Hello All-
We are traveling to Rothenburg odT from Nurnberg via train. My question is … from the Deutsche Bahn map it looks like that is the end of the line for the train, I heard that there is a bus that can take one to Dinkelsbuhl, Nordlingen and down the road. Where would I find the map and schedules for those buses?
Thanks, Dan
Hey Dan check this Rothenburg website for bus schedule
http://www.touring-travel.eu/en/
https://www.checkmybus.com/rothenburg-ob-der-tauber
From Rothenburg, get a bus to Feuchtwangen, change there to Dinkelsbuhl. In case you have to wait an hour for a connection, Feuchtwangen has a nice market square and church to visit. There are relatively frequent buses between Feuchtwangen and Dinkelsbuhl, but fewer between Rothenburg and Feuchtwangen.
You can also use the VGN journey planner. Since Nuremberg, Rothenburg o.d.T, and Dinkelsbuehl are all in the the VGN (Verkehrsverbund Grossraum Nuernberg), they are who you buy tickets from, generally from vending machines. A TagesTicket Plus is good for 2 adults (plus up to 4 children) for the whole region for the day for 20.30 EUR.
https://www.vgn.de/en/
Dan: There are some OTHER towns that you might consider visit-worthy in the VGN zone that Sam mentions. Map:
https://www.vgn.de/media/schienennetz-gesamtraum-vgn.pdf
The towns that I mention below are a few of the "renegade" towns that failed to line up in proper north/south orientation along the "Romantic Road" when the Romantic Road Tourism authorities snapped their fingers, heh. Nonetheless... think about it... is it even possible that all the great towns happen to lie right on this line from north to south? Look left and right a bit and you'll find many good ones - and you can take the TRAIN to many of those, at any hour of the day you like, instead of waiting around for the Romantic Road tourist bus, on its very skimpy schedule.
IPHOFEN (in German but scroll through photos - direct train from Nuremberg in 45 minutes.)
BAMBERG (a UNESCO World Heritage city - with many wonderful pubs. Also just 45 minutes from Nuremberg by direct train.)
BAD WINDSHEIM (home of an excellent open-air museum with local history and buildings from 5-6 centuries back - the VGN tickets and local/regional trains get you there once again.
MILTENBERG (no slacker either.)
I heard that there is a bus that can take one to Dinkelsbuhl, Nordlingen and down the road.
Please note that (1) public transport between Rothenburg and Dinkelsbühl is slow (there is almost always a 25+ min overlay in Dombühl - consider taking the daily Romantic Road coach for that leg) and (2) public transport between Dinkelsbühl and Nördlingen is poor (time table here: seven direct buses per day, two of them on school days only; those are marked in the time table by a "S"). So it needs some planning (the VGN planner mentioned above is of no help for the Dinkelsbühl-Nördlingen leg since the line is outside the VGN).
I went from Nördlingen to Rothenburg by bus in 2007, following the Romantic Road via Dinkelsbühl and Fuchtwangen. I used buses that can be found on the Bahn website. Actually, I only went from Nördlingen as far as Feuchtwangen the first day, because I spent the first half the day seeing Nördlingen, then took the bus after lunch to Dinkelsbühl, spent several hours, then went by bus to Feuchtwangen for the night. The next day I took a bus mid-morning from Feuchtwangen to Rothenburg via, as SLA noted, a short change in Dombühl , and arrived in Rothenburg for lunch at the station. I didn't spent time in Rothenburg because I had already been there twice. After lunch I went on by bus to Weikersheim, also on the RR.
If you go from Rothenburg to Nördingen by bus, you can continue down the Romantic Road on with the train via Harburg, Donauwörth, Augsburg, to Landsburg am Lech. From Landsburg to Füssen there are again buses that follow the Romantic Road.
The trouble with using the Romantic Road Coach is that the Coach only makes one run a day, leaving Rothenburg at 10 after 1 PM and arriving in Nördlingen at 3:25 PM. It stops in Feuchtwangen for 15 minutes and in Dinkelsbühl for 30 minutes. Thirty minutes is not enough time, in my opinion, to adequately see Dinkelsbühl. Nördlingen would be a dandy place to spend the night, then go on towards Füssen by train and bus. If you continue on the RR Coach to Augsburg, arriving at 5:40 PM, you only have 30 minutes in Nördlingen, which again, in my opinion, is insufficient time to see the town.
Traveling on the Romantic Road is only worthwhile if you spend time in the towns. The Road is nothing special, just a two lane country road with a slow speed limit, clogged with freight trucks and farm equipment.
Thanks everyone- I think we will go the VGN route and hit some other cities. We've been to Iphofen and Rothenburg before so we may do a day in Bamberg and head south from there. Any bother cities anyone would recommend?
Thanks, Dan
Any bother cities anyone would recommend?
Thanks Russ- I'll check those out. We actually stayed in Bayreuth a couple of years ago around Christmas time and really enjoyed it!
Dan
