Rothenburg Ob der Tauber to Dinkelsbuhl
 

Hi,
Wife and me are planning a trip to Rothenburg & Munich in October. We are spending 2 nights in Rothenburg which I'm starting to feel is a bit too much after reading all the reviews online. We don't like hopping from place to place. We like getting the feel of the place and spending atleast a few hours there. We don't really care about seeing every town on the romantic road map. We want to make a day trip to Dinkelsbuhl on the 2nd day of our stay in Rothenburg. I noticed there are no direct trains from Rothenburg to Dinkelsbuhl but there is a direct bus on the romantic road touring bus website which departs from Rothenburg approximately at 13.00 and arrives at 13.50 at Dinkelsbuhl. We were planning on spending a few hours at Dinkelsbuhl before heading back to Rothenburg. However i noticed that the departure time from Dinkelsbuhl back to Rothenburg is at 15.00 on the same website which barely gives us anytime in Dinkelsbuhl. Is there any other option or any other local buses that depart from Dinkelsbuhl to Rothenburg early or late evening. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

First of all, Dinkelsbühl is not that big. And within an hour, you will see probably enough of this little town.

Second, there are connections, but they are complicated.

www.bahn.de shows a connection departure 17:25, arrival 19:16.
From Dinkelsbühl ZOB Schwedenwiese you take the Bus 59 to Crailsheim. In Crailsheim, you take the RE train to Dombühl. In Dombühl you change to bus 807. The fare is € 6.10 p.p.

Local bus connections are even more complicated. The website is: http://www.vgn.de

I would rent a car for a day. This would give you the chance to see other nice towns, including Feuchtwangen, Nördlingen and the beautiful baroque abbey in Neresheim.

IMO you can EASILY see ALL of Rothenburg IN A DAY.

Agree that car is the best way to do this - we saw Dink on the way to Rothenburg and 1.5 hours was plenty for former. Also wanted to see WART (just saw the sign at the side of the road) but wanted to be to Rothenburg before dark.

Thank you for the replies. The only reason I'm doing 2 nights in Rothenburg is because I'm not a very big fan of one nighters because it gets tiring. We get into Rothenburg after a 12 hour flight and 2.5 hour drive. I land into Frankfurt at 9 am so I'm expecting to be in Rothenburg by 12.30-1 pm. After Rothenburg I'm heading to Munich for the Oktoberfest for 3 nights. Another option is that I could spend a night in Rothenburg and head to Munich by noon/evening on the 2nd day and make it 4 nights in Munich instead of 3. How does that sound?

A lot of times people get hung up on the Romantic Road and assume all the great places are on it. Not so.

You already know the serious limitations of the Romantic Road bus for reaching Dinkelsbühl and the other RR towns.

What you probably don't know about are the neighbor towns of Ochsenfurt and Marktbreit on the Main River. Both can be reached by train - at any hour of the day you wish - in the same span of time (50 minutes) that the bus to D'bühl requires.

Marktbreit:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...breit_BW_9.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...breit_BW_3.JPG

Ochsenfurt:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...Ochsenfurt.jpg
http://www.brodyaga.com/pages/photos...aga.com%29.jpg
http://www.bayern-reisen-urlaub.de/f...chsenfurt2.jpg

Video review of Ochsenfurt and Marktbreit (and why a car might not be the best way to see to these places.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLUgpoQIFHI

And then there's Bad Windsheim. It has wonderful old half timbered buildings too but also an outstanding open-air museum with local historically significant rural buildings from 600 years ago. BW is less than 50 minutes from Rothenburg as well:

BW old town: http://www.schulz-gaestehaus.de/imag...m_Altstadt.jpg
BW Döbler Brew pub:
http://www.brauhaus-doebler.de/typo3...9f51841509.jpg

Freilandmuseum info: http://freilandmuseum.de/startseite/information-en.html
Freilandmuseum from the air: http://nuernbergluftbild.de/pictures/P05220161c.jpg

Travel to these and other places all day long on the Bayern Ticket daypass - €28 for two per day:

http://www.munich-touristinfo.de/Bavaria-Ticket.htm

Just buy this day pass on the day you choose to travel from a ticket machine.

"I land into Frankfurt at 9 am so I'm expecting to be in Rothenburg by 12.30-1 pm. After Rothenburg I'm heading to Munich for the Oktoberfest for 3 nights."

Yikes. Driving jetlagged right after a transatlantic flight? And your rental car will just sit in Munich for 3 days eating up rental fees and parking fees?? I would treat myself better than that and catch a train from the FRA airport station to Rothenburg and from there to Munich (you could use the Bayern ticket day pass for this last trip if you wish.) If you need a car after that, then pick it up when you leave Munich.

I missed quoting this part: "We get into Rothenburg after a 12 hour flight and 2.5 hour drive."

Your plan is to DRIVE to R'burg??

