Between Amsterdam and Frankfurt? Thoughts on itinerary, please

It's quite doable and a car is highly recommended for most of the trip. If fly into Frankfurt & return from AMS: Explore the Rhine Gorge area & then on to Remagen (bridge site). From there, back to the Mosel & explore the river as far as Trier, then to Luxembourg City (see the American cemetery where Patton is buried). On to Bastogne, then north to Maastricht and Arnem in the Netherlands. From there to Amsterdam to return the car & then enjoy the city for a couple days. The Anne Frank house is a must see.

Thanks. I am thinking we would rather spend our time in the Rhine/Mosel area. As such, I don't have a strong desire to stay a night in Frankfurt. If we land in the a.m., where would you recommend we travel to for our first night - knowing jet lag may be an issue. Is Bacharach doable? It's a Steves' pick. Any other suggestions? And should we get a car at Frankfurt airport or train to a smaller town, pick up the car the next day and move on.

Get the car at the airport and it's just a one hour drive to Bacharach.

Thanks. What is a better choice, Bacharach or Koblenz?
Hotel pic?

It's also a 1-hour train ride from FRA to Bacharach, an overnight spot preferable to Koblenz for most people. If you want to use the train, that's very doable in the Rhine/Mosel region. The rails follows the Rhine and allows for good sightseeing; the rail trip between Koblenz and Trier is also very scenic and follows the river fairly closely until Bullay, roughly. The train is also very cheap. Beginning in Oberwesel - the next town north of Bacharach - you can purchase a 3-day VRM mini-group ticket, which allows you and your companions to explore the area at will by regional train and bus; it's good north along the Rhine and along the Mosel as far as Bullay, roughly. Cochem, Marksburg, Burg Eltz, Remagen, Linz, all would be at your feet. I remember finding the train connections troubling for the Bastogne area; you might check them and then consider a car once you leave Germany.

Take the train from Frankfurt airport to Bacharach. It is cheap, easy and renting a car from the airport costs more money than renting them someplace else. Riding the train along the Rhine is great. This way both people get to sightsee, instead of just the passenger in the car. Plus, I think driving a car after a long, trans-Atlantic flight, when many people get little sleep, is dangerous. There is little reason to need a car going from the airport up the Rhine.

And if you do the Rhine by train, you can always give in to temptation and do part of it by boat. You get MUCH more time to see the scenery that way. And you can always hop off and continue by train

Marie, I to would suggest training the first day and avoiding driving with jetlag. And, actually, there is no need at all to have a car on the Rhine between Mainz and Köln or on the Mosel. Some people will claim you need a car, but they've either never spent time in the area or don't understand the rail system in Germany. I've personally spent a total of nine nights in that area without needing a car. If you just go to Bacharach for the first night, stay in Im Malerwinkel. It's in a beautiful setting, far enough from the tracks so that you don't have to worry about train noise, nor do you have to climb a step trail.

You definitely don't need a car the first day. Rail service is so good between Frankfurt Airport or the city and the Rhein that you can postpone renting a car until the second or third day. Then, depending on the rental company, you could arrange to pick up the car in Koblenz, Cologne or Trier. Since there is little difference in the cost between renting a car for three days and renting for a week, a seven-day rental would be more cost-effective. Plus, it is the most practical way of touring the Mosel because the trains veer away from the river west of Cochem, and you would not have time to visit Bastogne and other WWI and WWII sites in the area by public transit. If you go on to Amsterdam, leave the car at one of several Park and Ride locations on the outskirts of the city and take public transport. An alternative would be to take the train to Amsterdam from Cologne and back to Trier before renting a car. But I doubt if it would be any cheaper.

Thank you all for posting. I think this is a great resource. I would appreciate any input on this tenative plan: Fly into FRA and train to Bacharach for a stay at Im Malerwinkel. Probably lay low for rest of this arrival day, dinner, rest. First full day in Germany, do a boat ride to St. Goar
and explore some of the area. We are more interested in relaxing and seeing some sites instead of a lot of touring. Second day go from Bacharach (train? boat?) to Berg Eltz which is the one castle I would really like to see based on Rick's comments. Questions: 1) After our second night in Bacharach- should we move onto Cochem or Bielstein for another night and to see the Mosel area ? So it would be three nights in Germany, (two on Rhine, one on Mosel) with another 4 -5 left to split as we move up to Amsterdam? Or would you suggest we just stay in Bacharach for a third night and then head to Bastogne from there? Where is the best place to get a car rental here? Or is the train doable from teh Rhine/Mosel region to the Bastogne region? I would prefer a train ride - I do enough driving here in the States! 2) Is the drive to Bastogne through Luxembourg City or can we go due west from the Mosel region? Thank you all so much!

A car is a great way to explore.However remember that if you rent in Germany and drop the car in the Netherlands there might be a heavy dropoff penalty involved.Be sure to check on that.

Are you flying out of Amsterdam? If so, follow Jack's advice. Renting a car for two or three days in Germany and returning it there would probably be your best bet. I had assumed you were returning to Frankfurt for your return flight. Koblenz might be the best place to pick up a car if you want to explore the Mosel and drive close to Burg Eltz, which I would strongly encourage. Other sites in the area, such as Maria Laach, are also convenient by car but hard to reach by public transit. Bastogne, on the other hand, is too far afield, unless you are driving from Trier to Amsterdam, which would take you over but not through Luxembourg City on the autobahn. Europcar seems to consistently have the lowest rates and most rental locations in western Germany. I have used them twice with good results; I will use them this spring, as well, but do your own research on this one. Google Europcar for details. Also check with some of the other big names, such as Hertz and Sixt. Gemut and Autoeurope are consolidators that sometimes offer good deals for weekly rentals, but for two to four days, I would deal directly with the company.