The Balck Forest Planning 1

Planning part 1

It’s been almost three months since we returned from our family vacation in Thailand. It was honestly one of the best vacations we’ve ever had as a family. You can read all about it on my blog—I highly recommend starting with part 1 of the story!

Anyway, we recently started getting that familiar itch for another experience just like it. You know the feeling: the whole family packed onto a plane, on our way to somewhere nice for a week or two. The daily routine of life here in Israel always has a way of making you think about your next vacation.

The idea of the Black Forest actually started forming in my head back when we were still anticipating and waiting for our Thailand trip. I didn't know exactly when or how, but I had heard so many great things about it from coworkers and friends with kids the same age as mine that I just knew we had to do it.

We started talking about the idea during our family Friday night dinners—that's the time of the week when the whole family gathers. We just threw the idea out there into the air. Some were thrilled about it, others a bit less.

This week, I started looking into flights. The first thing I had to check was how to get there. Apparently, there's more than one way to do it (even more than two)—unlike our trip to Thailand, where I knew we just needed to fly into BKK airport and start from there. To get to the Black Forest from Israel, you can fly into Basel Airport, which is an international airport located in France, but it also has an exit into Switzerland and sits right on the German border, so it serves all three countries. Another option is to fly into Zurich in Switzerland and drive to the Black Forest area from there. The thing is, we need a car anyway, but apparently, the cost of renting a car in Switzerland is much more expensive than renting one in France or Germany.

Passover 2027 (16–30.04.2027)

I know it’s a long time from now, but planning a big family vacation takes time. You need all the stars in the sky to align; everyone needs to be available, and it shouldn't be too close to the previous vacation. So, I set a date for almost a year from now (as of today, 20.6.2026) and hoped that everyone who joined us on the last vacation would come along with us this time as well.

I chose Passover because it's that time of the year when the kids are on vacation from school and some of us only work half-days. It’s supposed to be a great time to take a break and disappear for two weeks. This is usually peak season here in Israel anyway, so the prices of local hotels are sky-high.

I have the dates and I have the destination—now I just need to find flights at the right time.

The Headcount (Who is Coming):

• Us (4 people): Me, my wife, and our two children (ages 12 and 9)

• My in-laws (2 people): My wife's parents

• My sister-in-law's family (4 people): Her husband and their two children (ages 8 and 4)

• My mother (1 person)

• My sister's family (4 people): They weren't on our last vacation, but she said they will join us this time! They have two children (ages 12 and 8).

• My wife's other sister's daughter (1 person): Our 16-year-old niece

As you can imagine, it's not going to be an easy task to gather 16, or maybe even 17 people for one vacation. Last time, I was actually terrified of that. I kept thinking it wasn't going to be any fun at all. But I was completely wrong—it turned out to be a wonderful experience, and that's exactly what's driving me to do it again this time.

It's time for the very first WhatsApp message in a brand-new group.

🌲 Black Forest – Passover 2027 🇩🇪
📅 April 16–30, 2027

Initial review of travel options:

✈️ Zurich (SWISS)
• Direct round-trip flight.
• Current price: approximately ₪1,130 per person.
• Pros: Direct flight, more convenient for families with children, and a scenic drive through Switzerland.
• Cons: Car rental prices in Switzerland are relatively high.

https://www.google.com/travel/flights/s/UQ7PrPkeMvHgW7L78

✈️ Basel (Lufthansa)
• Flight with a connection in Munich on the outbound journey and Frankfurt on the return.
• Current price: approximately ₪1,917 per person.
• Pros: The airport is located at the junction of France, Germany, and Switzerland. You can exit through the French side and reach Germany within minutes. Car rental prices on the French side are significantly lower than on the Swiss side.
• Cons: Longer travel time due to connections.

https://www.google.com/travel/flights/s/kK4kPKSFjHdKmKiA7

✈️ Frankfurt
• Flight options and prices have not yet been reviewed.
• Pros: Large international airport with many flight options, generally competitive car rental prices in Germany, and no need to cross borders immediately after landing.
• Cons: Located farther from the Black Forest, typically requiring 2–3 hours of driving.

💡 Good to know: Basel Airport has two separate exits – one to Switzerland and one to France. Travelers renting a car on the French side can drive directly into Germany and reach the Black Forest without entering Switzerland.

This was the first message in the “Black Forest – Passover 2027” group. I already knew that my mother, my sister, and my in-laws were in. The ones I wasn't entirely sure about were my sister-in-law's family, and I also didn't know yet if my wife's other sister's daughter—our 16-year-old niece—would be joining us. I knew we couldn't do this trip without them, so I really hoped they would all agree to come along, too. I hit send on the message and waited.

For the first hour or so, there was silence in the group chat; no one responded. Then my brother-in-law wrote: “Sorry, I can't take days off from work at this time.” I knew we wouldn't go without them, so we started looking for other options. It turned out that the period from after Yom Kippur until after Sukkot worked for us. It was good for everyone. I changed the name of the group to “Black Forest - Sukkot 2027.” This time it worked—everyone could make it.

Black Forest – Sukkot 2027 (22.09 - 03.10/2026)

My family booked flights with Aegean to Zurich, but the other family members booked theirs through a different airline. The only flights they could find were from September 22nd to October 5th, so they’ll probably stay longer—unless I can convince my in-laws to extend their stay. They say 12 days is enough for them, and since our tickets are tied to theirs, we're locked into that timeframe.

The next big thing is to find a place to stay. I will tell you all about it in the next part of the story of our family vacation planning.