[fanaticfather]

HELP! We're desperate!

We're picking up our new M3 in a couple of weeks, and due to circumstances beyond our control, we're just now planning our itinerary. Needless to say, with this little time, we could use some help!

The facts:

• Arrival - Munich, morning of 8/26
• Delivery - 8/27 2:20pm
• Drop-off - Munich, morning of 9/3, then head back home

Our criteria:

• We'll be traveling with kids. It'll be 2 adults, our 12-yr old son (budding car enthusiast), and possibly our 8-yr old daughter who couldn't care less (she may stay home)
• We'd like to stay inexpensively (B&Bs are fine)
• We don't want to cram too much in each day, but don't mind driving 3 hrs/day (or longer on one day)

These are the places we'd really like to see:

• Fussen (castles)
• Vienna
• Salzburg
• Berchtesgaden or Hallstatt
• Heidelberg
• Nurburgring
• Swiss Alps

We'd also like to see these places, if time allows:

• Stelvio Pass (Bolzano to Davos) - or any cool mountain pass (Fluelapass?)
• Stuttgart
• Wurzburg

This is our first trip to this area, so we're open to any ideas and suggestions. Thanks for your help!

 

[jsleemd]

There is no way you will be able to see all the places on your first list let alone the second. 8/26 and 27 will be spent in munich which is perfectly fine as it is one of the highlights of ED. explore the sights and food, it is as good as any other major city in europe. You will have to pick a direction of travel so you can loop back to Munich by 9/2. Use google maps and see the lay of the land. Vienna can't be done rght in less than a full day, which means you will have to get there by night and stay the whole next day. Salzburg can be done in half day if you just hit the big names. Do your self a favor and cut it down to 3 places at most. Your kids will thank you too.

 

[fanaticfather]

We understand that we won't be able to see everything on our list, so just looking for guidance on what not to miss, what we can skip, and where to stay. Thanks!

 

[jsleemd]

I don't mean to sound patronizing, but the better question is what do you want to see and do? You need to do some research on your own because only you know what you like. There are practically limitless things to see and do so you have no choice but to do some deep research, using this board for one, and make some hard choices because you don't have enough days to fit it all in. Also most lodging in europe is limited to two adults and one child which you will have to pay extra for. Having the fourth person means you will have to get two rooms in most places. Also, kids can only do so much in a day and will be tired from all the walking you must do at most of the sights. It can be quite physical if you have an ambitious itinerary. Good luck.

 

[fanaticfather]

Thanks for the info about the 4th person requiring a 2nd room, good to know. You***8217;re right, we simply cannot do it all in the amount of time we have.

Here***8217;s one possible itinerary, if we scrap Vienna. Seems like a nice mixture (we***8217;re a family of hearty drivers/passengers).

27th ***8211; after delivery, drive to Salzburg and stay the night
28th ***8211; see Salzburg, drive to Fussen and stay the night
29th ***8211; see castles in Fussen, drive to Bolzano and stay the night
30th ***8211; drive Stelvio Pass to Davos and stay the night
31st ***8211; leave Davos early, drive to Heidelberg and see castle this eve (or next morning)
1st ***8211; drive to Nurburgring and stay the night
2nd ***8211; long drive back to Munich and stay the night
3rd ***8211; drop off car, fly home

 

[SANguru]

why don't you just drop off the car in Frankfurt and fly back from there?

Thanks for the info about the 4th person requiring a 2nd room, good to know. You're right, we simply cannot do it all in the amount of time we have.

Here's one possible itinerary, if we scrap Vienna. Seems like a nice mixture (we're a family of hearty drivers/passengers).

27th - after delivery, drive to Salzburg and stay the night
28th - see Salzburg, drive to Fussen and stay the night
29th - see castles in Fussen, drive to Bolzano and stay the night
30th - drive Stelvio Pass to Davos and stay the night
31st - leave Davos early, drive to Heidelberg and see castle this eve (or next morning)
1st - drive to Nurburgring and stay the night
2nd - long drive back to Munich and stay the night
3rd - drop off car, fly home

 

[fanaticfather]

why don't you just drop off the car in Frankfurt and fly back from there?

We checked on that as an option but it ended up being ridiculously more expensive, so for us, it's worth the extra driving.

 

[b-y]

Thanks for the info about the 4th person requiring a 2nd room, good to know. You're right, we simply cannot do it all in the amount of time we have.

Here's one possible itinerary, if we scrap Vienna. Seems like a nice mixture (we're a family of hearty drivers/passengers).

27th - after delivery, drive to Salzburg and stay the night
28th - see Salzburg, drive to Fussen and stay the night
29th - see castles in Fussen, drive to Bolzano and stay the night
30th - drive Stelvio Pass to Davos and stay the night
31st - leave Davos early, drive to Heidelberg and see castle this eve (or next morning)
1st - drive to Nurburgring and stay the night
2nd - long drive back to Munich and stay the night
3rd - drop off car, fly home

(1) Are you planning to drive your new M3 at the 'Ring? If not, skip it. You could then also reduce the miles and driving time by going to Rothenburg odT or to Wurzburg instead of Heidelberg.

(2) The 28th as scheduled seems improbably long -- both castles during tourist season then the drive to Bolzano. I know those two castles get all the publicity, but you could choose one, or--even better--go to Chiemsee which is on the way back from Salzburg and will give the kids a boat trip.

 

[SANguru]

We checked on that as an option but it ended up being ridiculously more expensive, so for us, it's worth the extra driving.

what airline? it was within $150 on Lufthansa if you call them. (not on the website). Also, the drive back will be easily 1.5 tanks for gas and about 5-6 hours of your time.

 

[jsleemd]

Your 28th schedule can be done if you only do one castle. Make sure you have reservation for the castle tour in the AM. If you have to wait there, you are gonna blow a few hours. This was one day on our last ED. I left munich at 8am the day after delivery, arrived in Fussen by 1030 for the reservation of neushwanstein castle tour which took 4hrs including the wait, bus ride up and down and quick lunch. We stopped by innsbruck for a quick 2 hr tour of old town and gelato at Amorino(highly recommended), then arrived in bolzano by 8pm after nearly 5hrs of driving. Had dinner in downtown and then crashed for the night. Remember the autostrada in italy is restricted to 130kph and in lot of sections is 100kph. I also did this in late June before the start of the holidays. If you encounter any traffic you are in for a long day/night.

 

[3ismagic#]

What kind of M3? I ask because our recent ED involved 2 adults, a toddler, and a E90. We are relatively light travelers, but space in the trunk was limited. We could have put more in there but not a whole lot more. With four people (even two of them kids) you will need to pack light to fit everything into a M3 (god help you if it's a E93).

 

[fanaticfather]

What kind of M3? I ask because our recent ED involved 2 adults, a toddler, and a E90. We are relatively light travelers, but space in the trunk was limited. We could have put more in there but not a whole lot more. With four people (even two of them kids) you will need to pack light to fit everything into a M3 (god help you if it's a E93).

We're getting an E90. We've previously owned an E90 335i and did a few family road trips, so we've got a good handle on the trunk space. We're light travelers also and had no problems with luggage for our family.