Germany Trip with Children

We spent time in most of these areas last summer with our kids (11 & 14). Our trip was:

Arrive FRA, rent car and drive to Boppard (that was rough after an overnight flight and we won’t do it again). Stayed 3 nights.

Drove to Rothenburg for 2 nights. Absolutely do the Nightwatchman’s Tour. My kids enjoyed it. I also recommend waking up EARLY (before 6) and stroll around, walk the walk. It’s a different town when it’s empty! By 7:00 people are up and about, by 10:00 it will probably be CROWDED. If you liked it 20 years ago you’ll probably still like it. Nothing has changed since my first visit and in 2000! Just more people have discovered it so be prepared!

We continued to Werfen, just outside Salzburg for 5 nights.

After a couple more stops we ended in Munich for 3 nights.

That said, your trip involves ALOT of time in the car. It looks like every other day you’ll be in the car for 3+ hours. With several stops that are only one night, that means not a lot of time actually seeing the town your sleeping in. If you could drop a stop (or 2), I would recommend it. Each of your destinations deserves multiple nights. Any less and you will be rushing, grouchy, hot (book places with a/c, trust me!) and no one will be having any fun! You want to make happy memories, not just drag the kids to another town that ends up looking the same as the previous one. All the half-timbered buildings become a blur!

I think it's too much moving around. I think Berchtesgaden needs more time to enjoy. There are so much stuff to do. Last June we spent 4 days there, didn't get to do everything we want to do. We did boat ride at Koenigsee to Salet, salt mine, hiked in the national park, walked in wimbachklam. My 10 year old enjoyed it so much.

Hi, Eileen. I'm really excited that you are taking your family to Germany. It's a great place for families. I share the concern of others that the trip is a little overloaded. Day 3 has about 6 hours of driving, and that is without the almost-inevitable, dreaded Stau on the Autobahn around Frankfurt.

Kassel is the outlier for the trip, but it sounds like an important part of the trip. I don't know how much you have your heart set on the Rhine, but how about Marburg as an initial base? It has a castle and a cute half-timbered house old town. It could serve as a base for a day trip to Kassel, too (along with a stop to some other town along the Fairy Tale Route?). After that, you could hit Rothenburg.

From there, I would limit the trip to 2 bases. If your family likes outdoor activities, Berchtesgaden would be big on my list. Königssee is awesome. There is a great hike for families there. Take the boat all the way across the lake to the Salet stop, walk about 10 minutes to Obersee, hike around the right side of the lake to the opposite side of the lake where there are gorgeous views back across Obersee and a snack hut, then hike through a gorgeous alpine valley surrounded by mountains to Rothbach Watterfall. The valley is shared with the cows who live there during the summer, so enjoy their presence (but watch your step!). There are many other things to do there -- I'm happy to make other suggestions. You could also do a day trip to Salzburg from there.

Day 1: Arrive Frankfurt, head to Marburg

Day 2: Marburg

Day 3: Day trip to Kassel

Day 4: to Rothenburg, overnight in Rothenburg

Day 5: to Berchtesgaden

Day 6: Berchtesgaden

Day 7: Berchtesgaden (day trip to Salzburg?)

Day 8: to Munich

Day 9: Munich

Day 10: Home

I recommend the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress in Koblenz. It has a bit of everything and the museums might be captivating for the children as well. There's plenty of parking (since you will have a car) or you can take a cable car from the river up to the fortress. (if riding the train to Koblenz).