Germany Vacation

Koblenz and Cologne are close to one another so perhaps you could just stay in Koblenz and avoid having to unpack again. I don't know about your leave constraints but days 8-9 is really only one day, and same with 10-11. There is a lot to explore within the Rhine corridor so if you were to add days anywhere, I would give an extra day here.

The first day in Munich will be consumed by jetlag and settling into the new environment, so that only leaves one day there, not enough to add Dachau, and particularly so if you want to see Munich well (for instance you could spend about 3 days in the Deutsches Museum alone).

I would probably think about cutting something from this itinerary. You can do an itinerary like this if you are on a tour, because tour operators have all their ducks lined up in a row and just shoot, but it's much harder when it's just you, and maybe a you that doesn't yet know how the train system works, etc. You will also have to figure out what your priorities are. At the moment you have either alpine Germany / Austria, or Rhine with little villages and cool Cologne. If you can't do more than 12 days I would drop one of these areas depending on your priorities. I assume you are looking at an open jaw ticket. Is anything set in stone yet?

Lavandula

Overall, you might be better served adding one night at your stops and removing one or two destinations or treating them as day trips. Possibly add a location between GP and Koblenz. Also, you didn't say where you're flying out from.

1-3: Munich w/ day trip to Salzburg
4-6: GP w/ day trip to Fussen
7-8: Nuremburg/Wurzburg? Some midpoint in between Alps and Rhine.
9-11: Koblenz w/ day trip to Cologne

You mention "scenic drives" but also mention train times as if you're travelling by train. Train and drive times can vary greatly in Germany, especially when travelling between the Rhine and Alps. When I visited a couple years ago, we drove from the Rhine to Rothenburg ObT then to Fussen. Driving saved a lot of time. Perhaps rent a car when leaving Munich then return the car in Koblenz?

First, why are you flying into Frankfurt the first day and spending 3½ hours on the train getting to Munich? Why not just fly into Munich?

I think I've heard this before. You are using FF miles and they only fly to Frankfurt. But you're losing most of the first day to use your miles.

Maybe you can organize is differently. Take a train from Frankfurt to Cologne, then work you way back via the Rhein Gorge to Garmish-Partenkirchen, then Salzburg and fly home from Munich.

The other problem, as I see it is that you are spending too many days travelling. A travelling day is mostly wasted - packing up, checking out, getting to the station, travelling, getting from the station to you next accommodation, checking in, unpacking. Try to minimize travel days.

You have 12 tour days, which is 11 real days. You're spending five of the travelling, that's only 6 full days at a location.

But, hey. That's basically my way of travel. It's your trip.

Agree with others that you should really look to cut something from this trip. 12 days is not a lot of time, and rushing around a reasonably sized country will get tiresome. Also, Deutsche Bahn is famed for its delays, which will almost certainly impact you and cut even more time from your itinerary.

We are interested in seeing fairytale castles, Alpine scenery,
medieval villages, wine country and scenic drives at a relaxed pace.

You've received some good feedback here about pacing and the number of places. What about the atmosphere you are looking for? Right now, the big-city base towns feel at odds with your goals. Of course you want to stay where you have a good choice of hotels and restaurants, but variety is certainly possible in places much smaller and much more more "old-world" than Cologne and Munich (1 million plus each!) These cities don't sound like what you have in mind. Salzburg, which does have some atmosphere, has around 160,000 residents and is no village. Even Koblenz has 100,000+ inhabitants (and not all that much atmosphere, btw; like most German cities, it took a beating in WW II and was never quite the same after reconstruction.) Generally speaking, places that are closer in size to G-P would likely suit you better.

I notice that nixit71 has suggested Nuremberg as a stopover town. Good point, and a place you'd probably like. Nuremberg is a big-city exception; the reconstruction there was done thoughtfully, and the old-town center has retained much of its old-world charm.

I'll get back to you with some adjustments/suggestions.

Certainly not a final plan below, but I think the base towns mentioned should work alright for you. I included some of the destinations you can choose to visit from these base towns. I have kept your Into-and-Out-of-FRA plan, not because it's themost efficient, but because that's your stated plan. Since Dachau (which I don't recommend) was mentioned but nothing else in Munich, I have dropped Munich in favor of Augsburg (a big town for sure, but much smaller than Cologne or Munich and a really good train hub.) Dachau is now an optional day trip (from Augsburg) if you choose to go there. Train departure times mentioned are based only on this year's schedule.

On some days I suggest the mid-afternoon travel option, which sets aside several hours on this day to continue sightseeing before travel. These trips run into traditional American "dinner time" so you'd be either having a light picnic-dinner at your seats or perhaps a meal in the train Bordrestaurant. Around noon, I'd suggest a solid "Mittagessen" - lunch, traditionally the big meal of the day - wherever it suits you. Many places have a "Tagesmenü" special or two prepared for the lunch hour.

