Would love some feedback on our two week trip to Bavaria!

Not Germany, but nearby: Salzburg. I would spend your extra days there before heading to Rothenburg. We spent a week outside of Salzburg on our first trip to Europe. Spectacular scenery, beautiful mountains and lakes, castles everywhere. We drove the “Romantic Road” to Rothenburg and were disappointed. It was a let down after Austria.

First, note that Easter is April 20, 2025. Europe will be on holiday, so places are more crowded the week before and after. Avoid these dates if possible.
I'd also recommend spending more days in Salzburg, which I find magical.
Also, add another day to Rothenburg-
about this time one usually gets a bit tired, has a cold, needs to do laundry, etc. , and Rothenburg is the perfect place to slow down and sleep in. The mornings and evening are serene, especially in the Castle Gardens, one of my favorite places. And - you'll want do the Night Watchman's Tour.
It's easier to plan an itinerary by nights, not days. Is day one a flying day?
You could fly into Munich and out of Frankfurt, on an open jaw, multi-city ticket.
Have a great trip, enjoy planning, and come back with more questions.
Safe travels!

Another vote for Salzburg.

This is amazing feedback, thank you. We will definitely avoid Easter so this would put us in Early May. I think these are great insights and I’ve made a few changes.

Night 1-2 - arrive in Munich, enjoy the city, rent car
Night 3-6- stay around Berchtesgaden - visit Konigsee, salzburg, explore more of Austria
Night 7-10 - stay around Garmisch-Partenkirchen- see Zugspitze, Lake Eibsee, Linderhof, Neuschwanstein, Oberammergau, Garmisch Sommerrodelbahn;
Night 11- 12 stay in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, see Wurzburg or Bamberg if possible
Night 13 - 14 stay in Nuremberg or Lake chiemsee areas
Day 15 - flight home leaving from Munich

What time is your departure flight? These are usually before noon, so you should be in Munich the night before. Great to see how your plans are progressing!

Here's my $0.02 worth, based on a few years worth of time spent in the area.

Stay in Salzburg, visit Berchtesgaden. I like Boutiquehotel am Dom. There's more to do in the evenings, and especially if it's raining, which it can do April/May.

Stay in Mittenwald or Prien. You can easily visit G-P and the surrounding areas with a car. And this is when you should visit Chiemsee, not after going up into Frankonia.

Don't stay in Rothenburg, stay at Burg Colmburg (about 20 minutes away). https://burg-colmberg.de/

Don't just visit RodT, add this to your experience: https://freilandmuseum.de/topbar/sprachen/en

Wurzburg, Bamberg, Nuremberg, & Regensburg are places where you need to plan on 2-3 days each. You should pick one enroute to your return to Munich.

"We went to Switzerland this summer and loved the Alpine atmosphere, so I figured this would be a similar vibe, only more castles!"

Sounds like castles are a must-do, but which ones will you see? Note that Linderhof and Neuschwanstein are residential palaces built after the American Civil War - not castles.

Burg Colmberg, which KGC suggests, is a castle/hotel and might be a fun place for you to overnight.

Bamberg and Nuremberg, which KGC suggests, both have castles.

https://www.tourism.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Altenburg-Castle.jpg
https://www.meine-

https://www.meine-ferienregion.de/sites/default/files/styles/195x195/public/photos/nuernbergkaiserburg_shutterstock_1152165452_dan-race_kl.jpg?itok=K3dVtF_b

An outstanding castle option is Hohenwerfen, a short drive outside Salzburg:

https://www.salzburg-burgen.at/en/hohenwerfen-castle/

Burghausen is in Bavaria, near the Austrian border:

https://www.visit-burghausen.com/en

Wurzburg, Bamberg, Nuremberg, & Regensburg are places where you need
to plan on 2-3 days each. You should pick one enroute to your return
to Munich.

KGC has pointed you toward a solidly-wonderful part of Bavaria that deserves more time than just a drive-through. Right now your plan dedicates half your time to the German Alps. I suggest you cut your German Alps time in half and spend it in the Bamberg/Nuremberg area instead. Stay in Salzburg, do your B'gaden/Koenigssee day trip and take another day trip to Hohenwerfen...but drop G-P, etc, where you will be underwhelmed after your Swiss Alps experience.

AND you should consider extra time for KGC's other excellent suggestion too... the Freilandmuseum in Bad Windsheim lies roughly in between Rothenburg and Nuremberg:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g198421-d284746-Reviews-Frankonian_Open_Air_Museum-Bad_Windsheim_Middle_Franconia_Franconia_Bavaria.html

The German Castle Road, one of Germany's best-known driving tours, passes through this area:

https://www.burgenstrasse.de/upmedia/Uebersichtskarte_Burgenstra%C3%9Fe-und-Europa.jpg

All good suggestions. So much depends on your specific needs. If you go to Werfen as Russ suggests ( I love it too ) go to the Eisreisenwelt Ice Cave. It will be open after May 1. I have never been to the castle there only seeing it from afar - very scenic. You are probably too young to have seen the movie Where Eagles Dare ( Clint Eastwood, Richard Burton ) when it was in theaters, but maybe on tv. The Wefen castle was the one in the movie.

Since you have a car I think staying at Castle Colmburg would be fun. Otherwise I love staying in Rothenburg

This feedback is amazing. I need to process this and evaluate a little. We haven’t booked flights yet so everything is really flexible.

The current outline of the trip is this : Munich for two nights, then over the remaining 12-14 nights we are split between Berchtesgaden area (maybe even Austria), then Prien or Mittenwald area, on to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, and then final leg of the trip would be to check out some castles, stay in Bamberg or Nuremberg or Würzburg. Last night back to Munich for our flight the next morning, depending the our departure flight.

All you advice is so helpful, I keep changing my mind every hour lol

Just to add, we might switch the Rothenburg leg with Burg Colmberg and just do a day trip to Rothenburg. Again THANK YOU. I will def post updates or questions

I think Garmisch and Berchtesgaden, while different, offer a very similar vibe. So, for the sake of avoiding time wasted moving around, I might choose one or the other. Since you have a car, I would lean toward a smaller place in the Berchtesgadener area. That gives you access to Berchtesgaden, Königsee, Salzburg (with its castle), and day hikes such as Wimbachklamm. We loved our stay at hotel Nutzkaser in Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden (there are 2 Ramsaus). Great setting, great dining room, cute rooms, family run with care.

We lived in Augsburg for four years and have visited all the places you mentioned more than once.

1) I like your plan and suggest you stick to it.
2) Salzburg is wonderful and consider taking a Sound of Music Tour, visit the castle, cathedral and Mozart's house.
3) Garmish is great, consider staying at the Fraundorfer guesthouse. Do see the Zugspitze.
4) On you way to Rothenburg, consider spending a fee hours at downtown Augsburg (very historic city over 2000 years old).
5) The Romantic Road is worth taking, be sure to stop at Dinkelsbühl and Nördlingen, https://www.romanticroadgermany.com
Dinkelsbuhl is like Rothenburg a medieval walled city, without most of the tourists.