casperjj

I'm hoping that someone might be able to help me iron out a plan for our daytrip to the Black Forest in late July. We are a family of 5 (2 adutls and 3 kids ages 7, 9 and 12) We will be starting and ending our day in Freiburg. We will have a car. Ideally we would start the day around 9:00 and end around 19:00 as we still need to take a train back to Basel that evening. I think I have too many things that I'd like to do. Is the following doable without rushing? The bottom line is I don't know how long we'll actually need in each stop. Should I drop one of our stops? If so, which one?

I have two possible driving routes (but I'm absolutely open to others):

1. Frieburg-Gengenbach-Triberg-Breitnau-Todtnau-Utzenfeld-Wieden-Munsteral- Frieburg . I would also like to add Staufen as our first stop after leaving Freiburg or as our last stop on the way back to Freiburg.

Ideally we would stop in Staufen, Gengenbach, Triberg and ideally have an hour or so to explore Freiburg itself.

2. a route recommended on Tripadvisor: Freiburg-kirchgarten-St Peter-Waldkirch-Gutach im Breiseau-Wildgutach-Furtwangen-Triberg-Gengenbach-Freiburg

For this route we would stop in St Peter, Triberg, Gengenbach and have an hour or so to explore Freiburg itself. I'd also like to find a way to fit in Staufen I think.

How long do you think we would want to spend in Gengenbach and Staufen? I'd like to walk around the town, see interesting places from the outside, maybe do a self guided walking tour if I could find one. Is two hours in Gengenbach and one hour in Staufen enough or too much?

I was thinking for Triberg that it would be nice to visit the Black Forest museum, the house of a 1000 clocks, maybe Wallfahrskirche Maria in der Tan and I'd like to buy a cuckoo clock. The waterfalls would be nice to see but we've been to larger so it isn't a must-do for us... I've heard there's a place to get a glimpse from the trees... that would be enough.

I have considered the Vogtsbauernhöfe in Gutach but I think it will take a lot of time and we do plan to visit Ballenburg in Brienz Switzerland so I think we can leave that museum out.

I'd like to walk around Freiburg but again, I'm not sure how much time we need. Is an hour enough?

I'd love input on the driving route, whether we should visit Staufen and the amount of time we should allow for Gengenbach, Triberg and possibly Staufen. Thank you!

casperjj

Can anyone advise on a one day trip to the Black Forest? Specifically best driving route from Freiburg to Triberg? Also, how must time would most people need to visit Staufen? Gengenbach?

Thanks!

quokka

Each of your itineraries contains enough to fill 3 days - unless you feel it is enough to just drive past places and seriously believe that you can see city in one hour or less. You will have to either extend your stay or make some choices. It is hard to give advice unless you tell us about your interests and expectations and come up with a more realistic approach.

casperjj

I don't know how long is needed in each place to walk around the village and explore a little which is why I asked. And how do I come up with a more realistic approach without someone telling me that my plan isn't realistic. Or giving me a reason why it isn't realistic. Is the drive too long? It seems to be less than 4 hrs total. Are the stops too many? Do I need 5-6hrs in each of the stops instead of two hours?

We only have one day. We expect it will be a 10 hr day from 9h00 to 19h00. We want to get a taste of the area as we missed visiting all together on our last visit to Basel. We want to stop only in Gengenbach, Triberg and possibly Staufen. We're looking for nice scenery en route from one place to another which is why I provided the locations of the route to determine a nice route from one stop to another. I wasn't thinking an hour or less in each stop. I was thinking of 2 hours in each of Gengenbach and Staufen and a bit more in Triberg. The only museum we might do is the Blakc Forest Museum in Triberg. As these aren't cities but villages, I thought that amount of time would work but clearly that isn't the case. Therefore, how long do you think is needed to explore Staufen and Gengenbach. That would help.

nytraveler

Sorry - but you just are not doing the match. You have listed at least 7 different places you want to go. If you spend 2 hours in each that is 14 hours - and then the drives between (on small local roads) would be another 4 or 5 hours.

To be realistic you can probably stop in a total of 3 towns (assuming one is Freiburg where you are starting/ending.) and actually see anything.

Of course if you just want to drive through a town then you won;t need long - but to park the car, tour the town and see at least one site (small museum, shoping etc) then you just can;t do this many places.

(In one day from Freiburg we went to Triberg, toured the town and briefly the museum and then went to schaffhausen to see the falls, as well as having lunch. That was a complete day just for adults - no kids.)

casperjj

Thank you. I'm sorry. The list of places is just to show the route for driving. I just thought it would be easier that way. I really only want to stop at the three mentioned: Gengenbach, Triberg and Staufen (if there's time for Staufen and others think it would be a nice place to stop) If there's time at the end of our day, we may spend some more time in Freiburg to visit for a bit if the kids aren't too tired.

Do you think its possible to visit Staufen, Triberg and Gengenbach, driving through Munsteral, Todtnau, etc on the way to Triberg without being too rushed or should we drop a stop (and if so, which one)?