Itinerary 7/1 - 7/23 Tallahassee, FL to Europe, family of 4 (ages 46, 43, 17, 16)

You really don't have to go all the way to Ft. Lauderdale to get Norwegian Air Shuttle's very inexpensive flights to Europe. You can fly to London Gatwick and Oslo out of Orlando all the time, and seasonally they fly to Copenhagen which is pretty far south of Stockholm (and my preferable city.)
If you get into Gatwick, you've got access to EasyJet's very cheap flights to virtually anywhere you need to go--including Munich.
If you get into Oslo, Norwegian Air Shuttle flies cheap into Munich.
Munich has a very good public transportation system, and you can get to Dachau on a bus. You can also take a train over to Salzburg. Or, you could rent a car as you leave Munich and take a 3-4 day road trip over to Salzburg, down to Innsbruck (and the Alps) and around to Fuessen and see Neuschwanstein.
It's very easy to try to see too many places, and your trip end up a blur. I suggest picking 3 major destinations and taking some day trips.
Unfortunately, you may have to look hard to find a cheap airline ticket from Munich to Paris. Or, spend the day taking a train. You could take the Eurostar train from Paris back up to London to fly home, however.
You might need to re-evaluate your original itinerary.

We are headed to Stockholm in order to visit our Foreign Exchange student and her family (after a 4-hour train ride to Lidkoping).

You did give me an idea:

1. My original flight was from FLL to Stockholm, Sweden Norwegian Air Shuttle $1,867.18 7/1-2
2. Leaves Ft. Lauderdale at 10pm on 7/1 arriving at Stockholm 12:20pm on 7/2
3. I could take Orlando to Gothenburg, Sweden Norwegian Air Shuttle (which is actually closer to Lidkoping). $1687.20 7/1-3
4. This flight leaves at 10:10pm on Saturday arriving in London at 11:20am. Is it practical to take a taxi and at least get some pictures of London during the 22h 35m stop?
5. We'd need to be back at the airport before our 9:55a to 12:45p flight to Gothenburg.

Look at one way tickets. Norwegian to Stockholm then Icelandair return from Paris to Orlando. Another one way option is Condor airlines Frankfurt to Orlando.

If you are interested in a London stopover that can work, too, but you won't see a whole lot. Choose a hotel near Blackfriars or London bridge rail stations for easy Gatwick access.

You have plenty of time for London, just prioritize you sites.

I think you are pushing too much travel into too short a time span. Slow down. Quick question. Where are you planning on doing laundry?

Every time you change hotels, you lose about a half day. I would cut Luxembourg and Bitburg and spend more time in Paris. Your three bases would be Lidköping, Munich/Salzburg, and Paris. Fly into London and then catch a cheap flight to Stockholm.

Doing Laundry. While in Sweden, we'll wash at the home of our Foreign Exchange student. After that, we'll have to figure it out. We are planning to pack lightly (largest carry-on rolling suitcase allowed and small "hand bag") for flight. The family (including wife and daughter) have agreed to this. Hopefully we'll sink wash and dry a few undergarments along the way with a makeshift clothesline if needed.

We are reevaluating our travel destinations and excursions when in each city. I'll post an updated itinerary once done.

Thanks to all for input! I value it greatly.

Look at one way tickets. Norwegian to Stockholm then Icelandair return from Paris to Orlando. Another one way option is Condor airlines Frankfurt to Orlando. If you are interested in a London stopover that can work, too, but you won't see a whole lot. Choose a hotel near Blackfriars or London bridge rail stations for easy Gatwick access.

I'll check out Icelandair for their flight prices. I'll definitely look into lodging near the locations you mentioned.

"Am I trying to pack too much into this 21-day trip? What would you eliminate?"
Very possibly overnights in Munich and the N'stein/Hohenschwangau visit...

I'll only address the 8 nights you have for Germany/Austria. I don't get making two separate trips to Salzburg. I don't get using Munich as a base town for trips to N'stein etc. You have no specifics mentioned for Munich and 3 question marks for relaxing in Munich.

