are seasonal and are closed many months of the year.

I like the flexibility of having the car (free with credit card points).

The Deutschland-Ticket currently provides totally-flexible train travel for one month at a cost of €49 each.

Is it crazy to just wing it and book hotels as we go?

It's not crazy, but if price and lodging preferences are important to you, winging it means you will probably be giving up a lot, and you'll be settling for leftovers. You're traveling during a popular period to popular places.

Pre-booking 3-5 nights in one place so that you can tour a larger area on day trips - that's my normal strategy. For example...

I'd like to also go to the Rhine Valley (Trier, Cochem)

...I've previously booked private B&B's and apartments in Cochem - and nearby on the same train line in Bullay - for 4-5 nights -then traveled to Trier, to Burg Eltz, and to Bernkastel on separate outings from my base town. (booking multiple days often gets you a discount as well.) With a multi-day stay, I have flexibility about where/when I take my day trips. But I am always comfortable knowing where I'm going to lay my head and I waste no time searching for accommodations.

Trier and Cochem, BTW are in the MOSEL VALLEY, not the Rhine Valley.

Mosel River map with rail stops shown:

https://assets.static-bahn.de/.imaging/focalpoint/727x545/dam/jcr:35bd03e4-289e-4ea5-96f0-16780dd8213e/191035-258837.jpg

Of course driving is possible as well. But it's more responsibility, more demanding, more expensive overall, and less fun and less interactive than the trains can be. The Mosel BTW is one of Germany's most scenic train rides:

http://www.zughalt.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/DB11321.jpg

I lived in Germany for four years and have done all the places that you want to visit several times.

First of all, enjoy Oktoberfest, I recommend the Spatenbrau tent. Go at lunch when crowds are less.

As for you time in the Germany/Austria areas you mentioned, I would plan for two days minimum up to 4 days to visit the castles at Fussen and Garmisch area. G0 up the cable car or cog train to the top of the Zugspitze.
I did a TWO day hike in July to the top of the Zugspitze that was great, but not sure you can do it in October. You have a guide that takes you (no real mountain climbing) and you stay in a hutte overnight.

As for Lake Constance or The Bodensee (German name), plan on at least a full day, perhaps two. Then, you could proceed to the Black Forest. On the way, see the Rhine Falls. The Black Forest, see Titisee, Triberg and Baden Baden. If you add Strasbourg, France, then you need 3-4 days for this area.

For Trier and Cologne, also consider Luxembourg, you need another 3-4 days minimum.

Thank you Russ and Jaime for your responses. I appreciate the train recommendation and advice about pre-booking hotels. I will book in advance, I'm not sure why I'd think is a good idea as I'm a planner, so this makes sense. I'm an experienced traveler so I don't know why I'm having the hardest time planning this trip! I've never driven outside of the USA, when traveling in Europe, I've only done train travel. I think it's because this trip is 3 weeks. My last trip of this length was with a tour so I didn't have to worry about travel and I once went to Uganda / Rwanda for 5 weeks but hired a driver. I wish I could do that for this trip ;-)

thank you geovagriffith for reminding me about the Black Forest, definitely want to include that as part of my itinerary. Also for the estimated days in each area. My boyfriend would love the Zugspitze hike. How difficult was it? How much hiking per day?

Driving along the Mosel and Rhine has been easy. Just watch the continual changes in speed limits. When entering a town drop to 50kph (30mph) and expect to drop further to 30mph (18mph) near schools and town centers.

Regarding gas, I’ve probably averaged paying 1.80€ per liter ($6.84 per gallon) on this trip. If going into the Black Forest area, many places are still cash only, while some have a 10€ minimum to use a CC. Along the Mosel and Rhine, cards have been accepted, but some places have as much as a 15€ minimum to charge. A couple places in Bacharach have been cash only.

Contactless payment is used at most places. The only place my credit card didn’t work was at a gas station at the pump’s CC machine. It worked fine when I paid inside.

