Hi all, I have spent an obscene amount of time reading these boards as we've planned our trip to Europe in March/April! Thanks to the information you all have shared, we have what I think is an awesome itinerary throughout the continent. HOWEVER, we're down to the last few days and I'm not sure how best to spend them. We will be in Salzburg April 15-17 and fly home from Frankfurt on the 22nd. I'm thinking of either taking a train from Salzburg to Mittenwald for a couple of nights, then a train to Rothenburg before going to Frankfurt on the 21st. OR skipping Mittenwald, take a train from Salzburg to Munich and rent a car; then just make our way along the Romantic Road, ending in Frankfurt on the 21st.
We do not plan to stay in Munich on this trip, but in smaller towns--so the trip to Munich would be only to pick up a car.
Would sure appreciate your feedback.
Thanks in advance!
P.S. Or we could skip Salzburg altogether, train from Budapest straight to Munich to get a car and have those couple of extra days in Bavaria???

One more thing...as we make our way along the Romantic Road, is it necessary to make hotel reservations or may we "wing it" and find places along the way?

Since you will be staying in Salzburg and seeing some of the Alps that way I would suggest the option that includes stops on the Romantic Road.
But without knowing who exactly is traveling and what your interests are it is hard to know.

Thanks Vttraveler, it will be my husband and myself, we like sightseeing and good food, and enjoy local atmosphere. We are healthy, active 50's. The only reason we'd rent a car is so as we travel the Romantic Road we can explore whatever comes up...however, we love train travel also.

Hi,
To start off with, I would not skip Bavaria. I also would not skip Salzburg. It looks as if you have 4 nights between Salzburg and leaving for home (if you stay in Salzburg 15-17). Although I like having a car in Bavaria, your plan of Salzburg, Mittenwald, Rothenburg to Frankfurt sounds like the one I'd go with.

I checked the Avis website and there's no need to go to Munich for a car. They have a location in Berchtesgaden, Germany (just 30 minutes from Salzburg) and another in Garmisch (20 minutes north of Mittenwald).
Sorry to add more confusion and not be able to give a clear opinion. Whichever scenario you choose, you won't be "going wrong". It's all a beautiful part of Germany.

Paul

Great information Paul, thanks. Do you think it's enough of an advantage to have a car...or would the train travel do? We are enthusiastic about either option. I'm thinking the car gives more flexibility on the road itself, while the train means more time in each of the destination towns. Would appreciate input...

Hi,
Either train or car will be good. Personally, I'd go with the car. I like driving. I'd also try to get the car in Berchtesgaden. The drive from Berchtesgaden to Mittenwald or towards Munich and the Romantic Road is beautiful. Actually, the area around Berchtesgaden is beautiful. With your "limited" time to get from Salzburg to Frankfurt, VTtraveller has a point about heading towards and staying along the Romantic Road from Salzburg. I would definitelty allow 2 nights for Rothenburg ob der Tauber. It is much nicer (less tourists) in the evening. Walk the wall and be sure to take the Nightwatchmans tour. It was the highlight for us!

www.nightwatchman.de

Just a suggestion, we stayed at a wonderful local place just 15 minutes from Rothenburg...

www.romanticroad.com/zumrappen/

Gorgeous place and very reasonable. Parking just outside the wall in Rothenburg is easy. There is a free lot at the south side of town. Rothenburg is really not that big, so wherever you park along the wall is good.

Our trip report from Oct./Nov. 2007, including the Romantic Road and Bavaria (with a link to our photos and places we stayed, etc.) may be of some help...

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=35089110

Hope this helps.

Paul

> Do you think it's enough of an advantage to have a car? <

IMO, Yes!

Almost by definition, Bavaria is 'scenic mountains and countryside'. So having the flexibility to get off onto rural roads would be most desirable...

Bavaria was just part of our 7 weeks in Europe in the spring of 2006. We had a car and for the most part we didn't have reservations ahead of time. We only stayed in B&B and never really had a problem finding one. We usually started looking about 2 or 3 PM and used the local tourist offices for assistance. Here are some links to a couple of places we stayed in Bavaria. Also a link to our trip report if you're interested.

On the romantic Road:

http://tinyurl.com/yo5nff

In Oberammergau:

http://www.roomsoberammergau.com/haus.htm

In Cochem on the Mosel River:

http://www.pension-hendriks.de/

Trip Report:

http://tinyurl.com/24vmde

Hi fsufan1,

I'm a huge fan of the train system in both Germany and Switzerland! So often, we live in and travel to places without a good system and are sort of forced into using a rental car. But when you have the option of a good, economical, and efficient train system, it makes good sense to do so! Plus, (and this may be an unpopular sentiment) it may be the responsible thing to do with the global warming factor.

