Where to go after Munich?

I would stay much closer to Munich (in terms of travel time) instead of considering Colmar.
Just a few ideas:

• Romantic Route
  
• German Alpine Road rental car trip
• Bamberg with UNESCO world heritage old town and smoked beer
• Erfurt
• Rheingau and Mid Rhine valley

Just a personal opinion on top: With that choice you will have seen only a small part of cultural Germany which I would call "Bavarian filter" (except Erfurt and Rhine valley). I apologize to Franconian readers :-)

Respecting but little bit ignoring your wish to limit your travel time I like to highlight a main event in northern Hamburg, the port anniversary, May 10-12 2019. Visiting Hamburg will give you a total different perspective on Germany - like visiting a different country and we have much more regions with very own tastes.

I wish you a good choice and journey.

"We plan on spending 5 nights in Munich to give us time to explore the city and take a few day trips to Donau, Salzburg or Innsbruck..."

Donau isn't a town/city but a river - the Danube.

"We love to hike and spend time in nature... don't know if we should stick closer to Munich or not."

Nothing wrong with spending some time on the Danube. There are different spots that might interest you.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g1486548-d10815730-Reviews-Naturpark_Oberes_Donautal-Beuron_Baden_Wurttemberg.html

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g198488-Activities-Kelheim_Lower_Bavaria_Bavaria.html

(You could visit Kelheim on the way from Munich to Regensburg - a great old-world town with UNESCO World Heritage status and a good place to spend a night or two.)

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1155

I don't see Salzburg or Innsbruck as particularly good day trips from Munich. Too far to travel, leaving you too little time. If you go to Salzburg I'd stay there or nearby - possibly in Berchtesgaden or in the Werfen area if you want more nature.

Berchtesgaden: http://www.berchtesgadener-land.com/cdn/uploads/watzmann-lockstein.jpg
Werfen, Hohenwerfen Castle: http://www.markmarissink.com/wp-content/gallery/hohenwerfen/DSCF0697.jpg

I would look into settling in to one area or both for a few days. Mittenwald and Garmisch-Partenkirchen are good places/bases for visitors interested in a day trip to Innsbruck.

Mittenwald:
http://requisitosparavisa.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/mittenwald_-3.jpg
https://hastingshouse.typepad.com/hastings_house_us/travel_in_europe/
G-P:
https://www.gapa.de/en/Ort-Umgebung_en/Attractions

Colmar: extremely touristy, too far, not that much pay-off for the long journey, IMHO.

Day trips from Munich might include Landsberg... (see photos)
https://www.stadtbild-deutschland.org/forum/index.php?thread/1974-landsberg-am-lech-galerie/&s=6e79b9eda06463181212c2eb7bd6db508d93a931

...or Landshut...
https://st.focusedcollection.com/14026668/i/1800/focused_178154806-Aerial-view-landshut-trausnitz-castle.jpg
http://www.landshut.de/en/portal/tourism/see-wonder-experience/sightseeing.html

Since you are flying out of MUC consider staying in FREISING at the end of your visit instead of Munich - it's a nice town worth visiting even if it were not just a couple of miles from the airport:

https://www.bavaria.by/visit/freising/

Russ has given great advice. I would split the time between Munich and Salzburg: 2-3 nights in Munich, 5 nights near Salzburg, 1-2 nights near Munich. From the Salzburg area you can see Berchtesgaden, Werfen and Hallstatt easily either by car, bus or train. Keep in mind that if you rent a car, you’ll probably need 2 cars for six people plus luggage. Minivans are not common or cheap.

Wondering about your belief that only southern Germany offers any kind of scenic nature? Just because Rick has ignored most of Germany, other than Bavaria and a few random other spots, doesn't mean the country is lacking in beauty anywhere else. He just doesn't go anyplace new very often.
The Rhine Gorge offers tons of ancient castles, there are mountain ranges and huge forests all over Germany, not just in the south. The Harz mountains, Odenwald, Taunus mountains, the Limes are just a few to choose from.

I suggest 4 nights in Munich, as there are plenty of sights to see there.
Then go over to Salzburg for a couple of nights and down into the Alps around Innsbruck.
Many like to see Garmisch and back around to Fuessen to see Neuschwanstein. I have yet to hit the Andechs beer hall--one of the great ones--southwest of Munich.
Like was said, traveling with 6 people is a little difficult, but vans are available for rent. The roads are very good, and easily driven in the southern loop around Bavaria and Western Tirol (Austria.)
One of my favorite things is to get up on the mountainside above Innsbruck and drive from village to village. Every little village has a bar/restaurant to visit.

I would spend no more than 2 nights in Munich and then drive to
tuebingen for two or three nights. Go via the upper Danube west of Sigmaringen. You may want to visit the castle there that is a ‘sister castle’ of Hohenzollern. Tuebingen is a good spot to visit Hohenzollern from. From there you can go to Bad Urach and hike to the waterfall, voted the best hike in Germany.

