2017 M4 - September ED - Feedback on tentative itinerary

[SD ///M4]

Originally Posted by Solarium

Is there any benefit from shipping the car back from Munich? I'm planning an ED trip around the same time (9/19 was my 1st choice), but will plan to drive all the way to Barcelona. Is that too far of a trip for 10-11 days?

I'd suggest you start your own trip thread.

[M3Fahrer]

Um, why isn't Oktoberfest in your itinerary?

[///M///]

I'll just copy paste what I told the other guy...........

Your plan is extremely aggressive. First and foremost don't bank on doing the factory tour, checking out the Welt and picking up the car on the same day. I made that mistake and suffered. Remind yourself again and again why you are doing European delivery? My guess would be to experience the awesome delivery and the rest comes later so don't rush out of Munich. Reserve a day (not the travel day) to only explore the Welt, museum, factory tour, etc. then pick up your car the next day and drive to the castles. Ideally stay in Fussen for the night. It is a beautiful quaint little town. Then you can be on your way the next day.

With your current itinerary you will only be driving and not be able to experience any of the places. I would at a minimum spend 2 full days experiencing a place not including the day of travel. Trust me on this because I made a lot of mistakes like this on my trip.

One last note....you will be hard pressed to make the factory tour with delivery at 10:20. I know this because my delivery was at the exact same time and I missed the tour. There was plenty to see and talk about, victory lap, etc. during the delivery. Don't rush through it. It's what you came to Munich for.

Good Luck

[Halewafa]

Originally Posted by SD ///M4

My recommendation for a hotel in Fussen is Hotel Sonne. My wife and I stayed there on our 2011 trip. They have very unique rooms (check out their website and you can make your choice before you make your reservation). Make sure you specify that you want a reserved spot in the underground garage. They'll put your name on the wall!

I would recommend Hotel Sonne as well. Only problem I had with it is that you need a room key to get into the underground parking. There didn't seem to be any place to park at the hotel while checking in, so we had to park a couple of blocks away so we could get our key. Underground is nice, a bit tight but not a problem if you have the cameras/someone to guide you. The location is great, nice places to walk to.

[SD ///M4]

Originally Posted by Halewafa

I would recommend Hotel Sonne as well. Only problem I had with it is that you need a room key to get into the underground parking. There didn't seem to be any place to park at the hotel while checking in, so we had to park a couple of blocks away so we could get our key. Underground is nice, a bit tight but not a problem if you have the cameras/someone to guide you. The location is great, nice places to walk to.

We parked in the gravel parking lot just to the right of the hotel when we checked in, got the room key, and then moved the car into the underground garage. Yup, a bit tight. I do recall driving around a bit looking for a place to park before we settled on the gravel parking lot initially. But that was all five years ago, things may have changed.

[MadBeamer]

Originally Posted by SD ///M4

(Click the "Appreciate" button in my posts!)

Sorry, that button wasn't working on the mobile app., but i'll take care of it on the desktop

[MadBeamer]

Originally Posted by M3Fahrer

Um, why isn't Oktoberfest in your itinerary?

We were thinking of checking it out on one of the two days/night we spend in Munich, or on the last night when we return the car.

I actually haven't looked into it yet, but thanks for the reminder

[mpizutti]

This is my drive i think as of now..picking up car on Aug 31st droping back off at Munich Airport on Sept 7th

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/BMW+...537611!3e0!4e1

[SD ///M4]

Originally Posted by mpizutti

This is my drive i think as of now..picking up car on Aug 31st droping back off at Munich Airport on Sept 7th

On our May trip we spent three nights in Merano. One of our day trips was to Riva Garda for lunch. Beautiful little town! Lots of great gelato shops!

[Bmwhocr]

Did they give you any earlier options for booking the factory tour? When I called they said if you are picking up ED, they have other time slots.

Originally Posted by MadBeamer

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I made the following updates by reducing the Romantic Road , and changing the sequence. Also, will try to goto Vienna if we have time. Please let me know if you can suggest further improvements/changes! Appreciate all the feedback.

It's about 750 miles. Some days 2-3 hours driving, and couple of days 8-10 hours driving.

Day 1 (Tue) - Flight to MUC from ORD
Day 2 (Wed) – Arrive in MUC late morning - Hotel in Munich (Near BMW Welt)
Day 3 (Thurs) - Take Delivery (10.20AM) + Factory Tour (11.45AM) - Stay in Munich – See Munich
Day 4 (Friday) – Drive to Salzburg + Stay in Salzburg (2 ½ hr drive)
Day 5 (Saturday) – Spend the day in Saltzburg or Drive to Vienna and stay in Vienna (optional)
Day 6 (Sunday) – Drive through GROSSGLOCKNER HIGH ALPINE ROAD to Insbruck ( 5-10 hr drive) – Stay Insbruck
Day 7 (Monday) – Drive to Garmish , then Fussen (3 hr drive) + Stay in Fussen
Day 8 (Tuesday) – Drive to Rothenburg ob der Tauber on the Romantic Road ( 8 hours) + Stay in Rothenburg
Day 9 (Wednesday) – Drive to Munich + BMW Museum + Return Car (3 hours)
Day 10 (Thursday) – Morning flight to Chicago/Madison

[NavyBeeker]

Lots of great suggestions - I also echo the recommendation to reduce the average hours driven per day... my wife and I did an ED in 2007, early SEP. Over about 8 days we drove 2300 miles, way too much.

