soiree

Hello all! I'm not a new poster but it's been a while since I planned a European vaca and I seem to have lost my login details. You all have been immensely helpful in the past.
I am planning a very last minute trip to Germany, flying in and out of Munich. We leave in less than 2 weeks! I have been before, twice actually, but never with kids. My girls are 6 and 9 and are excellent travelers. My mom is also coming along for the fun. Goals include staying in a charming medieval town, seeing castles, a half day of luge and fun in the Alps and ~2 days in Munich. I have rented and driven a car in Germany before and found the process very enjoyable. We arrive very early the first day.
*Tentative* plan is:
Day 1- rent our car and drive to Rothenburg OTD. I remember it being a darling town and I think my girls would love walking the wall and also the Nightwatchman's Tour.
Day 2- Head toward Neuschwanstein. Most likely tour the castle in the morning and then drive to either Oberammergau or the Tegelberg Luge for some mountain side fun. Make our way to Prien am Chiemsee.
Day 3- Herrenchiemsee. Friends toured this last year with their children and just raved. It was one of the favorite things they did. End our day in Munich where we will drop our car.
Day 4-5 Munich
Day 6- Fly home.

This is a very ROUGH outline and kind of my first draft. It looks like we'd be in the car ~2 hours each day, breaking it up with some stops. It's not ideal to stay in 4 hotels but having a car will make that process a bit more simple.

Thoughts?

Fussgaenger

Thoughts?

#1: I like Herrenchiemsee and the Prien area very much. You have one night there. But it's a good base area for several nice outings if you were doing a "hub and spokes" trip from a base town with multiple day outings to other places.

#2: This is a typical, routine tourist-trail itinerary in peak tourist season, so most of your time will be spent with your fellow international tourists, surrounded and served by locals who work in tourism.

"Goals include staying in a charming medieval town, seeing castles"

#3: Sounds like you are visiting only PALACES from the latter part of the 19th century. And probably too many of them. That's what Neuschwanstein (meager, overpriced half-hour tour) and Herrenchiemsee are. Prien is a modern town. Rothenburg is 40% "post-war rebuilt-medieval" and it would be charming maybe if it had any purpose other than serving thousands of tourists every day. Feels like an amusement park ( with "torture museum" and the Nightwatchman tour" rides.) And it's in the opposite direction of the Alps, which means extra driving - and a very long, maybe dangerous and jet-lagged drive since you've just stepped off an red-eye flight across several time zones. No castle in Rothenburg either.

Suggestions:

You probably haven't heard of Landshut but it's only about 20-30 minutes from MUC airport. Lovely old town with a life of its own quite apart from the tourist trade Trausnitz Castle - medieval roots - can be toured. I'd do that instead of Rothenburg. You can still hear German spoken on the streets there (not English, Japanese, etc.)
https://www.fodors.com/world/europe/...hoods/landshut
https://st.focusedcollection.com/140...itz-castle.jpg
Bavarian Palace Department | Trausnitz Castle | History

Another castle from older times: Burghausen, southeast of Landshut in the town Burghausen near Austrian border: Bavarian Palace Department | Burghausen Castle | Significance

Stay longer in/near Prien for a while. Swim, bike at the lake. Go to nearby aschau and take the lift into the Kampenwand area:
https://kampenwand.de/index.php?rex_...rte_sommer.jpg
http://q-ec.bstatic.com/images/hotel...9/43953086.jpg
https://www.kampenwand.de/index.php?..._gondeln-4.jpg

Oberaudorf (also near Prien in the Alps has a summer bobsled run too.

fourfortravel

We were just in Bavaria last month for a long weekend; our own DD (16) wanted to see Neuschwanstein again. One thing to note is that the interior of the castle is under restoration; furniture is covered in some rooms, and if I recall correctly not all of the rooms can be toured at the moment. Since we had toured the interior on the previous visit, this was not an issue for us; seeing the castle from Marienbrücke was our goal. Keep in mind that you'll need timed-entry tickets for the castle if you do decide to tour (the "same-day" tickets are snatched up quickly). Last month we counted at least 7 tour buses parked, their charges all queued and milling about for access to the castles; and at Restaurant Kainz, where we paused for snacks, a good half of the restaurant was reserved for tour groups.

