Help with Itinerary mid-April 2024 - Frankfurt to Munich

...assuming a car is necessary...

Unless things have really changed since covid, trains make renting a car just an extra expense for your proposed itinerary. Not to mention that Frankfurt and Munich are not the easiest places to drive. Those who've been there since covid can give a more up to date assessmentt of the train situation. Just my opinion.

And I’m assuming a car is necessary

It very rarely is in Germany. All those trips can be made by train. And if you really need a car around Füssen, you can rent a car for a day or two there.

Regarding renting a car: from Bacharach to Fussen is about 7 hours with several changes of transport. Unless we stop midway somewhere?

I think the easiest way I found with trains was a total of 7 hours doing Bacharach to Bingen, Bingen to Augsburg, Augsburg to Fussen (with connections of 7 minutes which doesn't seem to be that easy to do). Driving takes 4 hours (312 km).

Granted, from Frankfurt to Bacharach it's only 1h and a half and one change.

Unless we stop midway somewhere?

Lots of places to stop for a day or so along the way with good train connections. Two that come to mind are Wurzburg and Nurenberg.

You could go East. Würzburg (Main Franken), Bamberg, Nürnberg, Coburg, Erfurt etc.

Driving takes 4 hours (312 km).

There is no way you'll be able to drive from Bacharach to Füssen in 4 hours.

Granted, from Frankfurt to Bacharach it's only 1h and a half and one
change.

Or a bit over an hour with no changes.

Thanks for the replies.

What about driving from Bacharach to Rothenberg (3h30 according to google) and later from Rothenberg to Fussen (also 3h30)? We would probably take longer and have lunch in the middle of the way (so more like 4h30-5).

Trains/buses are still 6-7 hours with 6-7 changes between those cities.

My advice: Do some research beyond the very patchy Germany advice you get from Rick Steves' materials. Bacharach, Rothenburg, and Füssen themselves are of very minor importance, so take another look at what's actually BETWEEN Frankfurt and Munich. Start with mchpp's and TC's suggestions... Würzburg, Bamberg, Coburg (Castle) and Nuremberg. These are well-known destinations for European travelers with things to see - including UNESCO World Heritage sites - that will charm your socks off. I would add BAYREUTH to this list (incredible opera house) as well as REGENSBURG.

From FRA it might make sense to head straight to Würzburg. The direct train trip from the FRA terminal takes 1.5 hours. Easy. By the way, Würzburg has river cruises along the Main River beginning in April.

https://www.mainschifffahrt.de/

I would also look at the places below as well, smaller towns where you will find the half-timbered architecture similar to Bacharach's (which is very attractive for sure - but there's really very little else to DO in Bacharach but relax.)

Iphofen, an old-world town for wine and art lovers, Riemenschneider works, and right on the main train line between Würzburg and Nuremberg.

Scroll through these pages for more Iphofen photos. Like Rothenburg in some ways but without the tourist throng.

Marktbreit, Ochsenfurt, and Sommerhausen, just outside Würzburg on the Main River. This older video captures all three. The filmmaker, one of my favorites, seems to regret using the car to get to these towns, which are easily accessible by public transport if you are staying in Würzburg for a few days.

There is a theme route within Franconia called the "German Timber-Frame Route" with lots of half-timbered buildings that lists some of these places and others as well. The page is in German, but you can use the list of towns for some google-work.

https://www.deutsche-fachwerkstrasse.de/Regionalstrecken_Staedte/Franken.html

One of the towns - Bad Windsheim - has an excellent outdoor museum where you can explore local life over the last 500 years:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g198421-d284746-Reviews-Frankonian_Open_Air_Museum-Bad_Windsheim_Middle_Franconia_Franconia_Bavaria.html

I've visited all these places using the train system. Nuremberg makes an excellent travel base. Stay there for a few days and you have a wide selection of places to visit on day trips by train. Rothenburg is less than 1.5 hours from Nuremberg. Day trips to the other places are typically shorter than that and often direct. You can see why Nuremberg makes such a good base with the map below, which shows almost all the towns I've mentioned:

https://www.vgn.de/media/verbundgebiet.pdf/

I'd probably arrange the trip as follows.

