Romantic Road itinerary help please

The problem with going from Füssen to Rothenburg ob der Tauber by train is that both of them are at the end of rural branch lines and there is not a rail line going south to north to connect them.

You end up going all around the houses, taking 5 hours plus or minus, with many rail connections, going almost all the way back to Munich, then up to Nuremberg, then back west and then finally north to RodT.

Put the two places into the Bahn app or website and when you call up the details click on map and it will show you what I mean.

It isn't any faster by bus, and the bus is less frequent, but more directly south to north.

randalltremain, I've been to Rothenburg odT three times. IMO, three nights seems a bit much. Staying overnight is a good idea, but you can walk across the whole town in a leisurely 10 minutes; a walk around the old town along the surrounding wall is about an hour. There's not 2+ days worth of things to see or do, IMO, especially if you don't have a car to get out of town.

My plan was to use it as a relaxation time on our trip. It is a 3 week trip total from US. We can stroll and relax for the time there.

"We can stroll and relax for the time there."

I think your 5 nights could be spent very well in Bavaria doing some of that, visiting some old-world towns and doing some castle-snooping too. Keep in mind that the two destinations you've picked are only a couple of the many options available to you... IMHO they aren't the best ones for your stated purposes, just the ones with the most recognizable names and the ones most prominent on the heavily-trampled tourist trail. The "2 castles" you refer to near Füssen are actually not castles but more modern palaces (Neuschwanstein, where construction continued into the 1890's, is about the same age as Chicago's first skyscrapers. The guided tours are very short - there's not that much to see - and quite overcrowded.) Rothenburg provides a "Medieval theme park" atmosphere (Rick Steves' words) and is only truly relaxing outside of normal working hours (when the tour buses have loaded up all their customers and gone back to their city-based hotels.) And as has already been pointed out, you are doing a lot of unromantic ground travel to reach these places, each located at the end of trunk railways.

I think you can do better.

Here's a well-kept secret - an old-world town called Iphofen with an intact old town wall, a fine church with Riemenschneider works, lovely half-timbered buildings, wineries, and more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFepnmAzRUM
http://tramino.s3.amazonaws.com/s/iphofen/685626/stadtplan-iphofen-english.pdf

Here's a place on a huge piece of land with small villages on display, put together using transported historical buildings (some around 500 years old!) from the region. You would have an amazing day (or half-day) there. It's in Bad Windsheim.

https://www.schulz-gaestehaus.de/images/umgebung/Bad_Windsheim_Altstadt.jpg

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g198421-d284746-Reviews-Frankonian_Open_Air_Museum-Bad_Windsheim_Middle_Franconia_Franconia_Bavaria.html

Here's a city with a medieval town center recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage site. Bamberg also has an amazing beer and culinary culture.

https://en.bamberg.info/sehenswertes/
https://www.europeanbeerguide.net/bambpubs.htm

This city is lovely as well - dozens of things to see and do, wonderful old town center (with a real castle) and the perfect base town for short train outings to the places I mentioned previously. Nuremberg.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g187310-Activities-Nuremberg_Middle_Franconia_Franconia_Bavaria.html
https://munique-tours.de/private-tour-guide-munich-bavaria/Nuremberg-from-Albrecht-Duerer-House.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU7qmhO5uwM

If you stay in one place (Nuremberg) all the other places are easy-to-reach options, depending on how you feel on one day or another. No strict sightseeing agenda - just do as you please. Nuremberg is only 1-2 hours from Munich, depending on which trains you use.

I had no problem enjoying 3 nights in Rothenburg, even on my 4 th visit. You might consider staying in an apartment.

We stay at www.froehlich-rothenburg.de

The Rothenburg town website has a list of ALL accommodations in town

Between Füssen and Rothenburg, Romantic Road Bus is easier than train.

As I read the bus fares from your website, a single ticket from Füssen to Rothenburg would cost €79 vs €26 for one person on the train with a Bayern-Ticket (and for the RR bus, you would still have to take the train from Füssen to Munich, or Donauwörth, to catch the bus).

Nördlingen is an old town with Fachwerk buildings and an intact wall that you can walk around; it's just a little less touristy than Rothenburg. If that''s what you are looking for, go to Nördlingen instead. And, it's less time from Füssen and to Munich.

In fact, if you want to see an old walled town like Rothenburg and an authentic castle, spend several days in Nördlingen and on one of the days, take the train 20 minutes down to Harburg (Schwaben) and see the castle there.