April trip suggestions

Three first time travelers to Germany will be arriving in Berlin April 1st. We will be renting a car for the duration of our trip, and have the following itinerary scheduled:

We%26#39;ll be in Berlin for 3 nights, then traveling to Rothenburg ob der Tauber for 2 nights.

From there, we%26#39;re going to spend one night at the Hotel Schoenburg Castle, then down to Munich for 2 nights before flying home.

As we will be driving, are there any %26quot;must sees%26quot; along the way that we should plan stops for between our destinations?

How convenient/inconvenient are gas stations? Are they readily available along the highways as they are here in the States?

While in Berlin, would it be better to use public transportation instead of driving and trying to find a place to park?

Any suggestions appreciated!

Thanks!

|||

%26gt;As we will be driving, are there any %26quot;must sees%26quot; along the way that we should plan stops for between our destinations?%26lt;

Well, about 1000 or so....

depends on what you want to see, along your way and worth a visit: Potsdam, Leipzig, Weimar, W��rzburg, Bamberg, N��rnberg, Regensburg. The list could be extended, but this collides with your time frame.

%26gt;How convenient/inconvenient are gas stations? Are they readily available along the highways as they are here in the States?%26lt;

No worries, cars and drivers are well cared for.

%26gt;While in Berlin, would it be better to use public transportation instead of driving and trying to find a place to park?%26lt; I strongly advise to use public transport, gets you everywhere you want to go.

|||

I would recommend Weimar and Heidelberg!

When staying in Munich you could go to Fuessen to see Castle Neuschwanstein and maybe you would also like to see Salzburg in Austria, which is not far from Munich:

http://www2.salzburg.info/

www.neuschwanstein.de/english/index.htm

|||

We go about twice a year as my husband%26#39;s family lives there and I haven%26#39;t found any town that I don%26#39;t love!

I would recommend spending one day less in Berlin and allowing yourself an extra day to spend on the road. We%26#39;ve had great success in finding guesthouses or even hotels at good prices on a walk up basis.

If you%26#39;re not GREAT at driving a stick shift be sure to get an automatic as the untrained driver may have problems in some of the smaller towns.

Especially for the women: be sure to take travel washcloths for the face as hotels in Germany do not privide washcloths. Also be reminded that shops close around lunchtime and around noon-1:00 p.m. on Saturday and are generally not open on Sundays so plan your shopping accordingly.

Have a great trip!

|||

In addition to a manual transmission ask for a diesel as it is cheaper than gas. Also, an investment in a gps with Europe maps is well worth the cost.

|||

Thank you for all the responses! I%26#39;ll be doing more research this weekend. : )

|||

If you are interested in a GPS and think you might use it at home, the Garmin nuvi 270 comes pre-loaded with North American and European maps. Amazon has the for $314.00, free shipping.

I really think a GPS is worthwhile, especially for first-timers.

|||

-:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-

This topic was inactive for 6 months and has been closed to new posts. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one.

To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html

We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.

Removed on: 6:21 am, September 12, 2009