(FRA>Würzburg (1.5 hrs., direct train.)

Würzburg base (2-3 nights) (+ visit Rothenburg, Marktbreit, Sommerhausen, Ochsenfurt, Iphofen?)

(Direct train from Würzburg>Nuremberg = 1.25 hrs.)

Nuremberg (5-6 nights) (+ visit Bamberg, Coburg, Bayreuth, Erfurt, Regensburg, Bad Windsheim, Timber-Frame Route towns)

(Direct train from Nuremberg>Munich = 1.25 - 2 hours depending on choice of trains.)

From your bases, just play it by ear, day by day. Do museums if it rains. Leave out places that don't interest you, see the ones that do. Buy day passes as you go (cheap in this area.) No tight schedules, easy-going sightseeing.

Thanks Russ for the time you took to write this comprehensive response. I'll go through your links and do my research on them to better figure out my trip.

Russ is a great resource, and he brings so much to the Forum. He really helped me plan my 2022 Germany trip.
I actually like Rothenburg, and plan to return, as I enjoy the peaceful mornings and evenings in the Castle Gardens, and walking the town walls.

I felt that Fussen ( 2017 visit) was very commercial and I was disappointed in the amount of standing in line we had to do, even with timed tickets, for the Palaces.

Bacharach is very small and probably not the best place to access transportation options. We really enjoyed staying in Boppard along the Rhine, a real river towns, with a nice buzz and many options for restaurants. I'm a red wine drinker, but I fell in love with the very dry local Riesling.

Have a great time planning and enjoy trip trip. Keep us up-to- date as the itinerary evolves. Safe travels!

One of your concerns was about train TICKETS, TRAVEL TIMES, and PRICES... Here's the scoop for Franconia...

Map of Franconia within Germany

1) Train trips within the "VGN" zone on the map I posted previously are accomplished with the "Tagesticket Plus" day pass for two adults:

https://www.vgn.de/en/tickets/all-day-ticket-plus/

You'll need a "price-level-10" pass for destinations of any distance. Buy it from a ticket machine at the station on the day of travel, or using the app. The €22.10 price covers travel at will - as many trips as you like on that day on all regional trains within the zone - there are no hours restrictions. (All transport is integrated... If you need buses, subways, or trams inside Nuremberg or anywhere, those are covered too, and the pass can be bought on the bus or from machines at the subway station if you need those to reach the train station.)

2) Train trips from Nuremberg to destinations OUTSIDE the VGN zone are done with a "Day Ticket for Bavaria" (Bayern Ticket.) The conditions and purchase are similar but on weekdays there is a pre-9-am blackout for use:

https://int.bahn.de/en/offers/regional/regional-day-ticket-bavaria

Nuremberg > Munich can be done on the Bayern Ticket day pass as well (using regional trains. High-speed trains are possible too but with regular tickets, not with this day pass.)

To find train schedules for the regional trains: use the DB search page and be sure to click on the "only local transport" box! This will exclude the ineligible high-speed trains.

https://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

NOTE about Würzburg: it is not in the VGN zone. It's in the VVM zone! The VGN passes do not apply there, only the Bayern Ticket passes. For short day trips from W'burg (like to Iphofen, Ochsenfurt and Marktbreit) VVM tickets will be available at the station. Map of the VVM zone:

https://nuernberg.bayern-online.de/uploads/pics/mainfrankenbahn_liniennetz_01.jpg

If all this seems complicated, you're right. But once you know what ticket you need, the travel itself is not. One ticket per day covers everything.

