Realistic Itinerary ?
Mar 25th, 2016, 07:46 PM
#1
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Realistic Itinerary ?
Traveling to Weisbaden to visit daughter & family. Looking at the following travels thoughts. Are we being realistic ? Arrive in Weisbaden on Thursday. Friday drive to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Saturday to Neuschwanstein castle.Sunday & Monday in Zurich. Tuesday head to Paris for 2 full days then Thursday evening back to Weisbaden. Friday train to Mannheim then Saturday train to Frankfurt then back to U S A.
Mar 25th, 2016, 08:29 PM
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Sounds rushed.
At first glance I wondered why you would go back to Weisbaden, but on rereading I saw you had family there.
But all those one-night stays sound really rushed. And even with short driving distances you will need time for packing, checking out, finding the new hotel or B&B, checking in and unpacking.
I noticed you don't have any hotels listed. Make sure you can check in early or at least leave your bags there on arrival so you don't have to drag them around while sightseeing. Find out if they can serve breakfast early (or skip it entirely) so you don't have to wait until nine or ten to leave. Otherwise, the entire day will dissapear in transit.
Find out the opening times of any site you truly want to get into. Like Neuschwanstein Castle, unless you only want to look on the outside.
At first glance I wondered why you would go back to Weisbaden, but on rereading I saw you had family there.
But all those one-night stays sound really rushed. And even with short driving distances you will need time for packing, checking out, finding the new hotel or B&B, checking in and unpacking.
I noticed you don't have any hotels listed. Make sure you can check in early or at least leave your bags there on arrival so you don't have to drag them around while sightseeing. Find out if they can serve breakfast early (or skip it entirely) so you don't have to wait until nine or ten to leave. Otherwise, the entire day will dissapear in transit.
Find out the opening times of any site you truly want to get into. Like Neuschwanstein Castle, unless you only want to look on the outside.
Mar 25th, 2016, 08:39 PM
#4
Too many destinations for me too.
Questions:
Have you been to any of these places before? Do you get jetlag?
If you're renting a car in Weisbaden and leaving it in Zurich, have you looked into the one-way, cross-border cost? It could be quite expensive.
How will you travel to/from Paris? I assume you're flying. It probably won't feel quite like "two full days" when you consider the travel times and luggage logistics eating into Tuesday and Thursday.
Wouldn't you be flying Paris to Frankfurt (not Weisbaden) Thursday evening? And then you want to train to Weisbaden for one night and train to Mannheim the next day? I would train Frankfurt to Mannheim after flying from Paris, or I'd skip the day in Mannheim altogether. Or is that a stop to see more family?
Questions:
Have you been to any of these places before? Do you get jetlag?
If you're renting a car in Weisbaden and leaving it in Zurich, have you looked into the one-way, cross-border cost? It could be quite expensive.
How will you travel to/from Paris? I assume you're flying. It probably won't feel quite like "two full days" when you consider the travel times and luggage logistics eating into Tuesday and Thursday.
Wouldn't you be flying Paris to Frankfurt (not Weisbaden) Thursday evening? And then you want to train to Weisbaden for one night and train to Mannheim the next day? I would train Frankfurt to Mannheim after flying from Paris, or I'd skip the day in Mannheim altogether. Or is that a stop to see more family?
Mar 25th, 2016, 11:44 PM
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You don't indicate from where you are starting this trip, but why go back and forth to Paris when you could theoretically start there, then take the train [1 change] to Weisbaden, taking 5 and a quarter hours. Of course with all these stops Paris could well be eliminated.
Mar 26th, 2016, 01:47 AM
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It looks a bit as if you were fleeing from your daughter.
As everybody says, you have too many destinations and too much time in cars and trains.
Spending two days in Paris is certainly a good idea. The train from Wiesbaden to Paris takes roughly 4 1/2 hours.
Zürich is the complicated part in your itinerary. Do you have a special reason to go to Zürich? To be frank, you can find many more attractive destinations which are in much easier reach from Wiesbaden, e.g. Strasbourg (roughly 3 hours by train, 2 hours by car).
