hat

Very last minute trip in mid-august. 13 nights total in Germany. Flying in and out of Dusseldorf with 2 adults and 2 teens.

Bacharach -3 nights
Rothenburg- 2 nights
Reutte- 2 nights
Munich - 3 nights
Berlin - 3 nights
fly back to Dusseldorf

We will have a car for the first half and perhaps take it back in Munich and train/fly from there.

We travel quite a bit and enjoy experiencing a variety of activites including nature views, walking and hiking (as tolerated by teens), wine, castles, history and museums. We are fine with longer drives as necessary.

Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Mainhattengirl

I think your teens are going to be bored to tears spending 3 nights in Bacharach and 2 in Rothenburg. Take some days off of those 2 places and add them on to Berlin, if nothing else, or perhaps Munich.

november_moon

The town of Reutte is ok (we stayed there), but it wasn't as picturesque as Fuessen and other towns in the area. That said, hotel rates in Reutte tend to be lower than Fuessen, so it is a good budget option. The Plansee is not far - picturesque lake and resort area.

Near Hohenschwangau, there is a Tegelbahn to the top of the mountain that is neat - there is also a summer luge right there that is good for a couple rides. There is also some good hiking around there.

AndiM

We did both the luge near the castles and the one in Austria close to Reutte. The one in Austria is better. The one near the castles was crowded and hard to go fast.

annhig

it's a long way to go from Munich to Berlin for two days. also you are moving around quite a lot.

given the age of you kids, I think that i would head straight for munich, then Berlin, and forget about the rest.

hat

Thank you all for your replies. My teens are probably a little different then most in that they tend to enjoy exploring smaller places, seeing cathedrals, castles and actually prefer them to larger cities. Also, the trip isn't just for the girls and my husband and I both would like to see something other then Berlin and Munich. That being said, I chose Bacharach only as a base to explore the Rhine valley (I understand the town itself isn't a big destination). I did choose Reutte for budget regions and also only as a base to explore.

Having said all that, I really do appreciate all the input and would like to know if you all still think we are spending too much time away from the larger cities. I am certainly open to making changes and that's way I posted!

Again, thank you for your help

annhig

Having said all that, I really do appreciate all the input and would like to know if you all still think we are spending too much time away from the larger cities. I am certainly open to making changes and that's way I posted!>>

my experience with my kids [and of course yours may be different] is that they have liked our holidays a lot more when we have stayed put rather than toured from one place to another. They like getting used to an area, going out and doing things in the day and then coming "home" in the evening. also you get to do and see more, IMHO, as you are not wasting time just getting from one place to another.

you might approach it thus:

one night on the way to munich, stay munich 5 nights, one night on the way to Berlin, stay 5 nights, one night on the way back to Dusseldorf. that will also enable you to rent apartments in Munich and Berlin, which is cheaper and gives you more room and freedom.

Russ

It sounds like a mostly good plan. 3 days on the Rhine, if the kids become restless for some reason, can easily be filled with short journeys to Cologne, to Mainz, or to the Mosel River towns. Cochem (attractive castle-town with falconry show at 11, 1:00, 2:30 and 4 - Mondays dark - on castle grounds, chairlift, gorgeous old walled town) is a good choice. Burg Eltz Castle is fabulous. Trier is great if you're into Roman history.

http://www.mosel-reisefuehrer.de/mos...ightsengl.html
www.cochem.de
www.falknerei-reichsburg-cochem.de/fotobuch.htm (falconry photos)
www.burg-eltz.de

With Eltz, Marksburg, - www.marksburg.de - Rheinfels and the other castles you'll find along the Rhine, it's probably overkill to spend the two days you've got planned in Reutte (a dull place, really) presumably in part for the purpose of visiting Neuschwanstein Castle, which isn't really a castle but a stylized home built a little over 100 years ago and which now defines hypertourism. You really need one more night in Berlin for sure. I would reallocate those two nights - spend an extra night in Munich and maybe make a daytrip to Füssen from Munich if you're itching to go there for the scenery or whatever reason; it's an easy and cheap daytrip by train - 29 Euros total there and back on a Bayern ticket daypass for your family. Then spend the other additional night in Berlin.

I would also suggest a visit to the Residenz (palace) in Würzburg on your way to Rothenburg.

november_moon

I liked the outdoors, small towns, etc. as a teen too, so I get where your kids are coming from. I would have personally enjoyed more time hiking in the alps, swimming in lakes, etc. at that age than in a large city - so consider your family's interests when deciding how to divide your time.

The advice about staying put more than moving around is good. Thinking about trips my family took when I was growing up, the best ones always seemed to be when we spent at least a few days someplace. And with small towns and mountainous places, we kids always had more freedom to go off on our own than we did in cities - that is ALWAYS a good thing when travelling with the parents Probably a good thing for the parents too.

hat

thanks again everyone. This is all very helpful especially Russ's specific recommendations and websites. I will rework things and definitely add at least one more day each to the bigger cities while removing Reutte altogether. You have all been very helpful as usual.
HAT

hat

We are back from our 2 week German trip and I want to thank you all for your help (as well as all the other posts I read while doing my research). We changed the trip quite a bit based on your recommendations and I'm so glad we did. We ended up staying in Berlin for 5 nights and we all agreed that it was the highlight of our trip. It is so tempting to try and see a lot in a short time period but the consistent advice here to avoid too much moving around definitely paid off for us. We absolutely loved Germany and will definitely return.

ira

Glad you enjoyed your visit, hat