Instead of three days in Strasbourg, I'd spend two days in Colmar, using it as base to see some of the nearby Wine Route villages. Then spend the last day in Strasbourg.

Why Innsbruck?
I hate one niters and you can easily spend half a day there on your way to Reutte.

I think Innsbruck is worth more than a 1/2 day. I found plenty to keep me interested for 1 1/2 days. (And, I don't shop.)

You may want to take a taxi/bus to an off-airport location to pick-up your rental car. There is typically an airport surcharge for picking up at the airport (but not for dropping off there).

Have a great trip!

Hi,

With a car and the time you have, I'd skip Innsbruck (we do love the area though) and Reutte (I don't see the allure of Reutte as a place to stay), and take these 4 nights and stay in Zell am Zee 2 nights (1:30 from Salzburg) and then head over the Gerlos Pass to the stunning Zillertal for 2 nights before moving on.

Drive the spectacular Grossglockner Hochaplenstrasse and take a cruise on the lake while based in Zell am See.

If interested, we have pic's at:

www.worldisround.com/home/pja1/index.html

www.worldisround.com/home/pja1/travel15.html

Paul

I agree with pja - Reutte? It's not that great. There's nothing really wrong with it, but there are probably hundreds of nearby towns with more to do, more charm, better architecture, better scenery, better restaurants, etc.

I also like pj's idea of driving the Grossglocknerstrasse. Spectacular. You could leave from Zell am See and overnight in Lienz. Lienz is a really nice town set in a valley between the Alps and the Dolomites. Good castle there too. Then to Innsbruck.

For proximity to the Ludwig's castles, Fuessen is excellent. Very nice town although not exactly free of tourists.

You don't really need 3 days for Salzburg unless you are planning a drive through the Salzkammergut on one of the days.

Hi,

I agree that there's nothing really wrong with Ruette, I just don't see why it would be a place anyone would make a plan on staying. We loved Fuessen, which is less than 10 minutes from Neuschwanstein, Hohenschwangau and the Tegelberg cable car and luge ride (Sommerrodelbahn). We stayed twice at the Hotel zum Hechten in Fuessen ('01, '03). If you stay in the area for the 3 nights, have you been to the top of the Zugspitze? It's an easy drive to Ehrwald, Austria for this trip. Have you seen the Wieskirche? it's nearby the castle's also. Ludwig's amazing Linderhof palace is a "must see" if you're already interested in seeing Neuschwanstein.

www.zugspitze.at

www.hotel-hechten.com

Just some opinions/options:

To see "more of the Austrian Alps", I also might cut a night from Salzburg (and/or Munich). We actually prefer to base in the Berchtesgaden area (actually Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden or Schonau am Konigsee) for our visits to Salzburg. We've stayed at the Pension Mayringerlehen 3 times ('06, '07, '09) and the Guesthouse Friedwiese once ('10). The scenery here is more "dramatic" and Salzburg is less than 30 min. away. Many times we've simply driven to Salzburg for dinner and to stroll around in the evening.

www.mayringerlehen.de

www.friedwiese.de/enska/isl.htm

If you really want to keep the 3 nights in the Ruette area ("We want to spend a couple of days seeing the Bavarian castles more leisurely"), and if you cut a night from either Munich or Salzburg and skipped Innsbruck, that would leave 2 nights between Salzburg and Reutte. Tough decision, but I'd make a choice between the Zillertal and Zell am See for those 2 nights. Between Zell am See's location on the lake with snow capped peaks surrounding it and the Zillertal's magnificent alpine scenery, I don't see how you could go wrong with either.

www.worldisround.com/articles/355538/index.html

www.worldisround.com/articles/355540/index.html

www.worldisround.com/articles/338868/index.html

We stayed in both of these places in '09:

gaestehaus-bergland.at

www.pension-alpenrose.com


Sorry if I went "overboard" with the links!

Paul