phelpsintx

My family, which includes myself, my husband and 3 kids ages 17, 14 and 9 are headed to Frankfurt to visit family based in Ramstein. We will spend a few days adjusting to Europe time and then head to Paris for four days. After that, anything goes. Only my husband has been to Europe and he would really like to get back to the mountain scenery. I would like to learn more about the history of the area. Kids are along for the ride and will adapt to whatever we do. This trip came about at the last minute and I feel very unprepared to fly across the ocean and figure out train timetables or rental cars. We will have about two weeks after Paris to venture to Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Germany. I've been doing a lot with HomeAway to find lodging but does anyone have advice on if other options would be better. Also, train vs. rental car? With a family of 5 which is better? Any advice would greatly be appreciated!

nytraveler

If you are staying primarily in cities then train is probably a better choice - since cars are worse than useless in cities (can't use than and have to pay $30 a night for a garage). I f you want to spend more time in the countryside then IMHO cars is much more convenient.

Know nothing about Home Away - but I think you will have trouble finding space for 5 people - very rare in europe - where usually a room is for 2 people. If you want rentals - then you need to spend longer in one place.

I would urge you to get SOME place to stay immediately - so you don;t end up either sleeping in a car or having to pay a huge amount for whatever place is available.

Russ

While in Ramstein, see if you can get up to the Middle Rhine Valley and connect with history by seeing some castles and old-world villages; Castles in St. Goar and Braubach offer worthwhile tours:

www.marksburg.de
www.st-goar.de/17-1-rheinfels-castle.html
http://www.welterbe-mittelrheintal.d...php?id=274&L=3

See if you can get a place for one week or so through Homeaway or elsewhere in southern Germany - maybe somewhere near Freiburg in the Black Forest, where you'll have access not only to a nice part of Germany but you'll be close to the best part of Switzerland (Luzern, Bernese Oberland) and to Strasbourg and Colmar in France.

Outings within the Black Forest and to Basel, Switzerland by train will be free if you stay in any of 130+ villages with the free Konus card:

http://www.dreisamtal.de/en/service/konus.php?lang=en

Kirchzarten, near Freiburg, is one such village.

The same Konus card gets you to the French border; bus or train from there to Colmar or Strasbourg.

Black Forest Railway: http://www.black-forest-travel.com/p...t-railway.html

Black Forest villages:

Wolfach: http://www.black-forest-travel.com/wolfach/
Schiltach: http://www.black-forest-travel.com/schiltach/
Gutach with open air museum and neighboring towns: http://www.bensbauernhof.com/blumbauernhofgutach.html

Black Forest sights: www.black-forest-travel.com/places-of-interest/

I would probably rent a car for the second week or so in Freiburg or elsewhere in Germany - a big one - for venturing into Switzerland beyond Basel and for Italy and Austria. Try to limit your driving and destinations so that you don't spend all your time in the car. If you depart from Germany, great - you want to drop the car off there rather than in another country to avoid heavy drop off fees.

janisj

You are going just next week - finding <i>anyplace</i> sleeping 5 will be difficult.

Homeaway would normally be terrific since they are self-catering vacation rentals. But most book up weeks or months ahead.

Also - that is a LOT of moving around for family of 5 at the last minute. The cheapest train fares will be long gone.

I would seriously simplify things and consider which TWO areas are musts after Paris. Contact HomeAway (and other listing sites like VRBO, and rental agencies) and try to rent two places for one week each. Even that will be difficult at such short notice - if nothing turns up try http://www.venere.com to find <i>anything</i>.

Even if you had 6 months to plan - two weeks isn't long enough for 4 countries so make things easier/less hectic.

Aramis

With a family of 5 you are talking about a rental "van". There is a good chance that renting will turn out to be more cost efficient than taking the train with 5 people involved.

If you want to take your time in the countryside and are willing to park the van in any major city, it could be a better option in the mountains which are the goal (of your husband anyway).

If you do arrange a home exchange option they often come with car included and are located in areas that are easier to get to than the historical centres of the major cities.

Russ

Janisj's concern is valid - but you may just need to look beyond Homeaway to the experts, the local TI offices and their websites. Here's the accommodations page for Kirchzarten (mentioned above - it has a train station for easy access to Freiburg and beyond) and neighboring villages:

http://www.dreisamtal.de/en/unterkun...en.php?lang=en

simpsonc510

I have found that Mövenpick Hotels will usually have rooms with TWO beds.....rare in Europe in my experience. We always rent a car, but we go at least twice a year and know where we are going for the most part. I do agree with the very expensive parking in cities. $30 a night is cheap in a lot of cities. We will park at the airport in Amsterdam rather than pay up to $60, and the tram system in Amsterdam is great. If we are driving in the countryside for the day we go and pick up the car.

