romantic road travel suggestions(and intinary thoughts)

Car is the best way to see the Romantic Road, although like others, I don't see it as a "must do" for Germany. If you'd rather not rent a car, you can see tons of charming German towns from Munich by train. And one night in Munich is really not very much. Also seconding the suggestion for Nuremberg. It's so close to Munich and a really cool place to visit.

If you are intent on driving the romantic road (as I was and have done a number of times) I would suggest only spending one night and just see a few of the towns as you drive and explore the parts you want to see. I think you might need 2 nights in Munich, which you do not need a car. Salzburg is relatively easy with a car. Just find a hotel with parking and walk the whole time you are there. The drive from Munich to Salzburg is beautiful and easy. You also will not need a car in Vienna. Don't know how your logistics will work as you might want to drop your car in Austria if you start in Munich... could be a big drop fee.

I would suggest that you untether yourself from the Romantic Road as a destination - it has no monopoly on interesting places to visit. Of course, some towns merit your attention. But Bavaria is full of countless other towns that might interest you more than some of the RR towns. Check out Bamberg, Regensburg, Nuremberg, Eichstätt, Weissenburg, Munich, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Mittenwald, Berchtesgaden/Königssee, and Prien/Herrenchiemsee in a guidebook or online before deciding where to spend your time.

I tend to agree with Russ. In 2007, I spent a little over 4 days (4 nights) on the Romantic Road. The most interesting place, IMO, was Noerdlingen, and it's just a less touristy version of Rothenburg (w/o the Christmas shop and Crime and Punishment Museum). You can read about my trip here. I spent one day, from Landsberg am Lech to Noerdlingen, and a few hours at the beginning and end, from Schongau to Landsberg and from Bad Mergentheim to Wuerzburg by train. The rest, Weisskirche to Schongau and Noerdlingen to Bad Mergentheim was by local bus. You don't have to have a car.

"Car is the best way to see the Romantic Road" "Best" is a subjective term. Some people will hypothesize that the perfect Bavarian village, somewhere previously unknown to Bavarian tourism, will somehow "pop" up and you will want to stop, so a car is "best". I rode most of the Road by bus, following the Road exactly and pulling off for passengers at every little town along the way. That is not going to happen. What is not subjective is, it will cost a lot more for car rental than it will for public transportation. When I did the Romantic Road in 2007, my best car rental quote (w/o CDW) was $272. Fuel estimates (ViaMichelin) was another $74. Total $346. My actual expenses, @$1.38/€, was $124.

I'm echoing others in stting that the Rpomatic road does not deserve the days you are proposing. I also feel that you are shortchanging Munich. Although it depends on what you enjoy but no where else on your itinerary offers anything like the Deutches Museum or the Pinakothek.

Echoing the others... the Romantic Road is scenic, without a doubt. But so is virtually every other secondary road in that part of Germany (and many other regions as well). The only really unique part is the southern terminus, with the view of the Alps and Neuschwanstein. If there is a particular town that interests you along the route, go for it. But the road itself is nothing special, other than the higher than normal tourist traffic.

Mike, it has become quite fashionable on this site to slam the romantic road. To a certain extent, it is justified given its reputation, but I think that the criticism has been a bit overdone. Many will say that Rothenburg is overrated. I respectfully disagree. It is a wonderful town, worthy of at least one full day. The nightwatchman's tour in the evening is well worth the time and cost. Other than Rothenburg, Dineksbuhl and Nordlingen are interesting, for passing through. I would strongly suggest Uhl and Augsburg for at least a couple of hours each. I would agree with others that 4 days is more than required; I would say 2 to 3. I would spend more time in Munich, at least 2 days. I definitely concur with your travel plan: car until Munich and then train. Given the 10 nights, I would say 2 on the romantic road (three days), three in Munich (2 days), two in Salzburg, and 3 in Vienna. The train from Salzburg to Vienna will take some time, probably longer than scheduled.

@Lee... I know you love the train... and traveling alone I agree its cheaper for you, but if someone is trying to figure out costs there are lots of time I travel with a friend or 2 or 3, in which case we split the cost of the car...and also if I am traveling with a grandchild or 2, I have to figure the cost of the train x2 or x3....plus, I love the fredom and spontaneity of the car, so for me even if it costs more I prefer to throw my stuff in the back seat and take off on a whim.
Just did a trip from Prague to Krakow and Cesky with 3 other friends and it would have cost us way more to do the train than split the cost of the car.

"Just did a trip from Prague to Krakow and Cesky with 3 other friends and it would have cost us way more to do the train than split the cost of the car." That's VERY hard to believe. Train travel in these countries is very cheap. According to the Czech and Polish national railway websites, it's $9 from Prague to Cesky. It's $12 from Prague to the Polish border, $4 from the border to Krakow. So assuming two round trips from Prague, for one person, that would be $32 Prague-Krakow-Prague, + $18 Prague-Cesky-Prague = $50, but with discounts for 4 travelers, it's likely closer to $40. each for all that train travel. So figure $160 total. If you check gas costs for the same route, you'll find that it's 200 Euros, or roughly $280. And you haven't even rented a car yet. Many people check the hyper-priced train tickets or passes at Raileurope and conclude the car is a better deal. But they haven't done the right research.

"I have to figure the cost of the train x2 or x3" Not so! Remember we are talking about Bavaria (Romantic Road), here - both Mike's proposed itinerary and my actual 2007 trip. Total ticket prices are not per person. I used Bayern-Tickets Single for three days. I also used point-point bus tickets for four other days, even though a Bayern-Ticket would have been valid, because the bus ticket cost less for one than a Bayern-Ticket. If there were five people, I would have used a Bayern-Ticket every day for an estimated $290 at today's exchange rate. That's still less than the $350 (incl fuel) quoted to me for a hatchback. And five people with their luggage would require renting a bigger, more expensive car, using more fuel, than I was quoted. BTW, if your grandchildren are under 15, and you buy a full fare train ticket (or a Sparpreis ticket), they travel with you for free.

@Russ & Lee... okay, so you think the train is cheaper, but overall, here is what we did... went from Prague to Krakow, day trip to Auschwitz with car, traveled through countryside of Czech to Cesky Krumlov, drove around and explored countryside , then drove back to Prague to fly out.... So, overall, you still might tell me we spent more on a car... I think it was under $100 each for a week... you cannot put a price on my freedom and the time we spent along side the road wandering through the field of poppies and photographing (we were all photographers) or stopping in a bizarre little town for the worst food we had on our whole trip ( Maybe the train food would have been better.) So, yes the car for a week might have been more ,(two of the women checked on price and found it to be more, but they probably didn't ask advice here ) but for the way I travel the car is usually my best option. (I also think people forget to figure in the cost of getting to the train station) Plus it also appeared to be a grueling long train trip and I am not about to do a night train.

Terry: I addressed ONLY the cost issue and did the math for you (above) at current rates. You can check viamichelin.com on the gas if you want. It's simply not true that "it would have cost (you) way more to do the train." There are many other points to be made in the train/car discussion, from poppy fields to traffic jams and radar tickets, but I made no comment on those. I'm glad you had a nice trip. It's of course possible to have a nice trip by car, and I hope your next one is even nicer.

Thank you all for your helpful comments about romantic road. I will definitely rethink itinary based on your input. I always have better trips when I get some perspectives from folks who have been there. Regards to all Mike
DC