Day 1: FRA > Boppard (smallish waterfront old-world town near Koblenz with lots of hotel/dining choices, free guest travel pass.) The direct train from the airport to Boppard takes 90 minutes. Book 3 nights.

Day 1, 2, 3, 4: sightseeing to include Burg Eltz and Marksburg castles, a Rhine Cruise, visits to old-world towns on the Rhine and Mosel (Bacharach? Braubach? Oberwesel? Cochem?) with possible day trip to Cologne. Play it by ear, day by day. Boppard has wineries and a WEINFEST with dates yet to be announced but normally the last weekend in September and the first weekend in October.

Day 4, Noontime: Mittagessen.. mid-afternoon: Collect bags from front desk, board train to Augsburg (15:16 - 19:56); light dinner enroute, Bordrestaurant or picnic.) Book 3 nights. Augsburg is a Romantic Road town, not a village at all but also not a huge city; walkable, with a nice old-town zone.

Day 5, 6, 7: Outings to Dachau (1 hr.) and to the Romantic Road towns of your choice... to Nördlingen (1 hr.), to Harburg/Castle (1 hr.), to Landsberg am Lech (1 hr.) Study up, make choices if you must. I like Nördlingen best.

Day 7: Again, after sightseeing and Mittagessen, around mid-afternoon, fetch your bags and board a train from Augsburg to Salzburg (trains at 15:38 or 16:38 take about 3 hours.) Book 2 nights.

Day 8: See Salzburg, full day and evening.

Day 9: Morning train to your Alpine base town. Garmisch Partenkirchen? Oberammergau? Reutte, per Rick Steves? Depends on which places you hope to visit on outings. Mittenwald w/ Karwendelbahn + Leutasch Gorge, the Partnach Gorge in G-P, Füssen, Innsbruck, the Zugspitze + Eibsee, Neuschwanstein, Ehrenfels Castle ruins, Highline 179, Oberammergau, Linderhof Palace, the Wieskirche, Ettal Monastery. You could stay a couple weeks, but you have 3 nights. Make choices with transport possibilities in mind. Book 3 nights.

Days 9, 10, 11, 12 sightseeing, outings.

Day 12: You fly home on Day 13, right? After Mittagessen in your base town, catch a train to FRA airport hotel for your final night. You'll have a journey of around 5 hours from G-P, around 6+ from Reutte, so pack picnic supplies or check the Bordrestaurant options. Pick train journeys with the fewest connections to best insure timely arrival at FRA's Fernbahnhof station.

I have to agree with Russ, Days 5-7. Nördlingen is my favorite town on the Romantic Road. It's the less touristy little sister of Rothenburg odT. It has an intact wall with a Wehrgang you can walk on (but no Christmas Shoppe nor Crime and Punishment Museum). It has lots of Fachwerk buildings and a church tower in the middle of town that you can climb for a spectacular view of the surrounding countryside.

From Nördlingen it's 15-20 minutes by hourly regional train to Harburg station, a 7/10 mile walk to the castle (Yes, it's a real castle, from the 12th century or earlier).

I want to talk about transportation and scheduling. If your entire trip is within one calendar month (completely in October) and you will be taking mostly regional trains, then. “D” ( Deutschland) ticket is probably a great idea for the members of your party. This provides unlimited train travel on regional trains, subways, trams, buses, throughout Germany for a set price. I believe it is currently around €63. Saves money and is so, so convenient.

You are probably right, Carol now, that the D-Ticket is a great asset and useful for most trips of this length - and could be helpful in this situation too. Not sure what the cost will be next year but for 4 adults it will be around $280 I'd guess. The long-distance journeys in the suggestion (such as Boppard > Augsburg and the final trip to FRA airport) will need to be ticketed separately. If they stay in G-P and in Boppard, most outings from these towns will be covered by local Guest Tickets at no charge. Of course, since the trip is at least 14 months out, the final draft may look entirely different from my suggestion; also the D-Ticket can be had shortly before their trip begins, and D-Ticket/Guest pass trips are not reservable anyway, so they're not under any pressure to do anything regarding these trips except to review train schedules - once they come out, that is.

Suggest you eliminate Koblenz and Cologne. The Cologne cathedral is worth a visit, but that is about all there is that is great about Cologne. Consider doing the Romantic Road from Fussen. See several walled Medieval towns like Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber.

If you want more than Bavaria, I suggest Berlin for a few days.

Should you be skipping Cologne cathedral, the one in Ulm might be more convenient and it’s tower is actually higher than Cologne‘s.

Thank you all for your input! I have another rough draft of many more to come! . Let me know what you think:

October, 2027.

Fly into Frankfurt.
Train from Frankfurt to Boppard. Home base for the next three nights.

