Driving in Germany and Surrounding

Hello all -

My wife and I are planning on vacationing in Germany and surrounding countries from April 30 through May 17. We plan to fly from Denver, Colorado to Cologne and visit, in order, (1) Munich, (2) Salzburg, (3) Prague and (4) Bremen, before returning to Cologne to fly back to the U.S. (In case you are wondering, we are flying to Cologne because it has the cheapest airfare rates we%26#39;ve been able to find, and we%26#39;re selecting Bremen as a destination because my wife has ties there.)

We are debating whether to rent a car during our trip or take the train, and I have a couple of questions that may impact our decision:

1. My wife will know some German before we arrive, but I will know very little. How difficult will it be to drive this route if we have GPS and my wife is otherwise directing me from the passenger seat?

2. How are the roads between these cities during these months? Are they ever snowy in early May (particular concern is the drive to Salzburg)?

3. Is it ok to drive from one country into another with a rental?

4. We are just now starting our itenary, and haven%26#39;t really identified what spots we%26#39;d like to see in each city. Are there many tourist destinations that are close to these citieis but outside the city limits that we should visit? If so, is it worth our while to rent a car to reach these spots, or should we use public transportation or taxis to reach them?

Thanks in advance and I apologize if any of these questions have been asked previously.

|||

From Cologne drive to Koblenz and visit the rhine river gorge and mosel river valley with all the castles etc.

Then drive via Frankfurt and W��rzburg to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Dinkelsb��hl, Ulm (for the tallest church clock tower in the world, in case you care) to Munich.

Between Munich and Salzburg to F��ssen, Neschwanstein castle, Berchtesgaden.

From Salzburg do a side trip to Hallstadt.

Between Prague and Bremen stop in Bamberg.

1) driving in Germany is as easy as it is in the states. If you can%26#39;t do handle it in Germany we%26#39;ll have to inform your local DMV ;-)

2) The roads are paved, mostly freeways, rail guarded. And no snow in May!

3) No problem between Western European countries. Also no problem to Czech if you mention it upon pick up. They then can%26#39;t give you a Mercedes, BMW or Audi.

|||

Hi Andreas,

where did you get the information about taking the car over to Prague? We tried this past december to find a car rental company that wouldn%26#39;t charge us extra for taking the car to prague. We found some companies that were willing to give us a skoda for example but instead of paying 300 USD they then wanted to charge 650 USD.

Thanks

Sarah

|||

Sixt and Europcar are the ones I know best and use most frequently. You need to tell them in advance or at least upon pick-up that you want to drive to Prague and then they give you a non-risk car, like a Skoda, Seat etc.

I recommend you call the rental car provider and don%26#39;t use their webrates. Maybe the webrates don%26#39;t include Eastern Europe. But AAA rates, Lufthansa Frequent Traveler rates or whatever else they%26#39;ve got that some times is even cheaper than the webrate, does include it.

|||

%26gt; Are they ever snowy in early May (particular concern is the drive to Salzburg)?

You are going to central Europe, not the Polar Circle :-)

To be sincere - your itinerary seems to be better designed for a train/flight combination, not so for driving. All your destinations are cities, where having a car doesn%26#39;t give you a lot of advantages. Especially in Prague your car will be the ball and chain for you.

For driving times see www.michelin.com

For train schedules see www.bahn.de

It might be better to buy a German rail pass for two, and single tickets for the pieces from German border to Prague (these are cheap).

|||

Altamiro, my very first thought when I read the itin. was just what you said: rail%26amp;fly. But RoosLeap clearly stated that he also wants to see the beautiful sights in between the large cities. So when you map it out the only really boring long-haul drive they%26#39;ve got is Prague to Bremen (which is why I suggested a stop at Bamberg, actually maybe they should do Bamberg and Bayreuth, the Richard Wagner city). Bremen to Cologne is like driving in Colorado anywhere East of Denver, i.e. in the plains. A two hours visit to the old town of M��nster might make for a great change and is a sight quite worthwhile...

So I think car is their best option.

|||

I agree, but only if they keep off the Autobahn (you don%26#39;t see anything and are anyway too preoccupied with driving to sightsee). They have to get down to smaller roads, and that%26#39;s where the problems start to arise.

Ultimately it%26#39;s OP%26#39;s decision. But I still can%26#39;t really recommend driving this itinerary.

|||

LOL... ha ha ha

You%26#39;re a left-wing eco fanatic lieberal, altamiro :-) Let them drive, it%26#39;s so much more FUN (a word communists, Linkspartei, Gr��ne, all the same) never understand. Plus it%26#39;s so much more pratical! At least they really get to see what they want to see!

|||

You are such a boneheaded pseudo-conservative, Andreas! You would be surprized to know how I vote, so stop assuming!

I drive enough for work, I simply enjoy the pleasure of not having to concentrate all the time when I%26#39;m on my way for leisure. Something people who need a lot of HP to compensate other shortcomings are never able to understand, whatever party they vote for.

As I said - it was my recommendation, not an attempt to make a decision for the OP. They can drive as much as they want. I doubt very much they will have time to stop and smell the roses with this itinerary.

|||

Altamiro - I asked the snow question because, when I think of Austria, I think of the Alps (among other things), and if the Alps are anything like the Rockies, which is probably a safe assumption, certain elevations could still have snow in early May. If we were driving at such a high elevation that we%26#39;d hit snow in early May, I think we%26#39;d be taking the train!

Seriously, thank you both for your suggestions. Andreas got it exactly right - if we were just hoping to visit the cities I listed above, there is no question that we%26#39;d take the train. However, since we would like to see places outside of those cities and the drives between the cities are not unbearably lengthy, I think a car with GPS and a German-speaking passenger is the way to go.

Thanks again.

|||

Roos, I%26#39;ve been to Colorado and your snow question makes a lot of sense. Yet the freeway between Munich and Salzburg is at much lower altitude so in 99.9% of all cases you%26#39;ll be perfectly clear. However, there tends to be a lot of traffic on that portion of A8 so just be patient when driving it. E.g. when driving is and there is some kind of congestion in the ��bersee area leave the freeway and visit the lake (Lake Chiemsee) and its islands and Ludwig II%26#39;s castles...