Two weeks in Germany help

Munich is not near Rothenberg, any more than it's near Fussen, and those two places are in opposite directions. if you must see Rothenberg, fly into Nuremberg or Frankfurt.

Not knowing how much time you have I'll just say that, at a minimum, you should plan on a week from Munich to Fussen, to Basel.

Rothenburg is only a 3 hour drive from Munich. They are not that far apart. You might look at a Michelin Green Guide to check for sights en route. There are several great places to stop and stay along the way. I am a fan of Rothenburg and the area between Munich and Rothenburg.

I assume that your son is not a minor as Viking does not allow minors on its cruises. My wife likes Viking Cruises for the 1 or more guided tours each day. I am not that much into non-stop guided tours. I like to go out on my own. The Basel to Amsterdam cruise often did not stop close enough to some main attractions to allow me to easily visit the locations on my own.

I love train trips to Germany as the train stations are right in the towns with no parking issues. It takes more independent planning than a cruise.

For us there were better connections from Amsterdam than either Frankfurt or Munich. No reason to travel through the same airport.

Thank you for great feedback and tips. My son is 25. We thought river cruise would save time because we don’t have to spend days driving. We were not hitting Berlin this time because I felt it deserves several days on its own and we would have only a week to roam if we take the Rhine cruise.

Do you think it would be better to just roam on a train or drive?

Another question- how reasonable is it to travel without booking hotels in advance? May be booking a day or two in advance. Too much of a risk?

You can save huge amounts of money by not going with Viking. Plenty of other good quality river cruise lines that don’t cost as much but have similar itineraries and ships. Look at European based lines such as Nicko cruises or Gate 1.

Thanks for more tips! Some great new info. Will check these out.

River cruises tend to attract an older crowd. If I was 25, it is not the way I would want to see Europe.

You can do a river cruise for a few hours on the Rhine. Cheaper and probably the same sights.

As a former 25 year old, doing a Viking river cruise would not be on my itinerary. I'd rather go by train.

When in September? Is Oktoberfest on your radar? Or would you be interested in what locals consider a warm-up Oktoberfest (the Volksfest Freising)?

We would be there first week to around the 21st-we won’t be there for Oktoberfest but the warm up ;)