My sister & I are planning a 12-day trip to Germany & Austria. We arrive in Frankfurt & want to rent a car to drive to see these places in Germany: Rothenburg, Munich & Bavaria (King's Castle, etc). After King's Castles, we plan to go into AustriaInnsbruck then Salzburg. To avoid the country-to-country fee for a rental car, we are looking at options of ping off rental car somewhere near Germany border nearest to Innsbruck. We are considering either (1) taking a train from Innsbruck to Salzburg, or (2) renting a car in Innsbruck & seeing sites there then driving into Salzburg to see sites there before ping off car in Salzburg to fly to Berlin. We would no longer need a rental car after Salzburg. A few questions: (1) Is is difficult (or wise) driving from King's Castles area to Innsbruck in late afternoon/evening AND to Innsbruck to Salzburg in late afternoon/evening? (2) Is there any rental car place/airport where we could off the Germany rental car at a bordering place (en route from King's Castle area and near Innsbruck), prior to entering Austria? (3) Can you recommend a rental car company that would be best dealing with this complicated situation, yet also would be reasonably-priced? (4) Can you get around in Innsbruck & Salzburg to site-see w/out a car, or would it be best to have a rental car? (5) What are the options of getting from Innsbruck to Salzburg, if we don't need a rental car at these two places? Thanks so much for your help. Neither of us has been to Germany but are comfortable traveling and driving in Europe. Blessings, Gaynor
Posted by
OP
Sugar Land, Texas, USA
5 posts
Michael, we had considered rail, but our schedule keeps getting tighter & tighter to fit in all we want to see (after reading R. Steves' Germany guide), so driving seems to give us greater flexibility to come & go as needed...but we would consider rail system if there are plenty of time options and easy to get to. Suggestion for web site to check this out? Here's our itinerary: Aug 1 (Frankfurt - head directly to Rothenberg in AM) Aug 1-2 (Rothenburg - 2 nites) Aug 3 (Munich - peruse town & head to Fussen to stay nite) Aug 4 (Bavaria: King's Castles, etc. - Drive to Innsbruck in PM) Aug 5 (Innsbruck - Drive to Salzburg late) Aug 5 - 6 (Salzburg - 2 nites) Aug 7 (fly to Berlin) Aug 7 - 9 (Berlin. 2 nites) Aug 9-10 (fly to Frankfurt to visit friend & go to Dresden)
Aug 11 (fly back to States) Whew...does that make you tired already? :) So based on this itinerary, do you still suggest rail, and is it safe and easy for us to drive in late afternoon or night from Fussen to Innsbruck and Innsbruck to Salzburg? Thanks so much for your input! Blessings, Gaynor
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
Rethink your entire itinerary. I'm exhausted even reading it. That's entirely too much in too little time. Honestly, Rick Steves' Germany guide isn't very good, don't use it as your primary source.
Posted by
Germany, Germany
813 posts
A big concern for your itinerary is driving times. Just because mapquest says it only takes 1.5 hrs to get from pointA to pointB doesn't mean it will. Driving through Munich alone can create huge headaches at the wrong time of the day. Also Fuessen to Innsbruck goes through a mtn pass. Every single time we've been through there one of my kids throws up, EVERY time. If you get behind a tour bus or heaven forbid a local tractor, it can easily take another hour or two. In January we tried to go that way and after going only 10km in 2 hrs (ski event), we turned around and headed by way of Switzerland instead. If you're used to driving mtn roads it isn't a problem. If you're used to flat open roads in Texas, it may be a bit harrowing.
Posted by
Atlanta
1358 posts
Visiting Dresden from Frankfurt? Have you looked at a map? I'd consider dropping Austria and Dresden.
Posted by
Des Moines, IA
2193 posts
I agree that it wouldn't make sense to go back to Frankfurt and then backtrack all the way to Dresden, but why would she have to drop Dresden altogether. Just tie it into the Berlin part of your trip. I would consider dropping Salzburg, however, because it's a long train ride either back through Munich or several changes with another option. And Innsbruck just doesn't have much to offer a tourist IMHO. Perhaps you can save Salzburg for a future trip that focuses on Austria, including Vienna. Or, you can cut Berlin and Dresden and still try to squeeze in Salzburg – I don't know. And Munich deserves more than just a walkthrough...you really need a night or two. Whatever you decide, I would recommend rail and forget driving. Driving is great in rural Bavaria, but it really doesn't make sense for your itinerary IMO. I've driven to many of the places you're visiting after renting through Hertz at FRA, but the cost and other cons of driving make it a no brainer to go with rail for me. Not sure if you've already purchased airline tickets, but I would seriously consider flying into FRA and out of TXL or the reverse.