born2wonder

Was wondering if I could get some opinions on the following. If you were going to Germany for the first time with 3 other couples, (8 people in total)which of the following 9 night itinerary's would you prefer.

#1 Upper Bavaria: Munich, Berchtesgaden, Chiemgau, Garmisch, Fussen etc. Really explore Munich and the alpine regions. Spend more time absorbing, and less time traveling.

#2 Whole Country: Fly into Berlin, then take the train to Cologne, Rhine, Wurzburg/Bamberg, then on to Munich. Fly out of Munich. Obviously spending only a day or two in each place but seeing more of the whole coutry.

Thanks for your input.

Intrepid1

I can think of several alternative itineraries but the way you have phrased and placed the order of things you obviously want the first possibility to be affirmed and I will gladly do just that.

tcreath

I would choose #1. We spent a week in Berchtesgaden and a few nights in Fussen and loved every second of it. There is much to do in the area, and 9 nights would give you a great opportunity to explore in depth and at a leisurely pace.

Tracy

logos999

>Really explore Munich...
9 days is not enough for what you're planning. Garmisch, Berchtesgaden, Füssen... doesn't sound like you're planning on absorbing either. It's more like "exploring" the beaten path once more. So basically I believe, whichever itinerary you choose there is no difference!

born2wonder

Yes, I agree, 9 nights doesn't provide enough time to absorb anyplace in depth. However, compared to the day by day moving around most people plan on a vacation, it seems like a lot.

I wouldn't try and cover all the alpine places I mentioned. I would probably select two of them and focus there. Appreciate the feedback.

born2wonder

Also, I am trying to get a feel for what most people would like to do, see a lot of different cities on their first trip to Germany, or concentrate in southern Bavaria which seems to be the most popular area to visit.

I realize everyone is different, and there are many options. Just trying to get opinions. Thanks.

Intrepid1

I realize it is a difficult decision. For the second itinerary I would eliminate Berlin (which IMO is worth several days in and of itself) and concentrate on the Rhine region.

I think you could easily spend two full days in Munich alone. You could do two of the Fuessen castles in a long day.

A lot might depend on what really interests you. I personally think you could skip Garmish in favor of Berchtesgaden, also.

Are you planning to travel by car? Getting to and from the Fuessen castles is somewhat easier by road and would probably save some needed travel time.

How are you going to finally decide, i.e., what input, if any, have you gotten from the others or are they relying on you to make the decisions?

If the latter is the case I would advise you to get THEM to fully buy in and agree before proceeding so as to eliminate the possibility of, "Well if I(we) had done the planning..." comments later on.

How are you planning to decide which hotels to stay in, etc.?

tcreath

When we did our trip, we spent a week in an apartment near Berchtesgaden and traveled all around our immediate area, including Salzburg and the Salzkammergut. From there we went to Fussen for a couple of nights and then up to Nuremburg for our flight home. We didn't really spent much time in Munich because we had already been there.

I feel as though we saw a lot at a relatively slow pace, and really got to enjoy the area. I just loved it. If you want to "do" Berchtesgaden, Fussen and Munich, I would 4 nights in Berchtesgaden, 2 nights in Fussen and 3 nights in Munich.

Tracy

Ingo

I'd recommend #1. It is better to concentrate on only one region to get a feeling for the people. You must know, however, that Upper Bavaria is only one out of dozens of German regions which are all different.

#2 sounds like a nightmare to me. Not only packing/unpacking and spending too much time travelling on the train from one destination to another, the cities you mentioned won't give you a feeling for the *whole* country. Big cities are big cities - Berlin, Cologne, Munich have all been destroyed in WWII and were rebuilt in mostly modern style (more or less successful) and although they all have sights which are well worth a visit you won't get a feeling for the different regions/cultures - you can only scratch the surface in 1 or 2 days.

logos999

>all been destroyed in WWII
The only? house left built in the 14th! century was opend to the public as a museum (Beer and Oktoberfest Museum ;-), two weeks ago. It was fascinating to see that there's still this one place left downtown. Wasn't destroyed by fires or hit by bombs at all. Strange, isn't it, when everything around was burning?

born2wonder

ttt

EmilyC

This is a very interesting question and here's my perspective. Hubby and I are avid hikers and we have spent a good deal of time in both Germany and Austria. Generally speaking, it's just the 2 of us on vacation so we have no problems about where to go because we are there to hike. On the few occasions when we have been accompanied by friends and/or family, it's clear that the dynamics of your free time change significantly. With 8 people, I would suggest picking locations where all of your group can be free to do whatever they would like for the day. In other words, if you stay in the countryside, the group will have to stay together to do activities because they don't have transportation or they don't know how to get where they would like to go. My best advice is to pick spots where folks can be free to choose what they would like to do without infringing on the group. Although my most favorite spot in the whole world is the area around Berchtesgaden, if I were going with this many people I might stick to spots that would allow for more flexibility, like cities. You could stay in Munich, for instance, and those who are interested could take a day trip to Salzburg/Berchtesgaden...or any other spot that they might choose. What month is your travel?

born2wonder

Emily,

Thanks for the response. Your idea of the city because of the options, and the day trip opportunities makes a lot of sense.

