8-Day Bavaria & Heidelberg Circle Car Tour (8S02)

Bavaria Heidelberg Circle Car Tour. If you have a week and you plan to fly in and out of Frankfurt this circle tour is a great combination of the Romantic Road, Bavaria and Heidelberg!

The beautifully designed Self-drive tour takes you from/to Frankfurt International Airport (or Frankfurt Hahn Airport) along the Romantic Road towards the Bavarian Alp Mountains: visit Rothenburg ob der Tauber and the Royal Castles (Neuschwanstein and Linderhof)! (see the tableau this is already included in the price of your tour). Here you also find everything else that is included: rental car and admissions.

Price per Person

two sharing a double room	one in a single room	three sharing a triple room
US $ 1,579	US $ 2,699	US $ 1,359*

*includes an upgrade from an executive size car to a luxury size car.

Would you like to submit your personal information so we can check availability for your specific travel dates for this beautiful tour? On our BOOKING INQUIRY page you find a form which you may use to forward your personal information:

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DAY 1 Aschaffenburg & Wurzburg

Frankfurt International Airport is your gateway to central Europe and a great place to start your Bavaria and Heidelberg Circle Car  Tour. After you picked up your rental car (GPS included) you will be traveling on the Autobahn to nearby Aschaffenburg for a visit of Johannisburg Palace and Gardens (30 minutes, 47 kilometers – 30 miles – admission included).The important Renaissance Palace was built 1605-1614.

From Aschaffenburg follow the Autobahn right into Wurzburg, hometown of the German basketball player Dirk Nowitzki, your first stop at the Romantic Road (55 minutes, 80 kilometers – 50 miles). Your hotel is located in the Old Town. The city is idyllically located in the midst of vineyards, with the medieval Fortress Marienberg towering above. Wurzburg is an old bishop’s seat and a lively town, proudly presenting monuments of different eras. Culture, art, history and hospitality are ever-present in this remarkable city! Fortress Marienberg (admission included), Wurzburg´s landmark, has of course changed its appearance a great deal since it was first mentioned, today the oldest part of the fortress is the “Rundkirche” (round church) which was built in the year one thousand. The Cathedral, the Marienkapelle, the “Alte Mainbrucke” (old bridge across the river Main ), the Juliusspital and the “Kappele” are musts, but make sure that you do not miss out on the “Furstbischofliche Residenz“, Prince Bishops Residence (admission included). This “Palace above all Palaces” is today a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Enjoy this beautiful town which offers not only cultural but also culinary highlights such as the hearty cuisine and, of course, the world famous Frankenwein (Franconia wine!).

DAY 2  Rothenburg ob der Tauber

In the morning follow the Romantic Road via Bad Mergentheim (you might want to visit the marketplace), Weikersheim (you may want to visit the Renaissance Palace and Garden) and Creglingen (Riemenschneider Altar in the Church of the Lord) to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, one of Germany’s most beautiful medieval cities. Your hotel is located in the historic Old Town, within the Old City Walls which are surrounding the complete town center. Taking a walk thru this charming little town is truly a journey back in time. Rothenburg ob der Tauber was once a powerful free imperial town and its monuments, landmarks and buildings still bear witness to these days. Marvel at the half-timbered buildings and at town walls which are withstanding time since hundreds of years, protecting the city since the Middle Ages. Visit the town’s most famous spot, the Ploenlein square, probably the most photographed place in Rothenburg. The Gothic St.James Church is the town’s most prominent church, here you can take a minute and relax in quietness while you enjoy the beauty of the famous Altar of the Holy Blood and the Twelve Apostles Altar. Rothenburg also offers museums which are cultural highlights, such as the Doll and Toy Museum where the history of playthings is shown, as well as the Crime Museum, where the visitor gets an insight into the law and especially its execution during the last 700 years. At night you enjoy a highlight of this tour: the English-speaking tour with the Night Watchman (ticket already included).

