Tre giorni da Monaco a Francoforte - Strada Romantica, Heidelberg, Rothenburg

This was a tour offered by Viator, and subcontracted thru two local vendors. The first vendor, Touring , arranged a very nice trip on the Romantic Road Bus, leaving from Munich, stopping overnight in Rothenberg ob der Tauber, and then continuing on to Frankfurt. The organization was lacking. Our bus driver WAS aware of our arrival and did have a packet for us, with all vouchers for us. There was room on the coach for our luggage 2 bags each. The first bus was comfortable, though the overhead light and seat belt did not work. There was an audio guide which required my passport as a deposit--and it never worked--even though I tried several in a large box of them--these are clearly not maintained. No information about how to work the guides was provided, an no sound ever came out of them. This was especially aggravating, as I paid an extra 5 euros for a headset--which is now so much useless trash. The stops were well communicated by the driver, who spoke NO english, but was able to let us know where the bathrooms wee and when we had to be back at the bus. At Rothenberg, two couples needed taxis--but only 1 taxi was sent--leading to another delay--and the bus driver just said don't worry and left us by the side of the road. We were picked up and taken to our charming hotel--the Golden Rose. The room was spacious, the beds comfortable--the shower was a little weird, and the shower curtain had mildew on the bottom, since several inches of it sat in standing water. Oh--and there's no elevator, so good luck getting your bags up. Breakfast was skimpy, poorly labeled, poorly replenished, and the proprietress is kicking you out as soon as you finish eating. She will store your bags for you. The taxi came late and only one--so we all crammed in the time, or we'd have missed our bus. The second bus was less functional--poor AC, on a hot day, and very very uncomfortable seats. And then we came to Frnakfurt--dropped off. We had an overnight stay at the Hotel Savigny--which is NOT not the Hotel Savoy, which is the hotel the bus driver pointed me to. The tour information simply said It is a short walk through the train terminal to reach your hotel. But it would have been A LOT BETTER late at night, thru the red light district, if a MAP had been provided of where the hotel was. It was 20 sweaty anxious minutes to find the hotel--no wifi in the environs--thankfully I had a Rick Steves guidebook to show me a map of the ares. The police couldn't even give directions. The Hotel Savigny is very nice, in a quiet location. We took a 9 euro taxi ride to our next location--which was the Green Line tour office for our tour to Heidelberg. The Heidelberg tour was great--well organized--our tour guide was funny and well-organized. Our bus driver was competent and calm. We were on time and refreshed. The bus was comfortable and had a working AC--super important on a hot day. Things great about the trip: The Romantic Road scenery Rothenberg, Dinkelsbuhl, and Nordlingen--super medievally scenic. The whole trip to Heidelberg. Things not great: the non-functioning audio guide on the bus, poor organization of taxi in Rothenberg, not giving us a map to our hotel in Frankfurt. These faults are even worse, since they cold have been fixed with some forethought about what it would be like to be a traveller who would book a tour--rather than travel independently. If I wanted to be lost--I could have done it on my own, without paying a tour operator.

very good arrangement. Hotel Goldene Rose at Rothenburg is a very nice hotel and the staff offer the best and warmest services. Rothenburg and Heidelberg is a very good place.

Near disaster in that the bus left Munich at 1030 instead of 1050 as listed on the itinerary, but fortunately we were early to the bus station. Driver on first day tried to point things out and played some pre-recorded touring info. Stopped briefly at Augsburg and Dinkelsbuhl. Rothenburg was great and stayed overnight at nice boutique hotel (Goldene Rose). 2nd day driver didn't say squat and no recorded info. Stopped in Wurzburg. Oddly also stopped at upscale outlet mall and more tourists piled onto bus for Frankfurt. Enjoyed Frankfurt and Heidelberg; great, funny tour guide for castle. Intercity Hotel in Frankfurt was ok. Overall I would recommend the tour.

Everything was wonderful except the bus ride. You should tell people that it is the local bus and you are going to do a lot of pickups.

Only 3 hours with tour guides over 3 days. Stops were incredibly short - 30 minutes at Neuschwanstein Castle is pointless. The bus drivers were maniacs, they tailgated and were heavy on the brake. I actually sustained bruises from being flung into the seat in front of me. Not all taxi rides were paid for by the tour and the guide was hard to find in Heidelberg. We were very disappointed as were the other couple on the tour with us.