Route assistance
 

My husband, boys (ages 7 & 9), and I will be traveling to Germany next week. We will be flying into Ramstein on the 8th and renting a car. First, we will go to Cologne to visit friends (7/9-7/12). Afterwards we head down to Munich (7/12-7/16) to meet up with family and will do day trips to Garmisch, some castle (yet to be determined..recommendations???), and Dachau. Then the extended family and all will travel to Salzburg for 3 nights (7/16-7/19). At that point, everyone will go their separate ways. We are looking for advice on a route back to Ramstein. We will have already been through Munich so we're looking for something different. We are pretty flexible and can take 2-4 days to make this trip. Also, we will have a car so that affords us flexibility. We would like it to be leisurely and scenic with possibly a few stops to entertain the boys.

2 nights in Berchtesgaden and 2 nights in Rothenburg ought to give you enough to satisfy everyone on the return to Ramstein- and stop at Herrenchiemsee on the way from Munich to Salzburg...

Have a good trip...

((B))

Unless you want to give them nightmares, 7 and 9 might be too young for Dachau. It's pretty intense. From the Memorial's site:

<i>Is the Memorial Site appropriate for children?

There is no special exhibition for children at the Dachau Memorial Site, and some of the content may not be appropriate for children under 12; however, visitors will not be turned away based on age.</i>


I highly recommend a visit to Legoland: http://www.legoland.de/en/

This is like shooting fish in a barrel: Salzburg - Passau (and/or Landshut) - Regensburg - Nuernberg - Bamberg - Wuerzburg - Ramstein.

Travelforbeer has given good advice - the Königssee near Berchtesgaden is spectacularly scenic.

Another option is driving to Garmisch-Partenkirchen in order to get a taste of the Alps and to the the Ludwig castles nearby. On the way to Ramstein, you might also drive through Alsace, see Colmar, Strasbourg and a few wine villages.

Thank you for the help. We were looking at Legoland, but just are not sure we want to spend time in Germany doing that. There are Legolands here in the states that offer great discounts for us.

@sparkchaser. I didn't clarify that the kids would not be going to Dachau.

We will be making a day trip to Eagles Nest when we are in Salzburg so that rules out Berchtesgaden, unless you think we would want more time there.