Munich - Trains & Automobiles

Additional driver policy will vary from company to company

Which rental company and where are they?

Having experienced google's optimism with driving times, you would be cutting it really fine. Do you just have to be 'in town', or be somewhere specific, after finding parking and getting from there to wherever. Luggage?

If you step off a train at 16:30, you can change platforms and be in Rothenburg ob der Tauber by 19:52.

Where are you coming from? I am not saying you might not need a car at some point, but you're likely to get there quicker on the train. Is this going to be on a week day? All the commuters will be heading home at exactly the same time.

What is so important about 2045? Is it a do-or-die situation, or are you just trying to make, say, the nightwatchman tour, something that wouldn't kill you if you missed. Do you have to check into your hotel before you appointment at 2045? Or can you arrive at a specific spot (where?) in Rothenburg exactly at 2045? And Rothenburg has a lot of pedestrian only streets inside the old town, so you might have to walk a ways.

I'm asking because even if it is possible, it's so tight that a late arrival, delay getting the rental car, a traffic jam or a wrong turn would ruin everything.

The train would be the most reliable with respect to getting to you a defined destination at a specified time, but, unfortunately, although the train time could fit, it's departure and arrival time don't look like they do.

I've heard complaints that ViaMichelin underestimates times, but I have a little more confidence in it, but even it estimates the time at about 2:45, so you would have to leave the Bahnhof at or before 6 PM in order to get to Rothenburg at 2045. That only gives you 1½ hours to get to the car rental office, do all the paperwork, and get on you way.

Thx for info everyone. The cutoff time for hotel check-in is 2100, city central location. I wanted to drive just for the sake of driving as it isn't too far and I've never been in the German countryside before.

I haven't selected a rental company yet, I was under the impression that a few of them were located right there in the terminal, with the presumption being the cars were right there as well. There are two of us each with a roller bag.

The travel is a weekday and I figured it was easier to get a car at the Munich station rather a small outlying one.

In my U.S. mentality I figured on being in the car by 1700 and in Rothenburg by 2030 at the very latest.

I really can't see why you would want to drive. It's an easy train ride which sounds a lot better than dealing with rush hour traffic in Germany's 3rd largest city. If you really want to drive though, my advice is to start by taking the train to Nürnberg and rent the car there, the 300 km/h ICE takes you there in about an hour, thus saving you a bit of time.

Finally, how is driving? I am to be honest a little intimidated by the
different traffic signs, some of which aren't very intuitive.

In my opinion, Germans are good drivers and mostly stick to the rules. But they will expect you to do the same and the tolerance for errors is pretty low. And of course you need to learn the traffic laws and signs if you plan to drive. The road signs can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_signs_in_Germany

Where are you arriving from and where are you going afterward? I assume you are not arriving by airplane, as then you should rent a car at the airport. As Badger pointed out, it will be a lot simpler to just change trains in Munich to travel on to Rothenburg.

I appreciate your desire to drive through the German countryside, but it will not be a lot of fun if you are stressed trying to get to the hotel in time. First, after you have located the rental car desk, do the paper work and get the keys, they will direct you to the underground parking garage where the cars are located. Find the car and exit the garage into downtown Munich at rush hour and find your way out of town. Quickest way to Rothenburg is to take the A-8 west of town, then turn north on the A-7 to near Rothenburg. So it will be urban traffic followed by driving on the Autobahn the rest of the way. Similar to the Interstate but cars will be driving faster and there will be a lot of slower moving trucks. Viamichelin says it is a 2 hour and 45 minute drive if there are no traffic issues, and there are almost guaranteed to be traffic issues.

If you go by train, there is a 17:05 ICE to Treuchtlingen, then quickly change to a regional train to Steinach, then change to the local train to Rothenburg, arriving at 19:52. The station is outside the city walls, so you walk (or take a taxi) to your hotel.

You'll enjoy the countryside much more when you aren't deciphering signage, aren't dodging cars on the autobahn, and if you aren't focused on the driving task at all. Sit by the train window and watch the world pass - with no cars, trucks or asphalt to get in your view, no traffic jams.

