Trip to Germany-Frankfurt, Augsburg, Munich, Berlin

I assume you'll be a month in country? My list of places to see in Munich alone would take weeks.

I wish! It will be a whirlwind trip of about 10-12 days. Can't afford more bc of lodging, etc.

Based on this post and your other previous post, it looks like flight and ground travel costs are a concern. (You are not alone.)

"I guess it may not really matter with way we go first?"

"I'm thinking of getting a German Rail pass so we can do these trips for a more reasonable price."

Like you, I have a fairly snug travel budget. So I would say that whatever your final destinations, you need to do some hotel cost homework to conserve your €s. These costs are not static. You do not want to end up in Munich after September 20, for example, when Oktoberfest pushes rates into outer space - or when Munich is hosting a trade fair, when the same thing happens. It would be smart to plan your route around these lower prices, don't you think?

And for those destinations, rail costs will be higher if you are locked into FRA as your in-and-out airport. In addition to your Berlin.....Augsburg + Füssen travel days, you will need to add a rail pass day for the long journey to Berlin as well a rail pass day for the trip back to FRA, right? I'm counting about 7 train trips on 7 different days. Are there two of you? Were you considering the the 2nd class GRP twin pass flexi that comes in at around $470 for two? That's probably the cheapest option but still not really cheap. The more you travel, the more you pay (yes, even with a rail pass) and considering your time considerations you'll be on the train quite a bit with this plan.

"If you have must see, must do in any of these places, please share!"

This invitation for input makes me think you are not yet sure what you want to see and do in these places you have lined up. And if that's true, well, there's nothing wrong with not being sure, but I will suggest that you figure out your interests in Germany very clearly BEFORE you set up a bunch of rail trips that will usurp your time and your €s and take you to places that may or may not be of interest to you.

One good cost-saving strategy is to stick closer to your airport city, Frankfurt. You do NOT have to travel far from there to find a castle (N'stein isn't the only one - in fact it's not even a real castle) or most of the other things you'll see with your first plan. WW II history, great cathedrals, concentration camps, castles, beer gardens, walled towns with old-world architecture, interesting museums, and great scenery can all be found within a reasonable travel radius of Frankfurt.

Besides Frankfurt itself, you might include the Mosel River Valley (Trier, Cochem, Burg Eltz Castle, etc.) and the Rhine (Cologne, Rheinfels Castle, Bacharach and other old-world wine towns) as well as cities like Mainz, Worms, Heidelberg and Speyer. You can get around to most of these places inexpensively on local day passes purchased as you go. You might scratch the surface in this region with 10 days. Spend a final night in Mainz or Frankfurt, and you are only minutes from FRA airport for your flight out the next morning.

Another reasonable option might be to spend half your time in the Frankfurt area (seeing less there of course) and the other half either in Bavaria, or in Northern Germany.

To further control lodging costs, consider spending some time in smaller towns, and stay in one B&B or apartment for several nights at a time. You'll often get a price break that way. As an example... this B&B/winery in Cochem (not far from Burg Eltz) has doubles with breakfast buffet for €56/night with a 4-night stay. If you choose your base town well, you can do outings from there to other places on those day passes (typically €25 - 30 per day per couple or small group.)

Its false economy to fly in/out of Frankfurt, when its going to cost you two days of your too short trip to get to and from your real destinations. And you are also assuming that a German Rail Pass will be cost-effective over point-to-point advance purchase tickets.

If you are concerned with costs, then estimate the total costs (air, land transportation & lodging) for a trip starting in Frankfurt, Berlin & Munich. All these costs vary by date. You might be able to fly, rather than rail, cheaper and quicker on some of the routes. As stated above, you have such limited time, it may be worth the extra cost to gain a couple of extra days.

Important to know about costs: September is the month of events with highest costs for accomocation in Berlin (IFA, marathon, ...), Munich (Oktoberfest) and Frankfurt (several fairs).

Minimum days: Normally for Berlin plan 5 full days plus optionally 1 for Potsdam and 1 for Sachsenhausen, 3-4 full days for Munich alone.

Travel by train, using saver fares of Deutsche Bahn (book early).

I agree that Frankfurt will cost you just travel time and additional money in Germany - therefore do not compare flight prices only.

Thanks for the helpful input. I’m aware of Oktoberfest the end of Sept. So I’ve been looking at the first two weeks. Augsburg is not optional. I grew up going there (my mom is from there) and therefore it is #1 on my list. I have been around Germany, too, when I went on a college trip. I’m bringing my husband this time so I felt like Munich was to be added since so close to Augsburg. Wittenberg is close to Berlin and has history we care about (reformation).

I haven’t plotted out the train yet but was looking to buy the pass for 4 days. Maybe it wouldn’t be worth it. I haven’t gotten that far in my planning. Munich and Berlin do not have flight tickets in my price range right now except for Norwegian and I’m not really wanting too fly with them. We like the idea of a Frankfurt and taking the train to see things.

