itinerary

Carol;
I'm not surerenting a car from Frankfurt to Munich makes much sense. It looks like you are planning train travel for most of your trip anyway. The train from Frankfurt to Munich is about 4 hours and a very enjoyable ride. The train from Munich to Salzburg is about 2 hours or less depending on the train. Parking in the cities is not easy and expensive. It seems to me that going to Berlin is a bit out of the way for the other cities you are planning on seeing. I would go from Munich back to Frankfurt and then over to Köln and Belgium. I think you might be tring to see too much in the time you have.

When are you planning to relax, people watch, enjoy a drink, take a walk, etc????? I think you are not taking into account the added travel stress of getting from point A to B and the associated hassle with constantly changing hotels.

Hi Vanessa & Steven, I know it is a busy trip, I've planned extra days in Munich, Berlin & Brugge. I will never have another chance to visit Germany so I must cover as ground as I feasibly can. The car rental from Frankfurt is to visit Baden Baden & Rothenburg enroute to Munich. Thanks for your recommendations.
Carol

If you are not opposed to driving maybe you can increase the driving and look at it as more of a road trip. Getting to train stations from hotels, waiting for trains, getting to new hotels from train stations all take time and money and if you have two sons and yourself driving might leave you more flexibility and the opportunity to travel on your own schedule. I also question the overnite train as that can be grueling. It just seems like a really fast paced trip with little time to enjoy Germany. I understand wanting to do it all, but from experienced travelers who have done that there are limits. I have driven all over Germany and Belgium and Austria a number of times and the roads are beautiful and it is fun to stop along the way. No train schedules to worry about...Do you already have your flight? Otherwise you might be able to fly open jaws and change the order of your itinerary. There are a few train experts here who might have specific suggestions for the itinerary using trains.
FYI the drive from Munich to Salzburg is beautiful and quite easy. It is also not difficult to find hotels in Salzburg with parking, then just walk the city.

Are you locked in with Frankfurt as RT air tickets? If not, put Berlin at the beginning or the end of the trip: example itinerary could look like this: Fly into Frankfurt 3N Bacharach: Morning Train to Bacharach (Bacharach, Rhine, Koln) 3N Munich (Munich, Salzburg) 2N Train to Brussels 3N Train to Brugge (stop and visit Ghent as a day trip in route to Brugge) 1N Overnight Train to Berlin 3N Berlin
Fly Home from Berlin

Have you considered flying into Brussels open jaw'd and flying home from Munich? It would save money not having to backtrack. You can easily get to Cologne and the Rhine River Valley by train from Belgium. Note: Bacharach is just a nice place to spend the night and is not actually a multi day destination. The town's just 300 yards long with a train track running between the city and the river. And it's just south of Koblenz which is a railroad crossroad; north,south,east,west. Your trip would be more efficient traveling in more of a straight line. See Bavaria Ben's great travel section for this region on: http://www.bensbauernhof.com
You might need to go back to the drawing board on your itinerary. I've been to all your destinations numerous times.

Carol, Your Itinerary is very "busy" and hopefully it all goes well. Any disruptions in any part will affect subsequent parts. A few thoughts and comments..... > While you could drive from the airport to Baden-Baden, don't underestimate the challenge of driving in an unfamiliar location while jet lagged and tired. I've done that, including driving on the "correct side of the road" in the U.K., and it takes a lot of concentration. The trip from FRA to Baden-Baden will likely take 2 - 3 hours. As I recall, it's not possible to drive into Baden-Baden, so you'll have to park outside. The train from FRA to Baden-Baden is as short as 1H:31M with one change. > Driving from Baden-Baden to Rothenburg ODT may be faster than taking the train, but I'll leave that for the others to comment on. > If you do decide to use a car, I'd suggest dropping it in Munich as soon as you arrive there. You don't need a car to visit Dachau, as it's easily accessible via S-Bahn. You could also take a tour with Radius Tours, and they'll arrange all transportation. > Night train from Salzburg to Berlin is one option. The departure from Salzburg at 19:51 would be one to consider. Note that you'll have to pay extra for shared Couchettes. You could also consider a day train (departure at 09:02) which is quicker than the night train and would allow you to see the scenery. > For the trip from Berlin to Brussels, again you could consider a day train. > Were you planning to "base" in Brussels and take day trips, or are you planning on spending one night each in Brussels, Bruges, Ghent? > The trip from Brussels to Bacharach is a relatively easy 5H:15M with 2 changes. I wouldn't bother with an overnight train. Continued.....

