Germany itinerary advice
 

I am traveling to Germany this summer with my 16 year old son. We are only there for two weeks and there is a lot to see. We are going to take a train everywhere. This is our plan.

Day 1
Fly into Frankfurt
Train to Heidelberg
Heidelberg Palace

Day 2
University of Heidelberg
Train to Rothenburg
Night Watchman Tour - would it also be worthwhile to take the City Tour also or
would we be better off just checking out the city on our own during the day

Day 3
Train to Günzburg
Go to Legoland - my son has been a lifetime member since he was 5 and really
wants to go mainly to see Miniland. Anything else worthwhile in Günzburg?

Day 4
Train to Munich
Dachau Concentration Camp
BMW Museum (My son REALLY wants this and Audi on day 5)

Day 5 Day trip to Inglostadt - Audi Production Tour and shops

Day 6 Eagle's Nest

Day 7 Free day - Any suggestions? we have already visited the castles.

Day 8
Train to Nuremberg - recommendations for one day here? or better to spend an
extra day in either Munich or Berlin.

Day 9
Train to Berlin
Pergamon Museum
Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church

Day 10 Famous Insider Tour
Day 11 Insider Tour to Posdam
Day 12 Insider Tour to Dresden
Day 13 Insider's "The Cold War" tour
Day 14 Return to USA

Is this itinerary realistic and is it the best routing? Any suggestions for Days 7 and 8?
Would our best bet with the train be a twin pass?

Thanks.

Day 7 - how about seeing... Munich? So far your itinerary does not include any time in the city.

Day 7 - Rest and you may actually remember you were in Germany in years to come.

On Day 3 I'd train to Günzburg, visit Legoland, but go to Munich in the evening. Relax at your base in Munich or at any of the nearby beer gardens.

I'm a bit biased against mixing a trip to Dachau with a "fun trip" on the same day. But that is more a matter of personal taste than logistics. The BMW museum is definetely cool.

You will go through Ingolstadt when you train to Berlin, so you could visit Audi en route. But you will then arrive much later in Berlin, so you can possibly take a look at the memorial church but not the Pergamon.

Not sure if you need all those tours (day 10-13). All of those trips you can do on your own if you want.

I agree with Cowboy it is best not to follow the intense experience of a tour of Dachau with another "fun" outing. I would spend time in Munich in the morning of your day 4 and add more time in Munich, including the BMW tour, as your Day 7.

Ingolstadt should not take a full day. You could explore some of the Altmühltal nature park by taking the train to Eichstätt. It has lots of good hiking and biking options and very interesting natural history/fossils.
http://www.naturpark-altmuehltal.de/en/

I would plan Day 8 as an extra day in Berlin.

thank you all. Cowboy and Vttraveler, thank you for putting things into prospective. When I put together this itinerary, that is something I didn't think about mixing Dachau with other activities and I do agree with what you are saying.

I think I forgot to mention that we were in Germany a few years ago so had a chance to visit the castles and walk around a bit (near the Glockenspiel). Is there anything that is a little less famous in the Munich area that may be nice to see?

A couple of things you and your son might enjoy in Munich are the Deutsches Museum (great science and technology museum) and the Schwabing neighborhood with lots of student life and the Englischer Garten.

There are some great art museums and the Residenzmuseum and Nymphenburg.

I have never been to the Bavarian film studio but that is supposed to be interesting, too.

I'm not sure how you feel about drinking with your son at age 16 but the beer gardens are fun

By the way, the legal drinking age for beer and wine is 16 in Germany, so there is no problem with him having a beer from anyone else's side. All beer gardens also serve a wide choice of non-alcoholic beverages, though. A compromise could be Radler ("cyclist"), a mix of beer and sweet lemonade.

Some more suggestions:
Schleißheim palaces and park and nearby the aircraft department of Deutsches Museum on the old Schleißheim airfield
Olympic stadium
climb the steeple of Old St Peter
Bavaria film studios