Planning 10 day trip to Germany and Austria in June

It's a long ways (most of a day's travel) from Fuessen to the Rhein. I would recommend you go to the Oberallgäu region of southern Bavaria. Oberstdorf is a major winter ski area there. From Oberstdorf, there are buses running up into the Kleinwalsertal, a beautiful alpine valley, part of Austria (Vorarlberg), but completely isolated from it. The fastest way to Oberstdorf from Füssen is a late afternoon bus. You can also go anytime by train via Kempten and Immenstadt.

I made a one day trip from Munich to Salzburg and saw everything I felt was worth seeing. I think two days might be a bit much. If you do stay in Salzburg, spend a day in Berchtesgaden (Eagles' Nest, Königssee). There is an hourly bus (Watzmann Express) from the Salzburg Hbf to Berchtesgaden Hbf.

Yes, it is tight, but doable, as long as you do not attempt to add Switzerland in that same time frame.

Your plan is a decent one. Unless you have specific plans in addition to the castles in Fussen, I would turn that into a day trip from Munich (there are many tours that do this) and add a day to Munich to accomodate the Fussen day trip.

That leaves you with an extra day. I would spend it either;

1) By spending two nights in Rothenburg (for the sake of having a pleasant place to spend two nights) but spend the day between in Nurnberg - a 75 minute train trip away. Or...

2) By spending an extra day in Salzburg and spending it doing the "Eagles Nest" area nearby to get your Alp fix.

Especially with children, I think it is important to stay as many nights in one location as possible, and avoid one-night stays at all costs. Other than that, though, there is little I would do differently travelling with children (we have three 13,11 and 6). I hear from too many parents who seem intent upon filling their European trips with zoos and amusement parks for the sake of the children. Phooey. With a little instruction from the parents, children that age can appreciate that Europe, itself, is a cultural/historical amusement park.

Have a great time!

Hi VK,

How many nights do you have before your flight home?

I agree with 2 nights in Rothenburg. That gives you 1 full day there. If you don't have airline tickets yet, check into flying out of Munich. We did this in Oct. '07 and it didn't cost any more than r/t from Frankfurt. This would save time (and money) by not having to "backtrack" to Frankfurt.

I wouldn't even consider adding Switzerland. It's going to be a rush just to do what you have listed.

Paul

I would add an additional day in the Rhine Valley, including a boat ride. Maybe add Nuenburg and the Document Center there, very good outline of the Nazi era, I found my 20 something sons had no idea of what the Nazi era involved.

Thank you all for your suggestions. Regarding taking the bus tour to the castles, I read in Rick's book that it doesn't cover the Hohenschwangau and he highly recommends it. Hence the thought to stay in Fussen and possibly rent a car for a day to cover the castles and the church.

I can't do open jaw, since I am using a stopover to do this trip, so have to be back to Frankfurt.

I am not sure if I even want to do rhine valley, since we are going to do all the castles in bavaria and assume that I might daugther will be bored to go up the rhine valley.

Thanks for all your suggestions. Gives me quite a few options to think about.

VK

Think about some open air museums for your daughter, rather than inside museums. They are all over Germany.

Perhaps an afternoon at an adventure pool, which is a great way to experience everyday German culture and have fun too.

Some cities have wonderful museums that a 12 year old would enjoy. Check the websites for some of the places you are going to. Frankfurt has several that kids like going to.