Kind advisement on German itinerary,pls!
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Kind advisement on German itinerary,pls!
Hi, again, Our daughter is having a wedding ceremony on either side of the pond. We have only a few days til my husband needs to fly home & I will be off to St Petersburg. Through a little research have come up with a first draft, pls critique. I know it would be nice to have a little more time but I am working with what we do have between the wedding & our departures.
Day 1 after wedding festivities: Drive to Rothenburg-overnight
Day 2; Drive to Neuschwanstein-overnight
Day 3: tour castles-overnight?
Day 4; drive to Mainz
Day 5; Rhine cruise to Koblenz or drive?
Day 6; transfer to hotel near Frankfurt airport for 8;05 am flight
Questions: Should we add another day to the Romantik Road & overnite in Ausburg?
How long does it take to drive to Mainz? Is this something we could do after touring the castles?
Should we break our drive to Mainz with an overnite in Heidelburg? And if so, how long a drive is it to Mainz?
Should we break our cruise with an overnight?
Also, planning to pick up our car day one. Should we drop it in Koblenz & then take the train to Frankfurt or turn it in in Frankfurt? Any recommendations on car rental companies?
Thank you in advance for your kind help with my many questions-as you can see I am just beginning with this. Kindest regards!
Day 1 after wedding festivities: Drive to Rothenburg-overnight
Day 2; Drive to Neuschwanstein-overnight
Day 3: tour castles-overnight?
Day 4; drive to Mainz
Day 5; Rhine cruise to Koblenz or drive?
Day 6; transfer to hotel near Frankfurt airport for 8;05 am flight
Questions: Should we add another day to the Romantik Road & overnite in Ausburg?
How long does it take to drive to Mainz? Is this something we could do after touring the castles?
Should we break our drive to Mainz with an overnite in Heidelburg? And if so, how long a drive is it to Mainz?
Should we break our cruise with an overnight?
Also, planning to pick up our car day one. Should we drop it in Koblenz & then take the train to Frankfurt or turn it in in Frankfurt? Any recommendations on car rental companies?
Thank you in advance for your kind help with my many questions-as you can see I am just beginning with this. Kindest regards!
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www.mappy.com for road travel distances or michelin.com
About half of German autobahns still have no legal speed limit so you can make time if you want or need to and if your car can do it - German drivers can tool along at 130 mph or so it seems.
About half of German autobahns still have no legal speed limit so you can make time if you want or need to and if your car can do it - German drivers can tool along at 130 mph or so it seems.
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Day 1 after wedding festivities: Drive to Rothenburg-overnight
Day 2; Drive to Neuschwanstein-overnight
Day 3: tour castles-overnight?
Day 4; drive to Mainz
Day 5; Rhine cruise to Koblenz or drive?
Day 6; transfer to hotel near Frankfurt airport for 8;05 am flight
Questions: Should we add another day to the Romantik Road & overnite in Ausburg?
How long does it take to drive to Mainz? Is this something we could do after touring the castles?
Should we break our drive to Mainz with an overnite in Heidelburg? And if so, how long a drive is it to Mainz?
Should we break our cruise with an overnight?>
OK we can assume wedding is in Munich?
If so i would drive to Fussen first and then drive to Rothenburg as this will put you in a position to do a really sweet scenic drive over the route of the Castle Road, a made-up themed route by German Tourism like the Romantik Road but IMO much much more dreamy and scenic
(Romantik Road itself is a busy 2-lane road going thru uneventful countryside for the most part but linking several dreamy towns such as Dinkelsbuhl, Nordlingen and Rothenburg/Taber - but the Castle Road route from Rothenburg to Hedielberg traverses the cutesy Neckard River Valley - studded with dreamy old towns, castles, etc. and vineyards - easy to reach Heidelberg in one day and Heidlelberg, one of the few towns in Germany not seriously destroyed in WW2 is to me fantastic - the old town along the banks of the Neckar River huddled below the massive castle of your dreams that looms high above - certainly one of the finest castles in Europe.
And then a short enough drive to the Rhine Valley for a short cruise - the classic cruise is about a 2.5 hour cruise downriver between Rudesheim and Koblenz and you can get off en route at any town and quickly take a train back to Rudesheim to get your car.
But you may want to return the car in say Mainz (figuring Rudesheim may not have drop-offs as much but may well be) and take boat to Koblenz, stay there and then take the train to Frankfurt, saving two days of car rental when you will not be using it much. (Better IMO to stay in one of the much more romantic Rhine Gorge towns such as St Goar, St Goarhausen, etc. - cute pastel-hued Baroque riverside towns.
Day 2; Drive to Neuschwanstein-overnight
Day 3: tour castles-overnight?
Day 4; drive to Mainz
Day 5; Rhine cruise to Koblenz or drive?
Day 6; transfer to hotel near Frankfurt airport for 8;05 am flight
Questions: Should we add another day to the Romantik Road & overnite in Ausburg?
How long does it take to drive to Mainz? Is this something we could do after touring the castles?
Should we break our drive to Mainz with an overnite in Heidelburg? And if so, how long a drive is it to Mainz?
Should we break our cruise with an overnight?>
OK we can assume wedding is in Munich?