The Deutschland-ticket is a newcomer that covers a month on regional trains and local transport around the entire country. Super handy, but available only by subscription, a bit complicated to purchase, and must be cancelled or monthly charges pile up. I believe it will be priced at €69 per person next year. There are threads on the D-Ticket on this forum if you are curious. I don't know anything more than that about it myself...

We just returned from a 3 nights 2 full days stay in Bacharach Monday till Thursday
Sunny weather good food and wine
Many places (restaurants cafes)will be closed on Monday and Tuesday
No fear there are nices restaurants cafes open these days.

When you have a car I recommend a drive to a viewing point in the hills above the town of Oberwesel.
Günderodehaus is a nice spot direction town of Urbar from Oberwesel

https://www.guenderodehaus.de/

website only available in german go to topic Bildergalerie to get some impression on the spot
Günderodehaus cafe is closed on monday and tuesday but you can sit there enjoy the views and bring your own refreshments
or go on sunday :o))
remark only little carpark

When its to crowded there on sunday go further on to the little village of Urbar and here to the Loreleyblick (Loreley view) at Maria Ruh (sorry also closed on Monday and Tuesday)but also can sit there these days and enjoy the view
https://maria-ruh.de/

In Oberwesel I recommend the Restaurant at the Hotel Goldener Pfropfenzieher
https://www.goldener-pfropfenzieher.com/

In Bacharach I recommend restaurant at Rheinhotel Stüber
https://www.rhein-hotel-bacharach.de/en/

and a drive up to Burg Stahleck

or do a river cruise and before sit on a bench in the little park on the river and watch the boats on the rhine before boarding for a trip to St Goar
Thats what we did as well as the visits of the viewing points above
We enjoyed it very much took a lot of pictures

We also did a short walk on the Rheinburgenweg hiking trail from Lindenhof farm with Hof Cafe (open on sundays)
to the Blücher Blick Viewing point where you can see Burg Pfalzgrafenstein in the river and Burg Gutenfels on the river
https://www.ferienhof-oldach.de/farmcafe.html

Going in April you have to check for opening hours.
Normally boattrips run mainly from Easter till end of October

btw
There were many Americans in Bacharach these days also a large Rick Steves group

We returned home from our stay yesterday with memories and some bottles of good Rhine Wine planning to another weekend in October for walks and views and the grape harvest

Edith says:
Concerning your plans to go to Füssen from Bacharach by car I would recommend a stopover in Rothenburg or Dinkelsbühl which is almost half the way by car and are nice places to visit and stay for the night.

We live 90 km northeast of Bacharach and we spent our holidays in the Füssen Allgäu area always with the stopover near Würzburg Rothenburg Dinkelsbühl Its half the way and makes traveling more relaxed and you can see the sites on the way

In the Füssen Area we stayed at Hopfensee and Heiterwanger See(Austria)

I recommend a car as well in Bacharach(see the places we visited) as well at Füssen, but you can do all this by rail but cant go to some nice spots that easy

Thank you. I'm going to have fun in the following weeks figuring this out.

confuso, with three days, I'd consider staying in St Goar or somewhere else besides Bacharach on the middle Rhine. Unless you really want a tiny peaceful village with limited attractions. I like Bacharach (3x) but it's a lot smaller and less interesting than some of the other towns in the area. Rick makes it sound idyllic, and it is, but I don't think it's the most convenient point to access the river cruise and other interesting places. You can make a leisurely stroll from one end to the other in 15 minutes.

It's safe to say that Russ is to the Rhine like iron filings to a magnet. It's a great place, and I like it in the extreme. If you travel in that direction from Frankfurt, I'd agree that St. Goar, though small, makes for a very scenic and convenient base town. Boppard, just to the north, is very good too - and has a wider choice of accommodations and restaurants, as well as a guest ticket that enables all Boppard guests to use the local trains for free.

That said, the OP's end-game is Munich, and Franconia is on the way there... and equally wonderful in its own way... and because it is more diverse, it probably makes for a more comprehensive introduction to Germany for first-timers and a greater number of choices... all of which led to my suggestion.

