2 weeks in Germany – itinerary sanity check
 

We have 15 days on the ground in Germany the last 2 weeks of August. We are a couple in our early 50s, looking for nature, nice scenery, good food, unique experiences, and we prefer small villages to cities. We will get in and out of Frankfurt, and we’ll rent a car. Here is a draft itinerary:
Day 1 – land and drive to Koblenz (or around) for the night. We’ll be jet lagged, so not planning anything, just take it easy
Day 2 – drive to Rüdesheim am Rhein with a stop to Eltz Castle and other stops on the way;
Day 3 – take a river cruise and explore RamR
Day 4 – drive to Black Forest, stay in/around Gegenbach. Stop at Worms Cathedral, Heidelberg castle and if we have time, the Technological Museum in Speyer
Day 5 – drive to Lindau, with stops in Triberg, Birnau Basilka and Friedrichshafen
Day 6 – spend it around Lake Constance, see Rhine Falls, Stein am Rhein and maybe Wollmatinger Ried
Day 7 – drive to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, visit one of the 2 castles on the way
Day 8, 9, 10 – spend in the area, visit Fussen, Tegelberg, the other castle, Zugspitze, Mittenwald, Partnach Gorge, Linderhof Palace, Ettal, Oberammergau, Wies Church
Day 11 – drive to Munich, with stops at Nymphenburg Palace and either Kloster Benediktbeuern or Andechs Monastery. Any suggestion of one over the other?
Day 12 – Munich
Day 13 – drive to Rothenburg ob der Tauber with stops in Nördlingen and Dinkelsbühl
Day 14, 15 – need to pick 2 day trips out of these 3: Bamberg, Würzburg and/or Schwäbisch Hall
Day 16 – drive to Frankfurt, drop the car off and fly back home
So, how does this sound? Enough diversity? Not too rushed? Nothing is set in stone yet, and I’m open to any suggestions. Thanks

Way, way too busy a trip, in my opinion. Not nearly enough time in each destination.

It is better to see more of fewer destinations than less of many.

Ok....
The easiest (for me) to cut off is the 1 night in Gegenbach, and move directly from Rüdesheim am Rhein to Lindau. And/or also, cut off the 2 nights in Munich.

Where would you add them? To summarize, we have:
3n/2d in Rüdesheim am Rhein
2n/1d Lindau
4n/3d Garmisch-Partenkirchen
3n/2d Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Thanks

Have you been to Europe before? Germany before?

I did 2 nights in each place I stopped. Didn't get much of my day trip stuff in. Found that to do any of that would have involved at least 4 nights in each spot. Your schedule looks too rushed all the way around. Even the small places have relatively a lot to see. Even Rothenburg, which I'm not really a fan of, easily filled 2 days. I did ride the train so that takes up extra time, but finding parking in all your stops would take time too I would imagine.

Mostly; you say you are interested in unique experiences, food, villages and nature. You need more time to enjoy those things. Right now what you'll really be enjoying is the inside of your car. Those are my interests too; I had more time on each place and still didn't get enough time to just wander off the beaten path.

(Forgot to add, if you cut days off somewhere, I wouldn't add them to Rothenburg. It's worth visiting for the wall and town museum and scenery, but otherwise does not need that much time.)

We've been to Europe before, but not Germany. I see what you are all saying, and I really need to rethink this. Tanks a lot, I needed this. It's hard to balance a doable pace with the desire to see everything :)
I'll cone back, with hopefully a better plan. Thanks again.