what should I cut back on Rothenberg or Salzburg?

Both Salzburg and (especially) Rothenburg ob der Tauber have reputations for being super touristy. I hate that. And I was surprised that I actually liked both towns, more than expected. Rothenburg ODT was one of the highlights of Germany for me (probably helped that I was there in early April, off season, so not very crowded). I had one night there which was plenty. There were more people there during the day even in April, so I'd guess it's much more pleasant at night there after the day trippers have gone, if you are going closer to high season.

I had one night in Nuremberg. I had it on my agenda at all only to see the Nazi stuff - which I found disappointing. Some people rave over Nuremberg itself, but I didn't exactly fall in love with it. This is a place I wouldn't have minded skipping entirely.

Bamberg was on my list but I didn't get there.

I visited Salzburg on another trip. Two nights there was enough for me, though I did like it as I say. Lovely town. I had a stop in Hallstatt on my agenda too but it was supposed to be a detour between Salzburg and Graz. The weather looked iffy, so I didn't bother with what would have been a complicated train/bus detour just to maybe see the place in the rain...

Not sure if that helps, but those are my impressions of some of these places!

Let's break your days down a little further... here's my suggestion.

Night #1: Augsburg

Day #2, NIght #2: Travel to Rothenburg, stow bags in a station locker, visit for half a day or a full day if you find it worthwhile. Proceed in the p.m. to Nuremberg for the night (typically akes about 1.3 hrs.) A room near the station would be handiest...

Day #3, Night #3: Day trip as planned to Bamberg. Evening and overnight in Nuremberg.

Day #4: Full sightseeing day in Nuremberg. Travel to Salzburg in the evening (Sample schedule 17:57 - 21:00.)

That should leave you 3 nights in Salzburg.

If you are not going to be in Rothenburg for the Nightwatchman tour, don’t bother. The town is adorable and quite nice to walk around. It has a few great museums and the wooden altar, but the highlight is the night tour.

@Barbara yes I wanted to do night watchman tour that's why I was going to stay the night. How late is it? COuld we do that then get a train back to Nuremberg?

The last regional train connection from Rothenburg to Nuremberg is at 10:06 pm and takes 1 3/4 hours. The Nightwatchman Tour starts at 8 pm and lasts approximately 1 hour, so it can be done.

Trains typically leave Rothenburg a few minutes after 10 pm and again at 11 for Nuremberg. Whether the Nightwatchman tour is worth a whole lot of time in Rothenburg or staying longer - or overnight - is very subjective. The tour is friendly and informal. I found it mildly entertaining but also a little canned and hokey. You can watch a bit of it on YouTube to decide if it's for you and worth the trouble.

For us sightseeing is done on foot. Checking into rooms and traveling by train is lost time. You have several nice stops but trying to visit too many places (nights and day trips) could take some of the pleasure out of the trip. That might just be me.

While you are in Augsburg for Oktoberfest, the Gold Rooms at the City Hall and the Fuggerei were unique experiences for us.

My suggestion would be to add at least one night in Salzburg, as it's a beautiful and historic city and there's lots to see in that area. Rothenburg tends to be very crowded in the daytime, with row-after-row of tour buses lining the parking lots. It's very picturesque but doesn't compare with the stunning beauty of Hallstatt and the Salzkammergut (IMHO). Berchtesdagen is also very scenic and has a few interesting historical sites (the Eagle's Nest) as well as a Salt Mine.

"If you are not going to be in Rothenburg for the Nightwatchman tour, don’t bother." - I would. I'd actually spend two day there, there's some nice walking to be had down in the valley. Spend an extra night in Augsburg before, straight to Salzburg after Rothenburg.

I have been to Rothenburg odT, Nuremberg, and Bamberg; all as day trips. While I agree that Rothenburg is almost over-the-top touristy, I do believe it is well worth a visit. Might I suggest you stick with two nights in Nuremberg and day trip to both Bamberg (<1 hour by car) and Rothenburg odT (<1.5 hour by car)? If Berchtesgaden is high on your list of places to see, you can always swing by for a visit on your way to Salzburg.

BTW - I believe this trip deserves a car - at least for the Franconia and Bavaria portions of the trip. Driving in Germany is easy, efficient and cost effective. Since you are planning many different locations, having a car will save a lot of time and add flexibility to your trip.

I preferred Rothenburg because the tourist area is compact and easily walkable. My impressions of Salzburg are probably colored by my husband's choice of a (free with points) hotel that was a long walk from the main tourist area. I do think the tourist areas inSalzburg are much more spread out than in Rothenburg.

Last summer on an 18 day trip to Germany and Austria the two most 'touristy/crowded' places were Rothenberg and Hallsltatt. We had scheduled an overnight in each so as to be there early morning/ evening when the tour bus groups were gone and we were very happy with that decision. I would not have wanted to just be there mid day in either of them. If I had to choose one it would be Rothenberg which had an incredible medieval feel to it, great walls, etc. Hallstatt is in a lovely setting but the town itself was not that special, plus it's more weather dependent and you can't guarantee no rain in either of them. We also had 3 nights in Nuremberg with day trips to Bamberg and to Regensberg and enjoyed all of them.

One possible way to squeeze it all in is after Augsburg go to Rothenberg getting there mid afternoon, spend the night and leave early the next morning for Nuremberg. Leave your bags (at either the train station or your hotel, which should be near the train station) and go on to Bamberg for the afternoon. Back in Nuremberg you'll have early evening and the next morning for a few hours to explore, then on to Salzburg. Thus cutting Nuremberg to one night (but not cutting out Bamberg) and giving three days in Salzburg.

Here's my trip report in which I mention the logistics and the hotels (I recommend all the ones we stayed in). Note Salzburg itself was not on this trip (had been there previously).
https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/blog/2018/11/bavaria-to-bratislava-and-back-in-three-weeks

I hate the "it's too touristy" excuse for skipping a wonderful place.

Rothenberg on the Tauber is not to be missed. Also, another Romantic Road town like Rothenberg is Dinkelsbuhl.

I saw a post indicating that the Sistine Chapel was too touristy. Geeze

We stayed in both Rothenburg as well as Salzburg for 3 nights each, and were very happy with that decision. We were there in mid-late September and while we read that Rothenburg was jam packed with tourists, that was not our experience at all, FWIW. The Night Watchman Tour was very good, but mostly we enjoyed walking around and checking out everything we could. Climb the tower, walk the walls, visit the crime museum, enjoy the market, etc.

If I had to I would skip Rothenburg.

There's more going on in the area of Salzburg to see than RodT, but that extra stuff is harder to access without a car. I do like Salzburg a lot, but my husband thinks it's a bit overrated. I think RodT is fine, I mean, it's really cool, but it's really out of the way for most itineraries and I hate seeing people travel long distances out of their way for it. And yet despite being allergic to mass tourism, I think the Nightwatchman's Tour is really great. It's less of a tour (you don't walk very far) as it is just some great storytelling, historically extremely accurate, with deadpan humor. As someone who may or may not be a tour guide, I was amazed that he managed to explain complicated subjects like the Holy Roman Empire in a matter of a minute while holding the attention of 150 people and still being funny. OK, actually, I hate him.

That said, if one comes to Germany and doesn't experience this tour, it's not the end of the world.

Bamberg is quite amazing yet I've heard people on here say they found it underwhelming. I also think Nuremberg is really impressive. I don't think you'll go wrong with any locale, but one of them is a geographic outlier on your trip (RodT).