Germany/Austria/Italy

What do you mean by "Bavaria". Bavaria is a state ( Land). Rothenburg is in Bavaria, Munich is in Bavaria, Füssen is in Bavaria. Salzburg is almost in Bavaria (just across the river from Freilassing, which is in Bavaria.

We hadn't decided where in Bavaria...yet...lot of options. Basically, we'll be in the "area". Any suggestions?

If you had more time, I would suggest your going down to Füssen to see the castles, but that's a fairly long drive and would make the drive the next day to Salzburg long, too. You wouldn't have much time at the castles Considering your tight schedule, I would suggest just going to Munich. There is more than enough to see there. If you didn't spend too much time in Munich in the morning, you might have time for Herrenchiemsee on the way to Salzburg. You could also consider Nürnburg or Regensburg, which would shorten the drive and give you more time to see.

We are in midst of planning a trip involving three countries and have found that it is difficult, if not impossible, to pick up a car in one country and drop in another. This, alone, changed our plans and routes. You really need to look at picking up and dropping off a car in the same country. I would look at options to fly from Munich or Salzburg into Florence or Milan and then take the train after that throughout Italy. Plus, you're only allowing about 1.5 days each in Florence, Cinque Terra, and Rome. All the travel and connections might be exhausting. I'm sure there are more well traveled folks than I to give you advice and details.

I really appreciate your comments and will reconsider my route to ensure we see more and travel less! Thanks for the rental car tips, too!

Good places to visit but too many destinations, too little time, too much driving. Rome requires a least 3 days. I'd suggest dropping Cinque Terre, which requires more than 2 days if one includes driving time there and onward and around the CT. Driving in Italy - messy. Without CT, a car becomes even more unnecessary. I'd try this. 6 days for each country. Day 1-3: train to R'burg, 3 nights. Take a train outing to another town on the Romantic Road, like Würzburg, and maybe visit Nuremberg as well on another day. There isn't time for everything. A "Bavaria ticket" daypass gets you both around for 29 Euros/day. Day 4-6: Train to Munich, plus one daytrip to Salzburg. Use Bavaria ticket to get to Munich (also good on all transport within Munich.) Take an outing to Salzburg and back another day on the Bavaria ticket. Day 7-8: Florence. Try Germanwings for flights. Some around 70 euros to Pisa w/bus connection into Florence. Day 9-12 See something in the morning in Florence then catch a train to Rome. IC train is around 30 Euros.

Nancy I like most of Russ' suggestions. As you can see, he is suggesting that you base yourself in one town and taking day trips to see the others. This is much better so you are not moving from hotel to hotel and spending your time in transit. Most of this can easily be done by train. As much as I like Cinque Terre, it is time consuming and out of the way to get to, so I also would suggest that you drop it. Another writer accurately described the cost and difficulty of renting a car in one country and dropping it off in another. OK. I say this all of the time in response to itineraries with too many stops in them. Plot this out on a calendar. Use an online calendar like WinCalendar.com (free for the basics). In Word, you can type in the daily squares and it expands the squares to what you need. Research the time it takes for travel to the places you want to visit. RS books have ,at the end of each city chapter, info about bus, train, car, and air length of time to various other destinations. BUT you need to add the hotel to hotel times not just the travel time! Add your international flights. Consider your first day a Recovery Day and keep it low key. I would never suggest that someone drive upon arrival! Also the last day is a wash because it takes a while to get to the airport and you have to be there 3 hours early. And with this method you can make adjustments and collaborate with your daughter. Continued below Bobbie

Continued from above. * So now you have a more accurate itinerary for how much time you will be at each place. So what do you think after spending time doing this? Other thoughts:
You don't want to spend more time getting to and getting out of a place (CT) than you are staying. More important, you have too many 1 night stands! You would be surprised how tiring and disorienting it is to only spend one night in a place. Travel is not just to see things, it is to experience them as well. Congrats on spending this travel time with your daughter! You will have a great time! Suggestion for your daughter: She will really enjoy her time in Europe. My son was in Rome for a semester and travelled every weekend. He said he and his then girlfriend were the only ones who did! If she too has the travel bug, you might want to consider buying the RS Europe book for her research. Hope she can find a travel buddy! Using Rome as a base, check out the cheap airlines (skyscanner.com). Buy the flights as early as she can because they are cheapest further out. From Rome, she can fly to Barcelona, Prague, Paris, and more. Save England for another time. The Eurail Pass might not be the best choice cuz realistically it will only get her to northern Italy. Overnight trains may not be her thing unless she can afford to book a "room" for 2. Also use RS for restaruant suggestions as they are particularly perfect for students. Hope this all helps and keep us posted if you make changes.

Wow...what an awesome community of travelers! This info has been really helpful. Thanks to all for taking the time to post! I really appreciate it. Safe travels! Nancy

FWIW, I wouldn't bother with a car for this itinerary. There's not much time to 'mosey' from town to town, and the trains DO have nice, big picture windows on them LOL! Plus, you'll be able to really spend some time together on the trains, trather than trying to manage driving and 'chatting' at the same time. Everywhere you're going you'll want to be in the town center; you can't park in the town centers... The trains on these routes are so many and so efficient. I'd really consider using the great rail system. (go to Munich in 'Bavaria'; I'd skip the CT, too - add it to Rome, and actually I'd skip RodT and add that to Munich...there's plenty of 'cute' in Munich and Salzburg - go to Munich straight from Frankfurt) THERE'S NEVER ENOUGH TIME!!! ARRRHHGGGHH!!! My €.02 ;-)

Nancy Another thought. If your daughter plans to travel and she should, the easiest and closest places to travel are in Italy including Cinque Terre and Florence. The best parts of the following areas are not readily accessible by train. You might want to consider driving in Tuscany which she will not be able to do or will be too expensive. Others you could drive to are the Lake Como or Umbria areas. Gorgeous countryside and an entirely different experience than the cities of Itally. Have a wonderful time with your daughter traveling in Europe! Please let us know the itinerary you decide on. Bobbie