annetti

Has anyone used public transport to do the Romantic Road from Frankfurt? What works best? Train or bus? I understand there's something called the EuropaBus (I may have that name wrong)that runs once a day? Is that convenient to use? How much time should I allow to do the Romantic Road relatively leisurely? There will be two of us. Would a car be best or can I really manage on public transport? Any other suggestions? Planning to go in July. Thanks.

RufusTFirefly

How much time do you have? Will you go all the way to Hohenschwangau (Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles)? Are you going anywhere else while in Germany?

We used a car on the RR from Hohenschwangau to Rothenburg, then over to the Mosel River, and were pleased with the experience.

annetti

We have 5 weeks in Germany. So far, we have only planned for 5 nights in Berlin, so we can be as leisurely as we want on the Romantic Road.

smueller

I know a number of people that have tried this and the greatest complaint they had was that the number of towns they could visit was extremely limited (1 or 2) due to bus or train schedules. Of course, if you take several days, you probably wouldn't have as much of a problem.

A car would certainly give you more flexibility. It's a great drive, by the way.

spartacus_33

smueller,

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but do you know what the average driving conditions of the RR is in late February?

Thanks,
Spartacus_33 ;-0

annetti

Does anyone know about the Europabus (may be the wrong name!)but, rides daily on the Romantic Road?

Russ

The Europabus Romantic Road trip is a grueling bus tour with very limited stops and one departure time per day per town. I can't believe anyone would recommend it or that it's still in business. You can read about it here:

http://www.deutsche-touring.de/id/09...eset.asp?sp=EN

but I wouldn't bother with the bus.

If you have a few days, use the train and you'll see many of the best places along the Road, and perhaps a few others nearby. With the train, you'll have your choice of departure times throughout the day. There is no one train track that follows the exact route for the entire length or that hits every town, but most of the official RR towns are served - Weikersheim, Wurzburg, Rothenburg, Nordlingen, Augsburg, Landsberg, Fussen. Nearly the entire route lies withing Bavaria. Here's a map of the Bavarian train system that will be useful in planning:

www.bayern-takt.de/htdocs/bahnkarte.htm

By train you'll need to zig and zag around a little, so it's not as direct a route as by car, but in July, the actual car route can become unpleasantly crowded. The other thing about the train is that you can get a Bayern Ticket - a daypass good for up to 5 people on the local trains - on any day of the week for just 22 Euros, a daily price no driver can even contemplate. Use www.bahn.de to obtain train schedules for your chosen routes, and you're set.

Did I mention, "Don't do the Europabus??"

PalQ

In all due regards to Russ, whose overall comments i agree with, the Europabus, which i've taken twice, has its plusses - running commentary and it stops at several places, isolated chapels, towns along the way. Yes, it can be grueling to go the whole way Frankfurt to Fussen or Munich so do an overnight in Rothenburg en route. But i enjoyed the bus - and for the average tourist it's a good way to see fabulous places like Rothenburg, the road highlight and Dinkelsbuhl, if even fleetingly. Stay over in Rothenburg and catch bus or train out of there next day. Actually the Romantic Road is a fairly recent creation of the German Tourist Office and perhaps it is romanticized a bit too much. The actual road itself is a busy highway - hardly romantic, but a few of the towns are very nice, but, except for Dinkelsbuhl and Rothenburg, not any more exceptional than many Germany towns. I couldn't imagine the time involved to visit all the towns by rail and the worth of it, but to bus quickly thru yes. The bus is still in business - it's kind of like a guided tour, with the commentary provided by the guide in English. Actually the Castle Road bus, Mannheim-Heidelberg-Rothenburg is much more scenic route and stops at as-dreamy towns - i'd recommend that over the Romantic Road and it also includes Rothenburg. romantic and castle road buses, once 'free with railpasses'now are 60% off with passes, but on flexipasses you don't use a day of travel.

Russ

I agree with PalQ that the Romantic Road is a very oversold concept and that there are other towns in Germany of just as much interest that lie on less heavily touristed routes, many of them near the RR. Bamberg, Weissenburg, Schwaebisch Hall, and Eichstaett are just a few that come to mind. You might want to work in some other places off the RR as you pass through the area if you have plenty of time.

I've traveled the region by car, train, and Europabus, and it's my take that the Europabus trip was designed for international tourists who want to say they've seen Germany in one or two days. It is just too restrictive of time and geography to be really worthwhile, and the 10 or 15 minutes you get to explore the few towns you stop in on the Wurzburg/Rothenburg leg and the Rothenburg/Munich leg are useless except for hasty souvenir buying. If you have the time, and it seems that you do, Bavaria is worth exploring in greater depth.

jmw44

After double-checking about your timeline, I must admit that driving the Romantic Road would be the best solution. We've used the bus, trains, and driven by car. If you've got the time, go slowly and stay overnight in Rothenburg to explore it early in the morning and late in the evening after the buses depart. Try to find time to visit the tiny town of Harburg. At least the last time I was there, it was un-Disneyfied with a lovely stone bridge and a fortress above. J.

annetti

Thanks Russ, PalQ,JMW44 and everyone else who responded in such detail. You gave me the information I wanted and clarified what the RR is all about. We have been through Bavaria before (quite a long before) so we have seen a few places on the RR, though we did not know it was the RR then. Perhaps, the German tourist bureau had not named it the RR back in 1976! I think we'll probably explore some of the towns we missed the first time round or revisit the ones we have pleasant memories of visiting by choosing a few as day trips from Frankfurt where we will be based during our 5 weeks in Germany. We can pick one or two a day and take our time. By the standards of some of the Fodorites, we pack extremely little into a day, but usually one destination per day is fine with us. Thanks everyone again for all your help.