We (parents/23 yr old son) are flying to Hamburg at the end of Aug. and will be at our friend's home from Thurs. am - Sun. eve when we fly to Nurnberg, rent a car and spend the night there. Tentative plan is:
Mon: am- Nurnberg; see sights in town
Kaiserburg?documentation center?
afternoon drive to Rothenburg to spend night.
See some and go on Night Watchman Tour

Tues.: am Rothenburg a little sightseeing. Walk on wall??
Drive to Dinkesbuhl?? Sounds like cute town
Drive to Ulm and see the cathedral
Cont. to Schwangau to spend 2 nights

Wed.: Visit Neuschwanstein/Hohenschwangau /Wieskirche

Thurs: Zugspitze, and Tegelberg luge or Partnachklamm Gorge
Stop in Garmisch
Drive through/stop in Mittenwald and on to Munich 2 nights

Friday: Nymphenburg/Dachau

Sat: Walk around Munich/ spend night at airport hotel/return car

Sun: am flight home
Is this realistic?? Should we stay on major high way vs using Romantic Road?
I had planned to reserve time at Neuschwanstein but may reverse days to do Zugspitze on nicer am; can I change reservation day before??
I don't have a good map yet; need to get one but is the drive Thurs. doable? Are Tues and Thurs too much?
Thanks for any suggestions!

I would not know what to recommend about your itinerary except it seems to me you are moving too fast and trying to do too much on many days. Many of the places you mention deserve much more time than you are planning to be there. I personally did not find the Romantic Road that scenic. I did think Rothenburg was cute but very touristy. We went to Bamberg and liked it more than Rothenburg. Hope you will plan to do more than drive through Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Mittenwald. Stop and enjoy for a bit. I think the Partenkirchen part of GP is the most beautiful. Hopefully you will get some good advice from others.

It does seem like too much so any suggestions of what to leave-out would be helpful! The rooms are reserved (probably could be changed), but we can leave off activities to have more time to enjoy the towns.I am almost tempted to leave out Neuschwantstein. I know it's famous, but we can't do it all and enjoy being outdoors.

On Tuesday, you have at least 3.5 hrs or more of driving, then you plan to stop at least twice for sightseeing before arriving in Schwangau. You will also spend additional time finding a place to park before you can walk around. AND, this is after taking time to sightsee in Rothenburg in the morning? I think you are trying to do too much while seeing too little.

Many people think Rothenburg is touristy but there is a reason for all the tourists. You won't see any place like it anywhere else. We have been at least a half dozen times and will continue to return if we have the opportunity. We also love Bamberg and have been several times.

I can't comment on Thursday except to say that both Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Mittenwald deserve more time than you have allotted.

The Romantic Road is not scenic. It has a number of cute towns to visit - but the scenery itself if just OK. (Caveat: I'm from NY and used to update New York which is absolutely gorgeous - rolling hills valleys with farms and gorgeous lakes - a LOT more to see than the Romantic Road).

Agree you are trying to pack too many things into too little time. You need to allow for those places that have timed tours (like Ludwig's Castles - and schedule your times for English-language tours unless you are comfortable in German.)

Maybe we should stay another night in Rothenburg. That way on Wed we could have an early start to drive. Maybe we can then just either go to the Schwangau/Fussen area and not Garmisch at all or just go all the way to Garmisch and stay there and leave off Neuschwanstein. I hate to leave out this area completely but now it feels like its far for just one night.

Hi,

Just a few observations and opinions:

Rothenburg is well worth visiting, especially in the evening. We enjoyed the Nightwatchman Tour and seeing the 500 year old Tilman Riemanschneider wood carved alter masterpiece. It's in the back of St. Jacobs church up a few stairs.

On Tuesday, I'd probably skip driving the Romantic Road and Dinkelsbuehl and head straight to Schwangau via highways. If you're staying in Schwangau, Neuschwanstein is right there. You may be able to catch the last tour of Neuschwanstein or visit the Wieskirche and ride the luge at Tegelberg on Tuesday. That's totaly realistic. On Wednesday, if it's a clear day and the Zugspitze is a priority, head straight there. You can get to the top of the Zugspitze from nearby Ehrwald, Austria.

www.zugspitze.at

Afterwards head to Tegelberg and the luge ride if you haven't done this on Tuesday. Fuessen is a charming old town a few minutes from Schwangau. We stayed here twice. For Neuschwanstein, since you're staying in Schwangau, on Thursday early morning, you can be at the ticket kiosk early (around 8:30am) on your travel day to Munich and hopefully beat the tour buses and get an early tour time.

Everyone's different of course, but here's what my plan would look like:

Monday: Rothenburg for 1 night
Tuesday: Schwangau for 3 nights (I'd stay in Mittenwald though)
Friday: Drive early am to Munich, walk around and visit Nymphenburg
Saturday: Visit Dachau and drive to the airport hotel, return car.

Based in Mittenwald for 3 nights, places of interest nearby:
"Mad" King Ludwig's Linderhof palace
Ettal Monestary and church
Karwendelbahn cable car in Mittenwald
Zugspitze from either Garmisch or Ehrwald, Austria
Luge ride in Garmisch
Partnachklamm Gorge

You could also drive the 1:30 or so to Neuschwanstein from here if you really wanted to. My opinion, Linderhof has the more interesting interior compared to Neuschwanstein.

Mittenwald and Garmisch are 20 min. apart by car.

If interested, we have photo's of all these and more (3 pages of them) at:

www.worldisround.com/home/pja1/index.html

Hope this helps.

Paul