We are a family of 4 (including 2 girls ages 12 & 14) who will be arrriving in Frankfurt on the train from Copenhagen on July 15. We have until July 31 to visit this area (flying back to Canada from Frankfurt) Can someone help us with a plan for those 16 days. We are considering rentaing a car for the duration..is that smart or would we be better off using the train? any suggestions as to accomodations...merci beaucoup, Louise

It is a smart idea to rend a car because train is expensive in Germany and outside the main routes service is less efficient.Accomodation could be expensive especially in large cities such as Munich and Frankfurt, so if you have a car you could chose a cheaper lodging in the environs. This is my personal point of view but I suggest to visit especially medieval towns such as Heidelberg and Freiburg i/B : Frankfurt downtown is just an imitation of american ones but museums are very fine. My favorite region is Bayern and along the Danube there are interesting villages . So my suggestion is leaving from Frankfurt to the South, visiting Heidelberg - to Freiburg near the Black Forest- Then to Munich and the region and visit Dresden and Berlin. Anyway try small villages! <BR>

Louise: If you email me, I will send along a copy of our Germany trip notes from '97, as well as a copy of our German itinerary for the end of this month. It will provide some details about the middle Rhine, Frankfurt, and Bavaria, including Munich. <BR> <BR>Good luck with your plans. BTW, I'd drive, also. <BR>

I can share my experiences in Switzerland with you. We used both train and car during our two week visit. With 4 people, I think renting a car is cheaper than 4 train tickets every time you go somewhere, even if you do have the Swiss half price card at about $100 per person. Also, with a car you get to drive over the mountain passes in those areas that cannot be reached by train. We had a compact sized car -- Fiat with manual shift. I think that size would be a little small for 4, particularly for 4 adults, or near adults, in terms of space requirements. <BR> <BR>In the Berner Oberland, places like Wengen and Murren cannot be reached by car. You can park in Lauterbrunnen and take the train to Wengen, or take the furnicular and train to Murren, or drive up valley all the way to Stechelberg and take the cable lift to Murren. Lauterbrunnen has a multi layer parking garage that seemed adequate for the traffic volume. We did not have a car at that point, so I cannot tell you the cost. <BR>For Zermatt, all visitors use the parking spaces in Taesch and take the shuttle train to Zermatt. <BR>If you want to see some mountain views, take the roads over Susten Pass, the Grimsel Pass, and the Furka Pass. The roads are ok for high mountains and the views are awesome. If you have the time, drive up to top of the Saint Bernard Pass, not far from Lausanne, and visit the home of the famous dogs. <BR>Many of those spectacular valleys that lead into the Valley of the Rhone are not served by train, although most of them can be reached by postal bus. Val d'Anniviers is one of the remote valleys that is beautiful, but no train goes there. The same is true of Saas Fee, Saas Grund, etc. Huge mountains, almost 15,000 feet in a couple of spots, but only postal bus service. There we had a car and drove around the mountains. <BR>If you want to connect quickly from the Berner Oberland to the Valley of the Rhone, don't forget about the Goppenstein - Kandersteg Tunnel. One simply drives onto a flat rail car, sets the brake, and rides the train through the tunnel. The cost was moderate; the trip itself takes about 20 minutes of sitting in the dark. The tunnel saves time, but the scenery is not much, until you emerge. We had a great time in Switzerland. I hope your vacation is as good as ours.

Loiuse, I would recommend that you rent a car. I am sure that it would be cheaper and easier with a family in a car than a train. You will have much more freedom with the car. What do you want to see? A few ideas spefic ideas would get you a more info. Also check out the gogermany.miningco.com. They hold a chat session every wednesday at 9 pm (eastern) on travel plans to Germany. Glenn

Yes, I recommend the car, as well. For 4 people, it should certainly be more economical and easier getting around. For 4 people, I highly recommend getting an intermedate-sized car. We got compact which was a great little manual Mercedez and great for 2, but you couldn't get everyone and their gear in for 4. We did the train and car for our trip and both worked out very well, but the train is alot more work that those teenagers may not be up to! There are no ramps, escalators or elevators in train stations, so you haul your gear up and down stairs getting to other tracks for transfers. And, hauling your gear on the trains is a bit cumbersome, as well. We drove in Germany from Munich to Garmisch to Rothenburg and to Bacharach, on the Rhine. That all went very smoothly and the autobahns are great! I think driving in the big cities like Munich will be much harder. I only drove there from the train station to our hotel and it was difficult getting to it because of all the one-way streets! Maybe if you stay on the fringe of the city you'd be okay, but don't stay too far out, so you can enjoy all the nice walking you do from your hotel to the city centers with their wonderful pedestrian areas! <BR> As for places to go, I highly recommend Rothenburg, the medieval walled city dating back to the 900s. They conduct a wonderful tour called, "The Nightwatchman's Tour" and he gives you very interesting history and he's a great storyteller - your girls should really enjoy that! I also really enjoyed Munich with a wonderful city center and many great sights. Garmisch and Southern Bavaria is a great area, as well, with beautiful countryside, quaint, picturesque towns with great shopping, and of course, Ludwig's castles. You can also take an excursion there up to the Zugspitz, Germany's highest mountain. I wouldn't miss Bavaria! Salzburg is also wonderful (my favorite city, in fact) and is only 2 hours from Munich, by train. Bob's Mountain Tours conducts wonderful tours of the city and sights out in the astoundingly beautiful countryside and Lake District. And, if you're into the Sound of Music, they conduct that tour as well which was great! So, I wouldn't miss Salzburg either! <BR> Anyway, if you're interested in knowing anything more about those areas or Switzerland, email me and I can give you hotel recommendations, websites, email addresses, etc, etc, etc. You'll have a wonderful time!

I am going to be contrary and suggest that you at least consider taking the train even though it will probably be more expensive with 4 of you (using railpasses will help). One reason is because for where you're going, you may well want to do at least part of this trip by boat and not worry about where you're leaving your car. From Frankfurt I saw the Rhine-Mosel river area by boat which was gorgeous with the vineyards and castles along the way, and since the castles are right along the river you can just get on and off in various towns and see what you wish and go by boat or train on to the next town. I think Rick Steves has info on this in some of his books and videos. Also there are boat trips on the lakes in Switzerland. Having the freedom and flexibility to change from boat to train without a car may be worth it. Also, I personally find that driving in foreign countries can be stressful and that train travel is more relaxing, but that is just me -- I enjoy meeting other travellers on the trains rather than being isolated in your own little group within the car. Just something to think about. You may want to buy one of the guidebooks that focuses on travelling by Eurrail which should have information about which water routes are covered and timetables, suggested itineraries, etc. Seems to me there may be 15-day railpasses if I remember correctly which might suit your needs well. Good luck and have a great time.