I recently had someone write and ask about a trip they were taking with their family to Berlin and wanted to go to Heidelberg where the husband was stationed in the military and then to the south and and include possible Dachau, Neuschwanstein and the Black Forest and possibly fly home from Zurich. The son wanted to drive with a friend along. This is the type of trip I might make make myself, so had some suggestions. Which I post here.
Since you have some specific places you want to go and a fairly short time frame to make arragements, an organized tour is probably not an good option. You could do this with rail travel, but if your son wants to drive and explore, that allows you explore a variety of things in a short schedule.
As for the week. Be aware that the flight to Europe is an overnight flight so you arrive the next day (do your best to sleep on the plane as if its night). For outbound and return you have a couple of choices – fly to Berlin, return from Zurich or Munich.
If you rent a car in Germany and return it in Switzerland, you’ll incur a heavy added return fee (about $400). So you could drive into a bit of Switzerland and return to Munich. Or you could rent a car in Berlin and drop it off in Friedrichshafen or Lindau on Lake Constance near the Swiss border and take the train to Zurich (about $35).
Traveling in early May you won’t have much problem finding hotels on the road. If you want to have hotels arranged ahead, here would be my thinking. Since you definately want Berlin and Heidelberg. Maybe plan on two nights in Berlin, two nights in Heidelberg (or one stopover on the way). Two nights in Munich and one extra night somewhere. Maybe one near Neuschwanstein (Schwangau/Fussen) or Friedrichshafen/Lindau if you take that option with the rental car.
That is a lot for one week, with driving. Not very relaxing but depends how much you want to see. You could forget Munich and head for the border after Heidelberg or go to Munich and forget Switzerland.
Driving from Berlin to Heidelberg is about 8 hours. So you might really want to stop for a night to break it up. Two routes to follow and some suggestions of stops. A9 from Berlin to Nurnberg (Nuremberg) then A6 to Heidelberg. Or A9 to A4 to A5 via Frankfurt (or A7 to A66 via Hanau) to Heidelberg.
South then west Via Nurnberg (walled city) possible stops…
Wittenberg – Martin Luther Town (Church with the famous church doors)
Nuremberg
Rothenburg ob Der Tauber
Dinkelsbuhl
Sinsheim (Tecknik Museum)
Castle Road into Heidelberg (route 27/37 allow 2 hours from the autobahn
to Heidelberg plus stops)
West then South via Frankfurt (but don’t bother stopping in Frankfurt)
Buchenwald (Concentration Camp Museum)
Eisenach – Wartburg Castle
Alsfeld or Homberg (Efze) or Bad Homberg vor Der Hohe or Hanau
These are towns on the Brothers Grimm Trail
Darmstadt Frankenstein Castle
From Heidelberg you could explore the castle road – east along the Neckar River if you didn’t come that way, or you can leave that way if you have time. Or stop overnight at a castle hotel – Hirschhorn Schloss Hotel , Burg Hornberg, or Castle Guttenberg on the Neckar.
From Heidelberg to the south – a couple of two choices
Departing from Zurich – Instead of Munich head down to Stuttgart then into Swabia or the Black Forest – Baden-Baden over to Hechingen/Sigmaringen – get to Neuschwanstein (if you really feel you must) and turn the car in at
Friedrichshafen.
Possible stops –
Hockenheim Race Track
Pforzheim Jewelry
Karlsrue
Baden Baden
Black Forest
Hohenzollern Castle
Simaringen Castle
Zeppelin Museum
Neuschwanstein Castle
Hohenschwangau Castle
Heidelberg to Munich about 4 hours plus stops via Stuttgart A81 A8
Sinsheim Technik Museum (if did not come that way)
Ludwigsburg Palace
Porsche Museum – Stuttgart
Mercedes Museum – Stuttgart
Dachau Concentration Camp (can be visited from Munich or on the way in)
Schliessheim Palaces and Flugwerft Air Museum (can be combined with Dachau)
From Munich to Friedrichshafen via A95
Ettal Abbey
Schloss Linderhof
Schloss Neuschwanstein
Via A96 A7
Landsberg Am Lech
Schloss Neuschwansten
Lindau
Zeppelin Museum
Hotels
Berlin has a lot you can choose the main city (former east) near Unter den Linden or the former west Berlin – a little more intimate near the am Zoo rail station or foermer east – Friedrichshain. Spend two days in Berlin,
pick up the rental car on like a Tuesday. From the central city or from Tegel Airport. If you get a hotel near the downtown rental station pick up the car there. If you can get a diesel (gazoil) it’s a little cheaper than
gas (Benzin), but may or may not be available at the good rental rate. Get a GPS. It will save a lot of map searching.
For a hotel in Heidelberg you might consider the Hollander Hof (on the Neckar and easy to find with a car) or the Ritter St George (nearby in the pedestrian zone). If you stop on the way perhaps the Markusturm Hotel in Rothenburg.
In Munich, some ideas – the Hotel Englishergarten is a bit of a challenge to find with a car, but good with a car when you do. The Hotel Platzl downtown has a garage in the old town center. In Schwabing, the
Cosmopolitan and the Best Western Konig Ludwig on Hohenzollernstr are easy to get to, just off Leopoldstr, with garages. Ride the Ubahn into the city center. Schwabing has lots of sidewalk restaurants etsc and in on the way
into the city from the north.
First decide what you really, really want to do and then some optional. Look around at what’s along the route and decide your options. You do have to think about how much time you want to spend in the car and how much you want to see for a one week trip.
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