I need URGENT help in planning a 3 to 4 week vacation to Germany.
 

My husband and I have been given the chance to travel to Germany for 3 to 4 weeks. I have been doing a lot of research and it seems like the more I do the more confused that I get. There are so many great places/things that we want to see like: Berlin, Dresden, the small towns around the black forest, etc.

I really need help making a workable itinerary that includes larger cities as well as small towns. Moreover, we have to go to Berlin for at least 5 days, but it doesn’t matter when. Likewise, should we fly in to Frankfort or Berlin? Should we rent a car? (I would really prefer not to rent a car in larger cities (i.e. Berlin, etc.), but am not adverse to the idea in smaller towns). Should we also try and visit another country as well as Germany?

Thanks in advance.

"Should we also try and visit another country as well as Germany?"

Salzburg Austria is easy to visit from Germany. So is Strasbourg, FR.

Here's a plan for 23 nights. I've added the Middle Rhine Valley, Salzburg, Strasbourg, 3 towns in northern Bavaria, and Munich to your suggestions.

Fly into FRA
Middle Rhine Valley (castles) (3 nights): http://www.welterbe-mittelrheintal.d...php?id=318&L=3
Berlin (5)
Dresden (3)
Bavaria (maybe Rothenburg, Bamberg, Nuremberg) (4)
Black Forest (Gengenbach) + daytrip to Strasbourg (4)
Salzburg + 1-2 days in Munich (4)
Fly out of MUC

"Should we rent a car?"

That would be too much work and too much expense for such a trip. All your destinations are well served by train. You'd be fine with a German twinpass good for 5 days in one month ($224 each) to cover the long distance legs (starting with the trip to Berlin.) The other short distances (to and from airports, etc.) can be traveled very cheaply - you can buy daypasses for local transport as needed or individual tickets. In the Black Forest, your transportation is free: http://www.blackforest-tourism.com/konus

Welcome to Fodors, it would be useful to know a bit of what you like before we can advise. Berlin offers you some fine museums, parks, building and strip joints. It depends on what you like as you can imagine before we offer the best advice.

Berlin is a big city droped into the relatively poorly off North East area but you might want to visit the Northern baltic coast or Dresden, Leipzig or Magdeburg.

Moving into the more developed western parts the high points for me are the Rhine and Mosel wine areas with great public transport/wine tasting and healthy food. If you have come over to this area (north of the Black Forest) then you could also visit Trier (capital of the Roman Empire for 20 years) Alsace (france) or even Luxemburg. I don't think you need to leave Germany in you trip but of all the possibilities this is the most enjoyable.

Visit the Black Forest if you want which apart from the Gateau, coo-coo clocks and a rather fun song I can see no reason to bother. I would rather visit say Wurtemburg or lake Constance.

Now what do you like to do on holiday?

German trains are great - as you say driving in cities can be a hassle - trains take you into the city center. To get a great fix on the Wunderbar German rail system check out these great IMO sites - www.bahn.de - the official site of the German Railways (DB); http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id9.html; www.seat61.com and www.ricksteves.com.

If traveling around Germany then investigate the German Railpass that allows you to hop on any train anytime and with zillions of trains going everywhere just show up at the station and hop on. A Twin pass is for two people traveling together on one pass - cheaper per person than a solo pass. There is also a Rail and Drive pass where you get X number of unlimited rail days and X number of car days to be used over a 1-month period - drive thru countryside to a train station and train into a big city. Cars can be picked up and returned at zillion of German train stations.

Thank you all for replying.

Russ, nice itinerary and thanks for the info regarding trains vs. rental. I think we will be going with the trains.

Bilboburgler,sorry I probably should have included that information in my original post, but to answer your questions we are interested in museums, art, good food/drink, shopping, and my husband is really interested in WWII monuments, concentration camps, etc. I would also like to see some castles.

PalenQ, great information! I will definitely be looking at the websites and considering a twin pass.

Once again thank you for your responses.I was also wondering if anyone has any hotel recommendations.

"husband is really interested in WWII monuments, concentration camps, etc. I would also like to see some castles."

WW II: Berlin, of course, and Nuremberg: http://www.museums.nuremberg.de/docu...tre/index.html

WW II museum on Rhine in Remagen: www.bruecke-remagen.de

Check into Sachsenhausen (nr. Berlin) and Dachau (nr. Munich) concentration camps.

Rhine Castle tours: Marksburg (best) in Braubach and Rheinfels (interesting ruined castle) in St. Goar.

Salzburg area castles: http://www.salzburg-burgen.at/en/

Hotels: many good suggestions with photos and comments are available here:

http://www.bensbauernhof.com/accommodations.html (Schwarzwald = Black Forest)

Russ thanks for the information it is really informative! I am looking at all the links you have provided. :)

Since you mentioned Dresden and small towns - yes, spend some time in that area as well. Plenty of castles/palaces in the region, the art collections/museums are gorgeous, the old town is excellent for shopping (lots of regional craftwork also), excellent restaurants at reasonable prices. As for WWII sites - the whole old town is one, then there's the fabulous Military History museum of the German Army, you can see some Soviet Army monuments/cemetery e.g.

That aside, the National Park Saxon Switzerland is a *must* for scenery!

Some websites:
www.skd.museum
www.schloesserland-sachsen.de
www.mhmbw.de
www.stsg.de
www.saechsische-schweiz.de

I.

Thank you for the information Ingo We will defiantly be going to Dresden, it sounds like a beautiful cities. Do you know how much it costs to travel to Switzerland?

I just hope you didn't mistake my reference to "Saxon Switzerland" as the country "Switzerland" :-) There are dozens of regions with beautiful countryside that are named after "Switzerland", the Saxon one is in the German state of Saxony.

Czech Republic would make a logical excursion from Dresden. Just an hour on the train, and you're in the Czech Republic - that is inexpensive, you can buy a day pass for 35 Euro or so for a group up to 5 people.

Thank you I was thinking about Czech Republic since it is so close.

I agree that the Black Forest is no big deal. I too would recommend Lake Constance (Bodensee). If you want a small Disneylandish town I recommend Meersburg. There is a castle there and lake proemenade. I also like Lindau. There are many small towns on the lake.

The advice you have gotten so far is all very good. I would offer once small comment re renting a car: A car gives you the ability to visit the the small villages that are not on the rail, not on the beaten path. Places where you are not "just another tourist" but possibly a bit of "curiosity". It has been my experience that in these "no where" places I have the most memorable experiences. Germany is very easy to drive in - their view of intersections, merges, etc matches those in the US. I have no idea who copied who, but it does make for a very easy experience.

For your concentration camp and castle interests Munich is a good place to spend some time. Go to Dachau and Nymphenburg Palace in the city and then of course head for the Alps to tour Mad King Ludwig's castles Neuschwanstein, Hohenschwangau, Linderhof and Herren Chiemsee. You can also look to Berchtesgaden for the salt mine tour and Hitler's mountaintop retreat, Eagle's Nest. Then go on to nearby Salzburg.