My husband and I have only one short week to see the beauty of the Rhine area and perhaps dip down south to Bavaria. Our original intention was to just go to the Rhine River. After looking at Rick Steve's guidebook, I'm now included to head south for a couple of days. We are not interested in staying in the big cities. Can anyone suggest a good place to stay near Munich/in Bavaria? The idea would be for us to spend four nights in Rhine/wine country and two nights further south. I don't know if Rothenberg is too far north to stay to see the southern castles, Dachau, etc. or should we go all the way to Fussen to stay. I know travel time will be at least five hours from the Rhine. Would appreciate any advice from those who have gone to this area.
Posted by
Lake Forest, CA, USA
1633 posts
Do you plan on driving or taking the train?
Posted by
Tulsa, OK
355 posts
We spent a litle over two weeks in Germany - one week in St. Goar (Middle Rhine), one week in Mittenwald (Bavaria) and a couple of nights in Rothenburg. Rothenburg is definitely too far north to visit the Bavarian castles if you are driving. It took us about 8-9 hours from St. Goar to Mittenwald. Coming back from Bavaria to Rothenburg, we stopped in Dachau - but I think it was 4-5 hours from Dachau to Rothenburg. I think with one week, I would just stay in the Rhine area with maybe a night or two in Rothenburg. It is just too far to get to Bavaria - at least in a car.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19092 posts
Use the German Rail (Bahn) website for train schedules. Dachau is a suburb of Munich. You can get between Dachau and Rothenburg in about 3 hours. Rothenburg to Füssen will take about 5 hours. Munich to Füssen will take about 2 hours. All these times are for regional trains and can be done using a Bayern-Ticket for €29 for the day for up to five of you. That's certainly less than the cost of a rental car and fuel.
Posted by
OP
Wetumpka, Al
4 posts
We were planning to drive for the most part. Also, it might be helpful to know that we can fly in to Frankfurt and fly out from Munich, if we opt for the southern Bavaria part of the trip.
Posted by
Mandeville, LA, USA
32 posts
Delta flies directly from US to Frankfrut. A European connection is not currently needed for Munich but will be when I travel in July.
So, schedules change through out the year....
Posted by
NYC area
2908 posts
Hi Linda, Of course you can fly into Frankfurt and out of Munich. We flew direct (no stops) from NJ to Frankfurt and direct (no stops) from Munich to NJ in 2007. We flew Lufthansa (code shares with United). What made our last few flight home even better was the Lufthansa (or United) Munich to NJ flight that left Munich at 3:20pm. We had this same flight home in '07, '09 and '10. I was checking recently for this year and it's still there. We had 10 nights in '07. We arrived at Frankfurt and drove along the Rhine and stayed a few nights on the Mosel. From there we spent 2 nights in Rothenburg and then stayed 4 nights (incl. our last night) in Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden. As I recall, our drive times were: Frankfurt to the Rhine (Bacharach) about 90 minutes. Cochem (Mosel) to Rothenburg about 3 hours.
Rothenburg to Berchtesgaden (by Salzburg) about 4 hours. To get from Rothenburg to Munich, at least the ring road around Munich, took about 2 hours or so, all on the highway. Hope this helps. Paul
Posted by
Paradise
6645 posts
Linda writes, "I would just stay in the Rhine area with maybe a night or two in Rothenburg. It is just too far to get to Bavaria" I agree with this advice (well, except with the idea that Rothenburg isn't in Bavaria - it is.) Extreme southern Bavaria has Neuschwanstein - a tourist mecca of the highest order - but I wouldn't call it a "castle" without the word "faux" before it. It is on the Rhine and Mosel rivers that you'll find genuine 800-1,000-year-old castles - Ludwig's structures in/near Füssen are all late 19th-century palaces. In the Rhine area: Marksburg, Rheinfels, and Burg Eltz are the most commonly visited: http://www.marksburg.de http://www.burg-eltz.de http://www.welterbe-mittelrheintal.de/index.php?id=288&L=3 Rothenburg is worth seeing; it will offer you all the over-the-top tourism you can handle. Before you reach R'burg, you'll pass through another Bavarian town, Würzburg (where you can see a palace, the amazing Residenz, without a long trip to Füssen.) And northeast of Würzburg is Bamberg, a gorgeous place with a handsome old town area and its own beer and food traditions. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C3%BCrzburg_Residence http://trialx.com/curetalk/wp-content/blogs.dir/7/files/2011/05/cities/Bamberg-2.jpg That's what I'd do with a week. And I'd definitely use the trains. Stay your last night in Würzburg near the station and reach FRA airport station in 90 minutes for your flight home.
