Germany - ABD or another company or on our own? First time - family with teenagers

[cedricandsophie]

We have done germany, Austria and Switzerland all on our own, several times. Those countries are lIke Driving between neighboring states so it’s not as hard as it seems. Personally I prefer Switzerland and Austria more than germany but its all great. I’d suggest you pick up Rick Steves book or books, he always has great, fun itinerarieS. And decide if you want to focus on countryside, castles, or cities. Sorry you don’t want to go to a camp...I think it should be required for every kid.

 

[RogueX]

Though I've never been to Germany, when looking into places to travel, sometimes I'll look at the itineraries from a few tour companies, pick the pieces that sound the most interesting and price them out as if I'm creating my own tour. A lot of times you may find extra sites to see, things to do, etc., but also accommodations at places you might not have otherwise thought of.

 

[cschaaf]

Do you realise the amount of kilometers that you wish to drive .... on good mountain twisty spectacular roads .

I would SKIP from Day 8 , 9 , & 1half of day 10

From Grindelwald drive to Interlaken to Thun to Luzern to Cham to Zurich

to Winterthur to Konstanz then car ferry to Friedrichshafen Germany ( home of the Airships " Blimp " )

Lake Constance or Bodensee has a very good round boat trip calling at small towns

Stay at The Ring Hotel in Friedrichshafen

Then drive Back to Munich ...... a Much more relaxing less stressful holiday .


NOTE you Will NEED a car travel disc ( Buy at filling stations ) to travel into Austria (a 5 to 6 day ticket 0

AND a MUST travel Disc for Switzerland .... this is checked at BORDER entering Switzerland .
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I am travelling this route from May 27th to 12 th June but we fly from Cork Ireland to Zurich

Car hire is by Unirent car is a Skoda Octavia Estate . ( Also Try Sixt Car Hire )

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NOTE your DAY 8 & 9 take you WAY north into Luxemburg & back down to Munich

Yeah, we know it's a lot of driving - but it gets us to the things we want to see the most.

I tried to break it up so that we would only have to drive a few hours between places. The two longest are Fussen > Lauterbrunnen (~4:35) and, as you pointed out, Lauterbrunnen > Koblenz (~5:30).

We do know about the vignettes for Austria and Switzerland, but thank you for making sure. I appreciate any info! We also know that Austria requires an International Driving Permit.

@Woodview Why do you avoid Airbnbs in Germany (and/or Austria/Switzerland)? I don't think we'd rely on them heavily this trip, but it might make sense in one or two places. We'll have three nights in the Jungfrau region, so it would be nice to Airbnb at a place that had washer/drier to refresh our wardrobes.

So far, it's just my wife and I on the trip, but my parents may join us, too. Airbnbs look even better when you'd otherwise need 2 hotel rooms.

 

[pjacobi]

Manual transmission is still very popular in Europe. Automatic transmission may or may not be available in rental cars. If available, expect a premium price. Does anyone have any recent experience?

-Paul

 

[sun_seekin]

We are doing Germany on our own after our ABD Danube river cruise (west bound) this summer. We are only doing the "Romantic Road" area of Germany. So far all I have booked are our hotels, so i'll be following this thread for activity ideas. Our itinerary so far is as follows:
2 nights in Munich
1 night in Fussen
1 night in Rothenburg ob der Tauber
1 night in Frankfurt at the airport Hilton before very early flight home

Next on my to do list is secure the rental car and plan out activities. I am using the Rick Steves Germany guidebook as well as some internet research for Romantic Road itineraries. For Fussen and Rothenburg hotels I used Booking.com and booked some quaint small hotels. For the big cities I like to either use or earn points so we are staying at larger chain hotels. We are a family of 5 traveling with 3 kids.

 

[Matty123]

Going on your own will be great. Most people you'll come across speak impeccable English, and facilities are modern and easily negotiable. I would recommend taking a couple of days in Munich to enjoy the public gardens, markets, and squares as well as Hofbrauhaus, churches, etc. It's a beautiful city (good restaurants, too!). My husband and I used public transport to go to Dachau, and it was very easy. I would absolutely take my teenagers to Dachau if we were in Europe together. Perhaps the most memorable part of the experience there for me was hearing the perspective of our young German tour guide. Absolutely invaluable and would be for my teens, too.

Must do Neuschwanstein, of course, and I enjoyed a stop in Oberammergau too. I liked some of the smaller historic towns in the Czech Republic more than Prague itself although you have to see the city centre. I also liked Nurnberg. Salzburg is very pretty and has lovely outdoor spaces along with the history. I loved seeing Mozart's birth house and his instruments, but that may be a specialized taste! Have a fantastic trip.

 

[Matty123]

My apologies, OP, I just realized that you'd already ruled Dachau out. I was thinking more in terms of general advice to other posters. Have a great trip.

 

[Woodview]

For car rental look up Sixt car hire or rentalcars .com

Fuel should be Full to Full & unlimited Km .