DAY 3 Romantic Road to Augsburg/ Munich

Continue your Bavaria and Heidelberg Circle Car  Tour through Bavaria and follow the Romantic Road southbound. On this part of the Romantic Road you find Schillingsfurst (you may want to visit the baroque Castle), Feuchtwangen as well as the former Free Imperial Town of Dinkelsbuhl with its charming Old Town. The historical old town with 16 towers, fortifications and magnificent patrician buildings is under a preservation order. The most important sights include the Minster of St. Georg, one of Germany´s most beautiful late Gothic hall churches, the ‘Weinmarkt‘ (wine market), the ‘Deutsches Haus’, the old hospital, the town mill and the picturesque ‘Rothenburger’ pond alongside the town wall. From Dinkelsbuhl follow the Romantic Road via Wallerstein to Nordlingen. The former Free Imperial Town of Nordlingen still has an almost complete medieval townscape. It is the only town in Germany with walls and battlements that can be walked all the way round. The historical old town is dominated by its landmark, the late Gothic hall Church of St. George, with its 90 m high bell tower ‘Daniel‘, which can be climbed 365 days a year. Continue your Romantic Road Self-drive tour by heading south towards the charming city of Augsburg and visit Donauworth along the way. Augsburg, founded in the year 15 B.C. by the Roman Emperor Augustus, became a “medieval metropolis” due to its ideal location at the crossing of the most important continental merchandise routes. The families of the “Fugger” and the “Welser” elevated Augsburg to one of Europe’s most important commercial towns. Augsburg’s Town Hall is the most important Renaissance structure north of the Alps, together with the Perlach Tower it is the town’s landmark. Visit the “Fuggerei“, also known as “The Town within a Town”, founded in 1516 by Jakob Fugger, it was the first settlement for hardworking but impoverished Catholic citizens. Augsburg Cathedral has records reaching back to the year 823 AD, the oldest section probably being the crypt beneath the west choir. Here one can marvel at Romanesque and Gothic frescoes and four panel paintings by Holbein the Elder. There are only very few German cities which combine bygone prosperity and contemporary life the way Augsburg does. In Augsburg you will leave the Romantic Road behind and take the “Autobahn” to Munich City Center, where your hotel is located. Driving time from Augsburg to Munich is about an hour.

DAY 4 Munich

A full day of sightseeing in Munich is waiting for you! The price of your Bavaria and Heidelberg Circle Car Tour already includes admission to many sights in Munich (Munich Residence and Residence Museum, Treasury, Cuvilliés-Theatre, Hall of Fame and Statue of Bavaria, Nymphenburg Palace and Park, Marstallmuseum, Museum of Nymphenburg Porcelain) and with your tour package you will also receive walking suggestions for a self-guided walking tour through Munich City Center. Along this walking tour you will visit the Marienplatz with the New Town Hall (with the “Glockenspiel”), the Konigsplatz (King´s Square), cultural center in the 19th century and later, during the “Third Reich”, site of Nazi Party mass rallies and location of the Nazi Party headquarters in Germany, the English Garden as well as the the State Opera House. You will be able to visit famous churches like Munich Frauenkirche, “Dom zu Unserer Lieben Frau (Cathedral of Our Dear Lady), with a height of 325 ft. a Munich landmark, St. Peters Church, built in the 14th century and the Asam Church, which was built as a private chapel and integrated into an apartment building. The tour will pass by the most famous Munich shopping streets (Kaufinger street and Neuhauser street) as well as by the “Viktualienmarkt”, a traditional farmers market (open every day except on Sundays). The tour will take you by the famous “Alois Dallmayr” luxury delicatessen and coffee store as well as to the Hofbrauhaus of course, probably the world’s most popular beer hall. This may be a great place to enjoy a hearty dinner and a fresh Mass of beer (one mug holds 33.8 US fl oz)!

DAY 5  Linderhof Palace & Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Enjoy a scenic drive towards the German Alp Mountains and visit Linderhof Palace and Park in Ettal on your way (about 100 kilometers/60 miles from Munich). Linderhof Palace was King Ludwig II´s Villa and the only building he totally completed during his lifetime.  Also close by is the small town of Oberammergau where the Passion Plays takes place once in a decade. Drive into the mountains on to Garmisch-Partenkirchen – the mountain resort town is located close to the border to Austria and in midst a beautiful mountain scenery on the foot of Germany´s highest mountain – the “Zugspitze” (2971m, 9714ft.). Your hotel is located in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

You will have great views of the mountain area and it is possible of course to visit the Zugspitze or – maybe even nicer – take a beautiful hike into the neighboring mountains Kreutzeck (5,417 ft.) and Osterfeldkopf. Here you can walk on the AlpspiX (which is free of charge): two steel beams form a floating X over a vertical drop of more than 3,000 ft.. You have great views of the “Höllental” below and also of the (mostly) snow covered Zugspitze which is just across from the Osterfeldkopf. For details about this day trip please also see Thomas’s Blog – but please note that this blog is based on a day trip by rail from Munich (which you do not need since you are right there and you can park your car right at the station of the “Kreutzeckbahn cable car”:  Alp Mountains (Zugspitz area) – Daytrip by Rail from Munich.

In 1936 the Winter Olympic Games took place in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and each year a variety of Nordic and alpine World Ski races are held here. The Olympic Ski Stadium was built by the Nazi Regime. Just a couple of walking minutes from the Stadium you will find the Partnach Gorge, definitely worth a visit. The gorgeous gorge has been formed by the Partnach, a mountain stream – you may want to take a light rain jacket when going in there!

DAY 6 Neuschwanstein Castle

Today you continue your Bavaria and Heidelberg Circle Car  Tour with a short drive through the Austrian Alps you will get to Hohenschwangau, where you find the world famous “Disney Castle” Neuschwanstein. Your hotel is located either right in the center of this small town or in Fussen, which is just 2 miles from the Castle.

The picture of Neuschwanstein Castle is probably present in everybody’s mind but certainly for those traveling along the Romantic Road. Be prepared that reality will surpass all pictures and imaginations: Neuschwanstein seems to be taken out of a fairy tale! Seeing the castle from the outside is unforgettable, a tour of the insight, which was originally built for the one famous inhabitant Ludwig II (admission included), will make the picture perfect! Make sure to take some time to explore the castle grounds and the amazing view of Neuschwanstein from the bridge behind!