Carol, part 2..... > Note that many cities have more than one station, so it's important when buying tickets to have some idea which stations you'll be using. You may find it helpful to have a look at these short videos: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AxtbifeoBY www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJ-ZQTEs-98 www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1MOAlpPLzE When buying tickets in Munich, I'd highly recommend the EurAide office, as I've found their English-speaking staff to be very helpful. They're at Desk 1 (on the left) inside the Reisezentrum (DB ticket office) in the Munich station. While I can appreciate that you may only get one opportunity to see Germany and want to see as much as possible, this Itinerary will be somewhat of a "blur" so you won't have time to linger and enjoy it too much. You might check your local Library to see if they have copies of the RS Germany or Belgium Guidebooks, as that will make planning hotels and sightseeing MUCH easier. Good luck!

"> While you could drive from the airport to Baden-Baden, don't underestimate the challenge of driving in an unfamiliar location while jet lagged and tired. I've done that, including driving on the "correct side of the road" in the U.K., and it takes a lot of concentration. The trip from FRA to Baden-Baden will likely take 2 - 3 hours." Let me support this statement, comment further and talk you down from the roof before you make the jump. You have far too much planned for your first day. Frankfurt to Baden-Baden to Rothenburg to Munich would be an extremely difficult drive in one day if you were well rested and familiar with German roads. On your first day after getting off an international flight with no German driving experience? A recipe for disaster. Realize that people's reaction times while jet-lagged are equivalent to that experienced under alcohol intoxication. And now you're diving right in to two of southern Germany's most congested roads (A5 and A8) with a full day of driving? Not recommended at all. As for Baden-Baden, if your desire to go there is because you want the spa treatment, did you know that there are at least three thermal resorts within a 30 minute drive of the airport? Wiesbaden, Bad Homburg and Königstein im Taunus are all right there, and if you ask me, much nicer towns than Baden-Baden. If you just want to see Baden-Baden... it's worth it if you're driving by anyway, not worth it if you have to go more than an hour out of your way. Of Germany's 100 or so spa resorts, I would place it somewhere in the middle of the pack (cont)

(cont)Now, I also find Rothenburg odT less unique than all the tourist literature advertises. But, if you're headed from Frankfurt to Munich, it sits along your direct line of travel, so why not stop? But if you're traveling to Baden-Baden first and then to Munich? Out of your way, and you'll pass several other good substitutes. Your trip overall needs some pruning and adjustments, but if nothing else, that first day has got to go. Here are some recommendations: 1) Stay the first night somewhere in the Frankfurt area. This region is vastly under-rated by most North America-based guidebooks. Consider staying in Wiesbaden or Frankfurt proper. Drive to Munich the next morning, and see Rothenburg odT along the way, if you want. Ignore the temptation to drive the "Romantic Road" just for the sake of driving it. The scenery along the road is nothing special. Drop Baden-Baden. 2) After landing, take the next train to Munich. Forget about Rothenburg and Baden-Baden. 3) After landing, take the train to either Baden-Baden or Rothenburg odT and spend the night at one of them. Continue to Munich the following morning. Also, to reiterate from your other post, it would be easier to visit the Brugge-Brussel-Gent cluster as daytrips from one base than to change lodgings for each city. The older adults might like Brugge better as a place to stay, the young adults would probably apprecaite Gent more.

Carol, A suggestion..... Make a list here of each of the places you want to visit. Rate each place from 1 to 10 to indicate how important that place is, with 10 being an "absolute must see". With that information, it would be easier to work out a more realistic Itinerary. Suffice to say, some of the places on the list will have to be dropped. Also, could you clarify whether you've made any hotel reservations or other arrangements? Cheers!