train travel in Germany, France, Benelux

Welcome to the wonderful world of rail passes. How much of your travel is within Germany or legs with one end in Germany. You can get a lot of those tickets discounted for two adults with advance purchases and all of your children under 15 will be free. And with point-point ticket you could go 2nd class and save a lot more.

Well, this being our first trip to Europe as a family, it seems we're having a hard time making up our minds where to go. What does anyone know about how much parking can cost from place to place. Not talking big cities here, just in general around Germany at castles and such.

Sally, For the best information on parking, Castles and other details about travelling in the three countries you mentioned, it would be a VERY good idea to have a look at the Guidebooks for those three areas. These should be available in your local Library or larger Book Stores. If you have a PBS station in your area, your group might also enjoy watching some of Rick's programs, as those may provide some ideas on places you really want to see (especially as you're having trouble deciding on specific places - it's sometimes a "fine balance" to find places which will be of interest to children, teenagers and adults). In reading your Posts, one thought that came to mind is that your group might enjoy staying in Burg Stahleck in Bacharach (on the Rhine in Germany). It's a Youth Hostel in a Castle, with an incredible view of the Rhine. There were a lot of school groups and families there when I stopped by a few months ago, so your children might enjoy the experience. They offer Cafeteria-style dining on the lower floor (down the stairs by the Reception Desk) and also good Beer as I discovered. Buying an inexpensive HI Hostels membership would save you some money in staying there. It's a bit of a hike above town, so without a Car I'd recommend taking a Taxi to the Hostel. It would help if you could provide a bit more details - which places are you considering, how long is your trip, when are you travelling, etc. Cheers!

IF you end up with Saverpasses, give some thought to how you split the family up. There may be days when some of you don't really want to make that day trip...or at least not that particular day trip (perhaps you go in a different direction)...and you probably know along which lines those decisions will occur. Save yourself some headaches.

don't worry about parking too much. many small cities have free parking. for bigger towns a lot of times the hotel will help out with parking at a designated lot, this is pretty common in germany.