We will have 10 to 14 days in Germany late September/early October. We will be renting a car and would like to see the Castle area and the Romantic Road. I am not sure where we should start or end. We would like to see and stay in some of the charming small villages I have heard about. We would also like to find a half-day (more or less) river cruise. I would appreciate any itinerary and sightseeing suggestions.

>> We will have 10 to 14 days in Germany late September/early October.
Lucky you!

>> We will be renting a car and would like to see the Castle area and the Romantic Road.
Not certain what you mean by the castle area - we are talking about Germany after all! Presuming you are referring to Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau - Ludiwg's two cribs?

>> I am not sure where we should start or end.
Start where you land/ enter the country! Presuming it will be Munich based on my other presumption and the Romantic Road reference? Or possibly Frankfurt?

>> We would like to see and stay in some of the charming small villages I have heard about.
And they are....?

>> We would also like to find a half-day (more or less) river cruise. I would appreciate any itinerary and sightseeing suggestions.

Okay - putting this all together as best I can. You will start in Munich and drive south to Fuessen where Ludwig's castles and which is the southern end of the Romantic Road. Then you drive north along the Romantic Road, staying in whichever charming village you come across (there are plenty, just Google "Romantic Road") until you reach Wuerzburg - the north end of the Road. The you head over to the Rhein and arrange for your half day boat cruise. That is what everyone will tell you. If it were me I would head to the Neckar or Mosel (more charming villages and castles; Neckargemund, Hirschorn, Cochem, etc.) and take my cruise from there.

If you name the towns you have heard of and provide some more logistical basics you will get some more specific and focused responses from others.

To Aramis - thanks for the help.
We will be coming by train from either Paris or Brussels.

You assume correctly - we would like to see Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau.

You have mentioned some of the villages we would like to see. I would love suggestions about which ones we should not miss. We would also like to stay at least one night in Rothenberg ob der Tauber.

We are interested in the Mosel River area as well. In fact, we were considering a 12 night river cruise on the Mosel and Rhine that goes from Amsterdam to Basel but we like to spend the evenings in a town or city and we like to eat in local restaurants and stay in local inns.

I always find this board a great help planning our trips and am looking forward to more input. Thanks

Okay;
If it were my trip I would start with 2-3 days in Munich, but you are going to be there when Oktoberfest is on, so unless you have reservations or wads of cash......

I recommend Fuessen for the castle stop - one night should do it. Or start in Garmisch and stay two nights - you can do the castles from there.

Augsburg, a medium sized city but some fascinating sights - and you could easily train into Munich for a day of festivities.
Nordlingen great little walled town that is less touristy than Rothenburg or Dinkelsbuehl.
Rothenburg - I agree with your plan to stay overnight., and recommend more than one. It is a good base for Dinkelsbuehl, Feuchtwangen, Schwaebisch Hall

Nuernberg and Bamberg (gem alert!) are worth it if you can swing east a little

The Mosel is ideal, anything around Cochem - the stretch between Burg Eltz and Trarbach

If you are coming by train from Paris or Brussels, it might make more sense to start at the Mosel/Rhine River areas.

The towns Aramis mention are also some of my favorites. I'd probably add Bad Wimpfen which is on the Neckar River and about an hour from Heidelberg. We stayed here for a couple of days and did a day trip to Dinkelsbuehl and Schwaebisch Hall.

Where are you going after Germany? Are you planning to fly home from Germany?

I agree with the suggestions for visiting Nordlingen and/or Dinkelsbuhl. They're both wonderful small walled towns.

I plan to arrive by train from Paris or Brussels and fly home from Germany. I am still uncertain about where to start our drive in Germany, a good route to take advantage of the great suggestions I have gotten , and where to end. Thanks again.

If you want to tour the Mosel valley you could take a train to Trier and rent a car and follow the river to Koblenz

Würzburg is the northernmost point on the Romantic Road. It is a beautiful city on the banks of the Main River. The Main is a scenic area with lots of vineyards--Michaelstadt, Miltenberg are interesting smaller towns you might enjoy visiting in that area.

I recommend stopping at the large fortified Schloss Harburg south of Nördlingen.

South of Donauwörth, the Romantic Road gets much less scenically interesting until you are near the Alps.