Regarding Munich, determine what you want to do in addition to the day with the tour. Not on a tour but on our own, his itinerary is about what we did and it was enough for us. If you want to visit the various museums, then you could add a day or so.

As for better transportation from Boppard than Bacharach, the trains are virtually identical - RB26 and RE2. Boppard gets another train 3 times a day.

3 days anywhere along the middle Rhine are fine. Find a place where you want to stay go for it. We recently spent week in Bacharach at Irmgard Orth’s small 3 room b&b. That makes about a month total that we have stayed there since 2011.

If you should go by train for long distances, build in a little extra time between transfers. Virtually every train we took was late. Also book long distance train trips as soon as you can - 6 months in advance. Look at the price of 1st class as well as 2nd class. I find the difference to be acceptable and am sticking to first class when offered.

I made a list with all the towns mentioned in this thread so far (hopefully I didn't miss any). It'll help me to decide where to stay, where to go. Thanks so much for the suggestions:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/PDhfsksdi5BUYrKH8

Good morning

Just took a look on the map you posted and that Urbar you pointed near Koblenz is not the Urbar I meant which is above the Rhine between Oberwesel and St Goar. Its a very small village perhaps thats why you found the other one I never knew it existed other wise I would made a remark in my posting Sorry for that.

Thanks, I think I added the right one now but for some reason can't delete the old one.

I did notice with the map is that I wouldn't be able to visit Neuschwanstein Castle if I don't go to Fussen and stay in Wurzburg as a base. Would you say that the area around Wurzburg is more interesting than Fussen?

(also note I don't speak a word of German although wife knows a few)

Would you say that the area around Wurzburg is more interesting than Fussen?

As one who has lived in Wurzburg, my opinion is yes. I don't think you'll lack for interesting things to see and do in W'burg. And it's usually not very crowded. Do an indepth google search on both towns and see which one holds more interest for you. Maybe I'm just jaded, but Neuschwanstein is over rated and very crowded to boot. Just my opinion -- others will feel differently. But it is your trip, so do what will please you -- not me or anyone else.

I neglected to provide a link to the video I mentioned for Ochsenfurt, Marktbreit and Sommerhausen (near Würzburg.)
Here it is: http://old.rewboss.com/movies.php?page=11

Neuschwanstein: not worth going out of your way for IMHO. People do day trips there from Munich, but even from Munich taking the 30-minute tour requires 4.5+ hours of round-trip transportation including the bus ride from Füssen to the final bus stop. Germans don't refer to it as a "castle" (Burg) since it lacks the features and the medieval purposes associated with that term. What it is is a late-19th century residential palace (Schloß) with a whimsical but totally artificial castle-look facade. The Bavarian King who built it died 6 months after moving in, but nothing of any particular significance ever happened there while he was alive or afterward.

Doing the RickSteves Tour you will see lakes and the alps on day 5 of your trip.
You must decide if thats enough for you.
When you definitaly want to see Neuschwanstein go to Füssen and stay there before RickSteves Tour and there is more of the Alps and lakes in that area.
https://en.fuessen.de/
Deciding to do the Alps only with Rick Steves you can easily stay in Würzburg area on the way to Munich
(Würzburg-Munich 3hrs by car)
Its only a 2 hrs drive by car to Würzburg from Bacharach or any small town near it
You can do daytours from Würzburg to Rothenburg ob der Tauber (less than 1hr away by car)
and the Tauber Valley(45 min drive by car) with towns like
Bad Mergentheim,
https://www.romantischestrasse.de/en/all-towns/bad-mergentheim
Weikersheim
https://www.romantischestrasse.de/en/all-towns/weikersheim/sights
or Markelsheim (small wine village near Bad Mergentheim and a link to a good restaurant we went)
https://www.schurk-markelsheim.de/

