Itineray Help
 

Hello

I have done further research and have the following itinerary for my Germany part of my Europe Holiday (please critique!)

Day 1 - Arrive at 12pm in Cologne (from Amsterdam) look at cathedral and short walk before picking up hire car and heading to Cochem for late afternoon.
Day 2 Explore area iaround Cochem (is this a good base) what should I do for the day? I would like to see the castel
Day 3- Leave early for Heidelberg spend morning looking around the town before heading to fussen (overnight) at around 2pm try and see the castle if possible late that afternoon
Day 4 - Look around fussen area in the morning and head to Dosoledo for a late night arrival (relatives)(3.3hr drive) (via Innsbruck)
Day 5 - 8 Dosoledo (relatives)
Day 9 leave Dosoledo for Salzburg (3hrs) spend the day in Saluzburg and then head to Munich at 8pm.
Day 10 - see Dachu and munich
Day 11 - Munich
Day 12 - head along the Romantic road and see dinkelsbuhl and Rothenburg for the day - do Nightwatchman tour -then head to Wurzberg
Day 13 Wurzburg
Day 14 Wurzburg (maybe look at Bramburg for the day)
Day 15 drive to Nurnburg and drop car off and spend the day in the city - take bus to Prague at 17:41

looking forward to your thoughts?

Let the games begin! Sorry, OP.

Day 1-2: Cochem's a good base. But it's odd to call it a base since you barely have time for Cochem much less visiting other towns in the area.

What to do there:

Reichsburg Castle: not the best castle tour - Burg Eltz below is much more special - but the best scenery from the tower grounds of any castle in the area and there's a fine patio up there to relax with a beer after you've walked up.

Free-flight falconry show on castle grounds at 11:00, 13:00, 14:30, and 16:00:

http://www.falknerei-reichsburg-cochem.de/fotobuch.htm

Stroll around the half-timbered old town (cobblestones, old town walls, towers, half-timbered buildings)

Take a chairlift ride (or hike) up to the Pinnerkreuz, a cross on a peak overlooking the town.

Stop in at a winery for some local flavor.

Take a short river cruise to pretty Beilstein (one hour each way) or a 1-hour evening cruise near Cochem with the Kolb cruise line:

http://www.kolb-mosel.de/en/index.php

Outings:

www.burg-eltz.de

Spa treatment in Bad Bertrich: http://www.bad-bertrich.de/

I'm tired just reading it.

I'm tired just reading it.

This is not a vacation - this is the travel equivalent of an iron-man triathalon. You have twie as many places as you can actually get to and see anything. Have you checked out travel times? Hours things are open? How long it actually takes to see anything (the Michelin guide books tell you how many hours you need to see specific sights they list).

Suggest you need to do a lot more reseach and a reality check.

This is a really packed itinerary - I agree with the others that something needs to come out.

What time of year are you travelling? In summer you'll have crowds at the Ludwig castles, so if you want to see them, you definintely need to book ahead. Tours will sell out earlier in the day. If you are travelling in winter or closer to winter, days will be shorter, so keep that in mind. Also, weather may be a factor.

I think that a few tweeks might help your itinerary a bit - looks like you are doubling back quite a bit. If you can rearrange your schedule, this order might work better:

Cochem to Fuessen - drive the Romantik Road, stoping at 2 or 3 towns. Take all day for this drive. With this plan, you could still see Rothenburg, but would have to skip the Nightwatchman's tour. Then spend the next day in Fuessen - see the castles and the local area.

Munich to Wurzburg - since you will have already driven the Romantik Road and seen a couple of towns there, you may be able to add a day to Munich before heading to Wurzburg. And then still have a decent amount of time there and for your day trip to Bamberg. Another choice would be to stay in Nuremberg as a base and then day trip to Wurzburg and Bamberg.

With this revised plan, it might make sense to drop the car in Munich and then take trains after that. Munich to Nuremburg and/or Wurzburg is easy by train and then making day trips from either of those towns is also easy by train.

You won't see everything on your list, but you can see a fair amount and it will make things a bit more relaxed. You'll still be on the go, just not a such a quick pace.