After landing in Frankfurt, take a train to Büdingen instead of Rothenburg and stay there overnight before heading to Munich. Büdingen is an hour outside of Frankfurt and is a lovely, medieval walled town. It is part of the Half-Timbered route that runs through Germany. For my tastes, much more interesting than the Romantic Road.

http://www.deutsche-fachwerkstrasse.de/uk/index.php

http://www.buedingen.info/en/

I'm taking a taxi from frankfurt to Rothenburg. Not driving myself. We are 2 couples planning to rent a station wagon with a driver. Not going to rent a car in Munich either. The reason we aren't taking the train is because we are on a 2 week trip so we are going to have some heavy luggage and the train from Frankfurt to Rothenburg has changes. Any recommendations for day trip to Nuremberg instead of Dinkelsbuhl since most people agree Dinkelsbuhl is very similar to Rothenburg and Nuremberg has good connections to Rothenburg. I surely don't want to spend only 1 night in Rothenburg because it gets tiring. I don't mind making a day trip from Rothenburg on the 2nd day. But i want to keep Rothenburg as my base for 2 days before heading out to Munich.

"Any recommendations for day trip to Nuremberg..."

Sure. Nuremberg is a great city, and if you have already checked it out and like what it offers, it's a feasible day trip. Rothenburg is not the best base town for train outings in northern Bavaria - it's at the end of a trunk line, so wherever you go you have to change trains - and Nuremberg is further than than the other places I suggested above, but you can get there and back on a day trip easily enough. You'll change trains twice in each direction on a round trip of 3.5 hours on the most direct route.

Würzburg is also a fine place; the Residenz is there (palace with hofkirche and gardens) and is a UNESCO World Heritage sight. You'd need about 2.75 hours round trip with one change in each direction.

For W'burg use the Bavaria ticket mentioned above. Note that on weekdays, this ticket has an after-9-a.m. restriction.

For Nuremberg (and Bad Windsheim, which you pass through on the way to Nuremberg) you can use a different ticket called the Tagesticket Plus. It's €18 for two with no hours restrictions:

http://www.vgn.de/en/dayticket?Editi...gesticket-plus

Both the Bavaria ticket and the Tagesticket Plus allow you to use city transport (trams, buses, etc.) within Würzburg and Nuremberg respectively. Both require use of local and regional trains (no high speed trains, which don't serve R'burg anyway) and can be bought from ticket machines at the station.

You can use the DB itinerary page to find train schedules.

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

Start station: Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Specify "only local transport" under "means of transport" to find trains for use with the day passes.

The suggestion to a day trip to Ochsenfurt and Marktbreit is a good one. Another trip that I really like from Rothenburg is a walk down into the Tauber River Valley to visit Detwang and see the Riemenschneider Altar in the Peter Paul Church. The area is very attractive with views of Rothenburg from below.

While in Rothenburg, there are a couple sights that get little attention but I find worth my time:

- In addition to the famous "Blood Altar" at St. Jakobskirche, I like another Riemenschneider altar at the Franziskaner Church depicting St. Francis experiencing stigmata in the garden. It is work from Riemenschneider's youth. It is less spectacular than the "Blood Altar" but a more cohesive work of art to my taste.

- I also like the Reichstadtmuseum. Rothenburg was an artist colony for a time (I think 19th Century) and they have several of the landscape paintings there.

Another attraction of Rothenburg is that it is beautifully located on a cliff overlooking the Tauber Valley. The views from the town gardens and a walk outside the wall are nice additions to the town.

We lived in Germany for six years and have visited the country 10 times in recent years. In comparison to other tourist places in Germany, we still find Rothenburg worth a two day visit. Just take time to get away from the main town square.

I sometimes find Rick Steves troubling, but his packing tips might be his greatest contribution ever to the traveling public:

"Whether traveling for two weeks or three months, I pack exactly the same."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58HdRSTAFec

https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-ti.../packing-smart

I love Rothenburg, do the night watchmen tour for sure. Wine tasting, nice outdoor cafes, do the wall walk and just relax before you hit the craziness of Oktoberfest. We are stopping in Wertheim for our first night and then Rothenburg. You really need to pack lighter. You aren't going to be gone that long. You could take a taxi from the airport to the main train station where you could catch the train directly to Rothenburg. Would be a lot cheaper. How much does a driver cost to take you that far?

Two nights in Rothenburg is not too long. Especially on your first two days of the trip. My last trip There (my third), I spent three.

I don't see anything wrong with staying two nights in Rothenburg, especially since it is your first two nights. The night watchman's tour is a must, a walk along the walls and I really enjoyed the city tour given mid-day by the tourist bureau. Match those activities with a stop or two at a bier garden, shopping and exploring the city's history will fill your time easily.
We were completely underwhelmed by Dinklesbuhl--cute town but dead.

Actually two days might not be enough -- if you're sleepy and jet lagged after a long overnight flight. Allow time for the odd nap.

I just have to put in my two cents here. I've been to Rothenburg several times over the years, and I've really enjoyed it in the MORNINGS before the day-trippers come and in the EVENINGS after they leave.

Even during the daytime I enjoy exploring the back streets, where there are few tourists.

I also recommend the night watchman's tour. I am not a shopper, but I especially avoid any store near the main square.

I think we'll just stick with 2 nights in Rothenburg based on all the recommendations given by Fodorites. A one way trip in taxi from Frankfurt to Rothenburg cost about 250 euros for 4 people which is fine because even the train cost 160 euros for 4 people but it has 2 changes . No way i want to do that after a 12 hour flight. Thank you everyone for the info.