My brother and I will be traveling to Amsterdam in late April. We plan on staying in Amsterdam for four days, then tour the middle Rhine and finish up in Munich (two weeks in total). I'm looking for travel tips, suggestions, etc. In order to give us flexibility, I'm thinking of purchasing the twin German Rail Pass in lieu of point to point separate tickets with pre-defined dates and times. I don't mind driving open roads, but I really don't want to negotiate city traffic where I'm not familiar with the rules and traffic signals. So, here we go. Amsterdam for four days, then on to Cologne. Visit the cathedral and maybe stay the night. From there, I'm thinking of making Koblenz a base for day trips to Cochem to see Berg Eltz, Trier and St. Goar where we can make our way to Brauback to see Marksburg castle. It appears to be a connection point for the K-D boats to take a Rhine castle tour. Question: Are day trips practical, or are any of these towns worth more time? Also, will the rail pass cover transportation between smaller towns? From Koblenz, we make our way to Munich, stopping over night in Heidelberg (2 days there). No reservations or even airfare (from LAX) has yet to been purchased. If you have hotel, VBRO or AirB&B suggestions, please pass them on.

How late April? Flyng from LAX you lose a day in flight is that included in your 4 days? Are your arrival day and the day you move to Cologne included in those four days?
27th April is Kings Day so you may need to decide if you want to experience that or not.

Haha. Good question. I've traveled a bit, so I am aware of losing a day. We'll travel after Apr 19th sometime. When I book the flight, I'll know more, depending upon arrival time. I realize going through customs and getting from the airport to the hotel will consume a few hours. If we still have the afternoon, that may count for a day. Looking at train schedules, the early morning train (6:38 am) to Cologne is most practical, so that will give us 3 full days plus. If we arrive in Amsterdam later, then I think an extra day there is practical since we'll have all day in Cologne. I'm not sure there is much more to see there than the cathedral. We might just move on to Koblenz in the late afternoon. Thanks for your quick response. It helps me considerably.

You need to decide what you want to see in Amsterdam asap and buy tickets online for places like the AnneFrankhuis or the van Gogh Museum if they are of interest. April is peak time for Amsterdam with the tulips and all.
If you struggle to find a hotel in Amsterdam have a look at Haarlem, or even Utrecht. It depends somewhat on what you are hoping to see and do while there.
The Dom is right outside the station in Cologne. There is a hotel in the station I believe should decide to stay the night and move on the next day.

Leiden is also a good suggestion, but can be busy as well, because of Keukenhof (tulips).

Utrecht may be your best bet, because it will be far less busy than Amsterdam (or Haarlem in april) and it's got great railway connections, also to Cologne.

Utrecht - Amsterdam is 25 minutes by train.
If you should opt for Utrecht: https://www.karelv.nl/en/

Has anybody used the German Rail Pass? If so, does it cover regional trains from say Koblenz to Cochem, or Cologne to Cochem, Cochem to Trier, etc.?

It is vaid on all DB trains in Germany and a few that go out fo Germany
Read the T&C page https://www.bahn.com/en/view/offers/...NDITIONEN_LZ01

Thank you. That's one less thing I have to consider.