where to stay in Germany
 

I am planning to visit Germany for a 07 days tour with my four kids. Would like to visit Europa park, Neuschwanstein Castle, Rhine cruise, bavaria and salzburg. Romatic road if time permits. Can any one suggest where to find a good discounted/budget base accomodation to visit these places and what type of train passes are advisable.

You will need several bases because distances are great. Europapark in Rust is far away from the other destinations. Go to a similar park which is closer to your itinerary (e.g. Phantasialand south of Köln which can be combined with your Rhein cruise - I suggest a half-day cruise for your family, otherwise the kids will get bored). Visit a medieval castle with them - the Marksburg in Braubach will be a good place and it is easily accessible from the river boat.

So, your first base should be somewhere along the Rhein.

Then you need a second base in Bavaria, maybe even two bases.

For hotel search, you may use www.hrs.de.
An apartment might be the better option for you, you may use www.vrbo.com

thanks traveller 1959. do you recommend staying in Munich and then moving around these places. if not, which is most centrally located city from where I can move to these places

Skip Europapark and go to Legoland instead. It's very near the other places you want to be.

larik: Bavaria is a HUGE area that constitutes 20% of Germany and extends nearly to Frankfurt - not a destination like Europa Park. A week isn't enough time to visit Bavaria or even all the other places on your list. I would take traveler1959's advice - stick with 2 bases, and make some choices.

The Rhine/Mosel would be one good base for 3-4 days. CASTLES: Marksburg, as T-1959 suggests, is a great choice. Burg Eltz on the Mosel is terrific as well. Younger kids may want to explore Rheinfels Castle (St. Goar) in a hands-on way. Reichsburg Castle (on the Mosel in Cochem) has an awesome falconry show 4 times/day (dark Monday.)

www.marksburg.de
www.burg-eltz.de
http://www.st-goar.de/17-1-rheinfels-castle.html
http://www.falknerei-reichsburg-cochem.de/fotobuch.htm

Cochem is a whimsically beautiful town; there's also a chairlift ride to a lookout there, and from this lookout you can walk to the Wild und Freizeitpark Klotten:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...alatinate.html

Because Cochem is also very close to Burg Eltz and not too far from Marksburg (in Braubach) it could make a good base town for you; the Rhine cruise is actually a minor footnote experience in this area and something you can accomplish on your way to Cochem in about 1.5 hours (cruise from Bingen to St. Goar, the best part.)

The Rhine and Mosel Castles provide a more engaging experience overall than Neuschwanstein Castle, which really isn't even a castle at all, but a late 19th century residential palace that shuffles visitors with $17 in their hand through in 30 minutes - a waste of time IMO when you consider it's 5 hours for transportation alone as a day trip from Munich.

If you want to see Salzburg and the Romantic Road towns of Nördlingen, Harburg, Donauwörth, and Augsburg, then Munich would indeed be a possible travel base for day trips.

Use the Bayern ticket for day trips out of Munich - a super cheap way to go for families:
http://www.munich-touristinfo.de/Bavaria-Ticket.htm

A similar pass exists for outings in the Rhine/Mosel region:
http://www.vrminfo.de/en/tickets-and...-pfalz-ticket/

So with 2 travel bases, maybe Cochem and Munich, you would use these passes for outings - then use one saver fare ticket from DB (German Railways) to get between Cochem and Munich. You'd need to reach Cochem in the first place, so maybe a 2nd saver fare ticket for that. Fly into FRA, out of MUC.

Saver fares: http://www.bahn.com/i/view/DEU/en/pr...ngs-fare.shtml

Thanks Russ. very helping and informative note.you have cleared my mind about many issues. can you just add a little note about accomodation. I prefer an apartment for my family size. how to find reasonably priced apartment in both Munich and Cochem.

to find a place in Cochem, go to www.cochem.de and click on the Ubernachten tab on the left.

Try this page for accommodations in Cochem and select "apartment."

http://www.ferienland-cochem.de/next...?lang=en&e1=-1

Boppard is on the Rhine just south of Koblenz - very nice town with good train connections and good base for your destinations as well; find apartment listings on brochure page 12-16:

http://www.boppard-tourismus.de/file...es_20klein.pdf

Be sure to check location carefully since you'll want to be near Cochem station or Boppard Hbf station for outings. Boppard-Bad Salzig is a suburb that also has a station, but Boppard proper is a nice place to stay overall.

"Can any one suggest where to find a good discounted/budget base accomodation to visit these places..."

You might find budget apartments in Munich to be in pretty short supply. Another option: Prien, on Chiemsee Lake mid-way between Munich and Salzburg on the main train line, and home to Herrenchiemsee Palace. You'd be just one hour from each by train.

Apartments: http://tourismus.prien.de/en/
Chiemsee w/island palace: http://home.arcor.de/oberpfalz-nord/...s/chiemsee.jpg
Palace: http://www.herrenchiemsee.de/englisc...lace/index.htm

Then on your final sightseeing day, you take a train into Munich, drop bags in a station locker (or at nearby hotel) and take another train toward the RR towns suggested above, returning that evening to Munich for a final hotel night before your flight out at the Ibis or elsewhere near the station.