Driving North to South in Germany

Have you thought about using the trains for the part from Bonn to perhaps Mainz and renting a car after that if you really want a car? You get to see a lot with the train along the Rhine, you can on and off where ever the train stops, and then all of you get to look at the scenery. If you are driving, you miss out. Then you don't have to worry about the car if you decide to cruise the river for a little while.

I would suggest that you pause and evaluate your own personality - (we can't do that as well as you can) and ask yourself how you would most enjoy this trip. But that I mean, are you uncomfortable driving in a foreign country? Or do you get bored on the road and want to be at an attraction already? Do you need a lot of navigational help? Will you have a Euro GPS? Do you like changing hotels every night, or do you prefer to unpack and make day trips? Will you worry whenever the car is out of sight? Can you afford the various insurances you might need to feel better about the car? (I relied on my credit card deal, but I took 20 photos of the car just before we turned it in ...) Are you used to un-air conditioned hotels? I think this is important, because your trip isn't too far off, and it's the busiest tourism month in Europe. Do you think you should rank all your destinations so that you can cross some off if you find places you love and want to spend more time in? Or are you the type to push on and see everything on the day's itinerary? On the Rhine cruise: Do you want to see everything twice? Or can you happily spend more time at the ship's bar the second time around? How many hours do you want to spend on the river? Have you read Rick's advice on the most scenic area? Do you know the boat is much faster (no, not too fast to see anything!) downstream (Northbound?) Would you rather have specific boat tickets, or a day pass that let's you get off and on? (This being the internet, i.e. a conversation with invisible "affect" please be assured that I'm not snarling at you. I hope my questions sound courteous and helpful!)

Can this route be driven by 3 girls????? What is the significance of 3 girls? As opposed to what? Why would 3 girls not be able to when others could? And why the 5 question marks about the 3 girls? Is there something we should bear in mind in answering your questions? I take it that despite the fact you say 3 girls driving, the 9 year old won't actually be driving?

For your Rhine river cruise, I like to stay in Bacharach and do a round trip cruise on the river. There's a large parking lot at the dock. Last time we stayed at the Pension Im Malerwinkel which has a large parking lot. It's located just outside the turm so there is no train noise. You could actually walk to the dock along the river from this pension. It's very close. Bacharach is a small, quaint town. Go to a bookstore such as Barnes & Noble and buy a good Michelin, or similar, map and look at your routes. Have you driven in Europe before? We get our car either from Kemwell or AutoEurope. You can check their prices online. Give them a call for more info.

I see that you have Heidelberg/Mannheim after you say Heidelberg is touristy. I think Rick is a bit too negative about Heidelberg - it is a quite nice place which we have visited several times. I never saw a great deal in Mannheim to make a special trip there. Are you aware that you are planning on going the full width of the country? Its a shame that when you are on Salzburg's doorstep you won't stop in...

You won't find a bus connection from St. Goar to Mannheim. You'll probably have to take the train to Mainz and connect from there to Mannheim. I might ask, why Mannheim? Although I live close to the city and it has grown on me, I can't really recommend it as a tourist destination. The main park, Luisenpark, is probably the most delightful bit of urban greenery on the planet, but the rest of the city is rather industrial. Except the hard-core Rickniks who accept whatever their master tells them without question, the rest of us are a bit confused on why he pans a lively university town like Heidelberg as too touristy while celebrating utter tourist funhouses like Bacharach, Baden-Baden, Beilstein and Rothenburg. It's a fun town, and a great gateway to the underrated Neckar river valley (more worthwhile than the Mosel, in my opinion), the Odenwald (no reason to go to the Black Forest if you're near here) and the Bergstraße (scenic wine route that connects Darmstadt and Heidelberg).

Thanks to Jo and Denise again for the suggestions. I am now concentrating on indeed taking the train from Bonn to the Rine river area. I have found the Rhineland Pflaz ticket which costs only 21 euro for the 1st person and 3 euro each addtl. This is from 9am to 3pm on weekdays and I believe anytime on weekends. It is for the local trains only. This way as suggested we can enjoy the views. Then as Denise mentioned I am focusing more on Bacharach, possibly St. Goar as our overnight destination. I believe that if we decide not to spend the night a bus can take us from that area to Mannheim on the same RP ticket. I really appreciate these tips as they have gotten the first leg of my journey started off well! Thanks again. Oh, then we would most likely rent the car after being on the Rhine. See, I had already forgotten the car!!! I am more excited about this part of the trip now.