Honeymoon in France and Germany

Staufen doesn't seem like a "honeymoon" destination to me. It's pretty dull. I adore Germany but I would suggest instead that you find some romantic place in Alsace to stop over and to DROP the car before getting into Germany; it's going to cost you big, big bucks to drop in a different country. And who wants to drive when you can kiss and sip champagne on the train? I am seeing rail fares of 29-39 Euros for advance-sale tickets from Strasbourg to Munich. http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en These low-price offers go fairly quickly. Buy soon if you want one. Maybe stay in Strasbourg or near there instead.

Congrats! I would think about taking the train from Paris to Beaune and picking up your car there. And yes, there is a very large drop off charge if you return your rental in a country other than the one you rent it in. I would drop the car in France, and if you absolutely need a car in Germany get another one there. You don't need or want a car in Munich. What is in Staufen?

Russ, I grew up on the west coast, hearing about people going to Niagara Falls for their honeymoon. So when I moved to Pennsylvania, I had to see Niagara Falls. It's about the most boring place on earth. The falls never change; five minutes and you've seen them. Then it struck me. People don't go somewhere interesting for their honeymoon. They've got other things to do.

Travelling from Staufen to Munich by car could be an all day thing depending on traffic. To me, you should go from Staufen into the Alsace wine route, Colmar, Riquewihr, Eguisheim, Strasbourg, then fly out of somewhere else closer like Strasbourg, Frankfurt, or Stuttgart.

Steven, First of all, congratulations! It appears that your trip is about 14-days in length (12 days when the two travel days are deducted)? If that's the case, I'd suggest reducing the time in rental cars and using trains (especially fast trains) as much as possible. That will maximize the time you have for sightseeing on this very short holiday. I've found that driving in Europe always takes longer than planned on Google Maps or whatever. As the others have mentioned, dropping the car in Munich will likely have HUGE drop-off fees. What's the attraction in visiting Staufen? There may be other places in that area that would be equally interesting. Is there any possibility you could increase your time in Munich. There's a LOT to see and do in that area, and two days is much too short (IMO). Happy travels!

"How scary will it be driving out of Paris?" About as scary as driving from Ft. Worth in the direction of Lawton. Traffic is awful on the Le Preferique (the ring road that surrounds inner Paris) and the immediate feeder arteries, but not bad at all once you get outside the Paris metropolitan area. As many on this website will note, driving within Paris is an insanely bad idea for most travelers, but more than manageable if you're leaving the city to go somewhere else. "How accurate are driving times on Google Maps?" I've found that ViaMichelin provides better estimates.

Steven, You have already received a lot of good advice, but I'm going to throw in my two cents. Since I live in DFW, I can tell you, our traffic is much scarier than traffic in Europe (with the exception of Paris proper, just avoid that). Having spent my honeymoon in Europe, using both car and train, let me say that the train was wonderful. We enjoyed both, but it was fun to be able to talk and sightsee without worrying about navigation, etc. The trains are very nice, the food is great, you can meet and chat with locals who give the best tips on what to see/do. I also advise riding the Paris subway. It takes you anywhere you want to go. Ignore what you have heard about the people being rude. We had a great time chatting with the locals. Learn a few phrases, slaughter them and laugh at yourself. They will appreciate you attempting, and then talk to you in English.
Have a very wonderful trip. My last advice..don't try to cram too much in. Find some beautiful spots and linger some. Beth

Although my husband was originally from Paris and learned to drive there, we now pick up our cars at Orly, which is south of the city, and drive to the family place in Burgundy. If we weren't in a village where we need a car, I'd take a train. Picking up the car in Beaune or even Dijon is a good idea. You can check the price on autoeurope.com.

I too take the train when possible. It's fun and so much less stressful. I much prefer Alsace over Beaune and like to base in Colmar.

We just came back from France. Rented a car at de Gaulle and drove to the Alsace region...no problems. I highly reccommend Alsace for a honeymoon. We stayed in Beblenheim (15-20min from Colmar) and loved the small village atmosphere. Owners were fabulous and Stephan speaks fluent English. It's called le Gambrinus. 5 min. to Riquewihr which was one of my favorite towns along the wine route. Just relax and have fun...it's an adventure!

I'm just going to echo the others: take the train to Beaune and get your car there. It will be a lot easier. And like others said, it will cost you big $$$ to pick up the car in France and drop in Germany. Can you just have a car for the Beaune portion (I'm assuming you want to drive around and tour Burgundy with the car), then take the train to Germany?