So why not just base yourselves for a few days in Salzburg, and possibly 2 days near N'stein, rather than pay for time-consuming ground-transport-based tours out of a city where it seems you don't have anything on your plate?

1.) Fly into Munich as planned and travel straight to Salzburg. Or fly into Salzburg. The Bavaria Ticket day pass gets you from all from MUC to Salzburg for €49 total.
2.) Take the train to Füssen on the Bavaria Ticket ( or not, see below*.) You can stop over in Munich if there's something you want to see there.
3.) Take the train to Dachau Bahnhof (3 hrs.) drop bags at hotel (book 1 night.) Take the 7-min. bus ride to KZ Dachau and back after your visit.

*
Bitburg and Spangdahlem?? I guess there's a military base connection. With it or without it you really should spend a couple of days/nights to see the genuine medieval castles and old wine towns of the Middle Rhine Valley and the Mosel River valley - your first plan will bypass these places on the way to Bitburg anyway. Click on "Romantic Rhine" and "Moselle" at this information-filled site. In Füssen, the "castles" you have in mind are tourist-horde-laden palaces, not castles; N'stein was built near the turn of the 20th century with a fake castle exterior, whereas Marksburg in Braubach was around 700 years prior. Other Rhine/Mosel area castles:

Rheinstein
Ehrenfels and Mouse Tower
Rheinfels
Stahleck (castle-hostel in Bacharach)
Eltz (near Moselkern)
Gutenfels (hotel) and Pfalzgrafenstein
Reichsburg (Cochem)

There's a lot of outdoor stuff to do on the Rhine as well - biking, the Rhine Castle trail, the Klettersteig, chairlift rides + hikes... in Boppard...

Excellent information, Russ. I'm looking into all the info you provided.

I have a few transportation-related questions to my itinerary.

1. It appears that we can travel by train from Munich to Salzburg using the Bayern Ticket - Bavaria Ticket for about 43 Euros. Will I also be able to make the return trip to Munich for the same price on the same mode of transportation? With that ticket, how close to Bitburg does that "Bavaria ticket" train travel?
2. We are looking to go to Bitburg, Germany after Munich. Is it cheaper to take a train or rental car from Munich to someplace close to Bitburg? Can you provide me with links to the best train ticket websites (I'm overwhelmed at the options available)?
3. I went to school at Bitburg High and lived in Spangdahlem. I plan to visit my school (which closes this year) and a trying to arrange a way to get onto Spangdahlem (Air Force Base). We plan to travel to Vianden Castle (Vianden, Luxembourg) and Mullerthal Trail (Luxembourg) from Bitburg. They are less than an hour away. I'm thinking this might be the first time I need a rental car in Europe as the buses/trains probably aren't flexible enough to take me where I want to go.
4. Once we leave the Bitburg area, we plan to go to Paris. Is it cheaper to drive 30 minutes back into Germany from Luxembourg and get a train than keep the rental car to get to Paris? I realize I don't want a rental car once I arrive in Paris, but need to figure out how to get there.

I appreciate the advice greatly!

It appears that we can travel by train from Munich to Salzburg using the Bayern Ticket - Bavaria Ticket for about 43 Euros. Will I also be able to make the return trip to Munich for the same price on the same mode of transportation?

Yes. Bayern tickets (valid on regional trains only) ar availabe any time, weekdays from 9pm, weekends all day.

With that ticket, how close to Bitburg does that "Bavaria ticket" train travel?

That won't work. You would need to buy a "Quer durchs Land" ticket (68 E. for four), since you are crossing several laender boundaries. And overall travel time Munich - Bitburg by regional trains will be at least 9:44. Moreover, if you book as soon as possible, you can get a saver fare (including ICE München - Mannheim) for exactly the same price (68/4).

That won't work. You would need to buy a "Quer durchs Land" ticket (68 E. for four), since you are crossing several laender boundaries. And overall travel time Munich - Bitburg by regional trains will be at least 9:44. Moreover, if you book as soon as possible, you can get a saver fare (including ICE München - Mannheim) for exactly the same price (68/4).

