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timing-6 days frankfurt to munich in April

Posted by on

Hello all! First time poking around the travel forums, so I'm sorry if forms of this exact question have been asked before. I've visited Germany many times but it will be my husband's first visit, so I'd like him to get a feel of southern Germany, saving northern and eastern Germany for another trip. We've compiled a list of places we'd like to most visit in the region but I've never driven in Germany before, so I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed, like I'm cramming too much into each day. I would appreciate any suggestions of timing and whether this would be a pleasant trip or too rushed.

Sunday: arrive to Frankfurt mid-morning. Pick up rental car, drive to Stuttgart for lunch and Mercedes museum (since the museum is closed on Monday) and continue on to Rothenberg ob de tauber to spend the night.
Monday: head to Baden Baden to spend the day at the caracalla spa, spend the night
Tuesday: head to Freiburg to sightsee and have lunch, continue on to Lake Bodensee or Lindau by the evening to have dinner and spend the night
Wednesday: continue on to Fussen for a Neuschwanstein castle reservation. Ride the tegelbergbahn luge, spend the night around Fussen.
Thursday: head directly to Munich on Thursday morning to drop off rental car and spend the rest of Thursday and Friday until around 5pm sightseeing in Munich, staying around Marienplatz.

Thank you in advance for your help! Appreciate it!

Posted by
6658 posts

"I've never driven in Germany before, so I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed, like I'm cramming too much into each day."

Yes, you're right, that's what you're doing. Sunday = 4+ hours of driving after an international overnight flight? Monday = 2.5+ hours in the car, Tuesday = 3.5+ hours in the car (parking, traffic, fill-ups, car pick-up and drop-off time not included.) So it's a plan for driving around southern Germany and for getting a feel for German roadways - not for Germany.

If you want to drive, be gentler with yourselves - take a more direct route between Frankfurt and Munich. The detours to Rothenburg and to Neuschwanstein (a palace, not a castle) are not only time consuming - they make sure you'll be with lots of tourists in the most touristy of Germany's touristy spots (which may just subtract from your husband's intro to GERMANY.)

Here's a suggestion for a streamlined driving route that is a bit less aggressive, hits most of your destinations, and offers some additional/alternative sights on the way.

Sun: train (much safer for Day #1) to Stuttgart, drop bags at hotel, visit Mercedes Museum.
Mon: get car, drive to Ludwigsburg Palace, drive to Baden-Baden spa, overnight.
Tue: Freiburg isn't in the Black Forest. Skip it. Drive to the central Black forest area - Gengenbach is a good substitute for Rothenburg and it's on your route to Lindau. Then to Gutach for the "Sommerrodelbahn" ride and the terrific Vogtsbauernhof open-air museum. Then on to Lindau.
Wed: Drive to Fuessen
Thu: Drive to Munich with a stop in Landsberg am Lech (Romantic Road town.)

Posted by
2415 posts

At the very least, the trip to Rodt makes no sense. Stuttgart is fairly close to Black Forest, just go there. I don't think N'stein is out of the way to Munich and you want to see the castles. But in general I think you are covering too much ground. Check one of the driving websites such as viamichelin to get an idea of MINIMUM driving times.

Posted by
4862 posts

Are you sure you want to drive the same day you arrive? Jet lag, lack of sleep, and not being familiar with the local road system around Frankfurt can all be a problem. There are some people that are not bothered by any of those things. Others think they are ok but are really driving somewhat impaired. Still others are complete zombies and should never drive the same day. Suggest you take a train to Stuttgart, stay overnight, and rent the car the next day. Don't mean to rain on your parade, just something to think about.

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