Germany and where else for 2-3 weeks
 

Hello everyone. My husband and I are taking our kids (11 and 14) to Europe late summer 2012. The kids travel well and have lots of energy- so that will help, I'm sure. We have family in Germany and also want to squeeze in a few other destinations while there. We were thinking France, Italy, Austria OR Spain (I know it is impossible to do all of these other countries- in 2-3 weeks). My questions: 1. Which 2(?) other countries are best to include? 2. Should we use Eurail or rent a car? 3. Any "can't miss" spots we should include? It has been 10 years since I was in Europe and I was alone- so I KNOW this trip will be much different. Thanks in advance for any help with these questions and anything else you'd like to share.

With only 2 weeks, I'd stick with Germany and Austria so you don't end up wasting a bunch of time just getting in between places. Your children might enjoy the falconry show at Hohenwerfen Castle not far from Salzburg. They also might enjoy visiting one of the any open air museums (collections of very old houses, water mills, inns, etc).

1.) Which country is best should be your decision, based on your interests. Italy in late summer can be sweltering, and of course you may eat up a lot more time and $ getting there if you're talking ground travel.

2.) There are many variables. Trains are fun and in Germany particularly efficient, easy, frequent, dependable and cheap with the daypasses that families like yours can take advantage of. The Bayern (Bavaria) Ticket is one of many such passes; 29€/group of 5 per day for nearly unlimited access to all trains, buses, trams in Bavaria, a HUGE region that could easily take 2+ weeks to explore. It gets you to Salzburg Austria too:

http://www.munich-touristinfo.de/Bavaria-Ticket.htm

Rail map of Bavaria: http://www.bahnland-bayern.de/conten...ennetzplan-pdf

In Germany, apartments are abundant in places where Germans vacation - the Alps, rural areas like the Black Forest - and are great for families since hotel rooms for 4 are tough to find (and often pretty "tight". We totally enjoyed our roomy apt. overlooking the Rhine in St. Goar (Rheinfels Castle, Marksburg Castle nearby, both must-sees if you're anywhere near Frankfurt):

http://www.loreley-apartments.de/unsere_region_en.php

www.marksburg.de
http://www.st-goar.de/17-1-.html

You might enjoy a look at well-traveled Bavaria Ben's 2011 rail trip report. His trip covered only a small part of the Black Forest and the Rhine this time, but it provides some great photos and details that will give you an idea of what travel might be like for you there.

http://www.bensbauernhof.com/germany...ndbus2011.html

Peruse his site for more impressions of Southern Germany.

Have a look at this apartment site page for Bavaria to get a feel for apartment rentals and prices:

http://www.accommodation.de/cardsear...=2&Po=?108,173

Where in Germany will you be starting / ending?

I love the idea of Germany/Austria. You can take your kids on the totally campy "Sound of Music Tour" and go to Eagles Nest. Plus the biking alone would be fantastic. You can also go on a saltmine tour (a lot more fun then it may sound).

Russ has great advice. We (husband/wife, 2 adult children) just returned from a Germany/Austria Christmas trip. Two places we stayed in apartments - king bed for the parents, twin room for the kids. Kitchen for snacks and living room to relax at night. Our cost was about half of the hotels we stayed in.

We used the Länder tickets (e.g. Bayern-ticket) to take day trips for only 29-33 euro for all 4 of us.

Bavaria Ben's site is a great place to get information on inexpensive apartments (fewo is the German abbreviation) and private rooms. In addition to specific places, it is a good confidence builder that you too can use this type of accommodation and are not confined to hotels.