Review of Germany Itinerary June/July 2025

You may be able to take the train from the airport, maybe not direct to Paris, but with a change somewhere other than Frankfurt Hbf. I saw one that went through Cologne, arriving at Paris Nord, another that arrived at Paris Est. I would take a close look at all your options.

Its no longer Hahn AFB but International Airport but some old aircraft shelters are still there :o))

We flew to Ireland from there (KerryAirport) several times

When its your first return to Lautzenhausen since the 80ties be aware many things have changed since then
A lot of construction and new buildings at the former AFB
The housing area/barracks are used by German Police for ex.

get more info at https://www.hahn-airport.de/en/home

For the Füssen/Neuschwanstein part

When you plan to go to Schwangau from your Hotel in Füssen for dinner Schlossbrauhaus is good idea for a large group
Just in case you find no place there Hotel Gasthof Helmer in the village of Schwangau is also nice and offers good food
Contact for the restaurant direct for large group reservations [email protected]

I took a cousin and her two teenagers to Munich last June. They liked the Residence more than the Deutsches Museum.

I welcome any thoughts/comments/suggestions.

Here's my Danny-Downer contribution.

I get the Swiss Alps part. The Bernese Oberland is spectacular.

I understand being locked into using a certain airport. It's unfortunate but there are reasons this happens.

I understand wanting to revisit friends/family/places from your past.

Things I don't get: the rest. The 1-2 night stays and the extensive and rigorous ground-travel schedule around Bavaria, with all the road-time you have planned, will be challenging with such a travel group and are not imperative for seeing/doing the kinds of things you have in mind. I would not willingly choose to dine on that big Bavarian plate you have in peak travel season with the heavily-touristed destinations you are targeting. Rick Steves' "Bavaria-First" approach to Germany means lots of competition from your fellow Rick-fans for the tourist experience there. But Bavaria has no monopoly on castles, WW II, and beautiful scenery.... you could avoid the large detour through Bavaria entirely and still have fun touring castles, hitting Nazi/WW II memorial sites and points of interest, doing boat cruises, hitting beer gardens, tromping around old-world towns, riding summer bobsleds, etc. From FRA: Start in the north, Lautzenhausen/Mosel/Rhine. Then to the Neckar River Valley and the Black Forest. Then to the Bernese Oberland. Two or three stays of 3-4 nights each could probably be arranged for the Germany part. Then head straight to Paris after that. Return the cars just across the Swiss border in Germany, maybe Freiburg. Freiburg > Paris is a 3-hour train ride.

Car ? for 22 ??

12 of us - and 3 vehicles.

Thanks to all for the replies - much appreciated.

Spinning on what Russ said:
1. If we consider the Swiss alps as set, you might not really have to do all the Bavarian Alps. The Swiss are probably just more spectacular anyway.
2. Is Neuschwanstein a must for you? It is spectacular, do not get me wrong, but very touristy and not exactly original (19th century)

Here’s a suggestion: Get from Frankfurt to Switzerland on the Bavarian border one way and the Rhine on the other:
- Rothenburg 2 nights
- Hohenzollern Castle (Family Seat of the last German emperors) on the way south
- Lake Constance (Lake Cruises, Mainau Island, but beware of high season) for at least 3 nights
- Switzerland: Is there a spot north of Bernese Oberland that might mean less driving?
- Check the Rhine waterfall on the way back north, and Triberg is near
- If you want to do a camp, there is Struthof in Alsace (now France) but I have never been there. Straßburg and Colmar are on the Way, and are what German cities were before the air raids (the region was German when these houses were built)
- Now the Mosel is near

Btw: You could check if driving to Paris and returning the car there is doable at a reasonable rate. Might be lucky…

Thanks much - for Neuschwanstein - we debated whether to actually tour it - decided to because the way our itinerary is set, we can hit it early morning and then head to Engleberg Switzerland. I think having a car to drive there early helps us here - we already booked tickets for the 9:50 a.m. tour, and plan to get there early and do Mary's Bridge early and walk down to the castle. I understand the tour is short.

We're pretty set on seeing the BO/Jungfrau area in Switzerland and have that part planned out as well. Spending 4 nights in Lauterbrunnen for Top of Europe/Grindelwald Frist/Schilthorn and Murren/Wengen/Manlicchen area for hiking/etc.

And flying in/out of London - so going to Paris (4 nights) then train to London at the end to catch flight back to US. So car in Paris is not really doable.

Sure, my question on Bernese Oberland was merely a matter of convenience. Having done multiple road trips, you always end up taking longer than Google says…

Which brings us again to the Bavarian part of your trip: Are there Must Sees there? As Russ and I mentioned, it is quite the detour, when compared to going straight down from Rothenburg. If there are no musts, you might find more convenient options along the way to, say, Bregenz, Lindau, Überlingen or Meersburg.
Castles, Palaces, Water Cruises and a Beer Garden are easy to do, while Dachau or Eagles Nest will be harder - in particular if it is specifically these; as noted, the Struthof camp would be doable from Triberg to Lautzenhausen, but I cannot really assess on their quality (online reviews are favorable though).

My kids’ favorite (teens) from Munich was seeing the surfers in the park and then floating down the part of the stream in the park that won’t kill you (one part is very fast, one more gentle). Very cold water but fun and seemed like so many Germans just hanging out in the park that it felt like we had joined them for a bit vs just touristing.

My kids’ favorite (teens) from Munich was seeing the surfers in the park

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