Scenic driving question...Munich or Frankfurt to Rothenburg???
 

We will be renting a car at either Frankfurt or Munich airport, and will be returning the car to Munich. So, what would you do...fly to Frankfurt, drive south to Rothenburg and then days later drive north on romantic road to Munich OR fly to Munich, drive north to Rothenburg and then backtrack days later north on RR to Munich....Ahh decisions, decisions.

You should check a map. Rothenburg is north of Munich (actually northwest).

Rothenburg is easier to get to from Frankfurt (A3 to A7), but the drive from Munich, although slower, is more scenic.

One advantage to renting the car in Munich is that you will know where to return the car at the end of the trip. Returning a car to an unfamiliar location in a foreign country can be challenging (although certainly not impossible). Some friends drove around CDG for over an hour once trying to figure out exactly where to turn the car in.

Hi, JennaJ. I'm also a bit confused about your trip. As smueller pointed out, Rothenburg is north of Munich--have you left something out of your itinerary description?

Hi Jenna,
Rather than backtracking by train, I would simplify just by flying into Frankfurt and drive 2 hour and 30 minutes to Rothenburg then down the Romanyic Road to Munich. Perhaps the easiest place to return the car is at the Hauptbahnhof(Main train station). You won't need a car inside Munich. There's a good S-bahn train to the Munich Airport from all points inside Munich.

Thanks for the information. In my sleepy haze last night I thought Rothenburg was South. I am confusing myself! Thank you for the clarification. Now I am aware that Rothenburg is in between Frankfurt and Munich!

Depending on where you may be going, you may not even need a car. Although Rothenburg is not the easiest place to get to (it is at the end of a line) it is still a nice, scenic trip from Munich, via train. Where else are you traveling to ?

SAnParis- Our itinerary is as follows:

2 nights Rothenberg
2 nights Fuessen
3 nights Munich
3 nights Salzburg
1 night Hallstadt
2 nights Melk
3 nights Vienna
4 nights Prague

We would like a car in Bavaria so we can tour at our own pace. We love to explore! I am just not sure if we fly to Munich and then drive to Rothenburg, we will be missing out on great scenery from Frankfurt to Rothenburg.

The scenery between Frankfurt and Rothenburg is OK--not ugly. Some pretty areas, but nothing to write home about. Not "WOW" like the Alps or the Amalfi Coast.

Hi J,

>Our itinerary is as follows:

2 nights Rothenberg
2 nights Fuessen
3 nights Munich
3 nights Salzburg
1 night Hallstadt
2 nights Melk
3 nights Vienna
4 nights Prague<

Is this a motor trip or are you taking a train from Munich to Austria and Prague?

((I))

Things to keep in mind. If going into Czech Republic, please notify the car rental agency. All cars are not allowed to be driven into Czech. Also, Czech now has an insurance law in effect and you must have proof that you have 35,000.00 medical insurance to enter country. Also, if you rent the car in Germany, you will have to take your own safety vests (must be inside car, not in trunk) while driving through Austria and an international drivers license is required. You must also purchase a stamp for on windsheid for Austria and Czech Republic.

I think the scenery between Munich to Rothenburg, especially along the Romantic Road, would be much more scenic. However, given your itinerary I think it would be better to fly into Frankfurt and work your way down towards Munich that way. You will be visiting some very scenic areas throughout your trip, so I don't think you would miss much if you went directly from Frankfurt to Rothenburg. If you are flying in from the US, you will probably be thankful for the shorter drive on the first day anyhow.

Tracy

Nlingenfel...can you go into more detail? We will be renting in Germany and we will take our car into Austria...onto the local roads, probably not autobahn. Where would we get "vests"? Do we need an Internat'l license for 2 days as well as a stamp just to go into the country?

Hi W,

An International Driver's Permit is a translation of your driver's license into many languages.

You don't need an Iternational Driver's Permit until a cop asks to see it.

You can get one for about $10 from the AAA. See http://tinyurl.com/rhn6n

>We will be renting in Germany and we will take our car into Austria...onto the local roads, probably not autobahn.

I have been researching this for a few months. As best I can tell, the Austrians have turned all of the border crossings into "motorways" for which you need the tax certificate. You can get them at the border crssings or most gas stations leading to the border.

I'd also like to hear more about "Vests".

((I))

JennaJ,

If you rent the car away from an Airport or Train Station you will save a 19% tax that the car companies put on the cars. If you fly open jaw you can save a lot of driving by flying into Munich and home from Prague.

Fly into Munich and spend a few days. When you are ready to leave rent your car away from the train station or airport and drive the Romantic Road to Rothenburg. When you leave there take the autobahn south to Fussen (it goes most of the way). When you leave Fussen take the mountain roads to Wiesekirche, Oberammergau, Schlos Linderhof, Ettal Monastary, Garmish, Bertschesgaden to Salzburg. Stop at the Austrian border and get the sticker, it is only about $15.

I assume you are planning to rent the car in Germany and drop it in Austria and pay the big cross-country drop fee.

Make your way across Austria to Vienna and drop the car there. Take the train on to Prague.

PS. When you arrive in Munich you can take the S-bahn to town from the airport. You won't want or need a car in Munich the public tranport is great. If you are looking for a car we like to use Bob Bestor at Gemut.com .. he always gets us a good deal and has great advice.

Info on Visibility Vests are only on a few sites. Check www.austria.info. I bought ours at an outlet store, they are orange plastic with 2 yellow stripes and were only 5.00 each. We have had to leave our vehicle and walk on one occassion, and so I try and get everything I can to meet the country laws. Before finding this site, I did do quite a few things wrong, and was lucky enought not to get fined. I have only needed my international drivers license once, but it was well worth the money. I was in Czech Republic and had the sticker, had the license but had a rental car that was not to be in Czech Republic. The police were nice, and tried to tell me to leave, but I didn't understand him and he couldn't get through to me, so he just waved me on.

P S We stayed 2 more days. Glad no one decided they wanted our car. When I got home found out what he was trying to tell me

Thanks for all of the suggestions! Ira-our trip is half car rentals and half train travel. Our itinerary and transportation plans include the following:

Fly to Frankfurt or Munich and get rental car. Drive directly to Rothenburg.
2 nights Rothenberg
2 nights Fuessen
Drive to Munich and drop off car.
3 nights Munich
Train to Salzburg
3 nights Salzburg
Pick up rental in Salzburg and drive to Hallstadt
1 night Hallstadt
2 nights Melk
Drive to Vienna and drop car.
3 nights Vienna
Train to Prague
4 nights Prague
Fly home from Prague

Hope our plan makes sense!