Penny1E

We are planning a trip this summer to Germany and Austria with our children, ages 14, 11, and 9. I would love some suggestions regarding our itinerary.

So far, I am thinking we will fly into Munich. I'm not sure how long to stay there, but I know I want to take a day trip to Rothenburg from there--probably a private tour along the Romantic Road.

Then maybe a few days in Garmisch to tour the surrounding area and castles.

From there we will go to Salzburg for at least a couple of days, and then end the 14 day trip in Vienna.

Does this sound like a good itinerary? I really wanted to just stay in 3 different places--not 4, but I'm not sure what to cut out. Thanks!

traveller1959

Your itinerary looks very reasonable. Especially with kids, you will not enjoy moving to much.

Here some special recommendations for your kids:

In München, visit the Deutsches Museum - it a technology museum that has experiments so it will be interesting for the kids.

The kids will love Rothenburg. There is the crime museum which will fascinate them. Also, climbing the tower of the town hall. And the nightwatchman's tour.

The romantic road is not romantic at all - it is an ordinary highway - but it connects a string of quaint towns, including Rothenburg, Dinkelsbühl, Nördlingen to name the most picturesque ones.

I am not sure if Garmisch would make the best base to visit the Ludwig castles. Travelwise, it would make most sense to stay in Hohenschwangau or Füssen. Garmisch has the advantage of direct access to the Zugspitze and the Partnachklamm (a narrow gorge with a hiking trail).

When in Salzburg, also visit the salt mine in Bad Reichenhall and make the VERY scenic boat trip across the Königsee - a lake in a fjord - south of Berchtesgaden. You may also visit Hitler's home in Obersalzberg (also near Berchtesgaden). The bunkers and tunnels are most impressive (think of the villain's home in a James Bond film).

Fussgaenger

Salzburg is a better place for castles than Garmisch.
Hohensalzburg is right in town. Hohenwerfen was the setting for the Richard Burton / Clint Eastwood film Where Eagles Dare. It is a short distance away in Werfen, and it has a falconry show as well.

http://www.salzburg-burgen.at/en/wer...onen/index.htm

http://www.salzburg-burgen.at/en/

That's not to say you shouldn't visit Garmisch, which is terrific. I would skip the Ludwig "castles" in Füssen - anyway, they are NOT castles, but late 19th century palaces.

If you are a Ludwig fan, and you want to see his palaces, then try this... while in Munich visit Nymphenburg Palace, where he was born. Also, here's another palace he built called Herrenchiemsee - it's fabulous, with a ton of things to see there... it's located near the German Alps on an island in Chiemsee (lake) in the town of Prien, and it's half way between Munich and Salzburg - and guess who's going to Salzburg!

Herrenchiemsee is on the larger island:
http://www.breitbrunn.com/Fotos/Breitbrunn-Luftbild.jpg
http://0.www.alpen-guide.de/m/image/...nchiemsee.jpeg

Whether by bus or car, Füssen, the Romantic Road and Rothenburg are NOT very good day trips from Munich. Too much transit time, for one thing. On the RR, there'll be solid traffic, not that much scenery, and very little time to see/do anything in the many towns without more days there. And since these are the only places worth seeing in Bavaria (heh heh) you can count on sharing them with every international tourist headed for Germany. Rothenburg and Füssen barely seem German anymore, honestly, but more like English-speaking duchies governed by Walt Disney, with huge Disney crowds but no rides.

If you really want Rothenburg I'd stay there or in the area a few days. Rothenburg is nicely kept if very touristy. But there is just a ton of things you could see and do in the less touristy area surrounding Rothenburg, stuff that most families would enjoy. This place in Bad Windsheim is terrific and just one example:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...conia_Fra.html

Ochsenfurt and Marktbreit are near Rothenburg too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLUgpoQIFHI

Bamberg is an especially nice place: http://www.frankentourismus.com/cities/bamberg/

Like other towns, Pappenheim, not too far from Rothenburg, has a summer festival celebrating its roots. Maybe you could pencil this or a similar event into your itinerary.

http://www.pappenheim.de/Ritterturni...7b1e38d.0.html

Fussgaenger

Are you using a car, or trains? You can do what I've suggested above with either. But families get a huge break on train travel within Bavaria. €28/family/day for a day pass good for all of Bavaria (provided kids are the same age when you travel.)

http://www.munich-touristinfo.de/Bavaria-Ticket.htm

The rail network is extensive and dependable; the Bayern ticket is good to Salzburg too and also on some routes in Austria from Garmisch:

http://www.bahn.de/p/view/mdb/pv/pla...ayern_2013.pdf

sparkchaser

<i>We are planning a trip this summer to Germany and Austria with our children, ages 14, 11, and 9. I would love some suggestions regarding our itinerary.</i>

Legoland. Fun for the whole family.

Jennifer_Travels

Our kids loved our trip to Austria. They were similar in age to your oldest ones.
They enjoyed Salzburg, but not Vienna.
If you want an alternative idea, instead of ending in Vienna, spend a few days in one of the villages near Salzburg such as St. Gilgen. Our kids loved being in a smaller town where it was easier to walk around. St. Gilgen has a lake with electric boats that can be rented, ducks and swans in the lake to feed, and a local swimming beach/pool that you can use for a small fee. We also took the gondola (it starts in the town) up for an easy hike in the mountains, complete with cute cows with bell, and a cafe with beer, cocoa, and great cakes.
Outside of town, they loved going to Hallstatt for the salt mine tours and to a nearby Sommerrodelbahn (alpine sled)

nytraveler

IMHO kids seem to be old enough (except perhaps the 5 year old) to be fascinated by real castles, salt mines, museums, etc). Granted a 5 year old might prefer a lake with ducks to feed - but think the older kids would be bored stiff (at least mine would have been at that age - they wanted museums, ballet, and a chance to practice their French and toot around shopping on their own, etc).