For me as a "road trip" and loving the car (got a 550i), I had no problems. My wife drove a fair amount too but I drove about 75% of it and she was sick of the trip by the end and we came a home a day earlier than originally planned.

My personal highlight was getting to Normandy (stayed in Bayeux) and had a full-day "BattleBus" tour of Omaha Beach, Point du Hoc and St. Mere Eglise, the hedgerows and the Normandy American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer. Absolutely must see it if you're an American at least once in your life. It may be too far / incompatible with the rest of your trip perhaps... way up in NW France. We dropped off the car at Charles-de-Gaulle airport in Paris the day we flew home.

The other "must do" was an great alpine switchback road with great views. Ours was going from Bern Switzerland south to Milan. Luckily weather was beautiful that afternoon. You seem to have the "great alpine road" covered well.

Excited for you, the first ED is truly something to remember forever! How quickly did you submit requested ED pickup dates after submitting the order? (I am trying to set up our 2nd ED also).

[MrSmileyDC]

I did my factory tour on the end of my trip. I planned to drop my car off at the airport afterwards and took the train back to Munich for the night since I was flying out early Saturday. As others have said I'd try to limit those 5+ hour drives unless you plan to spend a couple nights in one place. Don't trust google maps time either. Plan at worse case scenario of it taking you up to 50% longer than what it says. Hotel Sonne was a nice place to stay too. Garage was a little tight, but no where near as bad as the ones in Nice.

['Cane]

Originally Posted by BimmerGuyDC

I did my factory tour on the end of my trip. I planned to drop my car off at the airport afterwards and took the train back to Munich for the night since I was flying out early Saturday. As others have said I'd try to limit those 5+ hour drives unless you plan to spend a couple nights in one place. Don't trust google maps time either. Plan at worse case scenario of it taking you up to 50% longer than what it says. Hotel Sonne was a nice place to stay too. Garage was a little tight, but no where near as bad as the ones in Nice.

Oh man, I didn't think I was going to make it into the garage at our hotel, and my rear wheels kept slipping and pushing me closer to a concrete pole. Then, I thought I would never get back out.

[MadBeamer]

Originally Posted by Bmwhocr

Did they give you any earlier options for booking the factory tour? When I called they said if you are picking up ED, they have other time slots.

I didn't check yet, this was just my route i put together before I send in the final drop off date. I only sent the forms yesterday to my CA, I should get the confirmation email next week (Hopefully) , then I have to ask about the tour. Since I am US permanent resident and not a citizen, I still need to go get my visa for the trip as well. Only things I have finalized for far is the delivery date, drop off date/location , and bought the air tickets because I think they were a good deal. So many things to finalize yet Thank you very much for the pointers, I will look into other timeslots so that it doesn't push so close to delivery time.

[MadBeamer]

Originally Posted by NavyBeeker

Lots of great suggestions - I also echo the recommendation to reduce the average hours driven per day... my wife and I did an ED in 2007, early SEP. Over about 8 days we drove 2300 miles, way too much.

For me as a "road trip" and loving the car (got a 550i), I had no problems. My wife drove a fair amount too but I drove about 75% of it and she was sick of the trip by the end and we came a home a day earlier than originally planned.

My personal highlight was getting to Normandy (stayed in Bayeux) and had a full-day "BattleBus" tour of Omaha Beach, Point du Hoc and St. Mere Eglise, the hedgerows and the Normandy American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer. Absolutely must see it if you're an American at least once in your life. It may be too far / incompatible with the rest of your trip perhaps... way up in NW France. We dropped off the car at Charles-de-Gaulle airport in Paris the day we flew home.

The other "must do" was an great alpine switchback road with great views. Ours was going from Bern Switzerland south to Milan. Luckily weather was beautiful that afternoon. You seem to have the "great alpine road" covered well.

Excited for you, the first ED is truly something to remember forever! How quickly did you submit requested ED pickup dates after submitting the order? (I am trying to set up our 2nd ED also).

Thank you! We (Me and my wife) are super excited. I am more excited for the car, and the drive through Germany/Austria. My wife is not a car person, but she totally understands my enthusiasm, and how long I've been looking forward to this. My sadness is retiring (selling) my 328i coupe, it's not a fast car like the M4, but it has been my baby for the last 5 years, and never had a single hiccup. Will be very sad to see it go.

My order has been in the system for a while. Because I badly wanted a 2016 M4 in April due to that being last of the 2016 with the 50k maintenance package, because initially I wanted a 45k lease. But I didnt get allocation. Now I am doing a 36mo 36k lease and got allocation in June, and my deliver dates were confirmed I think late June. I changed them a couple of times because the July 2017 lease rates were so bad, I wanted to make sure I have the option to get the Sept rates in case they improve.

