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Train vs. Rental Car - Bamberg to Rothenburg to Heidelberg

Posted by (Marina, CA, USA) on

Hi fellow travelers,

Context: Planning a Germany/Swiss trip later this year, and looking for opinions regarding our Bamberg->Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber->Heidelberg segment. In looking at the bahn.de site, the train options for getting both to and from Rothenberg seem to be time consuming and costly (drive time is half the train travel time, plus we could enjoy villages along the Romantic Road), so considering grabbing a rental as we leave Bamberg, keeping it during our Rothenberg stay (staying within the walls, btw), and then dropping if off as we get to Heidelberg.

My main question is how convenient (and costly) it will be to park the car while we are at Rothenburg, and is it worth it to have the option to drive to some other cute villages along the Romantic Road? Another question is: if we drive, what are cute villages to check out between Bamberg and Rothenburg, and between Rothenburg and Heidelberg?

Hi all,
Thanks for the input; here are some additional details regarding our October itinerary, and the why of this German segment....we tend to not like staying anywhere for less than one night, as that does not allow one enough time to experience the vibe of an area at all. Only exception was Mont St. Michel (different trip)....I like history, my wife likes just wallking around exploring, and we both enjoy scenery and interesting architecture/cute villages, or unique neighborhoods of a city or area. While we prefer taking trains in Europe, I have driven in Europe before (and enjoyed it), so know what to expect for the most part; I avoid driving in large cities (but driving in Normandy, Provence, and rural Tuscany really required a car to enjoy fully the area), We prefer to stay centrally located, and get lodging accordingly so we can walk or bicycle most places, or take public transportation.

  1. Fly into Frankfurt, taking train to Bamberg, where we are staying 2 nights; have read from many (some on here) that it is a cute, and not overly touristy town. Have read and seen a bit about the lovely scenery in the area driving around, and would love to see other cute towns on our way to Rothenburg.
  2. Rothenburg ODT (2 nights) - staying at Romantik Hotel Markstrum, near city gate (has parking close by). Have never been, looks like a fun cute, if touristy, stop. Not worried as much about parking now; am more interested in what is worthwhile diversions driving to/from Rothenburg.....
  3. Heidelberg (3 nights) - This is more for personal reasons, as my late father was stationed here during the Korean War, and he spoke about its beauty and charm. Will be doing some exploring of the area, to get a feel for it. Staying right along the river, near the castle.
  4. Strasbourg (3 nights) - Don't have much planned, may do a day trip to Colmar, otherwise just explore the city. Staying in the heart of old town. I know this is a bit of a detour, but my wife REALLY wants to visit this area...
  5. Zermatt (3 nights) - We know it is touristy, but don't mind...mainly want to see another alpine region besides Murren.
  6. Murren (4 nights) - our favorite place in Europe. Lots to do and see here even a 2nd time!
  7. Zurich (3 nights) - We are flying out of here, and thought it would be fun to explore a more urban side of Switzerland, as we have not visited here before. Staying right near old town on the lake....

Thanks for any additional insights you can provide.
Wade

Posted by
174 posts

Getting to Rothenburg by train can be a bit time consuming with several transfers. However, I have done this several times, once as a novice train traveler. The bahn.de website will give you all the details. I would imagine that the car rental will be a bit expensive, but may be worth it for this situation. I don't know about cost of car rental in Rothenburg, but I would be surprised if it costs anything, especially if you are staying in the village.

Posted by
824 posts

I personally think parking inside the walls can be a hassle except for hotels right next to the gates. Tourist lot parking vignettes (outside the walls) can be purchased from the hotel you are staying in. Or, you can choose a hotel outside the walls where private parking is available. I've never heard of problems parking in the tourist lots overnight but I would use common sense and not leave any personally belongings visible.

As an alternative, if you have a car, you could stay in one of the other nearby towns such as Dinkelsbuhl and day trip to Rothenburg.

Posted by
6628 posts

Rothenburg is a notoriously bad location for outings by train - or for just getting out of if you are heading west. By recommending Rothenburg so heavily for overnight stops, I think Rick puts his "train people" in an inconvenient bind.

"...opinions regarding our Bamberg->Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber->Heidelberg segment."

Hard to provide an opinion without further details.

If this is a "cute villages" tour, I sorta think Bamberg (pop. 75,000+) and Heidelberg (pop. 120,000+) don't actually qualify. Not that they are bad places necessarily. I assume your plan is to stay one or more nights in each of these three places? Do you have reservations already? What time of year will it be? What's your destination in Switzerland (or at least after Heidelberg?)

There are cute towns all over the place, not just on the Romantic Road and in between the places you name and on the Romantic Road, but to the south as well.

If you want to drive, I'm sure you can - people do it. Not sure what arrangements Rothenburg innkeepers might have or not have for their driving guests. You might look into Iphofen, Bad Windsheim and Marktbreit as place to "hit"on the way from Bamberg. It would be a shame not to devote some serious time to the Franconian Open Air Museum in B.W.

I'm guessing that you are somewhat married (engaged?) to the town sequence (and the overnight stops?) you named. If not, and if you actually prefer to use the trains, there are some good alternative options for visiting and staying in old-world towns, places that might take you on a tighter course toward Switzerland (your plan seems a bit of a detour.)

Places to the south of your sequence on the "German half-timbered house route" on the way to Switzerland

Posted by
27 posts

We have stayed at Hotel BurgGartenpalais twice. June 2013 and again for the Christmas market in 2018. Both times the hotel had parking available in the private parking behind the hotel. (free) Driving inside the wall is quite the adventure all on its own. For Christmas we were lucky enough to have a very kind local get in our car and take us the "back" way to our hotel.
Check to see if where you are staying has any parking options.

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