Also can give some links to places near Füssen if you want to go there

You must decide
Enjoy planning your trip

Edith says:
You cant compare Füssen with Würzburg two totally different areas one more alpine lake district with bavarians style architecture other more low hills/ wine land with romantic architecture and historic sites

Both places are worth a visit think you have to choose

Planning to do boattrips on Lake Forggensee near Füssen keep in mind its not a natrual lake but a reservoir
Part of the water will be let out in winter to fill it with water from the melting snow in spring to prevent lower areas from flooding.
So boatrips on the lake dont start before June when its filled again with the water from the alps

Ok, I have given a lot of thought to this and even built a time/distance matrix between all the cities here.

I think I'm almost done with the first part (before Fussen).

This is what I'm leaning to do the so far:

• Rent a car in Frankfurt
• Drive early Saturday morning to either Marktbreit or Wurzburg - stay there from Saturday to Thursday morning. This is an hour to an hour an a half (train to Wurzburg would be 1:30 and to Marktbreit 2:30).
• Visit Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Bad Windsheim, Sommerhausen, Ochsenfurt, Marktbreit, Iphofen, maybe Nuremberg.
• Drive Thursday morning to Fussen and stay there until Sunday morning.
• Join Rick Steves tour in Munich.

The reason to rent a car is because trains are 1-2 hours between most cities here, while driving it's always less than 1 hour.

E.g. Marktbreit to Regensburgh is 3 hours as compared to 35 minutes, etc.

I am not sure if I should chose Marktbreit or Wurzburg. Marktbreit is closer to all those cities except Nuremberg (longest drives are Rothenburg 40 minutes and Bad Windsheim 40 minutes, Wurzburg 35 min, the rest are minutes away). On the other hand, Wurzburg seems to be bigger with more options in case we get bored (unlikely, but you know what I mean), and you can get in Nuremberg in less than an hour by train (as compared to 1:30 for Marktbreit).

I also haven't planned the Fussen part yet (will visit the castle and then look around based on the suggestions here - will also update the post later).

Marktbreit actually has very little going on. It's a place you might stop in for a couple of hours on your way to somewhere else. Ochsenfurt would provide a little more action, not a lot though. If you stay in either of these places, the bulk of your sightseeing days should take place elsewhere.

E.g. Marktbreit to Regensburgh is 3 hours as compared to 35 minutes, etc.

That driving math is beyond wrong. Multiply 35 minutes times four to get the driving time to Regensburg.

It's of course your business whether you rent or ride the trains, but I have a few thoughts to share and I question whether you're actually viewing and representing the experiences properly...

You say Würzburg is 35 minutes by car from Marktbreit. I assume that doesn't include finding parking. Not sure how that supports the driving option. The train OTOH takes just 22-25 minutes. From Ochsenfurt, you'll need even less time.

So if you do end up staying in Marktbreit or Ochsenfurt and you want to spend an evening in someplace livelier like Würzburg, using the train to get there seems imminently reasonable - maybe just 45 minutes round trip by train vs. 70 minutes by car.

You say Marktbreit > Nuremberg takes 1:30. But I'm seeing morning travel times of 1:12 - 1:16 on the regional trains. And I don't actually see any time advantage for a Würzburg base here...

Würzburg > Nuremberg by train at 8:41, 9:41, and 10:41 takes exactly 1:13 (regional trains.) So when you say it's "less than an hour by train," you must be referring to the long-distance / high-speed trains like the ICE (53-56 minutes.) However, you would have to shell out €162 for two adults - the standard walk-up fare for a flex-preis ticket - to make this one round trip journey (unless you were willing to pre-purchase non-refundable saver fares that lock you into a firm travel schedule using specific trains AND will still cost more - probably significantly more - than the regional trains.)

The Bayern Ticket provides regional train transport for two round trip at €36. Marktbreit or Würzburg to Nuremberg and back. No pre-purchase needed, so no refund hassles. Or if you have the Deutschland-Ticket, the additional cost is €0. Comparing travel times for the ICE trains, unless you are actually going to be using them, isn't reasonable.