Based on what seem to be your preferences, I might split things up geographically as follows.

Nuremberg area
Nuremberg base; optional outings to Würzburg, Bamberg, Rothenburg, Bad Windsheim, Iphofen, Bayreuth

Garmisch-Partenkirchen area
G-P base; optional outings to the Zugspitze, Füssen, Mittenwald, Oberammergau, Ettal Monastery, Linderhof Palace, Reutte and the Highline 179 suspension bridge.

Area transport map:

https://bahnland-bayern.de/files/media/bahnland-bayern/tickets/regio-ticket-bayern/Regio-Ticket%20Werdenfels/beg-gr-gueltigkeitsbereich-regio-ticket-werdenfels-2021-05-ansicht.jpg

(The D-Land ticket and other passes cover the train route through Austria you will use to reach Reutte and Füssen; certain short bus trips, like the one to Highline 179 and the connection between Austria and Füssen, aren't covered.)

Mosel area
Cochem base; optional outings include Trier, Bernkastel, Traben-Trarbach, Burg Eltz, Beilstein, others

Rhine base
St. Goar base; optional outings to Bacharach, Oberwesel, Boppard, Cologne, Koblenz, Limburg, Braubach (Marksburg Castle,) Rüdesheim/Bingen (Rhine Cruise)

Area transport map for both Rhine and Mosel
https://www.vrminfo.de/fileadmin/data_vrminfo/PDF/RLP-Ticket_streckennetz.pdf

I think you'd have roughly 18 nights wrapped up in these 4 areas. That leaves 2 nights in Munich plus another 10 nights or so. You might hang your hats in 2-3 of these areas as well...

Lake Constance area (Meersburg? Lindau? We spent 5 nights one time on the Hoeri Peninsula just riding bikes and hanging out. Not sure what you're after. It's a big place.)

Black Forest area (could also include Strasbourg FR)

Neckar/Odenwald region (Heidelberg, Michelstadt, Heppenheim, Bad Wimpfen, Besigheim, Burg Guttenberg)
Area transport map (and more) for both Black Forest and Neckar/Odenwald:
http://www.agilis.de/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Streckenkarte-BW-2013.jpg

Berchtesgaden / Salzburg area (Berchtesgaden, Salzburg, Chiemsee, Koenigssee)
Area map, transport not shown but very good: https://www.stepmap.de/landkarte/Oberbayern-1573754.png

Travel between these areas as well as within them should be doable on the Deutschland-Ticket as they are fairly near one another.

thank you Russ I appreciate the detailed response.

I neglected to include the Nuremberg area map. Nuremberg is an outstanding base for outings in every direction, as you can see.

It is best if you can book in advance. With no penalty cancellation if possible. One of the places I stay was almost full for the rest of the year when I booked ( for Sept. dates ) in March. If you decide to use trains rather than drive, it is harder to find a place within easy walking of the station.

Tina,
I actually did the hike twice, once with my Daughter age 20, then a month later with my Son, age 14, Step-Daughter, age 17 and Step-Son, age 16. First time was in June and second time in July.

The climb was not like mountain climbing having to drive spikes in the mountain and pulling up with cables. I was a hike. Yes, the pathway was steep, but not really mountain climbing. At the time, I was in my early 40s and was fit. I ran 4 miles every other day and worked out at the gym.

If you are reasonably fit, it is not a problem.

One thing, the second time I did the hike the second day it started sleeting (yes, in July). We had jackets that were waterproof, but by the time we reached the top, we were all soaking wet from the perspiration and sleet. Our guide suggested the we turn around (early the second day), but we wanted to finish, so we finished in record time.

Not sure you can do the hike in October. By the way, there is a glacier (year round) at the top for a couple of hundred meters prior to arriving were you take the cable car down.

Thanks geovagriffith, for the hiking info. I know my boyfriend would enjoy it, me not so much :-)