My husband and I are going to Germany in mid-May for 16 days. Although I have been to southern Germany a couple of times, this is his lst trip to the ancestral homeland. We are flying into Frankfurt, and I thought we would rent a car, drive to the Rhine area for a night, then to Berlin. With 3-4 days in Berlin as a base, we could see Potsdam & Dresden, & then make our way south through the Duderstatt area to see where his grandparents came from. From there, we would go through Rothenburg odt, and to Munich,
Our focus is going to be historical areas, esp. WWII, as well as areas "not to be missed". From Munich, we would drive to Florence, then to Rome --- home from there. I want him to see the art and the beauty of these cities (in about 5 days!).
I am looking for suggestions for routes, for hotels, and ideas from the vast experience on this board.
Thank you so much for any advice or suggestions.

Bumping this to the top for maggie_f

I always travel by train, so I can't really comment on renting a car and driving your itinerary - but it seems like a lot of real estate to cover in 16 days. Peace, Robyn >-

I think your itinerary is too ambitious for the amount of time you have. I think you need to edit some choices.

Two things about renting a car - There will be a substantial drop off fee to rent a car in Germany and drop it off in Italy, probably around Euro 500 ($660) Rental cars are great for seeing the countryside, and getting to out of the way places, but they are a pain in cities like Berlin, Dresden, Munich, Florence, Rome. Navigation is difficult and parking is rare and expensive. Do you really like cities, or are you unaware of smaller destinations?

Have you looked up the distances you intend to drive on a mapping site like www.viamichelin? For example from the Rhine near Frankfurt (input Rudesheim} to Berlin is over 600 kilometers. You'd be spending an awful lot of time in the car.

I would recommend that you limit your trip to Germany. You could fly out of Munich instead.

If you tickets are set FRA - FCO (Rome), I would drastically edit the Germany part of the trip - I would drop Berlin, Potsdam and Dresden. I would use a car in Gemany only. Pick up the car and go to the Rhein. Then go straight to somewhere near Duderstadt. From there drive to Wurzburg and pick up the Romantic Road for your trip to Rothenburg odt then drive to Munich. For the German part of the trip I would buy the Michelin Green Germany guide. It has lots of information about driving, sightseeing routes, and sights to see along the way of which you may not be aware.

In Munich I would drop off the car and take the train to Italy. From Munich - Florence is an 8 1/2 hour rail journey. You could break your journey in Verona, and continue to Florence the next day. From Florence take a train to Rome.

I know there is always a great desire to see it all, but I really think you've bitten off too much. I don't mean to discourage you, just encourage you to pare down and your trip will be more manageable and enjoyable.

Thanks for the comments! I sort of figured it would be too much driving. Perhaps if we took a train to Berlin, forgetting about the Rhein, and also a train to Florence from Munich. Plane fare from Munich looks terribly expensive. I would like to drive in most of Germany, but know it's not needed in Florence or Rome.
Appreciate the feedback.

Here's a link to the German rail site in English:
http://www.bahn.de/p/view/internatio...l_guests.shtml

I would use the same link for planning the Italian part of your trip as it's much easier to use than the Trenitalia site. You will need a seat reservation for the train from Munich to Florence, and Florence to Rome, but you can just buy those when you get to Germany.

I don't know about May, but Lufthansa and Air Dolomiti have some good fares (EUR 100-130 incl taxes, round-trip, but you can toss the return) for Frankfurt-Venice and Rome in late Oct/early November (when I've been checking). It's probably worth checking Kayak.

Paul

maggie f

Because of the vast distances involved I would strongly suggest the following below.

Also, is this too much to bite off in 16 days? For me very much so. For you? I don't know. Maybe you don't mind spending time in transit. Traveling from 4pm to 10pm leaves the day light for sight seeing, and the traveling for relaxing if you don't mind arriving places in the dark. You could always take cabs to hotels etc.

1. Train from FRA to Rhine, and around the area. Very convenient, easy. Car completely unnecessary.
2. Train from Rhine to Berlin. Car would be a very bad idea for this leg. Use local SBahn Berlin to Potsdam. Easy, cheap.
3. Train from berlin to Dresden. Again, easy, cheap.
4. Car from Dresden to Duderstadt, Duderstadt to Rothenburg, then Rothenburg to outside of Munich. This is where a car may be the better choice.
5. Train Munich to Florence, and Florence to Rome.

You also might consider flying from Munich to Rome on a European budget airline, and either skip Florence or make it a long day trip from Rome. Condor flies from Munich to Rome. You can also search for other budget airline options on skyscanner and which budget:

http://www.skyscanner.net/

http://www.whichbudget.com/

After considering your replies and suggestions, I think we will try this:

Forget about the Rhein, and take the train to Berlin after we arrive in Frankfurt; take a train to Postsdam and Dresden while based in Berlin(3-4 days); rent a car for Duderstatt area and the drive toward Munich (will stop along the way as time permits); fly to Florence and night train to Rome. I realize it doesn't give us much time in Italy, but it will at least give my DH an overview --- and we'll know where to return!

Thanks for the tip on RT through Kayak! I was looking at one-way --- makes a big difference! Thank you, too, for all the help from all. It is great to have somewhere to turn when you're uncertain.