Itinerary help - June 2016

Posted by Stephen (Charleston, SC, USA) on 09/01/15 08:59 PM

Hello! I will traveling with my 18 year old son in June 2016 as a graduation trip. We will fly into Munich and out of Madrid. I am in the process of trying to figure out our itinerary and am interested in suggestions. We are interested in history and maybe a museum or two as well as just getting outside and enjoying the scenery. We are not into classical music, so I guess Salzburg isn't very appealing. Here is what I have so far, but I am open to suggestions!

June 11 - Arrive in Munich around noon. Check into hotel and start exploring Munich.
June 12 - 15 - Munich / Dachau / Castles / Tirol / Alps
June 16 - Morning train to Rothenburg (spend one night)
June 17 - Rhine River valley (spend 2 nights) - explore castles and travel up and down the river

Does this look like sufficient time for each area? We are heading to Madrid on the 19th for the remainder of our trip. Based on our itinerary, should I plan to fly from Frankfurt to Madrid? or are there better airport options? Also, if you have any lodging recommendations, especially along the Rhine, i would appreciate those as well. Thanks in advance for your input!

Posted by Russ

Paradise

09/01/15 09:36 PM

6637 posts

You probably have enough time to do that. Are you planning to stay 4 nights in Munich and do day trips, or stay in those other places?

"...interested in suggestions. We are interested in history and maybe a museum or two as well as just getting outside and enjoying the scenery."

I'd leave the castle snooping for the Rhine/Mosel river valleys - and allocate at least another day there. The "castles" south of Munich aren't castles but palaces; Neuschwanstein , a faux "castle," was finished well after the American Civil War, and not much happened there during the 6 months Ludwig lived there. So check out Marksburg on the Rhine and/or Burg Eltz along the Mosel River if you're interested in history - like 800 years of it in each place. Rheinfels Castle in St. Goar is very good too. There are about 40 genuine castles in 40 miles along the Rhine River between Bingen and Koblenz, including Marksburg; a few are hotels, so you might look into a splurge night there for fun. Others are in private hands, some open to the public.

In northern Bavaria, near Rothenburg, there are many very good options that surpass tourist-trampled Rothenburg; you can find my suggestions to another poster on THIS THREAD.

For the best alpine scenery and experience, I'd look into either Garmisch or Berchtesgaden.

Posted by Northwest adventurer

WA, USA

09/03/15 03:03 PM

330 posts

I like your itinerary. Would add a summer luge riding afternoon, check RS website for different locations in Germany and Austria.
Madrid: Went to Reina Sofia and Prado Museums. Our big event there with our teenagers (15 and 19) was going to a soccer(futbol match). They also have the royal palace and an interest city center. Lots of fun Tapas Restaurants.
Our family also traveled to Barcelona. Old town, beaches, museums, Gaudi art buildings&park. My teenagers were more into Barcelona than Madrid, but Madrid was fun too.

We did a side trip from Madrid to Segovia. Historical and an aqueduct you can walk on.

Hope this helps.
Have a wonderful graduation trip!

Posted by Chris

Mahone Bay, Canada

09/04/15 12:59 PM

328 posts

Looks like you have enough time for everything you have listed. As always, I agree completely with Russ' suggestions above.

I'm not sure if you are planning to do the areas south of Munich as day trips or not. This area is doable by train but my personal preference is to rent a car for exploring this area. I would give less time to Neuschwanstein Palace and more to Linderhof - in fact I wouldn't even take the tour of the inside of Neuschwanstein.

Berchtesgaden would be my go-to place to spend some time exploring the Bavarian Alps but it is a little more time consuming to get to than the Garmisch Area if you are traveling by train. The Garmisch Area is still beautiful with lots to see and do.

For lodging along the Rhine we really enjoyed Pension im Malerwinkle in Bacharach. We especially loved exploring the ruins of Rheinfels Castle in St. Goar.