Please help with my German/Austrian itinerary
 

My wife and I are planning a trip to Germany and Austria in late September, primarly to visit Octoberfest for a few days.

The trip will likely be leave the US on a Wednesday night (arrive Thursday morning), and return on the following Saturday.

I'll be using miles (American) to fly my wife and I from Chicago. We can fly non-stop from O'hare to Frankfort, so will likely chose that rather than flying elsewhere on OneWorld via a connection.

I've got a number of Starwood (Sheraton/Westin) points, so will be using those as I can. I've also got a ton of PriorityClub (Holiday Inn/Intercontinental Points) that I can use, but I want to stay in some traditional pensions as well.

I've got a number of places that I'd like to go, but am not quite sure how to arrange them. The places/things we'd like to do are:
- Octoberfest in Munich
- Football (soccer) - is Munich the best bet?
- Romantic Road (specific stops TBD)
- Salzburg
- Neuschwanstein and the other local castles (stay in Füssen one night)

We'll obviously need to rent a car to get around. Not sure if we'll do that in Frankfort, or train to Munich and rent there.

Thanks for your thoughts!

One thing I forgot. We'd also like to hit the German wine country, if we have time. Thanks!

You probably need to do a little more research, but I'll pass on what I know.

If your primary interest is in Oktoberfest, you could easily connect through to Munich from Frankfurt. It would probably be worth it given the areas you want to see.

Fussen and Salzburg are about an hour's easy drive from Munich. Fussen might be better done as a daytrip, but you should leave early if you are going to do that.

Consider staying in Salzburg for a couple of days - it is a gorgeous small city with lots to see and plenty of atmosphere - and I have ignored the Sound of Music trappings completely for all three of my visits there.

Koenigsee, near Salzburg is a beautiful alpine lake that you can visit along with Berchtesgaden while in the area.

I'm not sure what you mean by German wine country. There are several "major" areas - the Black Forest, the Rhine/Mosel, and Franconia being some of the more obvious. All of those except Franconia (near Wurzburg) are out of the way from a Frankfurt-Munich travel plan. Franconia will also fit in with your Romantic Road plans as Wurzburg is the north end of the route.

You only have 8 nights, so something like Munich 3, Salzburg 2, Rothenburg/Wurzburg/Dinkelsbuhl 3 would seem to make sense.

You should consider flying into Munich and out of Frankfurt. There are no dropoff charges in Germany with the major rental companies and Wurzburg is only about 1 1/2 hours from Frankfurt. It would save you from doubling back and if you really wanted to see the Rhine (I really don't like that river - ask me if you want to know why) and the Mosel (much closer to what you probably "expect" when you imagine German wine country)

Oktoberfest is a blast, but start practicing early or you won't be able to keep up!

If you want more tips on great little things to see or do, let me know.

I would arrive Frankfurt, rent a car and drive to ROTHENBURG for your first night.

Spend the evening there and tour the next day. Then head to Munich. A few days there then down to SALZBURG. This is a beautiful area along with BERCHTESGADEN.

Head over to GARMISH from there and then end up back in FRANKFURT to fly home. Just a thought.

With 8 days you do not want to spend all your time on the road. Plus, a car is a great way to see Germany. Good roads and it allows you to stop and see the roses along the way.

I agree with TravelDawg -- but for the wine country you could spend your last day on the Rhine (Rudesheim or Bacharach) and be less than an hour from the Frankfurt airport.

Hi Wizzy:

I usually go from Frankfurt directly to Rothenburg for my first stop. But because you are primarly there for Octoberfest I would opt for this:

Train from Frankfurt to Munich. Car would be a burden in Munich. Have great fun at the fest! Then when you had your fill of the "Necter of Bavaria", I would then get the car and start to explore the castles of Bavaria, then head up to Rothenburg for your last 2 nights before heading back to Frankfurt for the flight back to Chicago.

8 days is too short to get it all in....but you can hit most of your spots

JOHN

Whatever you finally end up with for travel plans, start securing your Munich lodging right now as most of the city will be booked by spring if not sooner.

Things are starting to solidy a bit. It looks like we'll fly into Frankfurt, and out of Munich. Here's what I've got so far. Any suggestions for my ??? days? Should we make Fussen our second night on the Romantic road, and add days somewhere else?

Thursday - land in Frankfort, drive to Rothenburg
Friday - ??? (Romantic road)
Saturday - Fussen (somewhere in the area)
Sunday - ???
Monday - Salzburg (Hof bei Salzburg)
Tuesday - Salzburg (Hof bei Salzburg)
Wednesday - Munich
Thursday - Munich
Friday - Munich
Saturday - fly out

Thanks for the recommendation to book Munich. Now that I've solidified my dates, I used some Starwood points to book my 3 nights there.

May I mess up your plans and suggest another avenue? Fly into Zurich and take the train to Salzburg. From there drive to Fussen where the Castle is, continue north to Munich, then take the Romantic Road which starts north of Munich to Rothenberg and then over to Frankfurt. What you just suggested takes you from Rothenberg down the Romantic Road through Munich south to Fussen, then to Salzberg then back up to Munich. I like doing things in as staright of a line as possible, especially when I don't have alot of time. Or are you already booked on your flight??

Zurich - Salzburg - Fussen - Munich - Frankfurt is a straight line???

Wow.