Need help with a hole in my Itinerary

Well that looked better when I was originally typing it. I hope you all can still tell what it is.
Each line contains the day of the week, the date, the day of the trip, the tentative plan for the day and last the name of the city where I was planning to sleep.

Thanks!
Ben

GaP would be a decent option in the middle. If the 10 year olds like hiking or cycling, there's plenty of that in the area. I think there's also a Sommerrodelbahn somewhere in the immediate area, but I'm not sure.

General rule for the Alps- few destinations in Europe are more weather dependent, and in few locations is said weather more fickle, so don't try to pigeon-hole your activities there to a specific day. Keep a little bit of flexibility in your schedule, then take advantage of the Alps on the first day that weather permits. For example, what happens if it's rainy and cloudy on your one day you allotted for Berchtesgaden?

Look at Eichstatt in the Altmuhl valley. The boys could try their hand at finding fossils, canoe down the river, bike along the river.

I'd spend the time around Garmisch / Mittenwald / Oberammergau. Maybe consider doing your trip to Neuschwanstein from here instead of from Munich. I'm not sure about getting the train/bus from one of these towns as I've always done it by car but I'm sure someone else on the forum can advise you there. I also know Gastehaus Richter in Oberammergau has a side company that does mini-van tours to the castles and other places. It may be worth contacting them if you are looking at options. Personally, I'd recommend renting a car for a day or two to give you the flexibility to explore the spread out sights in the immediate area (Wieskirche, Linderhof, Ettal, etc) but I know you said you'd prefer to go by train. There's also the Zugspitze, Partnach Gorge and Freilichtmuseum von Glentleiten open air museum. A day trip to Innsbruck and/or Hall is also possible.

On your itinerary, I'd flip the Residenz/Nymphenburg day with the Viktualienmarkt/Marienplatz day. It will make it easier for you to rest and recoup from the flight and get more familiar with your surroundings from the outset. Make sure you check out the tiny jaw dropping Asamkirche - my favourite in Munich. The Munich Zoo is fun and easily accessible, if your boys are into that kind of thing and you need a break from adult activities. They will probably fall in love with the Deutsches Museum. The Gardens at Numphenburg are lovely and expansive, so a good activity to plan when your boys need to blow off some steam. Nuremberg makes a good day trip from Munich, too, with a great old centre and a castle you can climb up to ... your boys would love running around all the nooks and crannies there.

Hopefully this gives you some more ideas to explore.

I was considering adding another day in Salzburg and then 3 nights in the GaP area. That would give me more flexibility incase of bad weather like Tom said and it would also allow me to hit the Ludwig castles from GaP and free up more time while we were in Munich for whatever.
What else is there to do in the GaP area? Is Mittenwald worth visiting with young boys?

Also where would you get a car for that portion of the trip? Munich?

This is changing subjects a little but are there any other places close to Munich / Southern Bavaria like the Legoland Park? I might need to plan another day just doing what the boys to keep everyone happy.

Oh and does anyone know anything about soccer over there? My children play almost every day and they would love a surprise trip to see a game. Not sure if there is any soccer going on at that time though. Maybe preseason games?

Thanks for the help all. I appreciate the information.

Ben

Hi,

I agree with prolonging your stay in Salzburg which will allow to do another day trip. My suggest is go by bus from Salzburg Hbf to Bad Ischl to see the Kaiservilla, the Habsburg Imperial summer palace.

I agree that renting a car might be a good idea for you. If it were me, I'd pick it up on the day I left Munich and then drop it off either back in Munich on your way north or in Frankfurt at the end of your trip. Driving in and out of Munich and to Frankfurt airport is not too difficult, especially if you have a GPS. The car will give you flexibility to adapt your days to your boys as you go, giving them more time to explore a place they love and the ability to move on if a place isn't going so well. It also makes picnicking fun, you can stop in a little park or field for lunch and they can run and play while you eat.

As far as theme parks like Legoland, my personal experience is you don't need to visit them just to keep your boys happy. You will find a lot of things to keep them engaged. Just try not to visit too many museums and fit a kid-friendly activity like a castle or luge ride into each day (save them for the afternoon to buy you some time) - they're old enough to help with picking these, too. Bavaria is full of Eiscafes (ice cream cafes) with menus of fancy ice cream sundaes that would get any 10-year old excited - give them something to look forward to by choosing one to stop at in the afternoon every now and then. Visit a beer garden and let them eat a giant pretzel and drink a 1/2 litre of Spezi (1/2 cola and 1/2 'lemonade' it was our favourite drink as kids in Germany). Let them choose something inexpensive (like stickers or postcards) to collect from the souvenir shops everywhere you go - they'll have fun planning their choices and reviewing their collections.

I understand wanting to cater to your kids a bit, though. You could check out Kinderland Bayern (kinderland.by), which is a network of hotels, attractions, etc that cater to kids. Kinder Hotels (kinderhotels.co.uk) are a chain of hotels that are designed specifically with kids in mind. I'm not sure that they are quite what you will be looking for, though. And check out the Alpamare water park in Bad Tolz.