Penny1E

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! We are planning on taking the train instead of renting a car. Also, maybe I should rethink going to Vienna? Would a few days in the Rothenburg area be better, or should we just cut Vienna and leave it to 3 places (Munich, Garmisch or Fussen, and Salzburg?

Fussgaenger

3-4 nights in Munich
3-4 in/near Rothenburg
3 in Garmisch
3-4 in Salzburg
A final night near the airport or in Munich?

That's how I'd do it. It's a full plate and kids don't have to put up with Vienna just because it's there. I find Vienna a mostly staid sort of place myself.

pauljagman

Rothenburg is very touristy but would probably be fun for your children. If you let them do the night-watchman tour they will remember that for ages. I don't know if more than a couple of days would be worth it since I've only experienced the city once.

As suggested they would also love doing the Hallstatt salt mine tour near Salzburg. It is a lot of fun that they will remember.

Have a great time.

Fussgaenger

For 3-4 nights near Rothenburg with outings you probably want to look elsewhere for housing since Rothenburg is at the very end of a trunk line and will require extra time and trains if you stay there and do day trips.

One good option is the cute town of Burgbernheim. Some photos and a map of town are below. Click on "Stadtspaziergang..." for a bigger map.

http://www.burgbernheim.de/Startseit...eiten/K134.htm

Burgbernheim puts you in a great location for train outings - 30 minutes to Rothenburg, 15 minutes to Bad Windsheim...

There are some apartments (Ferienwohnungen) there that would probably work for your family, like this one with 3 bedrooms, 4 beds and an extra child's bed. This place has a couple of bikes on hand too. Price is €40/night plus €5 per kid 12 and older.

http://fw-elisabeth.de.tl/Bilder.htm

There's a list of Ferienwohnungen and other options at the town tourist office site:
http://www.burgbernheim.de/Startseit...enfte/K129.htm

TI office:
Tourist-Information
Untere Rathausgasse 1
91593 Burgbernheim
Tel. 09843/309-34
Fax. 09843/980404
e-mail: [email protected]

There are other small towns nearby you can try too that will be better located than Rothenburg itself and probably less pricey as well. Bad Windsheim and Illesheim, for example. The local TI offices are the places to check for the most complete set of options. Finding a 5-person apartment in these small towns is not an easy thing to do if you're looking only at booking.com or homeaway or other commercial sites. Let the TI offices and their websites lend you their local expertise. Though websites are sometimes in German only, there are surely folks who can help you in English at these offices.

Penny1E

Thanks again! I'm humbled that strangers are so kind to take their time to help me plan a vacation!

My husband was able to squeeze a couple of more days off of work, and he really wants to see Vienna, so here's what we've come up with so far.

Munich: 3 nights
Rothenburg area: 2 nights
Garmisch: 4 nights
Salzburg: 3 nights
Vienna: 3 nights

How does this sound? I know it's a lot of switching hotels. We plan on just carrying backpack luggage.

wendy17

Hi,

We did a month in Germany last summer with a 4 and 6 year old. My boys loved Garmisch! We actually went up the Zugspitze, as the 6 year old had seen a show on it and was obsessed. It is PRICEY, but worth the experience. That being said, we lucked out, had a few days to gauge weather and got up there with the first train to see the view. Those behind us by an hour, saw nothing but fog.

Below the Zugspitze is the Eibsee. It is a beautiful lake and my boys had a blast playing in it. You can rent kayaks or canoes or just swim in it...but it's cold.

Not too far from there, and I am sure accessible by bus (we had a car), is a wonderful outdoor museum called the Freilicht Museum Glenleiten. This is worth a visit for sure! We stayed all day looking at the exhibits and buildings (a collection of old buildings from all over the area). http://www.glentleiten.de/ The website says you can take a train to Murnau, then the bus. I am sure your hotel in Garmisch could help you.

We were also near Salzburg. We did not do the salt mine tour, but it was highly recommended to us! We climbed up to the fortress with the boys, enjoyed the view, walked quickly through Salzburg, and headed out. It is PACKED in the summer! It is a charming city, but absolutely full of tourists in the summer unfortunately.

You might want to consider the Chiemsee area. We spent a whole day on the Chiemsee in Gstadt. The boys swam a ton and there is a climbing wall and trampoline out in the water, plus a little river and playground for the younger child. Ice cream is 1 minute away and it was a lovely day to just relax after so much driving for us! A boat tour of Fraueninsel or Herreninsel at the Chiemsee would be a great option, or as someone else posted, Koenigsee is woenderful!

We omitted Vienna much to my husband's disappointment....it was just too much for us and Vienna is pricey and many things kid friendly cost. There are plenty of things to do without paying of course, you just have to find them.

Gosh, so much to do! Have a wonderful time!

By the way, most of the beer gardens have a playground at them,so the kids can play while you sit and have adult conversation and enjoy a beer knowing the kids are safe!

bigtyke

In Salzburg, try the saltmine at nearby Hallein. Near Werfen, already mentioned for the castle, is the ice caves which I think all would enjoy.

All your train trips except to Vienna can be made with the Bayern Ticket.