I enjoy staying in the Black Forest. I enjoy Gengenbach - stayed a week last time. I’ve also stayed in Titisee-Neustadt ( the Neustadt part is not touristy like Titisee ). Hikes near there are (1) around Titisee and (2) Wutach Gorge.

I like Colmar and could be done as a day trip ( as I did from Gengenbach ) or as an overnight. If you go, be sure to visit the Unterlinden Museum, even if you aren’t a fan of religious art.

For beer drinking, try the local beers in each location you visit.

Look into Garmisch Paretenkirchen. It's just a couple hours by train from Munich. There's lots to do there, hiking, Zugspitze, the Olympic ski jump etc. We spent 3 nights there and could have easily spent a couple more.

Also, depending on how early your flight lands in Munich, consider going straight to your destination outside of Munich, then you can end in Munich for easy access to the airport for your flight home. That's what we did and were in Salzburg by 3pm the day we landed.

I agree with spending time between Munich and Salzburg and using extra time for any day trips. There is a lot to beautiful Salzburg and in my opinion, one day would not be enough.

You guys have given me some AMAZING advice!

First, we might change our 5 nights to 4 nights in Munich but we have already booked a place to stay because we have had bad luck waiting and found a great place. We recently went to Ireland and spend 9 days traveling between 5 cities and wished we had more time in a few so that's why we chose one base for so long. I should have come here first!

I'm sure ALL of Germany is amazing, so I hope I didn't offend anybody by suggesting we'd like to say south for nature, but I've read through a lot of advice both on here and other places and many people said northern Germany is a little more modern and city, and for us particularly, that sounds like a whole separate trip. I wish we could go for the month and see it all, but the United States is stingy on vacation so even 10 days feels like I'm spoiling myself :)

I am officially crossing Colmar off my list and will visit one day when I'm exploring France. Thanks for the tips on that! I got swept away in the charm presented online so I'm so glad to get some actual perspective.

I made a mistake and meant a day trip to Dachau, not Danube, but with all of that great info Russ I will look into it.

I’m going to look into Mittenwald as Ive read about it a lot. Know we’d love to see some of the alps and spend some time in Innsbruck as well.

Russ, and everybody, thanks for your advice!

I’m going to get on my research see you gave me so many great tip and will let you guys know where we end up.

"...ALL of Germany is amazing." So very true, up north, the eastern part as well as south. Lots of lovely, interesting places in North Germany and eastern Germany for culture, history, and landscape.

"...many people said northern Germany is a little more modern and city..."

True if you visit cities - but it's really no different in the cities of Southern Germany (like Stuttgart, Munich, Mannheim, Nuremberg and others, which were bombed to rubble and later rebuilt.) Northern Germany is in fact stuffed with smaller charming places that weren't so bomb-worthy, places where the past is well preserved. A few examples for that next trip of yours...

Hannoversch Münden
Goslar
Northern Half-Timbered House Route

Many think of Rothenburg (southern Germany) as preciously well-preserved, but that's only a half-truth. 40% of it was hammered hard in WW II and later rebuilt:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rothenburg_ob_der_Tauber_Bomben_Zerst%C3%B6rung_Weltkrieg_1945.jpg

Sometimes the generalizations that you hear from friends who travel, or that you read in guidebooks and travel articles, are more gossip than fact.

Go up the Romantic Road, it is amazing. I lived in Augsburg, Germany, on the road and found so much to see there. Many of the small towns and cities, like Rothenberg on the Tauber, Dinkelsbuhel, Douanwurth, and more are gems that were not damaged in WWII or not damages very much.

northern Germany is a little more modern and city

I lived close to Rendsburg for a few years and from my perspective this is not valid for overall region, a more detailed view allows exploring pearls off the beaten tourist paths.

On the other side for some reasons I agree: The northern regions had a lot of wars and violent conflicts in history (also "against" Sweden and Denmark incl. change of dominion). Coastal areas were also very strongly affected by diseases which were transported by ship traffic and trade.

Even if WWII is mentioned a lot (valid for Hamburg, parts of Lübeck, Kiel and some other places) some earlier events were hitting these regions much harder. Magdeburg is one of the hardest examples - it was completely destroyed in 1631 (30 years war). Still today "magdeburgisieren" is a seldom word for total deletion. Some regions lost at that time 70% of their population.

Several changes of dominion also left their imprints. Still today a lot of villages in Schleswig area end up on "-by" which is Danish for a village or a small town. Close to Kiel you will find a beautiful cliff coast area called "Schwedeneck". In cities like Stralsund and Wismar visitors can still see the Scandinavian influences.

A lot to explore and for sure worth a second trip.

If you like to hike, I recommend going to Innsbruck (easy by train from Munich) and spend a couple nights there. The funicular leaves right from town and takes you to a couple levels up the mountain. We went about 1/2 way up, and had a wonderful hike that included stopping at a hut or two for food and/or drink. We spent a perfect day there.

