kanne

I am looking for a family-friendly destination for 4 days in August somewhere in Switzerland or southern Germany. My family of 4 from the US (including 2 boys 12 & 14) will be meeting up with my sister, her husband and 2 children (4 months & a 2 year old) who are from Ireland. My family will have already spent a week in Geneva before meeting up with my sister. After leaving Geneva we will have 9 days before returning to the US. I would like to spend most of that time in Bavaria & the Black Forest. To make it appealing (and practical) for my sister I would like to find a location Switzerland or Germany where we could all meet up for a mini-vacation.

Any suggestions for a lake or just a picturesque destination between Geneva and those areas of Germany would be much appreciated. Although my boys are teenagers, they would be more than happy to slow down and spend time with their cousins for a few days - no major activities/attractions needed.

Thanks much for any suggestions!

Russ

Lake Constance is a good place. Meet at the west end, in or near Radolfzell, for a family style vacation. Lots of apartments there, bike paths, lake access. We stayed in the village of Moos - just a normal little town - but there are many other towns in the area too. Radolfzell is quite nice - plenty of places to eat and other services.

Lakefront in Moos:
http://www.moos.de/2341_DEU_WWW.php?&publish[id]=2896&publish[mode]=overview&foto=1

West end towns:
http://www.hoeri-forum.de/images/karte.gif

It's easy to reach the Black Forest from this point, or to move east into Bavaria, or to do daytrips to Lake Constance towns like Lindau and Meersburg.

Some apartments on Lake Constance (Bodensee) by town:

http://www.ferienwohnungen-bodensee.de/

dreamon

I second this suggestion. We stayed at Meersburg and had a great time. Cycling along the lake would probably appeal to the kids - quiet roads or off road paths, well sign posted, pretty flat - and you can catch a boat home if too tired to cycle back. You can also visit places like Schaffhausen, Stein am Rhein, Ravensburg, and Konstanz (and many others). Heaps of apartments for rent in towns beside the lake.

kanne

Thank you for the Lake Constance suggestion and links - it sounds perfect!

I should maybe start a new thread with this next question, but will ask here since you are both familiar with the Lake area. I am thinking we may prefer to have a car in Germany rather than travel by train. Would a reasonable plan to get into Germany from Geneva be to take the train from Geneva to Zurich, then rent a car from there?

Thank you

Russ

"I am thinking we may prefer to have a car in Germany rather than travel by train. Would a reasonable plan to get into Germany from Geneva be to take the train from Geneva to Zurich, then rent a car from there?"

NO, not unless you intend to drop the car back in Switzerland. I would take the train into Germany at a minimum if you're dropping the car in Germany. You can get advance-sale tickets for as little as 29€ each between Geneva and towns in Germany like Radolfzell or Freiburg (near the BF) by purchasing well in advance (92 days out.) Extra Fees for dropping in a country other than the one of origin are ridiculous and will cost you more than the train fare alone,. Actually, it's an overpriced undertaking to rent a car when you start adding up insurance, gas, parking, etc.

Train passes for families like yours are very reasonable in Germany. Read about the state daypasses (Ländertickets) below; you'd be in "Baden-Württemberg" for the Black Forest and "Bayern" for Bavaria, two adjacent German states, so click on those names where the listed states appear below:

http://www.bahn.com/i/view/USA/en/pr...r-ticket.shtml

And your stay in the Black Forest gives you FREE rail/bus travel during your stay:

http://www.blackforest-tourism.com/konus

The BF railway routes connect some beautiful villages and offer some excellent scenery. The trains are often of the double-decker variety, great for sightseeing:

Schiltach: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sc...Altstadt_3.JPG

Gengenbach: http://www.black-forest-travel.com/gengenbach/

Vogtsbauernhof open air museum near Hausach: http://www.black-forest-travel.com/p...bauernhof.html

trains: http://sandrock-karlsruhe.de/familie...rzwaldbahn.jpg

Great resource for rooms and touring tips in the Black Forest:
http://www.bensbauernhof.com/accommo...hwarzwald.html

For Bavaria:
http://www.bensbauernhof.com/accommodationsbavaria.html

dreamon

For cycling check www.bodensee-radweg.com. They are a commercial company but lots of hints can be gained from their website.

Many of the local towns have their own tourist information websites so just google away.

We used a combination of trains, buses, bikes and ferries in both Germany and Switzerland without any problems so can't comment on using a car. I find using public transport more relaxing.

As indicated above, Germany offer family train tickets a reasonable rates. Train tickets in Switzerland are expensive but children under 16 are entitled to free travel in Switzerland if you buy a junior pass for 30chf.

JJtraveler

Dittos on the Bodensee suggestions.
You might want to look at Insel Reichenau. We stayed at the Insel Hof Hotel a few years ago and really enjoyed it. Our 2 daughters were about the same age then as your 2 sons. There is a park across the (quiet) street and the island is good for walking around.
I have more details and links here:
http://www.funtravelandfood.com/2011...n-germany.html

Have a nice trip.

kanne

Thanks to you all for the helpful replies! I especially appreciate the transportation advice. I am very early in my planning, but had briefly looked at the cost of swiss/german rail passes. They were quite expensive so I thought a car might be a better way to get around Bavaria & the Black Forest. However, the Landertickets look very reasonable. I will check into that option more I'm sure. They appear to be one-day passes. Is there a discount for buying multiple day passes at once? Are reservations required or recommended on German trains?

The biking and lodging information is very helpful as well.

If we stay at Lake Constance as our first stop in Germany, we would next either travel to Bavaria or the Black Forest. Our return to the US then gets a little tricky. Two of us will be flying out of Amsterdam, but the other two will likely be flying out of Geneva. Would it be best to end our stay in Germany in Bavaria where we could fly or train to Amsterdam & Geneva from Munich? Or would it be better to end in the Black Forest and possibly leave from Frankfurt? This makes things complicated, but probably can't be helped!

Thanks again

Russ

"Would it be best to end our stay in Germany in Bavaria where we could fly or train to Amsterdam & Geneva from Munich? Or would it be better to end in the Black Forest and possibly leave from Frankfurt?"

Take the train from either place to either Geneva or A'dam.

From Freiburg (near the BF) it's about the same travel time as from Munich to A'dam. To Geneva: It's about 8 hrs. from Munich, about 4 from Freiburg.

So generally speaking, Bavaria is a less convenient place to travel from to reach your airports. Of course, Munich is only one place in Bavaria.

Returning from FRA would be easier. Freiburg to FRA is 2 hours. Munich to FRA is 3.5 hrs.

Russ

"...the Landertickets look very reasonable." They are, and they're great for exploring an area. Not as cheap as the FREE Konus card, but still a great deal.

They are NOT so great for traveling between 2 or more states or outside of Germany (they're only good for one German state) or for very long distances. If you must fly out of A'dam and Geneva: Buy advance-sale tickets in advance to A'dam Centraal (or Schiphol airport) and to Geneva (or Geneva airport) from your location in Germany. These tickets are wildly cheap - 39 Euros if you snag the cheapest ones 92 days in advance, when they go on sale. The regular fare from Munich to Schiphol airport is around 160€.

And if you fly out of FRA, advance-sale tickets for two from Munich or Freiburg will run 49€ total - if you buy promptly.

Buy them at the DB (German Railways) site:

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en