Help with Germany Itinerary

Vikkie:

Have you thought about the Prague to Munich leg of your trip? It is a 6-7 hour train trip during the day. Were you thinking of a night train there? That would be 10 hours.

You could also consider going to Berlin directly from Prague, (4hrs on the train) Or look into flying on a low cost, in Europe airline like Air Berlin to cut down the lost time on the train.

If it were me, I would do a train to Berlin (early morning departure) Spend a half a day, and the next day touring in Berlin, then take the night train to Munich, 2.5 days in Munich then on to Rothenberg for a couple of days then to Frankfurt for the flight home. Expand, and contract those days depending upon what you most want to do.

You will have a great time!!

If you like history and "cool" things, don't skip Berlin. You will see a lot of old, pretty buildings in the Czech Republic and Slovenia; I would skip the Romantic Road.

I'd hate to see you miss the beauty of the Rhine. I went to both Munich and Berlin and it really is a choice of what you want to see. I did do Munich to Prague on an overnight train while it is a long trip I certainly didn't mind the forced full night of sleep. I feel like you really need to balance the big cities with the smaller towns and the Rhine is so lovely and the people are fabulous. I had my best night out drinking with a bar full of locals in Bacharach!

Vikkie,
I traveled for 3 weeks in southern and eastern Germany. I visited Munich, Rothenburg, and Berlin among other places. I loved all 3 places. I would probably opt for Munich and Rothenburg since this would give you a large city and very manageable small city -- I loved walking the walls in Rothenburg. I stayed at Pension Lindner in Munich and at Gasthof Zur Golden Rose in Rothenburg.
Although I loved Berlin (Hotel Pension Alexandra), it will be at the end of your trip and you may be sick of long train journeys by then. The train from Munich to Berlin and then to Frankfurt would be pretty long. Hope this helps.

Your train trip from Ljub to C.K will be a long one. (Have you considered flying from Ljub to Prague or Zagreb to Prague??) You might want to check out rail and bus connections and see if this works better: Plitvice--Zagreb--Ljubljana--Munich--C.K--Prague--(Berlin) --Frankfurt. I'm thinking a point-to-point rail ticket would be cheaper than an Austrian railpass from Zagreb to CK. but I haven't done the research.

We took a oldtimer motorcruiser throughout the Dalmatian islands last summer and thoroughly enjoyed it--so relaxing and a wonderful way of arriving in the island towns!

If Berlin is too far for you (it is sort of an island unto itself out in eastern Germany), maybe consider Köln as a substitute. It's a beautiful, fun city, and quite close to Frankfurt.

The city's website is pretty good:
http://www.koeln.de/en/index.html

Vikkie,

I am with John that if you really want to go to Berlin, it makes more sense to go there first from Prague and then to Munich. I would do 3 or 4 days in Berlin, then go to Munich and spend a few days there. Finish up in Cologne (since, as Till said, it is fairly close to Frankfurt) and maybe fit in a short Rhine cruise (there are many half-day cruises perfect for drinking too much wine). If you plan things right and take night trains, you can maximize your sightseeing time.

thankyou all so much for taking the time to reply.
my trip is getting so close and i am very excited.
im spending 3 months travelling europe and just this weekend have purchased a rail pass for the first 2 months, i went with the 4 country select pass 10 days in 2 months, this ends up being $70 AUD per day
. i honestly couldnt be bothered with the point to point tickets at the possibility of saving maybe $100. anyway so after my 2 months pass expires i have to get to the following places.

split to Plitvice
Plitvice-Ljubjana
Ljubjana-Venice
Venice-Slazburg-Hallstat
Salzburg-Munich
Munich-Prague and Cesky Krumlov
Fly home from Frankfurt.

my questions is should i bother purchasing a seperate train pass for the above? i was going to just get a seperate one for Austria and Germany but between me and my partner is $600, i only paid $1500 for the 10 day one which will get us through 2 months, so i think $600 is alot to spend just for under 2 weeks in germany and austria, more

cont
like 10 days, should i do the above point to point?
its just that i heard german rail is VERY expensive.
but as i may only be going to munich and to frankfurt
and a few other smaller towns i just cant see how the pass could be of value,any suggestions?
i may also travel to berlin too, i will prob change my mind once i am there
any suggestions??? thank you all so much.

Vikkie,
I know there are a number of German rail experts on this site like Lee and Andreas but you should be able to travel in Germany via rail fairly cheaply. With you spending so many days in Bavaria you can use the Bayern ticket. I'm not sure if you are traveling with someone but if so that would really reduce the cost for you.

We'll be in Munich/Rothenburg/Rhine area in mid to late May so maybe we'll cross paths.
Enjoy your trip!

Berlin may make sense since you will be in Prague.

My favorites in the area of Frankfurt are St. Goar to Bacharach, on the Rhine, and Rhotenburg to Wurtzburg, on the Romantic Road.

In Bavaria, the Castles (Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau) , Munich and Salzburg (no extra cost on a German rail pass) are well worth visiting.

Farther West I like Koln and Bonn.

In the North, Hamburg is popular with the Germans. For an off the tourist track experience, Kiel and Schlesswig are good too.

There is also the Schwarzwald.

You can probably see one area well or see the highlights of two areas in eight days. You have to eliminate the extremes. Berlin is extreme unless you are already that direction (which you will be).

I really like getting off the beaten path but there is a reason the popular sights are popular. If you can, plan to visit them outside of peak hours either first thing in the morning or after the rush has left in the afternoon.

Have a great time.