I found the website that has the prices you listed. It is found here: Deutsche Bahn's day ticket . I'm trying to get as close to Trier/Bitburg/Spangdahlem as possible by train. I can't seem to find a map that shows the train stations. Is Mannheim the closest station I can reach by train?

1. Do I need to first get to Germany from Salzburg in order to be able to take advantage of the Quer durchs Land ticket? I can get from Salzburg to Munich using the Bavaria Ticket day pass for €49 total if needed.
2. Looking at the DB website, and searching for a train option, I find I can leave from Munchen Hbf to Manheim Hbf, but the price is 86,00 euro total. What do I need to do on their website " to get the 68 Euro price instead of 86 euro?
3. Is there a destination closer to my desired location?
4. Do I need to book these tickets now or just do so when I get to Munich?

Once we get to Mannheim, I'll then need to rent a vehicle for a few days. I'll work on that "leg" of the trip next once I secure how I get from Salzburg to "somewhere" close to the Trier/Bitburg/Spangdahlem area.

Is it cheaper to drive 30 minutes back into Germany from Luxembourg
and get a train than keep the rental car to get to Paris?

Yes.

"Is there a destination closer to my desired location?"
Do I have it right... you want to get from Munich to Spangdahlem on 7/17, leaving in the morning?

Try the DB itinerary page again.
FROM: MUNICH

TO: Hauptstrasse, Spangdahlem

On 7/17, there is a 7:27 departure from Munich, with arrival in Spang. at 15:08. There are other departure times too, but let's just look at this one. By default, the DB system places you on the fastest possible route using the fast trains where possible. So this particular trip takes 7:41. You will take 3 separate trains, with a 14-minute gap for changing trains in between. Your 3rd train arrives at WITTLICH, where you get off. Then the itinerary calls for a bus ride from Wittlich directly to Spangdahlem.

" I can't seem to find a map that shows the train stations. "

This map shows where the Wittlich station is located. It also shows Bitburg station. Spangdahlem (no station) is in between. Hence the bus ride from Wittlich.

If you do not really want to go to Spangdahlem, but to somewhere nearby to pick up a car... Then TRIER is a better destination. You can in fact get to Trier from Munich in only 6 hours and on only 2 trains. Just enter Trier Hbf as your destination. You will find departures at 7:27, 8:28 and 9:28 from Munich, with only one change of train. HOWEVER - the prices are now high in the morning - €200 - 300 for four adults. There are some afternoon tickets at less than €90 for your date.

(The prices at present look similar for the trip via Wittlich to Spangdahlem.)

All the above prices, again, are for using the fast trains where available.

"What do I need to do on their website to get the 68 Euro price..."

You need to do just one thing - Click on the "only local transport" box. That will put you on the regional trains only - no IC, ICE, or EC trains.

When you do THAT, you will see big itinerary changes; there's a 9:35 departure from Munich arriving in Trier at 17:28, and you'll ride 5 separate regional trains. But the price for four is just €68.

"Do I need to book these tickets now or just do so when I get to Munich?"

For the €68 "Quer durchs Land" ticket you do NOT book now. You can just buy it in Munich at the station. The ticket is non-refundable - might as well just buy it there just in case you get a wrench in your works.

For the shorter, more expensive trips that include IC, ICE or EC trains, YES - that price is going up as tickets sell. These "saver fares" are refundable for a fee, but that would be a real hassle. If you want one of these, be 100% committed to the itinerary, buy ASAP, and be VERY CAREFUL when entering all the details.

Russ,
I hope to get to the Trier/Spang./Bitburg area. I agree that Trier could serve as "base camp" for my local travel for a couple days. I want to visit Spangdahlem, Bitburg and venture over to Luxembourg for Mullerthal Trail and Vianden Castle. As you mentioned, "You can in fact get to Trier from Munich in only 6 hours and on only 2 trains". I'll have to check on the best time of day for us to travel and see if the multiple-train option is worth the savings.

I'll check the details in the morning and post any follow-up questions. As always, thank you for the info and assistance!