Trip to Germany/parisfrom 20th March to 27th march

Plan seems very rushed through. Check balance of travel vs experience time. In Europe less destinations can be much better experience.

Check train connections with DB journey planner: https://int.bahn.de/en

A car does not help in Munich - renting when leaving makes sense. Largest ones are Sixt, Avis, Europcar, Hertz.

• Avoid cross-border rentals (return in other country). very expensive.
• You need driving permission for Germany: check validity of your driving license(s) and likely care for IDP if necessary. Same for other countries you want to drive in.
• Rent winter tires
• Rent children seat
• Care for navigation
• Be sure that driving in other countries is allowed in contract
• Make yourself familiar with German traffic rules

Temperatures cannot be forecasted now. 3-4 days ahead is reliable - not more. Check ranges in modern climate table of Freiburg.

Hi Mark..thanks for your quick response. Could you please help me on changes that are required to travel hassle free with public transport. Iam ok to skip Paris and limit trip between Germany and Amsterdam covering one Salzburg

I am sure the forum can help.

Questions from my side:

• You will fly out of AMS I guess?
• What was your wish to see or experience behind destination Black Forest?

Just to mention it: there is a night train (NJ468) between Munich and Paris and also one between Munich and Amsterdam. Not sure if it is a travel format for you and family.

..plg to travel Paris on 26th from Freiburg...

...else would like to continue one more day in Black Forest and then to cologne till 27th and plg to travel Amsterdam on 28th morning
and 3 days Amsterdam.

"else" seems like the wrong word here. Are you saying...

"...or if I don't go to Paris on the 26th, I would like to continue one more day...." ??? I think maybe that's your idea...

Right now you plan to travel on the 24th to Freiburg, correct? Since the weather probably won't work for outdoor activities in the Black Forest, as you pointed out yourself, then maybe it's a bad idea for you to go there at all.

So here is my suggestion for GERMANY, with AMSTERDAM at the end; the train trips are all DIRECT (no changes needed.)

24th:
- Half day in Munich, as you planned.
- Travel by train to NUREMBERG for 3 nights (24th, 25th, 26th.) This trip is direct and only 1 hour by high-speed train. Stay in a hotel near the train station.

25th:
- Nuremberg has a castle, a beautiful old-town zone, and MANY museums that might interest you. You can walk this town on foot as it's very compact. Spend the day there.

https://img.fotocommunity.com/altstadt-nuernberg-efa800b3-84be-4b9a-b839-87ca97e73790.jpg?height=1080
https://wikitravel.org/upload/shared/8/8d/Nuremberg_Altstadt.png
https://tourismus.nuernberg.de/en/discover/museums/
https://quartiere-nuernberg.de/en/quartiere/craftsmens-courtyard

26th: See more of Nuremberg. Or take a day trip to one of several nice places near Nuremberg:

• BAMBERG is a wonderful town with UNESCO World Heritage status. Less than one hour by direct train
• ROTHENBURG is about 1.5 hours away with two changes of train.

(Other possible day trips from a Nuremberg base: Regensburg, Bayreuth, Würzburg)

Like Nuremberg, these towns are also walkable. No car is needed.

27th: Travel to Cologne by direct train from Nuremberg at 8:58 or 9:57. Each trip takes only 3.25 hours.

Please tell us if you have been to Europe before, and whether you have rented a car in Europe before. Do you expect to ever set foot in Europe again? Is this trip connected with any business travel? Are you going to Salzburg by train or car?

I liked Freiburg fine, but why are you hiking all the way over there, for three days, when the Black Forest is too wintry to visit? What is the value of half a day to see Munich? Why does a frosty Black Forest get 2.5 days? Were you seriously planning to go all the way from Freiburg to Paris for 23 1/2 hours in Paris? (I understand that you have agreed to drop Paris.)

You need to use Google Maps to list the distance between each of the jumps you plan to make, and think about how long it will take from exiting your old hotel room to entering your hotel room at the next place. Don't forget time for finding public transit in the new city, and showing three passports at the hotel desk, and going back downstairs to ask for a bigger room or a cot for the child. You could also look up March temperatures in each destination; there are plenty of weather and climate websites. You need to consider that Zugspitze may be fogged or snowed-in on the day you go there.

It strikes me that Cologne is a much nicer place for a family to spend a few cold-weather nights than Freiburg. How about Munich-Rothenberg ob der Tauber-Cologne-Amsterdam. Note that Amsterdam has many possible daytrips-did you allow for that?

It is unlikely that any of your hotels have parking garages of their own.

I had been to paris, swiss and italy and always used public transport to roam around. we want to visit again to cover effiel tower and disney as my daughter was small during our last visit. I included paris as i see 3hr direct train journey from freiberg to paris. I am ok to skip paris and open to change my trip route covering amsterdam as exist point and I have hotel booking from 28th to 31st (night 9PM flight). I will land in munich on 20 evening and have hotel booking till 23rd.
Munich to freiberg journey is not decided either by car or train. this would be my first driving experience in germany in case road trip is opted. 24th and 25th Our plan in black forest is to cover Ravenna bridge, Triberg, triberg Waterfalls, Lake Titisee, Freiberg town in black forest for the two days I have planned (Have hotel booking from 23rd to 26th free cancellation).
Please suggest.

Don’t do Neuschwanstein as a day trip from Munich and then the next day get a car and drive to the Black Forest. Get the car, drive to Neuschwanstein and then the next day drive from Fussen to the Black Forest. You might see if you can return the car in Offenburg and take the train to Strasbourg and onward to Paris