And here's another thing with the Bayern Ticket (or the Deutschland-Ticket.) It doesn't limit the number of trips you can take. Let's say you are staying in Marktbreit. You day-trip to Bad Windsheim in the morning, but then you want a nice evening out in Würzburg that night. No problem. Train to W'burg, train later back to Marktbreit. It's all covered on one ticket. No extra gas, no extra parking.

"Would you say that the area around Wurzburg is more interesting than Fussen?" - Plenty of interesting visits and nice enough. Scenery wise, though, not close to the alps region.

We stayed here in Iphofen for 11 nights, in the Eulenturm apartment (fewo): http://ilmbacher-hof.de/weingut

Smashing apartment, the hosts friendly and accommodating. Ilmbacher produce a very nice, light and fruity Riesling. Iphohen is a more attractive town than Markbreit and is central to the towns and villages on your list (add Dinkelsbühl to your list). My favourite restaurant in Germany, so far: https://www.deutscher-hof-iphofen.de/

One Unity Day we spent the afternoon in Sommerach, which is home to a wine cooperative. I was very pleasantly suprised by the Spätburgunders (reds).

Hello Confuso dont want to confuse you :o) but when you decide to have a car and stay in Füssen
I would recommend a ca 100km long daytour from there (full day)

Go to Reutte in Austria leave the road from Füssen at Reutte Süd direction Breitwang/Plansee/Linderhof

Follow the road along the Lake Plansee back to Germany
https://www.tyrol.tl/en/highlights/nature-and-landscape/lakes/lake-plansee/

After 25 km you arrive at Linderhof Palace /Castle
https://www.schlosslinderhof.de/englisch/tourist/index.htm

Afterwards Go to Monestry Kloster Ettal 12 km
https://www.kloster-ettal.de/

From there direction Oberammergau
https://www.ammergauer-alpen.de/oberammergau

Go north direction Füssen Wieskirch
After ca 20 km from Oberammergau leave road to Füssen to Wieskirch (small road 2,5 km)
Small village with Guesthouse an church(interior views)
https://www.wieskirche.de/en/index_en.html

Go back on the main road to Füssen via Steingaden and Schwangau 25km
See Neuschwanstein from the distance (3km off the road)
or Visit St Coloman near Schwangau
https://www.schwangau.de/koeniglich/kulturelles-und-brauchtum/kirchen-und-gottesdienste-in-schwangau-im-allgaeu/st-coloman

Arrive in Füssen

Many sites towns and the Alps to see on the way fills a whole day

Thanks for the replies. You're convincing me to not get a car for the first part of the trip - I do want to avoid it if possible. I'll do some research on the Bayern Ticket and the Deutschland-Ticket. Also, it looks like Wurzburg might still be a good base, so I'll think about that.

@uwe4 thanks for this great itinerary to Fussen - we'll probably do it. We're Americans but we are dual citizens from South America and something that we're always afraid of doing anywhere is to drive with all the bags in the car while visiting places. However, my wife just said this is Germany, so we shouldn't worry about that. :)

@Iphohen will also check Iphofen vs Wurzburg - somehow I missed your post.

As you are planing to stay 3 full days in Füssen theres no need to have all the bags in the car while doing the described daytrip :o)

Starting in Füssen going the loop back to Füssen and having a nice day with all these sights

Enjoy planning your trip and have a great time in Germany and Austria

Ah okay, I misunderstood it as do that loop on the way there. Great suggestions everyone by the way, thanks!

@uwe4:

See Neuschwanstein from the distance (3km off the road)

Why from the distance? Is it worth visiting without going inside? Or do you mean I should also do this for the view?

...it looks like Wurzburg might still be a good base...

Lived in Wurzburg for six months or so and also think it is a good base. Not only is there is a lot to see and do there, it is great for doing a number of day trips that can be made just using the train. Even more if you have a car.