The bombing of cities started by the British in 1942 hit targets in North Germany first, especially Kiel, Lübeck and Rostock, not mainly the rail yards, factories, port facilities and other deemed as legitimate war targets but civilian centers, ie the Altstadt, the Zentrum so as to render the population homeless to contribute breaking their morale. This was the purpose behind their concept of "area bombing."

Hamburg was the first of the big terror bombings. What the Germans had experienced prior to Hamburg in July 1943 paled in comparison wreaked upon them for three consecutive days and nights.

I had to change trains in Rendsburg on a day trip from Kiel to Schleswig this past May. If you want to see small towns in North Germany, this lovely Schleswig-Holstein region is well worth it, historically (very important) and also culturally.

This is an interesting discussion. I've heard that Hamburg is an amazing city to visit. I spent a day in Cologne and except for the cathedral I was underwhelmed. So much had been bombed and rebuilt in what I felt was a rather boring style. Perhaps, Hamburg did a better job rebuilding? I am anxious to go to that northern part of Germany close to Denmark. Schwerin and other places look so inviting. My husband family is from that area, too, and I would like to see the windmills they built that actually have the family name on them. For those that have traveled there, I'm assuming that the best time is probably May thru mid September?

"...an amazing city to visit." Hamburg is the cultural center of North Germany. My very first trip to Germany I included Hamburg in the itinerary.

This is an interesting discussion. I've heard that Hamburg is an
amazing city to visit. I spent a day in Cologne and except for the
cathedral I was underwhelmed. So much had been bombed and rebuilt in
what I felt was a rather boring style. Perhaps, Hamburg did a better
job rebuilding?

Not really, but Hamburg is much more pleasant because the city is richer. Hamburg feels posh and international.
The best preserved big cities of Germany are Munich and Leipzig. As a former capital of a kingdom Munich is touristically more attractive, whereas Leipzig is a former trading town without major highlights or extensive art collections (although the Grassi museum is quite nice). But it's a great place to live.

I am anxious to go to that northern part of Germany close to Denmark. Schwerin and other places look so inviting.

The Baltic coast is actually more popular among Germans than Bavaria, of course mostly because of the beaches, but also because the area offers a great mix of everything: sandy beaches, posh 19th century resorts, historic towns, some castles, old fishermens villages, beautiful nature etc..

For those that have traveled there, I'm assuming that the best time is
probably May thru mid September?

Yes, but July and August are awfully expensive and crowded, at least the seaside resorts.

@ jules...Those places in North Germany you are interested in seeing I've only seen them from May to August since these are the months I travel to Europe, except twice. I would say mid-May to early Sept would be the most pleasant time to visit this northern area.

My first trip to Germany in 1971 started in North Germany, arriving in Travemünde and focused on Germany from there down to Frankfurt. The last three trips I went back to Kiel and the Schleswig-Holstein area, the lower Elbe area and up to Flensburg too. Flensburg was one of the cities that escaped the war undamaged.

As pointed out above, just lots of places to visit, historically eg, Pinneberg, Friedrichsruh, Lüneburg, Schleswig, Eutin/Holstein, Laboe, and so on.

Thanks again for all of your feedback. I am already planning my next trip to northern Germany with all of your amazing suggestions!

I met with my travel group last night, and based on your feedback we have shortened our Munich stay from 5 to 3 nights (since we get in at dinner time on Friday so it really only leaves us Saturday and Sunday to explore the city.) Then we will then spend 3 nights in Salzburg. Turns out a few of my friends have a lot they want to see in the area so 3 nights makes the most sense for us.

We were a little stuck on where to go after Salzburg. I think because my husband is from Wurzburg and my friend has distant roots in the Wurttenburg general area, Innsbruck was overruled and they would like to head north of Munich. We were looking near Stuggart (I know that's a drive many of you said was a poor use in time but I was overruled) and ended up deciding to spend a few nights in the Black Forest near Engelsbrand. My friends wanted to stay outside of any city for our last few nights and this location allows that and the chance to visit some castles and such. We will rent a car halfway through our trip after Salzburg to get there.

Thanks again for all of your input! I've enjoyed reading through all the info and perspectives and am looking forward to multiple visits to Germany.

The problem of traveling with other people with wants and opinions!

The drive, at least on the autoroute, isn't particularly scenic once you're away from the Alps, but you could choose a more scenic route through the alps in Austria which would have the added benefit of going through Innsbruck, so you could stop for lunch. That adds about 2 hours to your trip.

Alternatively you could take the A8 through Germany and stop in Augsburg or Ulm.

if Hohenzollern is a must do, take the short A8 route and then I would try to do that on that same travel day, starting early from Salzburg. If you have the time/energy the cliffside town of Haigerloch in the Swabian "alps" near Hohenzollern is very cool. You'll be staying near Calw at the edge of the Black Forest, which is a charming town with some cool half-timbered buildings. Enjoy!

Thanks Sarah! I really appreciate your route suggestions. I want to see Innsbruck so badly so I will push for that route but I have a feeling my friends would prefer to see Hohenzollern so maybe we will take your suggestion on that. I think I just have to come back for a second visit. Either way, I really appreciate it! Thanks again!