I would urge you to try and plan out your route as soon as possible!

Russ

You might also look into youth hostels, which these days are designed around groups and families. 4-6-bed rooms are the rule, not huge dorm rooms. You'd have better luck on short notice, I imagine.

Here's the hostel website for the corner of Germany I've suggested.

http://www.jugendherberge-bw.de/home...8252dc1911afdb

Russ

The Veltishof hostel in Titisee has a lovely location on Titisee Lake outside town - and 14 6-bed rooms. You'd probably want a car there though because of the distance to the station. Can't find the English page for this hostel for some reason.

http://titisee-neustadt-veltishof.ju...us-fr-tnv.html

http://titisee-neustadt-veltishof.ju...ng-fr-tnv.html

janisj

They are going <u>next week</u> . . . all these wonderful suggestions are likely full (and if a place isn't booked I'd almost be nervous why? )

Now, you do have a few days in country at Ramstein before venturing out. I'm pretty sure Ramstein/Kaiserslautern has an on base travel agency that can maybe help w/ rental car, train tickets, hotels, B&Bs tours, etc.

phelpsintx

Thanks so much to everyone for good advice on how to do this crazy, last minute, trip of our lives.My sister has informed me that the Ramstein Base Travel Agency would help us with some of our details. This is the first time I have been on this site and I am truly thankful for everyone who took the time to respond to my plea.

Gretchen

Look at the Ibis/Accor hotels for affordable lodging. Please don't let your husband just want to look at mountains and scenery. Your children are at the "sponge" time--and it will make them travelers forever. The city culture and museums and cathedrals are too great to be ignored.
Do make arrangements in the cities so you will not be looking for places to stay when you could be looking at the city sites.

Russ

"They are going next week . . . all these wonderful suggestions are likely full (and if a place isn't booked I'd almost be nervous why? )"

Well, the OP can check now - or wait until she arrives and maybe find a travel agency in Germany that will start looking for available rooms 7-8 days from now. I'd be more concerned about being on the street than about ending up somewhere less than perfect.

I had no problem finding family rooms for 5 available at both of the two hostels I randomly selected.

At another site, I also found 140 apartments available for a family of 5 for a week's time at the end of June - just in the Black Forest region. One is the Joklisbauernhof in Gutach near the open-air museum and the summer bob ride in the heart of the Black Forest - it would be a good travel base, and it's under 300€/week. It's been praised by Bavaria Ben as well.

http://www.bensbauernhof.com/joklisbauernhofgutach.html

http://www.schwarzwald-tourismus.inf...oklisbauernhof

So I think the OP has a week and would be wise to start looking around NOW so as not to spend their whole vacation doing so.

Russ

This site should be of further help in staving off despair.

http://www.schwarzwald-tourismus.info/uebernachten

Hit "English" and "translate."

Sassafrass

I recently had really good luck with airbnb and with Booking.com. You can search just for apartments or rooms that fit your needs in specific areas. Booking.com is easier because it is a traditional booking site. With airbnb, you have to create a profile, etc, but so do the hosts of the apartments and no money is paid to the hosts until you have arrived at the place, so it has many safety features built into the system.

Travelforbeer

Try tripadvisor.com. I just looked up Garmisch-Partenkirchen for an apartment next week and they had a lot of vacancies. I suspect Munich will also have many apartments.

A rental van should be less expensive than train tickets next week. The Ramstein Base Travel Agency should be able to provide all of the help you need in Germany. Make visiting them a high priority when you first arrive...

Gretchen has some good advice about the Ibis/Accor chain...

Have a great trip!!

Bokhara2

We used booking.com for last minute accommodation in the Black Forest last December. We were very happy with Landhaus Karin at Lauterbad ( about 3.5kms from Freudenstadt ).

Have fun!

Cathinjoetown

The good news is you're traveling before the start of European school vacations.

Book what you can before you leave and get help from the on-base travel agency, could be a good resource with access to discounts and one would think a lot of experience helping families.

AisleSeat

I hope you found some places you like.

Hez

I think given your circumstances narrowing down to 2 x 1 week rentals will really make things easier and more doable at this late date.

So which two locations to choose? I think if your husband is into mountains - and it seems a great location for kids as there is so much to do - you might look at the Bernese Oberland area in Switzerland.

To satisfy your history requirement, and also great for the kids, I think Rome would fit the bill. You can do day trips from there.

It's a bit of jumping around, but Germany - Paris - Switzerland - Rome can work. You can look at what is most sensible for transportation once you decide on locations. But you won't need a car in either of those locations which is a big plus.

hth.
H