Train Help Germany/France

I feel like you are racing around a lot. I would write out a daily schedule/itinerary. For example, you have 3 nights in Munich. Day one you are going to Salzburg, Day two you are going to Dachau, Day 3 you leave Munich, that way, you will see that you have very little time, if anything, in Munich.

The Cologne cathedral is definitely worth seeing, do you have plans for the luggage? But, you have only 2 nights in Boppard and you want to visit Rhine towns? I feel like you only have time to see Boppard.

One flaw in you plan is to do Colmar while not doing nearby Strasbourg.

Also, consider skipping Paris for this trip and add more to Germany and Austria. Take in Garmisch, the Zugspitze (highest mountain in Germany), Berchtesgaden and nearby Salzburg, Austria. Then head to Vienna for a few days.

Consider flying into Amsterdam and out of Vienna.

Strasbourg is very nice, but with only 2 days in Colmar, and one of them you are going to the Black Forest, you really don't have time for Alsace villages let alone Strasbourg.

Have you done a rough estimate yet of how many hours you would be on trains for this itinerary? I look at train schedules all the time, and my first off-the-top reaction is that you will not have any time to see attractions because you will be on trains for several hours every time you move.

Go to www.TheTrainline.com and put in your destinations for train times and you’ll see how quickly the times add up.

I’m afraid this plan is just not practical and would not be enjoyable for 5 seniors trying to do an “Amazing Race” type of itinerary.
Why land in Amsterdam for only one night? You’ll be jet lagged on day 1 and you have your group leaving the next morning on a 4 to 5-hour train trip to Boppard. There won’t be time to stop in Cologne because you only have 2 nights in Boppard/Bingen. And that is only 1 full day in Boppard.
Then 5.5 train hours from Boppard to Colmar. Stay 3 nights and try to see Black Forest ( 2.5-3 hours away by train ) during the 2 full days in Colmar. So, with only two full days in the Alsace-Lorraine, are you sure you want to use one day and spend 6 hours on the train to go see the Black Forest? When are you going to see the towns of the Alsace -Lorraine?
Black Forest to Munich 4.5 hours. Munich to Salzburg 1.5 hours= 3 hours roundtrip.
Day 10 you will be on trains for 6-7 hours to go north from Munich to Frankfurt and then back down south to Strasbourg, France.
You need to do the math on the itinerary so you can understand why you need to draw up a different itinerary.

You will save time if the plan keeps moving in one direction and cuts out doubling back and forth from Germany to France then back to central Germany then back to France.
During 14 days, this plan has 6 base cities, 13 planned destinations and 30+ hours of train travel.

The last time I traveled on trains for 30 hours was on a 32-day trip.

Unfortunately the journeys that connect your base towns are not very convenient. The base towns have been chosen not for ease of travel by train or for economical ticketing but on some other grounds, it seems.

Colmar is a poor travel base for visiting the Black Forest town of Triberg on a day trip (roughly 2.5 hours each way for most journeys.) From Boppard most train journeys to Colmar will require 4-6 different trains, although there is one morning journey that uses 3 trains (and takes 6 hours.) Colmar > Munich also involves lots of time and too many changes of train.

I would not leave this itinerary as it is and expect the rail connections to improve. I would instead look at dropping some destinations and would suggest you use the DB website to calculate the rigor of each trip and the travel times involved.

Using Strasbourg as a base town instead of Colmar would shorten the trip from Boppard and permit easy day trips to Colmar.

Omitting Munich etc. could make a lot of sense too. Maybe see Freiburg and/or Heidelbrg instead?

Hmmm, Gengenbach actually makes a very good base town... the KONUS guest card you receive there provides FREE train outings during your stay! Freiburg and Triberg are easy to reach by train from there on this free guest card.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkgzMXQ7blQ

A day trip to Strasbourg from Gengenbach would be partially covered by Konus card too - pay only for the 24h mini day pass:

https://www.cts-strasbourg.eu/en/online-store/fares/tickets/ (click on the regional link to find this day pass)

Also: a day trip from G'bach to Heidelberg would be covered by a Länder Ticket. 5 persons for €53, a cheap round trip.

landing in Amsterdam

Why? You are going to Germany and France. Whatever you are saving by flying to Amsterdam is wasted time and travel into Germany. If you can, fly into Frankfurt. This significantly shortens the travel distances in Germany.

Regarding passes, given your very busy itinerary I suggest individual ICE tickes in Germany. Fastest and most expensive. Us the DB webstie--dowload the app to your phone--not any third-party sites to book your tickets.

The Cologne cathedral is definitely worth seeing, do you have plans for the luggage?

This is easy. There are lockers in the Cologne station. Then you step out the front door of the station and go to the cathedral next door.

When you're done, go back in and retrieve the luggage from the locker(s) and catch whatever train you are supposed to catch.

There's a lot of valid info in the previous posts, but I'll add my thoughts.

First, It makes no sense to go to Amsterdam if you're not going to spend time there. Fly to Frankfurt or Cologne.

Second, going from the Rhine, to Colmar, to Munich, to Frankfurt, and the to Paris again makes little sense. A much better route would be Rhine/Frankfurt/Munich/ Strasbourg/ Paris.

Remember, time is money. You don't want to waste time sitting on a train any longer than you need to. Plan as if every hour you spend traveling is $100 per person in lost time. And if it's not worth the trip, slow down and take a look at what's available where you are. I've spent weeks in all of the places you're trying to get to and haven't seen everything.

KCG’s route is the better order.

I certainly would do the Rhine boat.

I’d stay in Strasbourg rather than Colmar

Just my opinion, we loved Strasbourg AND the Alsace wine villages. If you want to visit Strasbourg, stay there, its lovely. If you want to visit wine villages stay in either a wine village or Colmar. It likely needs to be Colmar if you don't have a car. Colmar is pretty, there are a couple museums, there's at least one winery in town (and its adorable). If you have the time, you can find tours to the small wine villages that leave from Colmar.

Agree, don't visit the Black Forest from Colmar. There is plenty to do and see in Colmar

I'd like to reinforce KGC's recommendation. This sequence is far superior if these are your cities. It's not just the distances that matter, but the type of train. If a high-speed journey is possible, this will save a lot of time and hassle. For example, you can catch a fast train between Frankfurt and Munich with no changes in just over 3 hours. Don't fly into Amsterdam if it can be helped but do stay a bit longer if this is already set. Better route planning should free up at least an extra day for this. Hit Frankfurt on your way out of the middle Rhine, then head to Munich, Strasbourg, Paris.