Itinerary questions via train - Germany and Prague 13 days

Nuremberg (2 or 3 night)
6/9 (Thursday) Train to Munich, Can we do Dachau today? How much time is needed?
6/10 (Friday) Neuschwanstein Castle??
6/11 (Sat) Train back to Stuttgart for the last night with family.
Do we got to Neuschwanstein Castle or Dachau?

3 nights is not enough for Berlin, that's only 2 full days plus a few hours there after your arrival from Bacharach.
You've already been to Munich. Neuschwanstein is not worth the long trip on trains and buses from Munich and back (30 minute tour of a late 19th-century residential palace with a fake castle exterior, NOT a castle.) Berlin has a concentration camp. Why head south from Nuremberg at all? Save yourself the trip and 2 days time, add those days to Berlin.

There are outings near Nuremberg if you have any extra time. IPHOFEN (see photos) is a beautiful old walled town.

Be sure to visit Marksburg Castle (in Braubach on the Rhine) while you are on the Rhine. It's the real thing.

Thanks for the advice with regards to Neuschwanstein Castle! We will not go there, but in Prague our dates are already fixed. We have an apartment in Prague (Fri, Sat, Sun) for 7 people, as the 5 others will drive from Stuttgart to meet us in Prague. Some family members who live in Germany have to work other days, thus the dates are fixed.

So from Stuttgart you go straight to Berlin for 5 nights (Sun-Thu.) Then Prague (Fri-Sun.) Then Nuremberg (M-We.) Then the Rhine (Th-Fr) Then Sa am on the Rhine and Sa pm in Stuttgart.

Russ, thanks!!! That will work. We have a flight out of Stuttgart at 10:30 AM on Sunday. Appreciate your advice on this, as I do want to relax some.

Now to buy train tickets, as I went to the Bahn site and looks like I cannot buy our tickets until 2/28/26.

I am curious about the price, but don't see that on their web site yet.

We did secure a hotel in West Berlin near the Bahnhof Zoo train station, so I assume we get the S-bahn tickets once we arrive in Berlin or take a cab.

From Stuttgart via train
Berlin for 5 nights (Sun-Thu.)
Prague (Fri-Sun.)
Nuremberg (M-We.)
Rhine/Boppard (Th-Fr)
Saturday, back to Stuttgart

You have 5 train legs - only 1 that would not be covered by a German rail pass (Berlin-Prague.)

So you might consider the 4-day twin pass (€308/2) for the other routes and pre-purchase only Berlin-Prague. The pass allows you more scheduling freedom than the saver fare tickets (which are train-specific, no changes without serious penalties.)

http://www.bahn.com/i/view/USA/en/prices/germany/german-rail-pass-flexi.shtml

Prague-Nuremberg is covered using the IC Bus, the fastest way to do this trip. The IC buses are nice.

To estimate what saver fares might be available in June, sample-search a date 91 days from today's date.

@ sandradee..."... a hotel in West Berlin near Bahnhof Zoo...." Is that Motel One? They are usually located near to train stations, eg, Berlin Hbf, or S-Bahn stations. That's about as close to Bahnhof Zoo as you can get. Lots of hotels in that immediate, depends on your luxury demands and in which direction. On Fasanenstraße intersecting with Kurfürstendamm numerous hotels one after another. There is also Hotel Belmondo opposite of Bhf. Zoo on Joachimstalerstraße, plus those on Ku'damm.

Thanks Russ, I like the idea of the 4 day twin pass for 308 euros for 2. I am assuming I have time to buy and receive the pass in my mail at home if we buy soon.

So the 4 day twin pass covers:
1. Stuttgart to Berlin
2. Prague to Nuremburg via the IC Bus (also covered by the twin pass)
3. Nuremburg to Boppard
4. Boppard to Stuttgart

At 90 days out from 5/29, we then pre-purchase Berlin to Prague which is not covered by the twin pass.

As far as the hotel in Berlin, I do have Hilton points from all my travels for work, along with a free night. We used my points + cash and booked the Hampton Inn Berlin City West. We might try airbnb.com for a hotel in Nuremberg.

"I am assuming I have time to buy and receive the pass in my mail at home if we buy soon."

NO RUSH. I'd buy it a couple of weeks before you leave. Or you can buy it in Germany at one of the GRP aid stations:
http://www.bahn.com/i/view/USA/en/services/overview/grp-aidoffices.shtml

There are penalties for refunds. So buy late as you can just in case something comes up and your plans change. There's no discount for buying now on the GRP.