Day 1 - walk the Rhine Promenade and explore old town and Boppard.
Day 2 - train from Boppard to St. Gore. Late morning, board a Rhine River Cruise heading south toward Bacharach and Lorelay Rock. Early afternoon explore Bacharach, medieval towns and half timber streets. Hike Burg Stahleck. Late afternoon train back to Boppard.
Day 3 - train from Boppard to Moselkern with one transfer in Koblenz. Explore Burg Eltz Castle and Cochem. Return to Boppard.
Day 4 - train from Boppard to Augsburg. Home base for three nights. Explore Augsburg historic center and relax.
Day 5 - train from Augsburg to Dachau Memorial. Return to Augsburg.
Day 6 - rent car from Augsburg and explore romantic road scenic experience. Landsberg am Lech to Harburg Castle to Nordlinger. Return to Oxford.
Day 7 - train from Oxford to Salzburg. Home base for two nights. Visit old town, Mozart, Platz, Mirabel, Gardens and dinner overlooking River.
Day 8 - salisbury Dash full day. Explore Cathedral, Fortress, evening concert.
Day 9 - train from Salzburg to Garmish Partenkirchen. Home base for 3 to 4 nights. Either explore Fussen or Partnach Gorge.
Day 10 - from Garmish Partenkirchen, board Bayerische Zugspitzbahn cogwheel train. Travel to Eibsee. From Eibsee Station, take Zugspitze cable car to the summit. Return by cable car to Eibsee to take cogwheel train back to GP, or take cog wheel train all the way to Summit, then ride cable car down to Eibsee before returning to GP by train.
Day 11 - explore Neuschwanstein, Etta Abbey, Wieskirche, Oberammergau.

Well, this is a lot. Need to know if I’m over scheduling and if these logistical destinations make sense.

fair notice - I haven't read all the details of the answers, so if this has been covered I apologise

Day 2 - I'd do the boat northbound and train southbound.

The river flows from Switzerland to the Netherlands, and moves a whole lot of water. If you use the boat going southbound it has to go against the current and is therefore quite slow. Going northbound it goes with the flow and you see the same scenery, just a bit more quickly.

Day 2: Nigel is onto something here. What you should do if you wish to combine St. Goar and Bacharach with a Rhine Cruise...

1.) Train to BACHARACH first. After a couple hours, take the train to BINGEN Rhein Stadt station, where you board the cruise boats.

2.) One of Rick Steves' big mistakes in this area is to recommend cruising St. Goar > Bacharach, which cheats you out of 50% of the best river scenery and wastes time since you're cruising against the current. So from Bingen... Catch a mid-day cruise north to St. Goar instead so that your cruise nails 100% of it. Now you can see St. Goar, and later...

3.)... you can return to Boppard by train in 10-12 minutes, whenever you are ready to leave St. Goar.

"Hike Burg Stahleck." If hiking in Bacharach, I would do the "Stadtmauerrundweg..." The circuit-trail which follows the former old-town wall and takes you past its remaining towers. It's the yellow trail on this map.

https://www.informagiovani-italia.com/map_of_bacharach_am_rhein.htm

The castle alone is no longer a castle but a youth hostel that has been cut up into bedrooms and bathrooms. You won't have anything of interest to see inside. And since you are visiting St Goar, maybe you also plan to hike up to Rheinfels Castle that same day. You also have MOSELKERN in your plan on another day, so you already are planning to do that hike to Burg Eltz as well, right? Maybe you should consider just wandering through the beautiful town of Bacharach itself, which could indeed take a couple of hours, or longer if you are thinking of lunch there.

I read through your post rather quickly... Nothing to say at this point but it would be good to edit some place names in your post...

Augsburg, not Oxford. (It's pronounced "Owks - bwuck", with "ow" sounding like the "ou" in "out")

Salzburg, not Salisbury. (It's pronounced "Zahlts - bwuck"

The "Romantic Rhine" is indeed a very scenic place.

The "Romantic Road," however, is just a road through scenery that isn't particularly special. It is the TOWNS themselves that get credit for being romantic. And in the area near Augsburg, the nearby RR towns are all well connected by train, so I personally see no reason to trouble yourself with a car on this day. Check the DB Schedule using random dates. Example: the 10:28 RE train from Augsburg hits these 3 RR towns:

• 10:56 Donauwoerth
• 11:18 Harburg
• 11:35 Noerdlingen

Trains run all day long on this route from 5:15 am to midnight. Some run straight through, some have you changing trains in Donauwoerth on the way to Harburg and Noerdlingen. Since you will probably be using a D-Ticket, these train rides cost nothing extra whatsoever.

Landsberg lies to the south in the opposite direction. You can check out that direction too if interested, but I think the 3 towns above would be plenty for one day.

A few years ago we stayed in Donauwoerth, where the Danube River and the Woernitz meet up, for a couple of nights; did day trips by train to the other towns and to Augsburg as well. Had a memorable dinner at a little Italian place (Grill-Roma) at the edge of the Woernitz River.