Neuschwanstein is surely worth a visit but not after a day drive of 100km with various other sites and views.
Doing that drive its a nice view St Coloman with Neuschwanstein in the distance (weather permitting) before coming home to Füssen or where ever you will stay in that area

I would do Füssen town and the Kings Castles (Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein) on a seperate day

Hope I didnt again confuse you :o))

As an exercise and with a lot of time in my hands this weekend, I made this time table:
https://1drv.ms/x/s!AlFEKgSgD7hOjqxaj5hKN7xe7DBpDg?e=YiKnIT

If I stay in any of the "blue cities" and want to take the train or car around, I also have a sum of the time that would take to do that (assuming my data is correct - I had trouble using the map API and did it by hand since there aren't that many) .

For instance, staying in Wurzurg would take 6 hours and 36 minutes one way to visit them all by train and 3 hours and 28 minutes by car one way (so times two for round trip). This doesn't take into account time to find parking, of course, and it means no drinking for the driver for the day (too bad if you're visiting a winery or something).

We may end up in Wurzburg with a car but doing maybe half the trips by train.

Okay, we have decided to start in Wurzburg on a Saturday, stay there and visit nearby cities (and maybe Nuremberg), go to Fussen, visit castles, drive around, and go to Munich next Sunday.

That gives us 6 full days (not counting travel days). Saturday travel day to Wurzburg and visiting around. The question now is how many full days in Wurzburg, and how many in Fussen?

If we do 4 days in Wurzburg we probably can go to Nuremberg one day. Are two full days enough for Fussen? We can spend a whole day with the castles and Hohenschwangau, another full day doing the 100km day trip. Do we need a third day there?

Again, thanks so much for all the help.

All I can say its your decision Check the sights and location you want to see in and near Würzburg and ask yourself if there is something you can leave out to do another day in Füssen.

The Allgäu area is worth more time but you will definetly get a good impression in the 2 days with all you have planned.

We have planned to stay a full week near Füssen in May 2024 and we have already enough to do during that time.
So sure there is enough to see and do.

Another day might get the option of short walks using the Tegelbergbahn (weather permitting)
https://www.tegelbergbahn.de/en
little video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HUJB1jd0SU
and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFXFLo8q2lM
(but walks might be impossible end of April due to trail conditions (snow ice))

or you split the 100km daytour to 2 days to have more time at each spot you visit

Can take that decision from you

Decisions, decisions. We're almost done! I'll update when we're done.

@Russ I saw your reply in this thread:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/another-solo-trip-to-germany

We're thinking on a day trip from Würzburg to Iphofen, then to Marktbreit, maybe Ochsenfurt and Sommerhausen by public transport. However, the best rout I can find from Iphofen to Marktbreit takes about 40 to 50 min (either train+train or train+bus) at 12:50 and the next one at 15:50. Isn't it better to just take a taxi or something for 15 minutes? Or bypass Iphofen all together?

(I saw the complaint on the other thread about the town, but based on what I read and the type of town I like, Iphofen seems to be perfect for us - plus we like wine!).

Just my thoughts on car rental....I am by no means an expert but did travel to Germany for 16 days this past summer for the 1st time...soooo. We rented a car. We didn't immediately. We took a train from Frankfurt airport to Boppard for our 1st few days then picked up our car on morning 4 in Koblenz. We travelled to Rothenburg, Nuremberg, Schwangau (Fussen Area), Berschtesgaden and finally Munich. We returned our car upon arrival in Munich and took the S Bahn to the airport.
We LOVED having a car. We are very independent and wanted to stop when we felt like it, not be sitting around train stations nor lugging luggage (which we did a bit at beginning and end of trip so we did see what that was like.)
If you are leaning towards renting a car, don't let the train lovers sway you. There are pros and cons to both and you know yourself and your driving habits and abilities and travelling preferences best. We found driving quite fine and comfortable.