Well, I think getting on a train after a long flight is less than desirable. Why not stay in Munich a bit and then go to Salzburg. 3 days in Salzburg might be a bit long, so I would consider keeping this a day trip from Munich or only staying there 1 day and add on the extra time to either Munich or the Rhine region.

Add a day or 2 to the Rhine region. It is easy to see 40 castles in just a day going down the Rhine. Visit some of them while you are there. You can get to the airport easily from any of these towns too.

If you are interested in history at all, then consider spending a day in Frankfurt visiting some of the historic sights there too. Let your kids climb to the top of the Kaiserdom steeple to wear them out before your flight. If you do decide to stay in Frankfurt over night, then you might want to take the kids to Hessen Park, an open air museum, or the Saalburg near Bad Homburg. This is a reconstructed Roman fort.

http://www.hessenpark.de/index.php?id=english

http://www.saalburgmuseum.de/english/home_engl.htm

I think what you have planned for Berchtesgaden is already enough for one day.

Day trip to Zugspitze should be highly optional. It's very expensive, and on many days the view is not brilliant. On warm summer days, the afternoon haze will have quite an impact on how far you can see.
Check the webcam when you get to Füssen or ask your local hosts.
For a fraction of the money you will spend on the Zugspitze trip, you can easily rent a car for the day and explore the surroundings of Füssen and see Wieskirche, Ettal monastery, Linderhof castle, Reutte castle, and much more.

You will find train connections at www.bahn.de - it can be set to work in English.
If you stick to the Bayern ticket (valid on regional trains only), you can go Füssen-Rothenburg ob der Tauber for €29 altogether. But the train ride takes almost 5 hrs.

It could be an option to rent a car for the last 3-4 days of your trip to do the aforementioned day trip around Füssen, drive to Rothenburg with a stopover at Dinkelsbühl (for another quaint old town) or Günzburg (in case your kids would like to get a break from Ole Europe and have some fun at Legoland).

If you drew a direct line on a map between Rothenburg and Frankfurt (which is where you probably will depart from?), you will find 2/3 on your way to Frankfurt the towns of Michelstadt, Amorbach and Miltenberg. That is also a very pretty region with picture-perfect half-timber houses in the towns. Less overrun than the Rhine valley.

Just a few suggestions:

1) When you are in Salzburg, do not miss going to see the Wasserspiele with your kids--it's good fun.

2) When you are in Fussen, take the cable car up Tegelberg and ride the summer toboggan (Sommerrodelbahn). http://www.schwangau.de/the-summer-luge-636.html

3) If you decide to do the Rhine cruise, I wouldn't expect kids the ages of yours to be all that interested (mine sure weren't). I did this trip a couple of times when we lived in Germany--once without kids and once with them. It's a lot of sitting on a (generally) crowded boat watching the scenery (with an occasional castle) slowly pass by. You might want to make sure they have something to read or play with if they become bored. Or if you can find something more active to do on your last two days, I might recommend that.

4) Finally, I agree with Cowboy that renting a car for the last portion of your trip will give you a lot more flexibility on what you can see and do.

Rhine = not scenic

Sure, lot's of castle ruins high on the banks, and a couple of pleasant enough towns along the bank in a few spots, but the river from which you are expected enjoy them is predominantly a barge-way now, with 2 DB rail tracks down each side.

Yucky.

I think you have a great plan. I agree that it will be easier to rent a car for the last few days.

You didn't say where you are flying from but if you are coming from the US and you have just spent 15 hours on the plane then take the 45 minute S Bahn to the main train station in Munich then connect to a two-hour train ride to Salzburg, you are going to be beat. I would spend a night in Munich, there are lots of hotels around the train station, then head for Salzburg the next day.

While you are in Munich you and your kids will enjoy the Englisher Garten, maybe you could rent bikes. I also recommend you take yhe kids to Dachau for a very real bit of history. Every evening at 7 (I think) they have a fun Bavarian Evening show, with buffet if you want it, on the third floor of the Hofbrau Haus. Ask your hotel to call ahead for reservations because it can fill up with tour busses. It i s a little bit cheezy but it is fun with cowbell music, slap dancing, wood choppers and the chicken dance.

If you do rent a car and you go to Garmish be sure to go to Mittenwald, the violin maker's village, about 10 miles away.

If time permits before your trip get the kids to watch The Sound of Music before you go. That will help them connect with lots of stuff in Salzburg. You might even take the Sound of Music Tour.

I know a lot of people will disagree but The Rhine area is pretty far dow on my list of must sees.

The kids are 11 & 8, which is a little young to be going to Dachau. I think kids under 12 have a hard time trying to understand the Holocaust very well. Save this for another trip.

As far as the Rhine is concerned, I think the boats may be boring for the kids, but taking the train along the Rhine is a lot more fun, there are castles to explore, etc. Try and look at this from a kids eye view, and not from a jaded adult view. Kids love barges, ships, trains, castles, etc.

