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Rent Car for 2 Days of 11 Day Itinerary or Stick to Train Travel

Posted by on

Current Itinerary for my husband and I for our first trip to Germany from the US is as follows for Late August :

Day 1: Berlin Arrival late PM
Day 2: Berlin
Day 3: Berlin
Day 4: Berlin
Day 5: Berlin to Nuremberg via train (Possible Erfurt Stopover)
Day 6: Nuremberg
Day 7: Nuremberg (Bamberg Daytrip)
Day 8: Nuremberg to Mittenwald via train
Day 9: Mittenwald
Day 10: Mittenwald to Munich via train
Day 11: Munich
Day 12: Munich
DAY 13: AM Departure Munich

Train travel was the initial plan between all locations but I am considering a rental car from Day 8 to Day 10 which would cover from Nuremberg to Mittenwald and the surrounding Alps areas and then return the car upon arrival in Munich. I thought a rental car could give us flexibility between Nuremberg and Mittenwald for a some short stopovers and flexibility in the Alps to explore some nearby towns. Does this seem like a good idea or would it make sense to just stick to train travel? If car rental is a good option I'd love suggestions for interesting stops between Nuremberg and Mittenwald. Thanks in advance.

Posted by
7107 posts

Day 8: Since the car for 2 days will set you back roughly $500, and since the N'berg > Mittenwald journey can be accomplished on a €34 Bayern Ticket, it is worth investigating whether there are some specific places you might arrange to visit by train prior to Mittenwald. Personally, no matter the cost, I think choosing 1 or 2 GOOD places to stop in advance whether by train or by car and no matter the cost, rather than depending on fate to guide you to some interesting stop, would be the way to go.

What about Regensburg? It's a UNESCO World Heritage town with a medieval town center on the Danube River.
https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1155/video

A 3-hr visit might work. Stow bags in a Regensburg station locker.

Sample rail schedule on the regional trains:
Day 8, Nuremberg (9:23) > Regensburg (10:38); Lv R'burg (13:53) > Mittenwald (17:23)

Note: find later departures from Regensburg if you wish to stay longer.

Iphofen could be worthwhile too. Beautiful old-world wine/art town, quite small doesn't take long to see...

(Photos) https://www.stadtbild-deutschland.org/forum/index.php?thread/2985-iphofen-galerie/
(Info) https://tramino.s3.amazonaws.com/s/iphofen/752858/160927-iphofen-ortsprospekt-eng-web.pdf

Sample schedule on regional trains:

Lv. Nuremberg (8:05) > Iphofen (8:50); Lv Iphofen 11:07 > Nuremberg (11:54, get lunch); Lv N'berg (13:04) > (change in Munich) > Mittenwald (17:23)

Notes: Before leaving Nuremberg, stow your bags in a station locker; retrieve bags during your lunch break at N'berg station.

Day 9: If Mittenwald's offerings fail to fill your day, head to Garmisch-Partenkirchen (about 20 minutes by train) - this might be a good idea in the afternoon anyway as you could stay on into the evening for a "Bavarian Evening" dinner with traditional music and dance at the Gasthof Fraundorfer. Then catch a train back later in the evening to Mittenwald.

Posted by
33995 posts

a €34 Bayern Ticket

or, as it is August (2022 I presume??) 9€ per person for unlimited regional travel all month will do the job and all the rest of slow German transportation for the month

Posted by
7 posts

Yes, the 9 euro ticket for the month does make renting a car seem like a strange choice. I had the mindset that I needed to rent a car for at least a portion of the trip because an acquaintance insisted we should drive in Germany and for some reason I couldn't get that idea out of my head. I suppose they must have really enjoyed driving in Germany for some reason but it doesn't seem like it's going to be a 'need' for our trip. Thanks again for the insight everyone.

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