Hallo! My wife (37F) and I (39M) are planning a 2 week trip to Germany. This would be our first visit, so it’s been a lot of work figuring out the logistics!
I wrote a draft itinerary, and want to draw on your collective experience to improve it and help us avoid any dumb mistakes 🙂
**When:** June/July 2023
**Budget:** < $7000 USD for the two of us including flights.
**Duration:** We planned for 2 weeks to really immerse ourselves in the vacation and not be worrying about going to work the next week. But if it makes sense to cut a city and vacation for only 10 days, we’d be open to that.
**Where we’re starting:** East Coast of the U.S.
**Interests & preferences:** We’re both interested in the food, castles, picturesque/breathtaking natural scenery, walking around pretty neighborhoods, and hands-on activities we can do together. I love visiting thermal baths, and she’s more into art and shopping. While we do want to see *some* WWII history, we’re happy with just a taste, and instead spending more time on relaxing/uplifting things. We’d rather find things to enjoy together, than be constantly meeting and hanging out with strangers.
**German speaking ability:** next-to-none. We’re native English speakers, and I’m currently learning some German phrases.
****
**Day 1: Arrive in Munich get settled**
Check in, buy SIM card, walk around town
**Day 2: Explore touristy places in Munich**
Marienplatz, Residenz, Englischer Garten, Hofbräuhaus
**Day 3: Dachau day trip**
**Day 4: To Salzburg**
Pick up rental car in Munich and drive to Salzburg, walk around Old Town and see Mozart museums
**Day 5: Sound of Music tour and Hallstatt**
**Day 6: Daytrip to Konnigsee**
Boat tour, hiking, St. Bartholomä restaurant, ice chapel, salet, hike to lake Obersee. Swim in ‘[infinity pool](https://walkbesidemeblog.com/lake-koenigssee/)’ (too dangerous?)
**Day 7: To Bavarian Alps**
Drive to Oberammergau, ride alpine coaster, Linderhof Castle
**Day 8: King Ludwig’s castle**
Hohenschwangau Castle and Neuschwanstein Castle
**Day 9: Zugspitze**
Drive to Garmisch and park? (Or is the train better?) Take Zugspitzebahn cogwheel train, Seilbahn gondola up to Zugspitze peak. Late afternoon, do Partnach Gorge Hike
**Day 10: To Rothenburg ob der Tauber**
Drive to Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber. Walk around town and do Night Watchman tour
**Day 11: To Munich**
Wake up early in Rothenburg and experience town before daytrippers get here. Drive back to Munich and **Return rental car in Munich**. Nymphenburg Palace Gardens
**Day 12: Chill day**
Olympia Park picnic. Pick some cute restaurants and fun city things to do (would love some ideas!)
**Day 13: Therme and Spa**
Slow morning at cafe. Weekday trip to Therme Erding to avoid crowds, take late train back to Munich
**Day 14: Daytrip or Recuperation**
Nuremburg daytrip via ICE OR Window/souvenir shopping and restaurants depending on our energy
**Day 15: Fly back to U.S.**
I get so excited already just thinking about these 2 weeks! 🙂
We’d really love your feedback on the itinerary, and any of the specific questions below.
Danke schön!!
**Specific questions because we’ve never been to Germany before:**
– **If we do July, when does it get most crowded?** Planning for June because we like warm weather, but not sure if schedule will force us into July. We know there would crowds regardless, but when does it really spike up?
– **How much of this trip can we do by train?** Neither of us like driving, and we’d prefer to sleep/relax on a train instead. However, I read that it’s better to have a car for Hallstatt, the Alps, and some Munich daytrips so that you can travel freely instead of being chained to a tour bus.
– **When should we pick up and drop off the rental car?** Picking up in Munich before we go to Salzburg seems to be cheaper. Should I drop it off right as we return to Munich? Or does it make sense to keep it for a potential day trip, or to avoid missing a bus back from Therme Erding?
