Road Trip from Berlin to Munich via Fussen

Should I squeeze in Black forest road trip?

No.

Should I stay in Nurenberg or Dresden(a little out of the way) in Day
1 night.

Definitely not Dresden.

In general you seem to look for natural forest. This page contains a map where you find them in Germany.

Take care of valid driving permission.

Date of travel?

Looks not like a road trip, but more like a "I found a cheap flight to Berlin, but the only places I know are at the other end of the country"- itinerary. :D

Is there a scenic route to take.

No.

Should I squeeze in Black forest road trip?

No. I guess in terms of natural beauty only the Alps and Saxon Switzerland will WOW Americans. Saxon Switzerland is near Dresden, but you don't have the time anyway.

PS: the Romantic Road isn't romantic. It's a regular road that connects several small, preverved towns, which are considered romantic. With your frantic pace you can see one town along the road,... I guess Rothenburg.... and that's it.

Also consider dropping off your car as soon as you get to Munich. It seems there is no need to have the car beyond Day 3.

The Romantic Road is nothing special, not that interesting just as a road to drive. It's the towns that make it interesting. If you are not going to spend some time (days) in the towns, forget it.

Although there are other interesting towns on the Road, Rothenburg is possibly the most interesting.

Day 1: I would plan to go from Berlin to Rothenburg on day 1, spend the night there. With advance purchase, I can see SparPreis (not non-refundable Super SparPreis) ticket for around 150€ for 3.

Day 2: Visit Rothenburg in the morning, then use a Bayern-Ticket (39€ for 3 of you) to go by train to Füssen on day 2.

Day 3: there is plenty of public transportation in Füssen, you don't need a car in Füssen. Take the train to Munich at the end of the day, again with a 39€ Bayern-Ticket. If you buy the Bayern-Ticket first thing in the morning, you can use it for the buses in Füssen that day.

trains seem 50% more expensive for a group of 3 of us.

Using ticket described above, the trains would cost about 230€. Using Autoeurope's cost of a 3 day rental (Berlin to Munich) without any collision insurance (89€) for a car big enough to 3 people and your luggage, and ViaMichelin's estimate of over 100€ for fuel, the cost of the train vs. a car rental are pretty close to equal, and with the train you have a carefree trip with plenty of time to relax and watch the scenery and no liability for the car.

Is Black forest more like Yosemite/Tahoe/Oregon Wilderness.

I love the Black Forest, but I wouldn't compare it for spectacular vistas to Yosemite or Tahoe. It's just a comfortable place to be. However, with the time allotted, I would skip it.

Thank you MarkK, Martin, Maryam, and Lee.
All great suggestions.
Lee's suggested plans is a very good one(stopping at Rothenberg, Fussen on the way to Munich and take trains)
(also,Looks not like a road trip, but more like a "I found a cheap flight to Berlin, but the only places I know are at the other end of the country"- itinerary. " Yes :-) I am that frugal guy, and proud of it :-)

I was not clear in my first question about the following:
I am traveling in the first week of August(3-7), so weather wise, hopefully road or train would work.
I mentioned Yosemite etc to exclude some choices(like Black forest) if they are similar. Looks like there is less enthusiasm for the Romantick road route, so I am going to stick to just the three(Rothenburg, Fussen, Munich). Train or Car,

Train costs about €242 (€150+€14+€39+€39)
It turns out car costs more at €350 ( €130 for 3 day rental for Merc Class C(20 MPG) +€ 32 for one-way drop off + €27 for 3-day GPS + 30 Gallons at 20MPG for 600 miles(€170).

The Bayern ticket wins it for the train over the car. My understanding is that the Bayern ticket does not allow for a seat reservation. As the Rothenburg to Fussen is about 5 hours, would that be a problem to get a seat? We are likely to travel on a Sunday(Aug 4)

Sorry, but to be blunt, you have no time to do anything "on the road". You barely have allotted any time to seeing the places you are driving to.

I would consider even cutting back. Maybe drop anything between Berlin and Munich (I assume there are some days in Berlin first?) and hit Munich first. Maybe just day trip to Fussen (or drop it), possibly overnight, doing the castles in the afternoon. Then rest of time in Munich. All easily done by train.

While a car seems "cheap", consider Insurance, Gas, drop off charges if they apply, an IDP, Parking, maybe even the potential for speed cameras.

The plan you have is most of your trip in a car, getting from one place to another. Stop, slow down, and actually enjoy a place.