Day 7 Wieskirche & Heidelberg

Follow the Romantic Road from Füssen or Hohenschwangau to Steingaden to visit the World famous Pilgrimage Church of ‘Flagellated Saviour in the Meadow’, also called “Wieskirche”, a late work of the brothers Dominikus and Johann Baptist (about 22kilometers-14 miles from Hohenschwangau). Driving time from the “Wieskirche” to Heidelberg is about 3.5 hours (350 kilometers/220 miles). It takes about 40 minutes to get to the Autobahn “A7” which you will take northbound towards Heidelberg. Your hotel is located in Heidelberg Old Town.

Your Bavaria and Heidelberg Circle Car Tour package includes a suggestion for a walking tour through the Old Town, a “must do” – of course – is a visit of the ruins of Heidelberg Castle which is idyllically towering above the Old Town located at the Neckar River. If you do not want to take the walk up there is also a mountain train which you could take. From the Castle you have a beautiful viewover the city and the Neckar River. The historic Old Town is a lively city with many students living there. In your tour information sheets you will find a recommendation where to go for a typical dinner.

Day 8 Frankfurt Int. Airport

It takes about 50 – 60 minutes from Heidelberg to Frankfurt International Airport. If your flight is later that day you may want to stop in Frankfurt on your last day. Frankfurt is a very modern metropolis which nevertheless offers many historic sites such as the Roemerberg with the historic Roemer Town Hall its beautifully restored timber-framed houses and the Cathedral, located on the opposite side. Worth a visit is the Goethe Haus where Germany´s famous poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once lived. St. Paul’s Church, the “Paulskirche”, is a symbol for democracy and freedom in Germany.

 Would you like to download an overview of the 8 Day Bavaria & Heidelberg Circle Car Tour (8S02) as a pdf to print it out or to forward it to a friend? Please download it right here: 

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This is already included in the price of your tour

Day - Travel / Destination	Accommodations	Other Services
Day 1 - Frankfurt Int. Airport to Wurzburg/ Wurzburg	Wurzburger Hof	Executive class Rental car with GPS for the duration of your tour, Admission to Johannisburg Palace & Gardens in Aschaffenburg, Admission to Wurzburg Residence, Marienberg Fortress (open March 16th to October, closed on Mondays) in Wurzburg
Day 2 - Wurzburg to Rothenburg ob der Tauber/ Rothenburg ob der Tauber	Hotel Spitzweg	Buffet breakfast at your hotel in Wurzburg
Day 3 - Rothenburg ob der Tauber to Munich/ Munich	King´s Hotel Center	Buffet breakfast at your hotel in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Admission to Residence Museum & Treasury, Cuvilliés-Theatre, Hall of Fame and Statue of Bavaria, Nymphenburg Palace and Park, Marstallmuseum and Museum of Nymphenburg Porcelain (all Munich)
Day 4 - Munich	King´s Hotel Center	Buffet breakfast at your hotel in Munich, Admission to Residence Museum & Treasury, Cuvilliés-Theatre, Hall of Fame and Statue of Bavaria, Nymphenburg Palace and Park, Marstallmuseum and Museum of Nymphenburg Porcelain (all Munich)
Day 5 - Munich to Linderhof Palace and Garmisch-Partenkrichen/ Garmisch - Partenkirchen	Rheinischer Hof	Buffet breakfast at your hotel in Munich, Admission to Linderhof Palace & Park (Ettal)
Day 6 - Garmisch-Partenkirchen to Neuschwanstein Castle and Hohenschwangau/ Hohenschwangau	Hotel Muller	Buffet breakfast at your Hotel in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Admission to Neuschwanstein Castle (Hohenschwangau)
Day 7 - Hohenschwangau to Heidelberg/ Heidelberg	Hotel Hollander Hof	Buffet breakfast at your hotel in Hohenschwangau
Day 8 - Heidelberg to Frankfurt Int. Airport/ Frankfurt Int. Airport	no hotel needed	Buffet breakfast at your hotel in Heidelberg, rental car return

The tour package we provide includes a day by day itinerary as well as all tickets, vouchers and information necessary to enjoy a great independent tour. It also contains general information about the cities you visit which you can downloaded from our website once your tour is confirmed.
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This is not included in the price of your tour

• • Airfare from/to your origin to/from Germany

• • all meals other than breakfast (which is included)

• • gratuities (tips)

• parking fees

You have booked the tour already and would like to download the to-europe tour package for this tour now? Please download them right here:

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 BAVARIA & HEIDELBERG CIRCLE SELF-DRIVE TOUR I would like to thank you for setting up such a great tour. My husband and I had an unforgettable time in Germany. Germany is such a beautiful country. We look forward to going back to some of the smaller towns, we didn’t seem to have enough time in. Once again thank you. – Donna C., Shirley, NewYork, NY, USA

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