– **Is this too hectic/slow?** I tried fitting in > 2 nights/city, except for Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber. After much internal debate, I dropped Baden-Baden b/c it seemed too hectic to drive so far only to stay a few nights…It seemed a better fit to enjoy Munich and wind down on the last leg of the trip. Am I overestimating the drive to and back from Baden-Baden? I love relaxing in hot springs, and Therme Erding seems more adrenaline than relaxation lmao
– **Should I reorder some cities?** Is it better to fly into Salzburg, and drive West? Or still start in Munich and do the Alps before Salzburg?
– **Should I avoid any of these activities on Saturday/Sunday?** For example, reviews say Therme Erding is ridiculously packed on weekends
– **For the Alps: Oberammergau, Fussen, or Garmisch?** Which one has a more scenic view? These 3 are the oft-recommend towns near the Bavarian Alps. Oberammergau seemed in between Ludwig’s castles and Garmisch, so I picked it.
– **Should Munich be our last stop?** Unsure if there’s enough to do if returning to Munich. I was considering an open jaw flight into Munich, and out from Frankfurt or Berlin, but I heard there’s not much to do in Frankfurt, and Berlin is very far away. I’ve also heard that Berlin can be a bit unfriendly/dangerous? and we’d want to end the trip on a relaxed note.
– **How good is the ‘typical city experience’ in Munich? (shopping/karaoke/arcades/axe-throwing/etc.)** When we’re not taking in the unique history/culture, we do like a bit of down-time to goof off.
– **Hotel/activity/restaurant recommendations at these cities?** For hotels/guesthouses, we’d prefer something central, quiet, cheap, and clean. We’re both light-sleepers, so quiet is ideal. We get noisy at night, and I also snore loudly, so ideally a place where the walls aren’t so thin that those would be problems…
– **How to cook in Germany as a traveler?** We’d love to cook for a few meals, but suites are expensive. We’re not looking for hostels, either. Should we try renting at a bed and breakfast and ask to use their kitchen?
– **Is it practical to row boats on the Konnigsee?** I know there’s an electric boat tour, but there’s something magical about rowing your own boat with a picnic basket on board, and snacking on food in the middle of a lake. I’m worried that we won’t be able to reach a good spot via rowboat, or that bringing food will be restricted/difficult.
– **SIM card recommendation?** I’ve read that it’s overall cheaper/better to get a local SIM card. We’re looking at Vodafone, but would love to know if that’s a mistake in Germany.
10 comments
I just skimmed over this, but… *axe throwing* is not a “typical city experience” in this country. Arcades have never been popular here either.
Edit: Rather than going looking for whatever is the norm wherever you are from and expecting Germany to be a quainter version of that with more Lederhosen, I’d really recommend just taking what you find here.
> Day 4: To Salzburg
>Pick up rental car in Munich and drive to Salzburg, walk around Old Town and see Mozart museums
I’d suggest taking the train. Munich main station to Salzburg main station, no hassle with parking or traffic.
> Day 13: Therme and Spa
>Slow morning at cafe. Weekday trip to Therme Erding to avoid crowds, take late train back to Munich
For the best spots it’s usually best to be there when they open, get a good place and do breakfast in the Therme.
Also, would you do textile or non-textile? The former is so-so, the latter is really good.
Looks like any other US tourist itinerary ever. For a change it’s not packed to the brim with daily multi-hour drives.
Personally I’m not a huge fan of every single tourist in the entire universe deciding the 3 hour drive from Munich to Rothenburg is worth it, but it’s up to you. There are other half-timber old-towns in Germany.
>How good is the ‘typical city experience’ in Munich? (shopping/karaoke/arcades/axe-throwing/etc.)
Two of these things are not like the others, two of those things are not like the rest….
I doubt axe-throwing is really a “typical” thing to do in any city, and arcades never really took off here at all. The closest thing are gambling places, but just avoid those altogether.
Day 6: To my knowledge, this natural pool ist closed because too many people wanted to go there and destroyed the nature along their path. Additionally it can be very dangerous.
(Edit: people died there)
Here’s an article about that: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.reisereporter.de/amp/artikel/11900-spinnt-ihr-nationalpark-berchtesgaden-empoert-ueber-influencer-bad-im-pool
Please respect nature and don’t go there.
