Germany, Switzerland, and Austria Trip

Karen Generally that sounds like a well balanced, well thought out, reasonably close trip. Got any room in your suitcase? Can I give a few comments? I usually drive my own car or the train so unfortunately can't help with car rental questions. Day 1 - arrive in Frankfurt Days 1 - 4 stay in Bacharach. Recover from the flight, explore Bacharach, cruise the Rhine, day trip to Koln, and visit the Mosel Valley That's quite long for Bacharach, but with the side trips that may work out fine. I would do all that by train. Burg Eltz may be a little difficult without a car because its a bit of an uphill slog. Day 5 - Maybe the Black Forest You don't say when you are going. If summer, traffic with a car can be tough, otherwise I'd say car; I know others have cunning plans for train and bus. For days 6 to 15 no question -train. Berner Oberland to Vienna would be a very long drive, with toll-tunnels along the way. Driving in Switzerland will require a CHF40 vignette if the car doesn't have one. A 10 day €7.90 Austrian vignette for Austria. Days 6 & 7 Bern and Langnau (ancestral home) Days 8 - 10 Lauterbrunnen Day 11 Head to Vienna Days 12 & 13 Vienna I think you need more time in Vienna and Salzburg. Days 14 & 15 Salzburg Days 16 - 19 Bavaria What do you mean by Bavaria? Regensburg? Nuernburg? or rural. If rural a car may help, otherwise train; even Fussen. Days 20 & 21 Munich
Days 22 - 24 Rothenburg I bet others will disagree but I think you have 2 days too many in RodT. Everything after day 19 most certainly train. Day 25 Head to the Frankfurt airport Day 26 Fly Home Happy Planning, and happy trails... EDIT - = - corrected Austrian vignette price.

Not many comments, sounds like a well thought out trip. I would spend at least one more day in Black Forest (probably deduct it from Bacharach). Very interesting scenery. Even opportunities for short strolls up some easy mountains. We usually visit Rothenberg for three days at a time, as we enjoy it. You can also visit nearby villages from Rothenburg, or on your way there, but you could possibly deduct one day (definitely need at least two days). Dont miss the Mosel valley. Different feel and pace than the Rhine. head to Frankfurt, I would be inclined to try and drop in on Nurnberg for a few hours

Thank you for the comments. Our trip is planned for Sept/Oct so I have lots of time to fill in the details. I have yet to figure out what we want to see and do in the Black Forest area but thought we could do a stop over somewhere in the area. I am considering staying at the hostel in Lauterbrunn to save some money to spend on the trips to Jungfraujoch and Schilthorn. Has anyone stayed at this hostel? The Bavaria stay will include Oberammergau, Neuchwanstein, Fussen, maybe Innsbruck. I haven't worked out the details for this area. I will start looking at train schedules and costs.
Thank you one and all for the help.

Hello. You will have a wonderful time. I was in Germany and Austria and we are going back in December to Germany, Austria and France (colmar). Blackforest is beautiful. It is my favorite in Germany. I am partial to it, though, because I have a German exchange daugther there. I went to Lahr (where she lives) and visited Frieberg and other cities in the area including triberg! We are spending 4 days in Blackforest this time, with a four day trip to Colmar (just over the German border, some france wine country). We are going to Trier and spending four days in Munich. My last trip through Munich was only two days. Salzburg is my absolute favorite. I loved it there. Austria is SOO beautiful. On my last trip I flew into Rome and traveled through Italy to AUstria then Germany, and really felt like I didn't have enough time in Austria. This time we are spending several days in Salzburg (with side trips to Halstadt) and Vienna ( and going to see Melk). My last trip I used trains mostly, with some buses. It was fine, but it a lot of walking and this time I will only take a backpack type suit case. There are often place where there is not smooth streets and no elevators. That is common. We may rent a car on our next trip, but probably will just use train again. Tina, Oregon

Your more recent post says you'll be coming Sept/Oct. Check your Munich dates to see if they coincide with Oktoberfest. The hotels are probably all already full then, so start looking for one if you haven't already.

Just as a matter of record, I'm just giving my opinions in the following :-) I don't know how much you guys travel or your travel rhythms. If it was me planning the trip, I would take a couple of places off the itinerary in order to add more time in other places. My wife and I try to never stay somewhere more than four days (unless we are on "vacation" rather than a "trip") but only two days everywhere you go will result in never feeling like you know where you are. By the time you figure out the subway/tram system anywhere, you are back on the train and heading out. Personally, I would take out the Black Forest (since it's a maybe anyway) and "Bavaria" since it is somewhat vague and add more time to Munich, Lauterbrunnen, Salzburg, or Vienna. Any of those could warrant 3 days instead of 2. Of course, if your trip coincides with Oktoberfest, you might have to skip Munich altogether, which frees up more time elsewhere. I also agree that you probably one too many days in Bacharach. If you make yourself stay up through the first day, jet-leg shouldn't be too bad, and then you only need days 2 & 3 to explore the area. The town itself will only take you an afternoon. It is definitely a "rest and recover" kind of place. That is another reason to add a day to Lauterbrunnen - it would be a great resting place at that point in your trip, and RodT would be good for the same thing at the end. Just my thoughts.
:-) Happy Travels!