Plan my perfect holiday in Germany!

[Decisionsdecisions43]

Hi, so , planning a family holiday mostly in Germany next summer(Scotland so end of June/start July). I’ve been to Berlin and Dresden and loved both and so excited to see more.
We can take the ferry to Amsterdam or fly/rail though I’m more inclined to take the car. I’m hoping to go for two weeks though could possibly do longer as we’re both freelance so luckily can be fairly flexible.
Three children 7-12 and Europapark is a definite. I would plan to do two park days and one Rulantica. Apart from that, looking for inspiration and top tips from the wise and well travelled out there!

I'm afraid I don't know where the theme parks are, but places we've been and loved in Germany
Dresden (which you've been to already)
Leipzig
Heidelberg
Lübeck/Travemünde
All along the Baltic coast is lovely in general

Rhineland - I think Phantasialand is nearby (Koblenz possibly? Trier?)

The nearest city to Europapark is Strasbourg in France.

I loved nurenburg and cologne

Ah Munich wouldn't be too far away then. It's another great city to visit.

You have to go to a lake beach. I’ve only ever been to Lake Constance but there’s plenty of smaller ones.

Strasbourg is a four drive from Munich. Definitely worth the journey but not that close! A lovely journey across some great places in between too. The Vosges is lovely though so if you felt like starting off with a little bit of France, I’d highly recommend. Agree on a lake. The Tegernsee is close to Munich and a decent-sized Alpine lake with facilities, as well Lake Constance.

I came back to edit but am too late. I didn’t mean my post to sound critical of the Munich suggestion. I think it’s sensible and a great place to head to. Just a decent drive away, but then I expect you’d want to spend plenty of time exploring the area anyway.

Your 7 year old would love playmobil world. We had the best couple of days there!

Playmobil World is excellent! And very close to Nuremberg.

Also near Lake Constance is Ravensburger Spiel land/ world which is good for younger children.
Chiemsee south of Munich is a large lake with beaches plus ferry trips across the lake.
Mercedes World in Stuttgart is a good museum if there is interest in cars.
Can also recommend the Baltic coast and Rugen with lots to do and nice seaside towns.

Another vote for Playmobil Land - completely different to Europapark but a fantastic day out! Also Neuwachstein - the beautiful castle that appears in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is worth a visit.

Just be aware that your older kids might find Playmobil World a bit tame. It’s more like a giant play park than a theme park. My eldest was rather teenagery that day.

Freiburg is lovely and very close to Europapark.

We flew easyjet to Basel, had a day in Freiburg (but want to visit for longer) then stayed in Strasbourg for 4 days then went to Colmar (France again) for the day then stayed 3 nights in Europapark. Did Park day-rutlantica- Park day, then a day trip to Basel (a lovely city before flying home.

I know it's France as well as Germany but the Alace (Strasbourg - Colmar) wine region is a great place to stay near to Europapark. The park is in Germany but on the border with France and Switzerland.

The black forest is around there so you could do some black forest things, possibly stay in a euro camp with a pool.

I'd make the most of that area rather than do a massive German Road trip. There is a lot to see and do.

I also recommend phantasialand and cologne for a different trip if you like theme parks.

I've done a massive post fairly recently on Europapark tips if you can search fior it.

@ZenNudist‘s post is on here, along with lots of other really helpful info on Europa Park. We’re off this week so will add anything else afterwards! Just to add, we’ve decided to change from our on-site hotel to an apartment very close by, as I was finding the costs were bothering me. Happy to say if it’s a good option but there’s five of us like you so I know well the challenge of finding accommodation!

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/holidays/5133952-europa-park-tips-wanted?page=1

Thank you! This is all very helpful, especially the Europapark thread linked.
I doubt we’ll travel as far south as Munich. I sometimes work in the Czech Republic so hoping to combine work with a family holiday around Munich/Salzburg. Although I really would like to visit Nuremberg.
There’s so much I want to see in Germany, such an underrated destination!

You could include Trier, the Mosel valley and maybe koblenz - some of the Rheinland.

We love that area. Lots of great outdoor swimming pools and river trips to make.

Luebeck is on my to do list. Especially at Christmas when the markets are on.

No worries. The OP is talking about driving to Strasbourg from UK so I assumed she was okay with pretty chunky distances. I wouldn't drive that far at all but I would do a train journey of that length without blinking and did so several times even with very tiny children.

Europapark and Rulantica are fab.

You could do a whole dreiländereck tour, including Alsace (Montagne des Singes) loads of castles, ecomusée) as well as Strasbourg and Colmar.

You could also stay on the cheap side of the border and do some day trips to Switzerland. Luzern is very accessible from the places close to the Swiss horder at Basel. Luzern is postcard Switzerland . Pretty lake, mountains, fabulous transport museum.

And then in Germany, Freiburg itself and the lakes and woods of the Black Forest for outdoor activities.

Germany is huge, so just concentrate on one area.
I always recommend Lake Constance (Bodensee) as it's fabulous, and great fun for outdoorsy kids - the thermal pools and spas are amazing, as well as the lake itself (and the Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen!).

Fly to Basel or Zurich and get the train, or drive, over the border to Konstanz. Public transport is excellent, and you'll get free travel on the buses with your city tax.
If you want to drive all the way down, the easiest route would be Reims - then Metz/Nancy/Strasbourg - Freiburg - then Konstanz.

Ironically I would cheerfully drive the distance and in fact will be very soon!

Just popping on to say you will not regret a europa park /rulantica trip. We've been twice in the past 12 months..... Once on the way back from a longer road trip to Italy and once as a stand alone trip at easter with a day in strasbourg - which we loved.
I haven't checked the tips threa above but really recommend a rulantica evening trip. It can get really busy in the am and around lunchtime.... By 5pm ish the crowds thin out noticeably and the queues are much better and they often have a dj in the evening.

Loads to do in the black forest.... You could push on and see Munich or alpine lakes /neuschwanstein / bavaria. One year we camped on a lake very close to neuschwanstein.... Lake swimming - beautiful scenery. Was great.

I think its Freiburg in The Black Forest.
Lovely place
Munich also worth a visit, my DC loved the Egyptian Museum as well as lake swimming. We usually got to Bavaria every couple of years and my DC love it