Then you appear interested in romantic towns and castles (Rothenburg o.d.T. and Neuschwanstein). Wiesbaden is very close to many romantic towns and castles in the Middle Rhine Valley, so why do you want to travel so far? Rüdesheim, Oberwesel, Bacharach are all romantic little towns. The Marksburg is a real, very impressive castle (unlike Neuschwanstein) and nearby, on the Mosel, you find with Burg Eltz another beautiful castle.
And I assume you have a special reason to go to Mannheim (one of the most boring cities in Germany).
As everybody says, you have too many destinations and too much time in cars and trains.
Spending two days in Paris is certainly a good idea. The train from Wiesbaden to Paris takes roughly 4 1/2 hours.
Zürich is the complicated part in your itinerary. Do you have a special reason to go to Zürich? To be frank, you can find many more attractive destinations which are in much easier reach from Wiesbaden, e.g. Strasbourg (roughly 3 hours by train, 2 hours by car).
Then you appear interested in romantic towns and castles (Rothenburg o.d.T. and Neuschwanstein). Wiesbaden is very close to many romantic towns and castles in the Middle Rhine Valley, so why do you want to travel so far? Rüdesheim, Oberwesel, Bacharach are all romantic little towns. The Marksburg is a real, very impressive castle (unlike Neuschwanstein) and nearby, on the Mosel, you find with Burg Eltz another beautiful castle.
And I assume you have a special reason to go to Mannheim (one of the most boring cities in Germany).
Mar 26th, 2016, 06:07 AM
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"Arrive in Weisbaden on Thursday. Friday drive to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Saturday to Neuschwanstein castle.Sunday & Monday in Zurich. Tuesday head to Paris for 2 full days then Thursday evening back to Weisbaden. Friday train to Mannheim..."
Uggh.
Thursday to Thursday: Do as t-1959 suggests. Skip Zurich, Neuschwanstein non-castle, and Rothenburg too.
You can most of this with a car too but I'll provide train options.
Day 1: Take the train from Wiesbaden to Rüdesheim (30 minutes) for two nights. Check in. See the town. Ride the chairlift. Taste some wine. In the afternoon catch the 16:15 northbound cruise boat (5 per day) through the Middle Rhine Valley to St. Goarshausen - that's about a 1.5 hour cruise through the most amazing scenery. Catch the train back to Rüdesheim (25 min.)
Day 2: Train north to Braubach. Tour Marksburg Castle and have a meal in Braubach's old town market square. Catch a train to the other side of the river (via Koblenz) and head south to visit the old-world towns of Oberwesel and Bacharach (5 minutes apart; trains run every hour.)
Catch a train south to Bingen and cross back to Rüdesheim on the passenger ferry.
Day 3: If you want to tour one more great castle - Burg Eltz near Moselkern. First thing to do is take the train to Cochem and drop your bags for one night there - then train to Moselkern and hike to the castle (about 1 hour each way.) Alternatively: skip Burg Eltz and just enjoy Cochem (amazing old town, also has a castle and a falconry show.)
Day 4: Now get the train to Paris. You need at least 3 nights there.
Mannheim: WHY?
Uggh.
Thursday to Thursday: Do as t-1959 suggests. Skip Zurich, Neuschwanstein non-castle, and Rothenburg too.
You can most of this with a car too but I'll provide train options.
Day 1: Take the train from Wiesbaden to Rüdesheim (30 minutes) for two nights. Check in. See the town. Ride the chairlift. Taste some wine. In the afternoon catch the 16:15 northbound cruise boat (5 per day) through the Middle Rhine Valley to St. Goarshausen - that's about a 1.5 hour cruise through the most amazing scenery. Catch the train back to Rüdesheim (25 min.)
Day 2: Train north to Braubach. Tour Marksburg Castle and have a meal in Braubach's old town market square. Catch a train to the other side of the river (via Koblenz) and head south to visit the old-world towns of Oberwesel and Bacharach (5 minutes apart; trains run every hour.)
Catch a train south to Bingen and cross back to Rüdesheim on the passenger ferry.
Day 3: If you want to tour one more great castle - Burg Eltz near Moselkern. First thing to do is take the train to Cochem and drop your bags for one night there - then train to Moselkern and hike to the castle (about 1 hour each way.) Alternatively: skip Burg Eltz and just enjoy Cochem (amazing old town, also has a castle and a falconry show.)
Day 4: Now get the train to Paris. You need at least 3 nights there.
Mannheim: WHY?
