Romantic Road in Germany in October

The weather does turn chilly somewhere in the middle of October. You might get lucky and get all your trip in before it gets cold. I haven't been on the bus tour and thought I heard they don't run it the way they used to. I'd pick some towns along the route and just catch a regional train from town to town. The drive itself isn't special. Wuerzburg is a great stop. It's bigger and has more to see than most of the Romantic Road stops. The towns won't be crowded in October, unless you are traveling on a weekend day with particularly nice weather.

Thanks for your reply

According to Rick's book, October is the least rainy month in Bavaria. I was there for two weeks in October, 2007, and did not see any rain. The schedule and prices for the Romantic Road coach can be found here (in German, but you can figure out the schedule). The bus leaves Füssen at 8 AM and gets to Würzburg just after 6 PM (the Residenz closes at 5:30 PM). At most stops the bus stays just long enough to let off and pick up passengers, not long enough for you to get off and sight see. It does stop for lunch (45 min) in Augsburg and another 45 min in Rothenburg. It also stops for 15 min in Nördlingen and 45 min in Dinkelsbühl. I think it should be the other way around. You'll basically spend about 10 hours sitting in the bus. If I were doing it, I would take the train from Füssen to Nördlingen and spend the night, then go to Würzburg by either bus or train. From Nördlingen, you could make trips to Harburg and/or Dinkelsbühl.

Thank you, Lee - great advice. Herb

Hi Herb, We have done a number of trips in early to late October to this area. My opinion is that Oct. is ideal. Our experiences (trips during Oct.'01,'03,'06,'07/about 40 nights)we had very little rain (almost none to be honest) and cool to warm days (60's to 70's) and chilly early mornings and nights (40's to low 50's). We particularly liked Rothenberg ob der Tauber. Paul

Thanks, Paul - that's good to know. Herb

Hi Herb, FYI: About a mile or so from Neuschwanstein is the Tegelberg cable car and luge ride (Sommerrodelbahn). They are separate rides and both are worthwhile. The luge ride is inexpensive and a blast to ride. http://www.tegelbergbahn.de/sommerrodelbahn-tegelberg0.html Paul

Thanks Paul - sure don't want to miss that one!

We arrived in Rothenburg on October 25, 2010 and it was very cold. (Can you tell from my photo?) But the flowers were beautiful and it did warm up a BIT over the next day or two. http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2530842220011574650zejNRb We spent the next two weeks in Germany and Austria and found it to be chilly but mostly sunny and not many tourists. If I returned in October, I'd opt for earlier in the month rather than later.

Hi Betty: for your comments. For some reason, your pictures are not showing when I enter the address in Google (I'd love to see them). Herb
e-mail: [email protected]

"We arrived in Rothenburg on October 25, 2010 and it was very cold." Betty, I was actually visiting Rothenburg around the same time, although I don't remember exactly which day. I was trying to socialize my dog to crowds of people when she was a puppy. Yes, it was abnormally cold at that time, but those temperatures are not typical. Herb, the coolest (temperature-wise) area of your proposed trip will be Füssen, due to the sub-Alpine location. On average, October is the driest month of the year for the southern half of Germany, but of course, that's no guarantee that it won't rain at all.

Thanks, Tom - I'll pack a winter jacket, just in case.

Herb - try this link for Betty's pictures: http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2150653340011574650LgjqMl This is a different picture within the same album. In the upper right corner you can scroll through all of the Bavarian pictures. I looked at them yesterday and they are GORGEOUS!!!!

Thanks, Dawn, for correcting my link and also for the kind words about my husband's photos. Herb, I figured it wasn't usually so cold at that time of year. We normally travel in September but due to my husband's illness, we had to postpone til the end of October. We actually had snow around Berchtesgaden so had we wanted to visit Eagle's Nest, it likely would have been closed.

Hi Betty: Thanks for the link to the beautiful pictures. Looking at them, I wished I could spend more time in Bavaria. Btw, I am staying in Bacharach on Oct 09 in the castle (a hostel).
I sincerely hope that you husband is ok. Herb

Herb, you will enjoy Bacharach. We've been there a few times now. We love Germany and always find new little towns to explore. We are planning to take a Danube River cruise next May from Nurnberg to Budapest. We've never done one before and I think it will be a nice change of pace. And, thanks, my husband is doing just fine. He developed pancreatitis after gall bladder surgery. Nasty stuff that pancreatitis but he did recover.