draft itinerary Germany-Bruges-Amsterdam

Just a few observations...

Hallstatt is great, but on a trip this short/busy, I'd probably spend 2 nights there rather than 3, and do 2 nights in Rothenburg (the best times to be there are early & late, and if you're only going to be there one night, you will be missing that due to checking in/out). Can't comment on Berlin or Bonn (is Bonn really worth a stop?).

Steve i will look into arriving into Salzburg instead of Munich. The night train from Amsterdam to Berlin arrives at 421am, it could be difficult with the teens.

David the stop to Bönn is for the amusement park, maybe i could find one somewhere else but it needs to have rides for older kids.

Thank you both for your suggestions!

With your age kids, I would cut Bruges a bit and Bonn completely and add onto Berlin. Your kids will like it there a whole lot more. In Berlin you can also do bike tours instead of walking tours. Not sure about Amsterdam.

For something more fun than an amusement park and a bit cheaper, try one of the Fun Forests that are all over Germany and in the Netherlands too. Your teens will love these and the adults may have fun too. After all, an amusement park is pretty much the same any where you go.

http://www.funforest.nl/?lan=english

http://www.kletterwald-darmstadt.de/fotos.html

Thanks Jo, this is exactly what i was looking for. We have done a few here and also one in France, it is always a lot of fun.

Take a day off Bruges, add it to Amsterdam. I did everything possible in Bruges in two days (most of the museums, brew tour, tower climb, pomme frittes, chocolate, beer, admiring windmills, oh and had time to do laundry).

1. Munich airport to Hallstatt (long first day trip with jet lag)
2. Hallstatt to Rothenburg
3. Rothenburg to Bacharach
4. Bacharach to Bonn with side trip to Burg Eltz
5. Amsterdam to Berlin

Each of those trips is pretty much an all day trip (Bonn to Bruges might be too). So that takes you down to no more than 10 days. You have 7 places on your itinerary. Time to cut down.

Much as I loved Hallstatt, it's too far out of the way. Consider taking it out.

Bacharach to Bonn only takes 2 hours (and you could do it with two €27 Rheinland-Pfalz-Tickets. But the RT down to Moselkern, 2 hr RT walk through the woods, plus tour time, makes that an all day trip. Instead stop by the Marksburg in Braubach. It's on the way, easier to get to, and also undestoyed and preserved.

BTW, the Medieval Crime Museum has nothing really to do with Rothenburg (there's one in the Tower, in London, too). It's just a ploy to get you to spend more time there. Walk the wall, visit the church with the Riemenschneider altar, there's a history museum in one of the towers, go across the river and view the town from below the wall. Do more things specific to Rothenburg.

Martine--

It looks like a very good trip. I would suggest that the ride from Amsterdam Centraal to Berlin Hauptbahnhof be done by a night train. There is only one that offers a direct shot, thereby, saving you the job of transfering in the middle of the night. That's your best bet on saving a day and spending it in Berlin.

In what district are you staying in Berlin? I'm thinking of your transportation to the airport, presumably Berlin Tegel.

Thank you all for your suggestions. We will go to Marksburg instead of Eltz. I was thinking of making these changes.

Arrive in Salzburg instead of Munich, right now the fares are a lot more expensive but i hope they will go down. That would cut a lot of my travel time to Hallstatt.

1.Hallstatt 3 nights(i suffer a lot from jet lag, so i need a few days to relax).

2.Rothenburg ob der Tauber 1 night ( i am tempted to add another night here).

3.Bacharach 2 nights

4.Bruges 3 nights (long train ride but might make a stop in bruxelles and then off to bruges)

5.Amsterdam 2 nights, i would like to take a night train but it arrives in Berlin at 4:21 am, any suggestions where to go at that time?

6.Berlin 4 nights, leaving from Tegel, any suggestions which area to stay in?

Maybe we should make a stop somewhere between Amsterdam and Berlin and do something fun, anyone knows where?

Hi !!

Yes, I know that this direct-shot train gets in to Berlin Hbf. at 04:21.

That's the down side, but it is still better than having to transfer trains in the middle of the night and not getting some uninterrupted sleep.

When you arrive at 0421, you could go to the hotel, or better still, check your luggage in at the Gepackaufbewahrung (the left luggage)---I know it is another expense--because I am not sure if Hauptbahnhof has lockers or not. I know that Ostbahnhof and Zoologischer Garten--the other two train stations in Berlin---do have lockers.

It also depends on whether your hotel allows you to check in at any time, rather than "check-in after 1400." If you aren't sure about your hotel, leave the luggage at the left luggage, take what you need as a day pack and after checking in at the hotel, you can come back to get all the luggage.

Regarding the departure from Berlin: the XL bus is the bus (Flughafenbus) that goes directly out to Tegel, but it leaves from Bahnhof Zoo (Zoologischer Garten).

If you haven't made reservations at a hotel yet, I would suggest staying in the Charlottenburg district, which is the district where Bahnhof Zoo is located and which is the place to catch the express bus no. X9 to Tegel. But, if you are going to take a taxi instead, the taxis are all lined up right out side of Bahnhof Zoo at their taxi stand--Taxistelle. No idea how much it would cost from Bahnhof Zoo to Tegel by taxi--presumably a lot.

Charlottenburg has a good number of two and three star hotels to choose from, and some of them are real bargains.

Berlin Hauptbahnhof is a tourist site in and of itself, absolutely fantastic, numerous food vendors--it's just amazing.

Cut Bruges to five hours max of daylight. It's neat, but you'll be bored to tears if you stay any longer.

Hallstatt is a peaceful town in a beautiful setting but little activity for 3 teenagers for 3 days. We had a wonderful dinner at Gasthof Zauner while in Halstatt.

I would stay only 2 nights in Bruges. We were there this summer with our young adult children and found 2 days to be enough time. Our children (early 20s) enjoyed creating their own bike tour. We also traveled the 30 minutes east to Ostende, a resort on the North Sea. There is access by train from Bruges. You can freely go on the beach most anywhere near the town. A fun few hours!

Berlin is a must for at least 3 days. Two years ago we stayed in a brand new hotel just off the Tiergarten, Fjord Hotel Berlin. At the time it was a great bargain - great location and good, clean accommodations. Within the past 5 years our children made several trips to Berlin to visit our exchange student "brother". They recall fondly time in the Potsdamer Platz and pizza at Twelve Apostles Pizza (several locations I believe). While both places are fun for adults, they are favorites among some Berlin teenagers.

Great places, but seems like a lot of time in Hallstatt, Bacharach, and Bruges. I would subtract from all the above and add to Rothenburg, Amsterdam, and perhaps Berlin.