Some kid-friendly ideas from Salzburg and/or Garmisch area might be to take them on a gondola ride up a mountain - Zugspitze (I've read that you can go sledding in the summer, too) & the Karwendalbahn come to mind but there are lots of others. Or take the cog-wheeled train up to the Zugspitze. Visit the Salt Mines near Salzburg. A day trip to Burghausen (world's longest castle) from Salzburg. A boat trip on the Konigsee from Salzburg. Prien and Chiemsee - boat trip to the castle on the island - between Salzburg & Garmisch. Tegelberg Luge near Neuschwanstein. There is a ski high-jump in GP and in Innsbruck that you could visit.

If you haven't booked accommodation yet, consider renting apartments for some of your longer stays. We find the ability to eat a meal in an apartment now and then gives our kids a night off from good behaviour in a restaurant and can really score us some points. You can also find places that have grassy yards so they can play outdoors when you aren't out sight seeing.

I don't know much about soccer but you could check out the FC Bayern (Bavaria's soccer team) website. They have an English version so you can explore it easily. I'm sure they would list any matches they have going on. Also, ask at the hotels you books, chances are they can help you find out what you want to know about any soccer matches going on. If you rent a car, pick up a soccer ball in one of the big department stores in Munich's city centre before you leave. That way they can play a pickup game (and burn off extra energy) anytime you stop around a grassy area.

I hope this helps. Enjoy your trip, your boys will love it!

If you can't get tickets to a soccer game, you may want to go to Allianz Arena, home of FC Bayern Munchen. It looks like the arena is about 25 minutes from Munich, and they have guided tours of the arena. They even have kids tours! https://www.allianz-arena.de/en/arenatour/

Your trip sounds great - have fun!

Especially if you have a car, you might consider staying at a 'bauernhof' - farm accommodation. Many are especially kid friendly. A good source for info is www.bensbauernhof.com

German trains cannot seriously be compared to The French system.

Thank you all for the wonderful advice. If anyone else has some suggestions I welcome them. Still researching and looking at any / all options.

Also if anyone can recommend a good car rental company in Munich I'd appreciate it. Will be researching that as well.

Oh and hotels, B&Bs, Farm Stays etc... anywhere interesting to stay in the following cities: Munich, Salzburg, GaP, Rothenburg, Bacharach. We would prefer being able to have one room for us and our two children but if not possible then a connecting room for each would be ok. Anyplace you've had good experiences with I'd love to hear about.

Thanks again! This trip is finally coming together after what seems like years of research!

Ben

In rothenburg - www.froehlich.de
In Salzburg - www.neuwirtgut.at

Neuwirtgut seems full the dates I need.

Anyone else got ideas about where to stay in the following cities:
Munich
Salzburg (could be Berchtesgaden, Hallein or somewhere outside of Salzburg)
Garmisch-Partenkirchen (or surrounding)
Rothenburg ODT
Bacharach

We are 2 adults / 2 boys 10 years old.
Looking for anywhere interesting to stay. Open to any type of lodging but would prefer smaller places where we actually interacted with the locals running the place.

Thanks
Ben

Have traveled with boys in the same area and definitely a car is a plus. While a train trip or two is exciting and a great experience, the flexibility with kids of a car is priceless. You can change your mind on a whim, stop for a roadside picnic whenever you want, and take any turn in the road that is off the beaten path. Take a look at Lake of Constance (Bodensee) for a bit of down time. It is beautiful and great for some hiking. I also stayed in a really small town called Bad Gronenbach and had the pleasure of attending a small local parade as well as a horse show in a neighboring town. It was so much fun...we were about the only ones who spoke English and felt we were enjoying a weekend as the locals were. We always stay in Dinkelsbuhl then drive to visit Rothenberg (very close) It is a little quieter and less expensive. The boys loved Salzburg as well as every castle that we visited...also the palaces. One thing that I always do when I take one of the grandkids on a trip is I insist that they keep a journal. I have made up my own with a fill in the blank page for each day. Each day they write about their favorite place, memorable meals, route that was traveled, etc. so they have a record. There is also space for drawing and sketching. I bring a small bag of art supplies so they can paint or draw, as well as each child has their own camera. I try to give them a bit of a 'photo assignment' each day... such as photograph a color, the shopkeepers (with permission , of course) the food, the flowers, etc. to give them incentive to see things in a different way. They will love it... Also...one of the favorite sodas is Mezzo mix (I think half cola, half orange) and paprika chips and goulashesuppe (yum)...Have a wonderful trip.

Regensburg and Nuremberg? Prague?

Allow more time for Berchtesgaden and Konigsee. One day is making it short. Instead of the Eagles Nest spend more time around the Konigsee. With good weather take the electric boat all the way to the Obersee. Take the lift to the middle station or top of the Jenner and walk down/around.

Chiemsee is great with good weather.

With a car, for something different stop in Kelheim and take a short boat trip on on the Danube through the gorge to the Weltenburg Kloster for a beer and lunch. http://www.klosterschenke-weltenburg.de/ http://www.schiffahrt-kelheim.de/ This is next to the Altmühl river valley too. The rental car Salzburg to Rothenburg may be the thing to do.