If so i would drive to Fussen first and then drive to Rothenburg as this will put you in a position to do a really sweet scenic drive over the route of the Castle Road, a made-up themed route by German Tourism like the Romantik Road but IMO much much more dreamy and scenic
(Romantik Road itself is a busy 2-lane road going thru uneventful countryside for the most part but linking several dreamy towns such as Dinkelsbuhl, Nordlingen and Rothenburg/Taber - but the Castle Road route from Rothenburg to Hedielberg traverses the cutesy Neckard River Valley - studded with dreamy old towns, castles, etc. and vineyards - easy to reach Heidelberg in one day and Heidlelberg, one of the few towns in Germany not seriously destroyed in WW2 is to me fantastic - the old town along the banks of the Neckar River huddled below the massive castle of your dreams that looms high above - certainly one of the finest castles in Europe.
And then a short enough drive to the Rhine Valley for a short cruise - the classic cruise is about a 2.5 hour cruise downriver between Rudesheim and Koblenz and you can get off en route at any town and quickly take a train back to Rudesheim to get your car.
But you may want to return the car in say Mainz (figuring Rudesheim may not have drop-offs as much but may well be) and take boat to Koblenz, stay there and then take the train to Frankfurt, saving two days of car rental when you will not be using it much. (Better IMO to stay in one of the much more romantic Rhine Gorge towns such as St Goar, St Goarhausen, etc. - cute pastel-hued Baroque riverside towns.
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I hope you aren't planning to drive the same day/night as the wedding? Do not drink and drive in Germany!
I like Palenque's suggestions, although I could live without Heidelberg. I find it a bit over-hyped. But if it's your first trip there it is probably something you should do once. I actually enjoyed some of the smaller Bergs along the Neckar more so than Heidelberg.
The 2 hour cruise that Palenque suggested is superb. That section of the Rhine is the most picturesque and interesting. Any longer than that and it gets a little boring. You can enjoy a couple of Rieslings onboard the boat, tour the shops whenere you disembark then return back to base using the train.
I also employ the strategy of beiginning or ending a trip somewhere where I won't need a car rental just to save a few bucks. When you rent your car in Munich, try not to pick it up at the airport or train station since they add an additional fee. There are plenty of city offices downtown.
I like Palenque's suggestions, although I could live without Heidelberg. I find it a bit over-hyped. But if it's your first trip there it is probably something you should do once. I actually enjoyed some of the smaller Bergs along the Neckar more so than Heidelberg.
The 2 hour cruise that Palenque suggested is superb. That section of the Rhine is the most picturesque and interesting. Any longer than that and it gets a little boring. You can enjoy a couple of Rieslings onboard the boat, tour the shops whenere you disembark then return back to base using the train.
I also employ the strategy of beiginning or ending a trip somewhere where I won't need a car rental just to save a few bucks. When you rent your car in Munich, try not to pick it up at the airport or train station since they add an additional fee. There are plenty of city offices downtown.
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Hi,
Thank you so much for the great help!
Otzi, by day one I meant Sunday, the day after all the festivities. Sorry for the confusion.
Actually, the second ceremony will be in the village of Langensteinbacher, which I understand is near Stuttgart. That is why I wondered if Rothenburg would be a good start.
Our son-in-law suggested that it is easier taking the 2 hour train from the airport than getting in all the traffic of Frankfurt. I have not checked to see where we could get a car yet.
I thought about taking the train from the Rhine area to the airport but wondered with the 8;05am flight if the trains ran that early?? Plus my husband's flight is not til 1pm so a hotel room at the airport would give him a more comfortable place to wait for his flight than sitting at the airport for 6 hrs.
Sounds like doing the Rhine in a day is not a problem. Will ck into the other villages as not coming up with much for hotels with charm.
So it sounds like there is a route to the Rhine area that would make an interesting day's drive.
Do you feel that we have adequate time allowed for the general plan?
Many thanks!
Thank you so much for the great help!
Otzi, by day one I meant Sunday, the day after all the festivities. Sorry for the confusion.
Actually, the second ceremony will be in the village of Langensteinbacher, which I understand is near Stuttgart. That is why I wondered if Rothenburg would be a good start.
Our son-in-law suggested that it is easier taking the 2 hour train from the airport than getting in all the traffic of Frankfurt. I have not checked to see where we could get a car yet.
I thought about taking the train from the Rhine area to the airport but wondered with the 8;05am flight if the trains ran that early?? Plus my husband's flight is not til 1pm so a hotel room at the airport would give him a more comfortable place to wait for his flight than sitting at the airport for 6 hrs.
Sounds like doing the Rhine in a day is not a problem. Will ck into the other villages as not coming up with much for hotels with charm.
So it sounds like there is a route to the Rhine area that would make an interesting day's drive.
Do you feel that we have adequate time allowed for the general plan?
Many thanks!
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Check with AutoEurope (www.autoeurope.com) or Gemut.com on car rental.
You might want to stay at an airport hotel with so early a return flight. We recently stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Moerfelden which was only about a 15 minute drive to the airport. We left the hotel around 7:30 AM and the traffic wasn't bad at all. We did have a GPS which made it really easy, but the roads are well posted with signs for the Airport.
The Holiday Inn has parking for 10 Euro or an airport shuttle for 5 Euro per person I believe. You'd need to book the shuttle upon arrival to insure a seat when you need it.
You might want to stay at an airport hotel with so early a return flight. We recently stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Moerfelden which was only about a 15 minute drive to the airport. We left the hotel around 7:30 AM and the traffic wasn't bad at all. We did have a GPS which made it really easy, but the roads are well posted with signs for the Airport.
The Holiday Inn has parking for 10 Euro or an airport shuttle for 5 Euro per person I believe. You'd need to book the shuttle upon arrival to insure a seat when you need it.
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