We know it will be tight but I only care about 3-4 days in Augsburg. The other places are fine if only a day or two. It’s what we can do for now.

I'd like to emphasize what others have said: Even in Berlin and Frankfurt, accomodation can be surprisingly cheap when there is no major event going on (I have spent nights in hotels in Frankfurt for around 40 Euros - the room was basic, but the hotel was in a central location).

"We know it will be tight but I only care about 3-4 days in Augsburg. The other places are fine if only a day or two. It’s what we can do for now."

OK. It's helpful to hear more about your priorities.

I'm pretty sure that the consensus on Berlin here will be that "a day or two" is not sensible. It's a place to do for later, I think.

"We like the idea of a Frankfurt and taking the train to see things." I assume you mean a STAY IN Frankfurt or thereabouts with day trips by train. Perhaps. It depends on your priorities. For seeing Frankfurt, Mainz, Büdingen, and other places close by, that would work. But the Mosel and much of the Rhine as well are not all that close to Frankfurt proper, which will again mean too many hours on the train for a worthwhile day trip; you may want to stay in those areas instead. Staying in Mainz (about 20-25 minutes from the airport) would actually put you closer to some of those places I mentioned AND Frankfurt proper.

Augsburg has a Luther component.

Nuremberg (to the north) does too and is otherwise a very fine place. I would definitely look into a Nuremberg visit. You have to change trains there anyway if you travel between Augsburg and Wittenberg.

Let's say you have 11 nights total. Below is a rushed but semi-doable itinerary template that you can play with. You'd have 11 nights in four places; the fewer changes of hotel, the better for your time frame. You can likely stay cheaply if you start your room hunt soon (but do be wary of non-refundable options.) You'd have 3 long-distance train rides for which the GRP will be helpful - so a 3-4 day GR pass, if you can swing it, would be in order - and especially helpful on Day 1 since a late flight means you can board a train to Augsburg at any hour with the GRP. Use local transport tickets and passes for the other travel days and day trips.

• Arrive FRA; take train that day (3 hrs. on ICE, GRP day #1) to Augsburg for 4 nights. Do one day trip into Munich during your stay.

• Train to Nuremberg for 2 nights (1.25 - 2 hrs. by regional train; use Bayern Ticket day pass to and within Nuremberg, where it's valid on the subway, buses and trams as well.)

• Train to Wittenberg for 2 nights (4 hrs. by ICE train, GRP day #2.) We found the Hotel Acron comfortable, ireasonably priced, and conveniently located; nice breakfast.

• Train to Mainz (or perhaps Frankfurt) for 3 nights (nearly 5 hours, GRP day #3) but on the way, break up your ride with a visit to Erfurt (where Luther spent 10 years.) Stow bags in a station locker while you tour the town. Arrive in Mainz in the evening. Then you have 2 days/nights either to see Mainz or to day trip to whatever places I listed on/near the Rhine that you found interesting. Consider the Königshof, across from Mainz' main station. Then board a direct train from Mainz to FRA on departure day.

Now, you can do some fine-tuning and make some changes as you see fit... for example, if there are a couple of things you absolutely positively must see/do in Berlin on this trip, then a day trip there from Wittenberg would be possible - so perhaps you add a night in Wittenberg and subtract a day from Nuremberg, Augsburg or Mainz (Frankfurt.)

Hi,

I can understand flying in/out of FRA, I do that myself from SFO.

Your itinerary can done with Berlin too, logistically easy with a bit of tailoring your train route but it depends on the dep time of the flight out of Frankfurt. If it's in the afternoon, say after 12 noon or after, you're in business.

If you do get the rail Pass, save the last travel day leaving from Berlin, the night train to Offenburg, which arrives close to 6 am, At that point I have breakfast, either in the station, since the eateries start pening up at 5 am or walk over to a hotel which serves breakfast at 0630. These are close to the station, or across the street, etc.

After finishing then take the ICE train to Frankfurt Hbf. Your rail is valid for that Offenburg-Frankfurt leg since you arrived after 4 am.

Arriving on the night train a few minutes prior to 6 am is fine, even better in the summer and early Sept.

You have ca 1.5 hrs before catching the ICE to Frankfurt, which gets you in by 0930 or so.... time-wise, logistically, easily done, I would have absolutely no problems taking this night option and then catching the second leg.

Both Augsburg and Lutherstadt Wittenberg can be seen as day trips, from Munich and Berlin respectively, unless you intend to spend more time in each. The first stop on the ICE from Berlin Hbf going south is Wittenberg before proceeding to Leipzig.

As for "must sees" in Berlin, that amounts to numerous places, depending on your interests and the depth of these interests. Lots of places I could recommend seeing in Berlin.