On the 29th and the 30th in Munich:

a) Your kids might get very bored in the Alte Pinekothek. It's a very serious art museum and they'll probably last a couple of hours.

The 30th is really jam packed. The Nymphenburg palace complex alone could take minimally half a day with lots of walking. Likewise for the Deutsches Museum. Then the Englischer Garten is huge and it involves more walking. Each of these require at least half a day and are better done as a full day trip. I would suggest that you shift one of these - either Nymphenburg or Englischer Garten over to the 29th.

Also suggest that you take an evening train back to Munich on the 28th and spend the night in Munich so that you can have a less tiring and early start in Munich on the 29th. Sandeman's offers a very worthwhile and free walking tour of Munich. You could start with this tour on the morning of the 29th and it will cover Marienplatz, the Viktualienmarkt and more.

http://www.neweuropetours.eu/

15 hours on a plane from the US???? FIFTEEN???

Actually, I live (almost still) in walking distance of Nymphenburg palace, and I don't think you need half a day.

You may need it if you visit the "palace" (it's actually more the size of a mansion), take a look in each of the small "castles" in the park along the loop trail through the park (1hr walking max), and the botanical garden, and do the carriage museum (which, I admit, never interested me). As kids will probably not have the energy to admire each and every tiny detail, the whole visit to palace and park can easily be done in 2-3 hrs.

Deutsches Museum can take longer, but again, no one forces you to read every detail and visit each section. To make the museum visit more enjoyable, I'd check the website first and focus on what interests you and your kids.
Keep in mind that the whole transport department (trams, subways, trains, cars, buses) is now "outsourced" to another location near the Oktoberfest grounds (Schwanthalerhöhe subway station, lines 4/5).

Finally, Englischer Garten is a park. Except for the Chinese Pagoda (beergarden!), the Japanese Teahouse (usually closed), and the Eisbach surfers near Haus der Kunst (southernmost edge of the park) there are no sights within the park. It's nicely landscaped, agrees, but we just use it to take a stroll around and relax. If you skipped it, it would not be a big deal. I'd make this the optional item on the 30th, depending on how much energy you still have to walk around.

But I'd also be skeptical if the Alte Pinakothek is that exciting for children. But you know your kids better.
The nearby Pinakothek of Modern Art can be more interesting for kids, as many exhibits are more interesting and entertaining than just a bunch of old paintings.

I think you might want to stay the first few days after your flight in Munich rather than going to Salzburg. Also that I would spend 3 full days in Munich and 2 in Salzburg rather than vice versa. Munich is a much larger city and as others have noted you are really packing in the sights there with your planned itinerary.

Our kids liked the Glyptothek in Munich with its incredible collection of Greek and Roman sculpture and this might also appeal to your children.

The Wasserspiele referred to in another post are at Schloss Helbrunn in Salzburg
http://www.hellbrunn.at/en/
Definitely a hit with kids.

Obviously you should decide yourself whether a trip to Dachau is a good idea. It is a very intense experience and I would not have taken our kids there at ages 8 and 11.

There are many great day trips to take from Munich in addition to Ludwig's castles and the Zugspitze--Landshut, Eichstätt, the Chiemsee, etc.

On the Romantic road you might want to consider Nördlingen as well as Rothenburg. There are impressive town walls and a museum describing the huge meteorite that struck the area and created a large crater.

I am also not a huge fan of the Rhine river cruises and going to that area would involve extra travel time for you during a relatively short stay in Germany.

OP said 13 hour flight, not 15.

Los Angeles to Frankfurt is 11 - 13 hours of flying time, direct, depending on the aircraft and weather.

It's over 9,000 kilometers

Cowboy: Even if it's "only" 2-3 hours on a dash-through Nymphenburg, consider doing it with two kids, the time to get there and return, and Nymphenburg opens at 9am in May. So, even if they start at 9am, 2 hours makes it 11am, 3 hours makes it noon. That's "half a day" - no?

Besides which, IMHO, the whole point of these huge palace complexes like Nymphenburg and Schonbrunn is to take them leisurely, the way they were intended to be visited. One is supposed to wander a path and then, rounding a corner, gasp with pleasure and amazement at the little gem of a "palace" "cottage" that lies before one.

Agree that the beergarden in the Englischer Garten at the Chinesischem Turm is wonderful! But it's a long walk from the Eisbach surfers to the Pagoda, especially after a day spent walking around Nymphenburg and around the Deutsches Museum! I'd skip the surfers, if the park is the third item on a long day's agenda. The chicken and sausages at the beergarden are wonderful too! Then there's the oompah band!

There is a bus that goes close by the Pagoda but I forget the number.

That bus is #54 and the stop is "Chinesischer Turm".

From the Eisbach surfers you walk 15-20 minutes to the Chinese Pagoda.

