germany trip New itenerary
 

arrive in franfurt at 5:30 pm.
1) take train to wurzburg and stay overnight
2) day 2 rothenburg
3) day 3 and 4 munich
4) day 5 take train to berlin and day 5,6,7, berlin.
end trip in dresden. ( i would have liked to go to bamberg but wurzburg seems more convenient.) also what do you think of my days planned. thanks vic

Sounds very good to me.

Check www.bahn.de for prices of trains and then compare them to the German Railpass - a Twin Pass for two p.p. is just $150 - if you weren't going to Berlin and Dresden then maybe if you used the Land (regional) passes the pass wouldn't be good, but with your itinerary it may save money. For any German Pass info i always recommend BETS (www.budgeteuropetravel.com) for their expertise - 2006 prices on their web site. Euraide is an American company operating out of the Munich train station that also has good info on German train travel (www.euraide.com) and www.ricksteves.com also has good info on passes.

If you would allow me to ask. Why are you trying to cover so much ground in a 7 day visit?

Wurzburg, Rothenburg, Munich, Berlin, Dresden. Actually, because you will be spending so much time in transit, and getting set up in your hotels, you will actually have about 5 days of actual experience in the cities.

I always wonder why people try and jam so much in. I would be curious. Thanks.

I kind of agree with born2wonder. You really don't have much time to spend in these cities. I would either skip Berlin or Dresden. My choice would be spending the extra time in Munich and Dresden, and leave Berlin fo another visit. As the German saying goes "Berlin ist eine Reise wert" (Berlin is worth a trip), but not just for 2 days.


As is, you will be arriving in Munich probably near noon on day 3. That gives you day 4 for Munich. You will spend most of day 5 on the train to Berlin. That gives you day 6 and 7 in Berlin.
If you spoend an extra day in Munich, you can take the train to Prien and visit King Ludwig's Palace on the Herrnchiemsee island and see some of the mountains. The whole round trip from Munich trip will take about 5 hours, at the most.

On one of the extra day(s) in Dresden you can visit the Koenigstein castle,itself worth a trip. However, from the castle you have a great view of the Elbe valley and the mountains of the Bastei and Swiss Saxony. You could take a relaxing boat ride there and return by train. .

I agree that you're trying to cover too much ground in too short of time. It wouldn't be hard to spend a week in either Munich or Berlin (esp. with the good daytrips available in either). Since it's a ways out of the way of the rest, I'd recommend cutting out Berlin & adding in extra time (and I loved Berlin, but there's no point in just cursory glances). Your choice, of course, just my $.02.

Though if you are set on doing this, at least take the night train between Munich & Berlin so you save most of a a day spent on a train.

To clarify: This poster adds 5 days in Dresden at the end AFTER the 7 days. So I don't think his itinerary is too hectic.

thanks yes Ingo is right. we are spending 5 days in dresden and treating ourselves at the radisson.

also i guess with this itenrary a rail pass is needed. we are thinking of getting a twin pass.

The only way to know if you need a pass is to develop your itinerary and compare cost of Pt to Pt vs various passes. Go to www.railsaver.com, enter your itinerary and check the "Only if passes save me money" box to get a good sense as to which approach is better.

As I look at your itinerary, I'd suggest staying the first two nights in Wuerzburg, day tripping to Rothenburg on day 2. This cuts down one hotel move. Second, I'd either save Berlin for a later trip and add the extra days to Munich (There is much to see in Bavaria--why cut yourself short in exchange for hardly enough time for Berlin) or at least cut a day from Dresden so you have at least three in Munich.

Even with 5 days in Dresden (I assume you have family or friends there, otherwise, why so long?), it's still pretty hectic. As JN suggested, I really think Berlin is just too much to try to shoehorn in here, though, if you could strip 2 days off of Dresden and add one each to Berlin & Munich, it wouldn't be too bad (3 days in major cities is about the minimum I consider desirable).

www.railsaver.com i believe gives you RailEurope fares in $s and not the real fares at the stations in Germany. Go to www.bahn.de to get a realistic idea of whether a pass is good for you or not - railsaver may indicate one is based on often higher RailEurope fares whereas real euro prices may not.
That said i believe the German Pass will stack up very well no matter what measuring stick you use.

Does not at all sound hectic to me - very nice schedule IMHO, although I would skip the pseudo-Disneyland of Rothenburg, but that's me.

actually we are spending our last 7 days in dresden. we have a free stay at the 5 star radisson and want to enjoy the hotel. i am thinking of possibly reducing a day in dresden. if so where should i add it. or maybe drop wurzburg for bamberg. thanks vic