It would be helpful to know where you are "coming in" from. If from the airport - then get the car at the airport since the airport is substantially out of town and there is no need to come into the station. If from another train, try to book the whole trip by train. Munich traffic is notoriously bad near rush hour, just like any other major city, and the train station is in the city.

I made a moderately lengthy post yesterday but it is not showing in the thread. My limited user information shows the posting time, but nothing here. I will try and repeat.

We are coming by rail from Rome via Verona.

We have checked rail all the way to Rothenburg and with my wife's moderate mobility issues, the thought of her having to navigate 2 or 3 extra connections isn't ideal. We are away for 3 weeks and the physical effects on her are cumulative, the German portion is the start of our 2nd week, thus we need to meter in the walking in smaller doses. Also, it does not look like there is an auto rental in Rothenburg according to a brief search I did.

I very much like to drive, it is my preferred method of travel, so couple that with the mobility thing it is the logical choice for us. Except for that time thing.

Is it unreasonable to think that there is a very good chance of making the drive from Munich to Rothenburg within 3.5 hours, leaving peak weekday afternoon traffic time? Even 3.75 would work.

It appears that at least rental companies have a presence right in the terminal, I am presuming the time to get to the car should not be that long, I am allowing 30 minutes in my estimate from train exit to in the car.

So I understand the traffic/time relationship and the alternatives (rail), and if it comes down to it that will have to be the option. But for all the other reasons the driving is the method of choice for us and if reasonably feasible would be what we do. I just need to know if it is reasonable.

Thanks.

Have you bought your train tickets yet? Here are 2 other ideas.
1. Book the Nightjet that leaves Rome Termini at 18:55 and gets to Munich at 8:16 the following day. Looks like you could get a deluxe sleeper for about 340 EUR. Then you will have plenty of time to drive to Rothenburg, even taking a portion of the Romantic Road through the German countryside.
2. Leave the night before to Bologna, spend the night at a hotel there. Then take the 7:45 EC train to Munich, arriving at 14:26. Now plenty of time to comfortably drive to Rothenburg.

Sam - I had initially looked at the overnight train, but then I read about the Brenner route and that for sure is what we would like to do. Trying to actually book, the italian and German systems both won't let me book that far out (August), I have to wait perhaps 5 weeks to do so.

I am starting to lean towards trying the drive and if things go down the drain just eat the cost of the missed night and bed down somewhere. To be honest, 100ish USD is fairly cheap (thank you Euro exchange rate). Maybe just give it a shot and see what happens?

I am intrigued by the 'adventure' of training it all the way, but I don't want to overload the wife with foot exercise. I'd also like to have a car, ready to go, come the first morning.

Checking Google right now (1700 Munich time), it shows about 2:25, traffic doesn't look horrible. ViaMichelin says 2:40. Traffic doesn't look horrible on there, but when you make a route it seems to not show the traffic bottlenecks on the route. Plus, the estimated time is the same as when I did it in a no traffic situation. I have the traffic time option checked in their settings.

I made the reservation anyway as the hotel doesn't require a deposit or a credit card to hold, just 24 hr. cancellation request. As an American I find that unusual, especially for a high demand area/property.

That brings me back to option 2. You can get a train to Bologna as late as 20:40, arriving at Bologna at 23:05. Walk across the street to the Hotel Mercure and spend the night and get the 7:45 EC to Munich that arrives 2 hours earlier than your current plan. Or, since Bologna is considered the food capital of Italy, leave late afternoon from Rome and go out to dinner in Bologna. Both Trenitalia and Italotreno have frequent high speed trains to Bologna, like every 10 minutes. Italo's prices are a tad lower than Trenitalia, and many like them better.

DB website says EC tickets to Munich for August 13 (for instance) will be available for purchase February 16. Looks like Sparpreis tickets should be about 40 EUR pp. Rome to Bologna tickets should be 26 to 35 EUR pp SuperEconomy/Smart. The Hotel Mercure is a bit more than 100 EUR in a superior room with breakfast.

I am starting to lean towards trying the drive and if things go down
the drain just eat the cost of the missed night and bed down
somewhere.

At least take the train to Nürnberg and rent the car there. It will save you an hour or so travel time and you will avoid the München rush hour traffic.