Our children, then 9 and 14, really enjoyed our overnight in Rothenburg ob der Tauber (on this Bavarian holiday that included Neuschwanstein); walking the wall and taking the (touristy) Nightwatchman's Tour was fun. Though, we visited in an early April when the tourist crush was not what it will likely be in August.

Happy Planning!

holly_h

This area is great to take your kids to- they're going to love it. It's very touristy yes, but these places are really beautiful and interesting and seeing them gives your kids a base. In my opinion it makes sense to start with the base and build off it later with things that are off-the-beaten-path; not the other way around.

I do think you have too many things on your itinerary for such a short trip though- too much driving, not enough wandering around- I think something needs to go, for example I may be biased because I haven't been to Herrenchiemsee, but this can probably be a day trip from Munich (by train/ bus) and then you save quite a bit of driving. Have you already bought your plane tickets? I'd suggest flying into Frankfurt, driving to the romantic road, doing night in Rothenberg (btw the crime/torture museum there is a lot more than what it sounds like- it is really a museum of medieval laws and customs and is absolutely fascinating - they just named it torture museum to appeal to tourists), back on the romantic road with stop in Dinkelsbuhl, night in Augsburg; night in Fussen so you can be there for an early Neuschwanstein tour; rest of your nights in Munich, flying out of Munich.

Fodorite018

Do you have lodging yet in Rothenburg? If not, take a look at the Hotel Spitzweg. Our family stayed there this past September and loved it! The family suite was perfect for us. The Night Watchman's tour was very good, and do not miss the crime museum. Walking the walls was very interesting!

In Munich, you don't have a lot of time, but you might consider renting bicycles and riding through the English Garden. We spent most of a day doing that, but of course you can spend much less time there as well. Really fun, and there are several beer gardens you can stop at for a drink/meal/snack. We rented bikes from Mike's Bike Tours. There are two locations, one for their tours and one for just their bike rentals, only a few blocks apart.

soiree

Great suggestions, thanks. Rats, I wish I would have thought about flying into Frankfurt. That's a good idea, unfortunately too late :/

Our friends that visited Herrenchiemsee said we really needed a car to get there which is why I added it before Munich.

Mike's Bike Tour is a must!

Thanks all, keep the suggestions coming!

soiree

I do agree with the above. This will be my third trip to Baveria and while it's my kids' first trip, it won't be their last. We are fortunate to have "free" flights as my husband works for a commercial airline.

My mom is really pushing to see Rothenburg again and she has gotten my daughter very excited about it. It *is* out of the way and does add several hours in the car. But it's doable. Not ideal though :/
Day 1. Arrive MUC 7:30am. Pick up rental car and head toward Rothenburg. ~2.5 hr drive. Maybe stop for lunch in Nuremberg? I'd imagine we'd get a little nap in Rothenburg, walk the wall, dinner, and Nightwatchman's Tour.
Day 2. Head toward Neuschwanstein. I'm torn on whether we should tour it this trip or not. It's abt a 3 hour drive. I would love to show it to my daughters. Maybe we just get to the bridge for the view? Then I thought we could head to Oberammergau for our "fun in the Alps." It sounds like there is a fun luge and ropes course. My girls would love this. Stay in Oberammergau.
Day 3. ~2 hr drive to Prien am Chiemsee. This looks like a lovely area and I have read so many great things about Herrenchiemsee. We would spend the day/night here.
Day 4- Head to Munich. It looks like it's a little over an hour drive. Drop car. Spend the day in Munich. (Mike's Bike Tour is a must.)
Day 5. Munich
Day 6. Fly home.

So I don't think this is the *ideal* itinerary and I am very open to suggestions. It has to be last minute, bc while we do fly for free, it is on standby basis. So flexibility is the name of the game lol!
I'd love suggestions on stops on our drives. My kids are great in the car; we have audio books and the time passes quickly.
Thoughts?

rizzo0904

Pilot family here too. We are also planning a trip into Munich. I'd love to do Rothenburg, but we are going to head south to Salzburg for a few nights and then up to Munich. Mike's Bike Tours also do a Neuschwanstein trip.

Fodorite018

Yes, we took Mike's Bike Tour to Neuschwanstein as well. It was very good!

soiree

Salzburg probably makes more sense; it's delightful, enjoy! And I hope you don't bump us from our flights lol!!!!