Will this itinerary work?
 

Does this itinerary work? We have been to Munich before and are going for a family event. We will then drive to Garmish area for a couple of days before dropping our daughter back in Munich to catch a flight.

3 days/4 nights Munich
2 days/3 nights Obermmagau
Drive back to Munich spend 1night to drop daughter off at airport
Drop daughter off, drive to Mosel Valley
2 days/3 nights in Mosel Valley
Train from Luxembourg to Gent
2 days/3 nights in Gent
Train to Amersterdam
3 days/4 night Amersterdam

Where should we drop the car? In Trier or Luxembourg?

Luxembourg if there is no surcharge (and try to drive around the Grand Duchy itself a little - very very neat country with some dreamy towns and castles - Trier if there is a surcharge.

Blegian trains mainly have a flat fare I believe (not sure things are changing) so no need perhaps to buy a specific train at specific time far in advance so just hop train in Luxembourg and change in Brussels (consider a brief look at Brussels- put bags in station locker at Central Station and walk to Grand' Place and Mannequin Pis and pleasant central Brussels - but check Belgian Railways - Home - to see if there is an advantage to pre-booking or a day pass. Also check www.seat61.com for that info - general info trains BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com.

You could easily stop by Hamm and the American Military Cemeter there where Gen Patton lies buried - having been killed short after way in Jeep crash in Luxembourg after war ended.

Gent to Amsterdamcheck both www.thalys.com for Antwerp-Amsterdam fares -booking months early can mean really low fares -- and the ABS -All (Any) Belgian Station fare where with an international Thalys train (Antwerp-Amsterdam) for about 5 euros extra with the ABS fare you can hop any train within 24 hours of your Antwerp train to Antwerp (meaning a possible stop-over in this also really sweet city - be sure to check out the Antwerp train station itself - a veritable work of art inside and out). Also check Blegian Rail site or Dutch (www.ns.nl) for Gent to Amsterdam fares not involving Thalys that can also be dirt cheap if you book far enough in advance but take longer and I believe do not run direct to Amsterdam from Antwerp but changing once or twice - check schedules and see what is best.

But your schedule lookx great! I'd consider a day trip to Bruges from Gent. Yes it has crowds of tourists but to me is so excedtional - especially off the beaten path day trippers stick to - many like it a lot and some detest it.

Luxembourg City fails to excite many - a quick look maybe - just to see the physically gorgeous city divided by a deep gorge - otherwise pleasant but boringly modern city.

If take train from Trier you may want to just keep going - but if can keep car then yes drive around the lovely rural parts of the country.

Luxembourg - Gent takes a long time. A really long time. Gent to Amsterdam: take regional train to Antwerp, change to the International Intercity to Amsterdam (not Thalys!) . Takes a little longer, but is probably cheaper, and you can just buy a ticket and get on, no need for reservations. You might want to change at Rotterdam to the Intercity Direct (small surcharge between Rotterdam and Schiphol) to shorten your travel time a little more.

Belgian trains do not have a "flat fare". You pay for the distance you travel, just like everywhere else.

Belgian trains do not have a "flat fare". >

By flat fare I meant one price with no discounts. Thalys with ABS fare and cheapest Thalys ticket could be cheaper Gent-Amsterdam than the non-Thalys way I believe and quite a bit faster and direct from Amsterdam. Anyway play around and see what you can get.

Good advice to compare prices. Those very cheap Thalys tickets, I never get them, and I'm on Thalys a lot, pre-booking as early as possible. I get cheapish tickets for the Rotterdam - Brussels stretch, but never the really deep discounts. So for me, regular intercity works best. And with ICD, Brussels Amsterdam is fast enough, especially if you factor in the price of a ticket.

There is a difference now in Intercity prices depending on when you book.
If I want an IC Antwerp-Amsterdam this weekend, it's 37,40 one way. 2 weeks from now, it's 27 euro. A weekday next month is 21 euro one way.

Curious as if those fares Tulips gives are non-refundable and non-changeable? Or are they fully flexible tickets - makes a difference to some. Again if coming from Gent consider the ABS and really cheap Thalys fares but only available by booking months in advance - maybe for not much more you get a more comfy ride and faster but only by 40 minutes so take whatever is cheapest. Seems those IC Antwerp-Amsterdam trains are now direct so no changing trains. IC trains I think can be very crowded too - are seat reservations possible - did not used to be. Another factor - Thalys you are given a set reservation with ticket.

I travel Rotterdam - Brussels three times a week now, at peak times too, because I need to be in Brussels by 9 am, returning at the end of a working day: it can be busy, but so far (been doing this for a year now) I always get a seat.

There are no seat reservations on Intercity trains.
The IC ticket is valid on any train that day.
You can get a refund or change the date up to a day in advance, with an additional charge of 5 euros.

Thanks two lips! Guess seats are usually available according to menachem's experience so good way to go.

Will this itinerary work?
 

When you say the train from Luxembourg to Gent is really slow, how slow are we talking?
Should we consider something different? We have 2-3 days to spend between Munich and Gent. I thought the Mosel Valley would be fun but if it is difficult to get to Gent from there, we can consider a different itinerary.
Thoughts?

Well all in all including change in Brussels (chance to see a bit of Brussels for a few hours as mentioned above) the total train time is 4 h 11 min - those are 'slower' but not really slow trains vs high-speed trains - it would be about as long from any German town - 4 hrs is long to some but if you must return car in Germany for drop-off fees you'll find maybe Aachen would be quickest by train and not a bad drive from Mosel and a neat town in its own right.