I noticed that the day (6/6/16-Monday) we want to travel via the IC Bus from Prague to Nuremberg, the IC Bus schedule has an "R" which mean Compulsory Reservations are needed. Will the 4 day twin pass that we plan to buy still work for this leg? How do we go about getting reservations for the IC Bus using the Twin pass? We have rented an apartment in Nuremberg 3 nights and the apartments owners want to know what time will will arrive to Nuremberg. I am not sure how to figure that out based on the IC bus schedule and maybe a reservation required.

At the DB itinerary page, you should be able to reserve seats by clicking on "Reservation for seat only (no ticket)" near the bottom (once tickets are available for your travel, that is.)

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

For now, I would give the apartment owners a time frame based on the bus you intend to take that day and promise to inform them of any changes. Where's the apartment? You may have to use the U-Bahn or other means to get there from the station.

Thanks Russ,
The apartment is Schloßaecker Strasse 28A 90443 Nuremberg.
The owners say that they are a 15 min walk from Bus Station, but they will need to meet us at the apartment. They also mentioned taking a tram as well.

From Nuremberg's main station (where the bus lets you off) to the apartment address it's not far. You enter the station from the front and exit the south side of the station (see south side photos below.) From there it's maybe a 10-15-minute walk.
http://commondatastorage.googleapis.com/static.panoramio.com/photos/original/42225993.jpg
http://commondatastorage.googleapis.com/static.panoramio.com/photos/original/42226022.jpg

Thank you so much for the instructions and pictures too. This helps so much!

I feel that I have to disagree with the comments that Neuschwanstein should not be visited. I have visited many places in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and think that if you want to visit castles and similar sites, that you need to visit both Neuschwanstein and near by Linderhof even though they were both built in the late 19th century as romantic recreations of earlier castles (which is the case for many of the remaining castles and palaces in Europe where nearly all of the older castles were destroyed in earlier wars.) Neuschwanstein is the most popular tourist site in Germany for good reason and the site where it is located in the German Alps is beautiful. But it will be crowded and you need to plan your trip accordingly, i.e. reserve your tickets online or go with a full day bus tour from Munich.

"Neuschwanstein is the most popular tourist site in Germany for good reason"

I wish I understood this good reason better. It never gets explained. Maybe it's one of those experiences that words just cannot explain, but AFAIK, nothing ever happened there. Ludwig II lived in his unfinished palace for 6 months before his death. After that it was a tourist attraction. It has indeed been on tour bus itineraries for decades and makes for stunning photography. But compared with other palace experiences (like Nymphenburg in Munich, for example, where Ludwig II was born) the overcrowded and pricey 30-minute tour IMO offers very little. Nymphenburg in fact would be a fine alternative to N'stein If the OP hasn't been.

At Nymphenburg:
Main Palace
Porcelain Museum
Carriage Museum
"Satellite" Palaces
Palace Gardens

For someone staying in Füssen or Hoheschwangau already, sure, visit N'stein if it really interests you. But with a very tight Munich-based itinerary like sandradee's, I think the 5 hours on trains and buses plus the walk up to N'stein means missing out on something better, given the diversity of Munich itself.

I am so happy with our trip plans. We have hotels already and we really want to spend some time relaxing. On the front end, we will be in Stuttgart relaxing some after my Nephew's Wedding. We will be taking trains everywhere, so the towns we picked are perfect for that! We are so excited about our trip in May. We have only train tickets left to buy. We really appreciate all the help!

We have our hotels in Stuttgart (wedding/5 nights), Berlin (5 nights), Prague (3 nights), Nuremberg (3 nights) and Boppard (2 nights). Any suggestions on good places for wine tasting on the Rhine or other places that we will be?

So this is our trip:
From Stuttgart via train
Berlin for 5 nights (Sun-Thu.)
Prague (Fri-Sun.)
Nuremberg (M-We.)
Rhine/Boppard (Th-Fr)
Saturday, back to Stuttgart

We did buy train tickets for "Berlin to Prague" via the internet at home. We also bought the IC Bus ticket with reservation from Prague to Nuremberg. When we get to Germany we will buy a 3 day twin GRP flexi pass in Stuttgart. So how to figure out the train schedule with a Pass and connections. We have only used a train in Germany and France 2 years ago, one time.

I did load the DB Navigator app to my phone which we can use in Europe with T-mobile free data. On the DB Bahn website, I see that for a trip from "Stuttgart Hbf to Berlin Zoological Garden (near hotel)" we have 3 choices to use our Flexi Pass. Trying to minimize time and connections: Leaving at 6:40, 8:40 and 10:40 on Sunday, 29 May from Stuttgart. Duration is 5:49 total. How easy it to use the GRP Flexi pass? For example, do we just get on the train at 8:40? I also see IC/RS for the connection.