My CA is David from Steve Thomas BMW, so him and Jimmy (his assistant) have been really on top of everything, and I really don't have much to think about or ask before they get it done for me.

[MadBeamer]

Originally Posted by BimmerGuyDC

I did my factory tour on the end of my trip. I planned to drop my car off at the airport afterwards and took the train back to Munich for the night since I was flying out early Saturday. As others have said I'd try to limit those 5+ hour drives unless you plan to spend a couple nights in one place. Don't trust google maps time either. Plan at worse case scenario of it taking you up to 50% longer than what it says. Hotel Sonne was a nice place to stay too. Garage was a little tight, but no where near as bad as the ones in Nice.

Sadly hotel Sonne is booked up on the dates we need it to be available. Have you guys had any experience with AirBnB ? I like the look of some of the locations they have available. We are booking the entire place vs. a room. Any suggestions/experience?

[MrSmileyDC]

Originally Posted by 'Cane

Oh man, I didn't think I was going to make it into the garage at our hotel, and my rear wheels kept slipping and pushing me closer to a concrete pole. Then, I thought I would never get back out.

I parked in a public garage next to my hotel and left the car for three days. Narrow ramps with concrete curbs in the middle, which I ran over one. Amazingly no damage to the wheels. PDC and backup camera saved me.

[MrSmileyDC]

Originally Posted by MadBeamer

Sadly hotel Sonne is booked up on the dates we need it to be available. Have you guys had any experience with AirBnB ? I like the look of some of the locations they have available. We are booking the entire place vs. a room. Any suggestions/experience?

No experience. Generally, my only requirement for a place is to be clean and somewhat modern/renovated. Fussen is pretty small. It was mainly a place to crash for the night before heading to lake Como, which took about 8 hours via the Stelvio pass. We picked up the car at the Welt in the morning, went straight to Neuschwanstein, and then to Fussen in the evening.

[schrdngrsct]

Originally Posted by 'Cane

You can do the Factory tour and the museum if you want. The factory tour is about 2 hours, but you can get through the museum fairly quickly.

IMHO... the factory tour was very informative, and if anything made you feel better about the $70k+ you dropped. But if you've ever been to any other engineering tour, its all the same. You see Kuka robots dancing and take in a lot of unique burning/chemical smells. I did mine the same day as pick up and honestly it was exhausting and I was looking forward to it to be over... I think the excitement of taking delivery sapped me and I was ready to take a nap in the driver's seat

[MadBeamer]

Looking at booking hotels, it seems Munich hotels are a bit pricy due to Oktoberfest. Have you guys noticed a price difference closer to the welt vs downtown?

I am thinking of parking ease (as downtown would be very busy), I can look for a hotel near the welt, but take the subway downtown.

Any advice?

------------------------

Also, not to be lazy, but any suggestion on hotels for the following locations?

Salzburg
Insbruck
Fussen
Rothenburg

[schrdngrsct]

Originally Posted by MadBeamer

Looking at booking hotels, it seems Munich hotels are a bit pricy due to Oktoberfest. Have you guys noticed a price difference closer to the welt vs downtown?

I am thinking of parking ease (as downtown would be very busy), I can look for a hotel near the welt, but take the subway downtown.

Any advice?

I "supposedly" took ED delivery during the first big tourist wave (late June to early July) but I was able to find an awesome deal for Hotel Ibis City Ost (ost meaning east). I was able to get 2-nights for $149 total and did free cancellation in case another deal popped up. The rooms are small but clean and the location while a bit far from Welt wasn't bad... it was a 15 minute transit ride to get to marianplatz, and 30-40 to get to Welt (the other option was taking a Taxi, but if its rush hour you're better off taking the transit to Welt... we took a taxi and it was $40 euros as opposed to $6.50 for a group transit pass - and it still took 40 min.)

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...a_Bavaria.html

Two things I will say are... the $11 euro breakfast there was awesome if you're a soft boiled egg fan, and beware of the parking garage... it could not be anymore narrow; its tier parking; some cat/racoon defecated on my hood; and those struts/cables you see supporting the tray are super hard to see and you will hit your door on them and take some paint off the bottom of the door edge if you're not careful... I got a small nick on day one... (thats user error tho... not the hotel) The parking is however tightly fenced off so I felt like once the car was in that it could not have been any more safe - unless the car above came slamming down on mine.

Hope this helps! -- and I'm sure you'll find a good deal eventually, it took a good 2-3 weeks of combing deals before I found reasonable prices.

[ejonsson90]

I just got back from my ED, and I visited Rothenburg and stayed in Wurzburg. I would definitely recommend staying in Rothenburg and skipping Wurzburg.

Nothing wrong with Wurzburg really, just if you're doing the Romantic Road Rothenburg is a much better "fit" and generally a lot nicer to be a tourist in. As far as I know all there is in Wurzburg is the palace.