Transportation in Germany for Five

We did a very similar trip -- her parents, us, and our 2 year old -- Berner Oberland, Salzburg, Munich and area, Rothenburg.

For five, and for ease in driving/parking, you could get by with a station wagon instead of a van. (Hard to find a place to park a van in Munich... and you can park the van in Rothenburg easily enough, but you can't get it down some of the streets to drop bags, so you'll be carrying them... been there... done that.) Also, are your parents able to drive a stick? Very few rental cars in Germany have automatic transmissions.

It would be workable to rent the car in Frankfurt, then make Munich your last German city; drop the car at the Munich train station and go by rail from there. Train to Munich to Salzburg is 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Salzburg to Venice is 7 hours on a day train, or there is a night train you can take -- goes from Salzburg to another town (can't remember) an hour away where you catch a night ride that is 9 hours, arriving at 7am (night trains can be fun). Venice to Florence is about 2 hours by train.

Doing only 3 train rides, one being within Italy, point-to-point tickets are very likely cheaper than a pass.

Oh... and to the multigenerational potential stress... slow deep breaths... white wine in Rothenburg, beer in Munich, red wine in Florence...

Much of the area you mentioned, Rothenburg, Munich, Fuessen (Neuschwanstein), and Salzburg are well served by regional trains. Some of that, Munich to Fuessen, for example, are only served by regional train. You can use a Bayern-Ticket for on/off regional travel in Bavaria for five people all day (after 9 AM workdays) for €28 (for all of you, not per person).

All of your destinations could be easily reached by rail. Except perhaps Wiesbaden and the castles, a car in these cities is more of a hassle than a benefit, especially Munich. Take the train.

It is always a tough decision. I liked having a car in Germany and found it was very similar to driving here in the US. Drivers are a little more aggressive there (at least that was my husband's opinion) and you have to get used to road signs. Also, drop the car outside of Munich-maybe at the airport- and take a train in. Then do the rest of your trip by train. It just depends on what kind of travelers you are and what works best for you. My husband and I like to tool around and stop at unexpected things that look interesting. We also prefer being able to stay or move on as we see fit. (we road trip a lot in the states as well, exploring by car is something we just love to do so ...You can make it work either way.

We did a similar trip, sans the 6 year old. The small rentals vans were cheap, and got GREAT mileage. That area around Salzburg/Fussen through Slovenia to Italy was just gorgeous, and well worth the drive. One-way drop off fares were pretty huge, but still cheaper than four train tickets.

Once in Italy we used the train, as that's the last place we went. HINT: Only get the car at the last possible minute, like your final stop in Germany (Munich) - the last thing you want is a car in a big European city.

Parking in Austria ran about $15USD a day (if you have to pay for it). FYI.

One last thing: How old are your parents? If they're over 70 (sometimes even 65)some rental companies won't let them drive or will charge a $25USD (ish) fee pery day for senior drives. FYI. Call ahead and check!

We had a great time with a very similar trip! =) - Randomly driving around the German/Austrian Border for 6 hrs one evening was one of our best memories! =)

I agree with the other posters re the pros and cons of driving vs. rail. Having done both, I have to say that the freedom of stopping for sightseeing, meals and breaks and discovering unexpected interesting places outweighs the advantages of rail travel, such as no parking hassles. Another great advantage of driving is not having to carry your luggage so much. For your kind of trip with four adults, I'd definitely vote for the car. Even if you don't plan to drive, I'd still get an international drivers license for everyone, just in case.