Sorry, I had a different idea when you talked about half a day. I assumed you meant literally 50 pct of the time between getting up and going to bed, and not the time until 12noon. Which would be more like only 1/3 to 1/4 of a day for me

I just checked Kayak, flying Seattle (my home port) to Munich and flying times on the first page of listings ranged from 17 1/2 to 23 1/2 hours. That's to Munich not Frankfurt. It most likely requires at least one stop whicjh adds to the travel time. Don't know about you but I am a little on the tired side after all that and I'm not keeping up with an 8 and 11 year old. I will still vote for stopping over that first night in Munich.

Hi HTW
I took my 7 and 11 year old grandsons (and their parents) on a similar trip in 2010.You are in for an enjoyable vacation.
We never passed a Sommerrodelbahn without riding it.

Some comments:
26/5-30/5 as you planned them. For the rest of the itinerary I would drop the day on the Rhine and and add a day in Bavaria. Rent a car for the rest of the trip.
Then-

31/5 (Thur) - Drive to Garmisch or Erwald (Austria) and take the Lift-cogwheel/tram to Zugspitze. If you do not want to spend the big $$$ or the weather does not warrant the trip tour Garmisch- gorge walks, sommerrodelbahn, etc. and visit Mittenwald. Stay in Garmisch or Mittenwald. We stayed here for 3 nights and did the castles as a loop:
http://www.hoteledelweiss.de/english/garmisch.html

1/6 (Fri) - Drive to Fussen. Use this route:
Plansee ("see" means lake in German) route. Leave Garmisch on B23/B2 northbound until B23 veers off towards Ettal. After Ettal follow signs for Linderhof castle to get on a not numbered road. Stay on that road all way to Reutte where you will hit B179 towards Füssen/Germany. This route lets you visit Ettal monastery, Linderhof palace, Oberammegau (slight detour), Steckenberg Sommerrodelbahn(grandsons favorite) and has the most remote, rugged vistas once you entered Austria. Road is narrower than the others, but no mountain driving.Stay in Fussen or nearby.
viamichelin will map this for you.

2/6 (Sat) Visit Hohenschwangau & Neuschwanstein. Stay in Fussen. In the afternoon there are many options,Wieskirche, luge at Tegelberg.

7/6 (Sun) Drive to Rothenburg.Possible stops-Wieskirche,Donauworth, Nordlingen, Dinkelsbuhl. Do the Night Watchman's tour. Stay a night there.

8/6 (Mon) - Meander to airport. Flight departure @ 21.35



From a post by "cowboy1968"

1. The route through the Ausserfern valley with its pittoresque villages: leave Garmisch on B23 to Ehrwald/Austria, follow highway now numbered as B187 to Lermoos, B179 to Reutte and eventually to Füssen.
There are no spectacular "must sees" on this route, but the mountain vistas and the nice villages make it my favorite (and the aforementioned option to fill up cheap gas in Austria).

2. Plansee ("see" means lake in German) route. Leave Garmisch on B23/B2 northbound until B23 veers off towards Ettal. After Ettal follow signs for Linderhof castle to get on a not numbered road. Stay on that road all way to Reutte where you will hit B179 towards Füssen/Germany. This route lets you visit Ettal monastery, Linderhof palace, and has the most remote, rugged vistas once you entered Austria. Road is narrower than the others, but no mountain driving.

3. The route that stays in Germany. From Garmisch to Ettal as in route #2. Stay on B23, change to a not numbered road to Steingaden, and then go south on B17 to Füssen. This route has all the "must sees": Ettal, Linderhof castle (would be short detour), Oberammergau village, Wieskirche in Steingaden.

You do NOT need an Austrian motorway toll sticker ("vignette") to drive on B179.

Borrowing some of your ideas - will be in Munich/Salzburg/Rothenburg October 11-19 and don't have a daily agenda worked out yet. Would like to get over to Hallstatt while in Salzburg also.

The OP actually said that it is a 12 hour flight...we are doing the same thing in less than 2 weeks. Our long journey goes like this: EWR-PHL-FRA-MUC. Not ideal but it saved us $1200. over our normal EWR-MUC on Lufthansa. We always head directly to Salzburg from MUC airport. We are tired, but it is easily doable (Bayern Ticket 29 Euros).

Agreed, Berchtesgaden is a bit optimistic, esp. by bus.

Munich seems a bit hurried. You will not be able to enjoy all of those sites by rushing through.

Even though the Zugspitz is great, it is a long way by RVO bus to Garmisch, then a train-cable car ride to the top (and return to Fuessen?). Better off skipping this and adding an extra day in Rothenburg od Tauber. The train from Fuessen to Rothenburg is 4-5 hrs, not leaving very much time to explore the town if staying only one night. Train leaves Fuessen at 9:05 and arrives in Rothenburg at 13:49 (1:49 pm). Good news...just 29 Euros using the Bayern Ticket for the whole family!

The main thing is not to rush around so much. Stop often to explore back roads and side streets. Sit at a cafe and people watch. You have a wonderful trip planned...relax and enjoy!