Thanks Paul for your suggestions. I am in Berlin for 3 nights, and reaching there from Prague by train(non-refundable train ticket already paid for).
I am working my way down the map to Munich to go on to Paris(via direct TGV train). I have 5 nights in between. If I stay in Munich for all five nights, I could do a day trip to Fussen. Was not sure if 5 nights in Munich is too much, and looked like
Rothenburg looked like an ideal stop(car or train)

Thank you.

My understanding is that the Bayern ticket does not allow for a seat reservation. As the Rothenburg to Fussen is about 5 hours, would that be a problem to get a seat?

Its not that the Bayern ticket does not allow a reservation. The Bayern Ticket is only valid on regional trains, NOT IC/ICE; and IC/ICE trains are the only ones with reservations. None of the trains you will be travelling on with your Bayern ticket have reserved seats, you are in the same position as everybody else seat-wise.
The trains are normally large enough for the predicted passenger total. Having to stand is very rare.

Munich is well situated for many excellent day trips if you choose to base. With your limited time, that's what I would do.

If you want to create more of a point-to-point route over long distances, another option is the German Rail Pass. It's not cheap, but it allows you to travel for about 50 euros per person per day (cheaper with the more days you get, available in 3, 4, and 5 day passes) on any train, including high speed trains. You have total flexibility on which trains to take, and can reserve seats on the IC/ICE trains separately if desired.

It wouldn't make sense if you base in Munich and do day trips (Bayern-ticket is your friend there) but might be worthwhile for a 3 day pass if you want to go Berlin-Munich, Munich-Regensburg, Regensburg-Fuessen or something like that.

Only 2 full days in Berlin is very short time for my city. Nomally we say that with 3 full days you were at but not in Berlin :-)

What are your interests? I do not know how people can give advice without knowing that.

Also date of travel you did not answer.

Thanks Chris, Sarah and MarkK.
Now I understand better the train passes better (The Bayern day ticket €39 and the €150 minimum for a family of three).
The Bayern ticket works better for us(for a side trip to Fussen and castles)

Rothenburg, Nuremberg, Regensburg - all look attractive for a stop over.

We will be arriving in Berlin on July 31 (night), and taking a train out of Munich to Paris on Aug 8th morning. The rest is yet to be planned.
We are not much of museum people. Feeling the vibe of the cities and discovering the rest of Germany in this contemporary setting is more priority.

I am yet to read up on the sites to see in Berlin or Munich. We certainly want to visit the castles near Fussen (which is the Disney inspiration). That is the only the firm plan.

I happened to see the festivals coinciding with these dates (happenstance!)

August 2–4: International Beer Festival, Berlin

Since this is summer, was thinking of driving(also based on the savings!).

Thanks all a ton for your suggestions. I was saving Germany trip for Christmas markets, but it is happening this Summer!

If you're a beer nerd, the Berlin beer fest won't be that exciting to you. If you're just a guy who likes beer, it will be. If that makes sense.

It's changing all the time as the craft beer scene in Germany is finally getting going, but the beerfest there is largely conducted by larger breweries. So a very fun party scene, there will be some small craft brewers, but if anyone's ever called you a "beer snob" it won't have the diversity you're looking for. If that makes sense.

Anyway, I think your plan for using Munich as a base for day trips makes the most sense, but are you still talking about driving from Berlin to Munich and why? Between rental car and gas prices I just don't see it being much cheaper than train for 3, especially if your plan is to get rid of the car in Munich and take pubic transit for day trips.

Thanks Sarah. We are mostly wine people(dunno much about beer), but love to see others enjoying beer!

For the trip to Fussen to see the castles, we are planning to stay overnight in Fussen. I could not reserve tickets (sold out, I guess) in advance for Neuschwanstein castle on a Monday(Aug 4), and hoping that we get tickets by standing in line there. Hopefully, there will be tickets left. (2 adults and a child(16)).

The car rental prices look reasonable - with one-way rental fee and GPS and all fees is coming to $160 - BMW 5 series, so driving is still an option for us.

I had one more question on Lee's suggestion - Is it Rothenburg or Rothenburg ob der Tauber ?
They seem to be 400kms apart! I assume it is the first one based on the train ticket pricing quoted. Just confirming any ways.

If it is the walled town on the Romantic Road spoken of so much by Rick Steves it is Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

Thanks for the clarification. It is Rothenburg ob der Tauber then(the one in many of Rick's videos)