I did your itinerary in reverse in Dec 06 - Jan07: flew into Frankfurt, spent a few nights in Rothenburg, then a month in Mittenwald. I did it all without a car -- and had the BEST time. Never missed or even thought about a car. If I wanted to go off into the countryside -- I did! There are trains and busses that go everywhere, and I also like to take long walks in the countryside.

By all means -- TRAIN.

s

I agree with those who say you will have a lot more flexibility with a car especially on the Romantic Road

If you take the suggestion of staying 2 nights in/near Rothenburg you could stop somewhere along the way between Munich (or wherever else you get the car) and R. the first day. I like Nordlingen which has intact town walls. Schloss Harburg, above the the Wornitz River, is another good place to stop.

I've used both train and car in Bavaria and along the Romantic Road. Overall, the car was more hassle - picking up, dropping off, parking and parking fees, navigating - it's more "work" than "vacation" when you have the option of using a reliable train system.

And the Bayern ticket, at 27 Euros for a group of 2-5, makes the daily cost of a rental car exorbitant.

The train does not neatly follow the Romantic Road - but there really isn't a compelling need for you to follow the Romantic road neatly either. The Bayern ticket (which also covers bus connections between towns, by the way) covers you from Salzburg to the RR towns of Mittenwald, to Füssen, Augsburg, Nördlingen, Rothenburg, and Würzburg, among other towns, and all the way to Kahl, just a few miles east of Frankfurt. The train of course will also take you to other interesting towns that are overlooked because people feel they must "drive the Romantic Road" - towns like Bamberg, Nuremberg, Eichstaett, Weisseburg, and Pappenheim to the east of the RR.

If you have trouble walking or carrying your own luggage, then a car may be better - but the advantages of a car for this area are otherwise unclear to me.

With just 4 days, you'll have a full itinerary if you go just to Mittenwald and Garmisch, Rothenburg, and Würzburg, really. But perhaps you can squeeze in another stop or two here or there along the way.

Wow, fabulous information...thank you so much!

We will compare prices for car rental and train travel. Is your advice to purchase a train pass for our days in Germany, or buy each ticket individually? (Haven't looked into either yet, so forgive me if this is a stupid question.)

Hi fs,

I would visit Salzburg, rent the car in Berchtesgaden and head for Fuessen to visit Linderhof, Neuchwanstein and Hohenschwangau.

You can then travel along the RR to Rothenburg - 2 nights there is a good idea - and then to Frankfurt.

I can highly recommend www.ammoos.at for your stay in Salzburg. Mr Strasser is very helpful. I am sure that he can help you get to Berchtesgaden for a car pickup.

See my trip report for details:
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=35014078

Enjoy your visit.

bmk

Hi again,
Just another suggestion. To see one of Ludwig's castles, you need not drive/train all the way over to Fuessen. While I loved Fuessen, Neuschwanstien, etc. Ludwig's recreation of Versailles (Neues Schloss/Herrenchiemsee) is absolutely amazing. My favorite "Ludwig" castle was Linderhof... until I saw this. Herrenchiemsee is just an hour from Salzburg/Berchtesgaden towards Munich.

http://www.herrenchiemsee.de/englisc...lace/index.htm

Paul

One of your questions never got answered. You don't need to make reservations. On numerous trips there, we've never made one.At all.
Simply go to the TI (Tourist Info) office in whatever town (always in the centrum (center, or main square) of a town by 4 PM, ask about a pension (pronounced pen-see-own), and take your pick.
Lots to see in Bavaria; we far prefer the flexibility of a car.

Hi fsufan1,
dont forget to take raincoat and umbrella, because there are certainly some pouring days.
The train idea is not bad, but for the Romantic Road I would also take a car. There are several smaller places not having a train station and the train connections in that area are not very good.
As beforementioned hotel reservations normally not necessary, the only exception maybe Rothenburg on Easter.

I agree with Paul that Herrenchiemsee is in some ways the most interesting of Ludwig's castles. It is also much easier for you to see on your way from Salzburg toward the northern part of the Romantic Road than is the Fuessen/ Neuschwanstein area. With kids I would probably go to Neuschwanstein but for two adults you should at least research both and decide whether you want to take the extra driving time.

The other island on the Chiemsee, the Fraueninsel, has an old Benedictine monastery and is also a pleasant trip in summer--not so sure about mid-april weather there.

If you do pick up a car in the Berchtesgaden area as others suggest, you could see Herrenchiemsee, then go north to Landshut, a beautiful medieval town, then head west to the north of Munich, going through the Altmuhl valley area and seeing the towns of Eichstaett and Weissenburg mentioned by Russ. These places are all well worth seeing but are not on the routes followed by most U.S. tourists