jenblase

Looking for some guidance on the best way to do this itinerary this Nov. 25th - Dec. 9. We have 13 nights for our vacation and we're flying in and out of Frankfurt, so we need to do some kind of loop around. We'll be renting a car but I heard there is an obscene tax assessed when renting at an airport, so we'll need to get the car somewhere close to Frankfurt but not at the airport.

What we want to see (definites):
* Travel along Romantic Road
Christmas markets in RR cities, Nuremburg, Rothenburg, etc.
* At least one night in Rothenburg
* Munich
* Salzburg (ideally 3 nights)
* Berchtesgaden
* Salzkammergut region - maybe stay in St. Gilgen or Hallstadt
* Swarovski factory in Tirol region of Austria

What we would like to include but not necessary:
* Strasbourg and Colmar, France
* Innsbruck
* Stuttgart Mercedes and Porsche museums (my husband would say this is a non-negotiable!)

Can someone give me some guidance as to the best way to "loop" this itinerary? I want to start booking hotels but I'm so confused as to the best way to drive this. I can't seem to put it all together.

Thanks

jenblase

Also another definite is Dachau.

AisleSeat

If I am not mistaken the Swarovski factory is in Innsbruck.

You have a lot of nice places on your list and it looks like you have plenty of time to see them with the exception of Colman and Strasbourg. Go to viaMichelin.com and see how long a drive it is from ... say Munich to there. Check out the distance to Stuttgart too.

Other places to visit in the area are Hall, Mittenwald (the violin makers village) Garmish, Ettal Monastary, Linderhof, Oberammergau, Wieskirche, and Neuschwanstein.

The Christmas markets in Rothenburg and Nuremburg are nice. The biggest is the one at Marienplatz in Munich. There is also a creche market (wood carved figures for nativity scenes) about a block from that. Salzburg also has a nice but fairly small Christmas market. You can easliy daytrip from Salzburg to Berchtesgaden as well as Hallstatt, and St Gilgen.

jenblase

Thanks for the advice, AisleSeat. Forgot about Neuschwanstein; that's a definite too.

Me thinks I'm trying to cram too much into two weeks...

pja1

Hi jenblase,
I know your say in/out of Frankfurt, but into Frankfurt and out of Munich would be ideal.
As for "obscene tax assessed when renting at an airport"... we always rent at the airport. Last Oct. we picked up at Frankfurt and dropped off at Munich, 12 days rental for $420 (USD not Euro) through www.gemut.com
I thought that was a reasonable price. I really like the convenience, plus we arrived in Frankfurt at 6:30am and were on the road at 7:45am.

Swarovski is about 20 minutes east of Innsbruck in Wattens, Austria.

Just a suggestion, Hall in Tirol is very nice and without the traffic, etc. of Innsbruck.

Hallstatt and St. Gilgen are within an hour and a half drive of Salzburg/Berchtesgaden.

Frankfurt to Frankfurt loop is alot in my opinion, but I'd suggest something like this:
Arrive Frankfurt and drive to Rothenburg for 2 nights.
Munich 2 nights
Salzburg (or Berchtesgaden area) 3 nights
Hall in Tirol (6 miles east of Innsbruck) 2 nights
Fuessen 2 nights (see Hohenschwangau also!)
Travel towards and stay somewhere close to Frankfurt for your last 2 nights or add a night to Salzburg/Berchtesgaden, as it seems there is a lot you want to see around there and spend just your last night by Frankfurt.

Hope this helps.

Paul

bettyk

For a 2 week car rental, you will pay approx. $100 more if you pick it up at Frankfurt airport.

We pick up our car in Kelsterbach, about 6 miles from the airport (Avis). Our rentals are through gemut.com. A taxi ride to Kelsterbach costs around 15E.

Not all taxi drivers are that familiar with Kelsterbach, so be sure to have Gemut or Avis give you precise directions.

To get an idea of how much you might save on your particular rental, go to autoeurope.com and use Kelsterbach as your pick up location and Munich or Frankfurt Airport as your drop off. Then do the same thing but use Frankfurt as the pick up location. The difference is the airport tax.

As Paul stated, the Swarovski "Crystal World" is located in Wattens, a few miles east of Hall in Tirol. It is not really a "factory" but an "experience". They do have a very large store on the premises, but the prices ARE NOT discounted.

http://kristallwelten.swarovski.com/...startseite.php

We have been to many of the places you want to visit. YOu can see our photos at

http://travel.webshots.com/album/561038806XxDcvw

This link should take you to our other albums as well.

Also, my trip reports may be of some help:

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=35079647

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34813676

Zeus

There is a Swarovski in Wattens, Tyrol, but their main store is in downtown Innsbruck, steps from the Goldenes Dachl. I know because the wife spends hours in there everytime we visit. This store carries jewelry that NONE of the other Swarovskis have. Personally, I think the stuff is a bit tacky but the wife loves it and I'm too afraid of her to tell her.

A few years ago we picked up our rental car at the downtown Frankfurt location (not the train station though - the surcharge applies there too). You can very easily go from the airport to the main train station in Frankfurt (Hauptbahnhof) then take a cab or public transportation to the rental car location. We saved $120 by picking up in town.

But I have to agree with the idea of picking up in one city and dropping in a different one. Looping back seems a bit counter-productive. I would fly into Munich, spend a couple days there first, THEN pick-up the rental car from a downtown location when you're ready to leave town. Why pay for a car when you're staying in town and can use the public transportation system instead? A 3 day pass will cost less than $20. Better yet, get the Partner Ticket : "The partner day ticket is valid for up to five adults. Two children between the ages of 6 and 14 years count as one adult. It is ideal for families, groups and school trips." 21 Euro for three days. http://tinyurl.com/2uypnq


From Munich you could head to the Salburg/Berchtesgaden corner, then head to Innsbruck. Kristalwelten (the more touristy Swarovski attraction) would be just before reaching Innsbruck. From Innsbruck, you can then head North to Fuessen (Neuschwanstein) and the start of the Romantic Road. Going that way would mean you run the risk of snow going through the mountains, but the road is very well maintained and quite scenic. I suggest spending the night in Fuessen so that you can tour at least one of the Royal Castles. Continuing North on the Romantic Road would take you to Landsberg, Augsburg, Nordlingen, Dinkelsbuhl and Rothenburg. Nuremburg would follow. Depending on how long you wish to spend at each spot, you still might have time for Strasbourg. Nuremburg to Strasbourg is 206 miles, or a bit over 3 hours.

We did a very similar itinerary in 2005. If you're bored to death or need some ideas, check out my bog at: http://tinyurl.com/2vng3w

jenblase

We are now looking to flying into Munich and flying out of Frankfurt so this may make planning a bit easier. We are using miles so everything is a bit tricky to plan just right!

pja1

Hi jenblase,
That would be optimum. Also check the reverse, into Frankfurt out of Munich. With your itinerary, it wouldn't matter which one you fly into.

Paul

jenblase

We have to connect through LHR on the way to Munich and decided it would be better to do that at the beginning of the trip rather than the end... so that's why we're doing Munich first.

From Frankfurt we have to connect in Madrid which is much easier to deal with on the way home than Heathrow would be!

AisleSeat

I find myself looking at cheap airfares that "almost" go to the place I want to go. I have to remind myself that for the same price or maybe just a few dollars more I can fly into and out of the place I want to go.

Since you are still in the planning stages start with where you want to be and then plan your air travel around that. If you do that it really opens up the places you can visit within the time frame.