> Day 3: Dachau day trip
Well, Dachau is not a daytrip. I think maybe the MAX time you would spend there would be 3.5 to 4 hours. It is very sad and a bit unsettling at times to realize just how close it is to the Munich Hauptbahnhof- about 25 minutes. So, travel will not be an issue. A guided tour is about 2 hours or so, and you may want to walk around on your own as well. Plus, there is a film room that shows old videos or short documentaries. I’m not sure if those are used as much anymore with YouTube and such.
I had a friend a while back who was a police cadet, and while he was training to be an official police officer he lived in the building on the other side of Dachau’s forested fence area that used to be the SS living quarters and administrative offices, etc. I thought that was a bit creepy when I visited him there. Also, my aunt said she used to play hide and seek in the actual camp when she lived in the *exact same building* as child- her father was in the US Army, and the building was a US Military building after the war, apparently. Small world.
Anyway, I suggest going in the morning, and you should be back in central Munich by lunch time.
Why rent a car when there’s the Deutchlandticket? 49 euro and you’re set for that itinerary for a month. Everything except ICE and IC high speed trains. The RB and RE trains are fast enough.
It even works on the train to Salzburg, because it’s run by the Bavarian transit union.
Think of all the drinking you will be able to do.
– The infinity pool you are looking for is closed. It’s forbidden to walk to the pool
– when you are going in the summer go not to the Zugspitze without visting the Eibsee. You have to park for the cable car to the Zugspitze directly at the Eibsee. It’s one of the most beautiful landscapes in Germany and great for swimming. You can walk around the whole Eibsee in 2 – 3 hours.
– Therme Erding is great but insanely huge and overcrowded. But sure you can give it a try.
– a SIM card with Vodafone network isn’t a bad idea but the best network is t-mobile. There are so many SIM card provider you can choose from. I can recommend for example congstar. It’s a subsidiary company from t-mobile and has good prices.
-if you like to cook your own meals have a look for Airbnb or fewo-direkt.de. But note that restaurants in Germany are a way cheaper than in the us.
In my opinion it is very packed and you should plan buffer days. I know, for you it is one in lifetime experience, for me, you scheduled all my childhood holidays into one week.
Some activities are forbitten (Königssee Pool) some are Tourist traps (Schloss Neuschwanstein: either be there at 8:00AM or skip the interior and just enjoy the views from the Marienbrücke.). Most of your activities are really weather dependent. Zugspitze ist often very foggy. so on a bad day, you could buy the 90€ cable car to end up in a cloud and don’t see anything.
I don’t think that going to the Therme Erding is such a unique experience that it is essential. I guess you have thermal baths everywhere in the US. The main difference will be the mandatory nackend sauna. But there are so many thermal baths in Germany, just pick the next one on a rainy day.
Then you somehow a little romantic or transfigured view on Germany. Axe throwing? Nope it is not a city activity. Rowing a boat on the Königssee? Hell NOO! Don’t row to the middle of the lake!
Cooking? You want to cook after these exhausting full packed days? Well good luck! First you should take Apartments (look for “Ferienhaus”) that is a whole apartment with kitchen. Then you can simply go to the supermarket and buy food there. Typically Germans buy bread or rolls from a lokal bakery (try to avoid industrial bakeries in the supermarket) and make sandwiches with cheese or sausage/cold cuts for the daytrip. (That is the cheapest option)
In my humble opinion: Cut Therme Erding. Do Dachau and Munich on one day and then leave the city(your idea to do it at the very end is good), you don’t need to do “tourist activities” that you could also do in the US. Take one or tow day more in the alps and then decide what you want to do on a daily base.
Additional stuff:
Germany is densely populated, you wont find empty spots like in the US.
Sonntagsruhe: All Supermarkets and other stores are closed on Sundays/Holidays. Restaurants/Hotels/touristic stuff is open.
Rental car: it is a good option on the countryside. for commuting between cities you could take the train. The public transport is not perfect but far from US-standard. See [https://www.bahn.de/](https://www.bahn.de/) for trains in Germany and [https://www.oebb.at/](https://www.oebb.at/) for trains in Austria. Save money and only book a car for a few days.
An embodiment of a stupid US-American itinerary: Nazis, Disney castles, Sound of Music, Rothenburg, Alps.