I have been to Germany before but my family and friends have not. They want to go, but really can't tell me if they want to see lots of different places or simply concentrate in southern Bavaria. They are leaving it up to me which is why i posed this question.

I would prefer to base in Munich, and day trip as you implied. Thanks again for the opinion.

AisleSeat

born,
You've got a lot of people to do the logistics for. If you were traveling with a single companion you could probably move a lot faster and easier. For that reason, if no other, I would opt for the slower pace.

I would spend a few nights in Munich, a couple in Oberammergau (with a trip to Fussen, Linderhof, Wiesekirche, Ettal Monastary, etc) and a couple in Salzburg.

J_Correa

My husband and I are going to Germany this summer - my first trip, he has been before. We were faced with the same question - focus on Bavaria or try to see more of the country at a faster pace. We have 13 nights for our trip.

We decided to focus on Bavaria in order to see more of the places we visit and have a more relaxed pace. We have 5 nights in Munich, 4 nights in Nuremberg, 3 nights in Reutte, Austria (just over the boarder from the Fuessen area), and then 1 night in Munich before our flight home.

There is a lot of Germany I would like to see that we are not visiting on this trip, but like everything else, it is a trade off.

born2wonder

Always tradeoffs. The whole north Germany versus south Germany is interesting to me as well.

I guess most people would go to Bavaria if they had to choose one general local. Even people that like to move around a lot could spend a dozen days there and not see all the main sights.

Berlin however may be the single most fascinating individual city in Germany to visit. But, its along way up there and I am not nearly as fascinated by the northern scenery. Just my opinion.

PalQ

Option 2 by far-ranging rail trip means German Twin Railpass would be a boon for you - option 1 you should buy the Bavaria Pass, a rail option sold in Bavaria at stations. German pass, as cheap as $150 p.p. in 2nd class for 4 days of unlimited travel in a month period - Berlin to Frankfurt and Frankfurt to munich would be much more than pass price with fares you'd buy at stations in Germany. To check German schedules and prices go to the German rail web site - www.bahn.de - a nifty way to reach the English schedule and pricing page is to go to: www.budgeteuropetravel.com and on their home page click on All European Train Schedules (or some such wording) at the bottom of the page and instantly pops up the English schedule page where you just put in the cities and date and you'll get all the trains and prices. The pass can be used on nearly all ICE trains - even ICE 3 trains at no extra charge but in Germany with regular tickets these trains cost about $30 more than other trains - making the pass more a benefit. the Budget Europe home page also has a link to: German Railpasses where you'll find pass prices and links to KD Rhine boats and Romantik Road bus web sites and suggested itineraries. www.euraide.com also has good info on German trains as does www.ricksteves.com

PalQ

Option 2 by far-ranging rail trip means German Twin Railpass would be a boon for you - option 1 you should buy the Bavaria Pass, a rail option sold in Bavaria at stations. German pass, as cheap as $150 p.p. in 2nd class for 4 days of unlimited travel in a month period - Berlin to Frankfurt and Frankfurt to munich would be much more than pass price with fares you'd buy at stations in Germany. To check German schedules and prices go to the German rail web site - www.bahn.de - a nifty way to reach the English schedule and pricing page is to go to: www.budgeteuropetravel.com and on their home page click on All European Train Schedules (or some such wording) at the bottom of the page and instantly pops up the English schedule page where you just put in the cities and date and you'll get all the trains and prices. The pass can be used on nearly all ICE trains - even ICE 3 trains at no extra charge but in Germany with regular tickets these trains cost about $30 more than other trains - making the pass more a benefit. the Budget Europe home page also has a link to: German Railpasses where you'll find pass prices and links to KD Rhine boats and Romantik Road bus web sites and suggested itineraries. www.euraide.com also has good info on German trains as does www.ricksteves.com

PalQ

sorry about duplicate - that glitch one post was talking about today on Fodors!

born2wonder

I guess most would agree that Munich would be the obvious choice to base while in southern bavaria. Train transportation is easy and convenient to day trip locals. A car is not an issue for us with 8 people.

I would think it would be easy to spend 4 or 5 days exploring Munichs sights and environs. That would leave 4 nights elsewhere. This will be an October trip so the mountains should be inviting.

I have a friend who spent all 2 weeks of his vacation in Munich a few springs ago. He said he never ran out of things to do. He is a city boy. Actually, I like the cities too, but I can't imagine any city captivating me for 2 weeks straight.