Lodha

Hello,

Just need some advice. Me & my wife will be arriving in Salzburg in 2 days and will be staying at a Alpenhofs resort in Berchtesgaden. From here I intend to visit the surrounding areas such as Eagles Nest, Salt Mines, Ice caves & Salzburg. Then we will leave for Fussen to see the castles & from there to Munich onwards to Prague. Is it better to rent a car to see these places or to do it by train. I have never driven in Europe. Do all the cars have GPS ?? Which are good car companies to rent from ? Can I drop the car at Fussen as I do not want to drive in Munich.

sparkchaser

You can get pretty much everywhere by train/bus but then you are tied to their schedules. If you want to see the Salt Mine, Eagle's Nest, and Ice cave, then a car is practically a must-have unless you sign up with some tour.

I would just rent a car. It's easier and more convenient, although parking may be a bit of an issue in some places.


<i>Do all the cars have GPS ?</i>

No. If you want one, be sure to request it when you reserve your car.

<i>Which are good car companies to rent from ? </i>

I do all of my renting with Sixt. Whoever you choose, do be sure to tell them that you are planning on going to Prague so they give you an allowable vehicle.

<i>Can I drop the car at Fussen as I do not want to drive in Munich. </i>

If the rental company has an office there then absolutely. I pick up and drop-off in different cities all the time.

sparkchaser

Oooops. Forgot to say that if you drive on motorways and expressways in Czech Republic and Austria, you will need to purchase a vignette for each country. These are available at gas stations on either side of the respective country's border. The alternative is to take back roads.

Lodha

Thanks.

Dukey1

I would DROP the car in either Fuessen or (probably better) in MUNICH.

You have to understand that basically the railways in that area run north and south out of places like Munich and Fuessen. The things you want to see are basically east and west so a car would be most convenient. You can rent a GPS from the car vendor.

You do NOT need or even want a car in Munich which has excellent and affordable public transport. You can take the train to Prague which eliminates the need and the expense of having a car that is eligible to be taken into the Czech Republic and also eliminates the issue of drop charges. Prague, at least the part of the city most people want to visit, also has excellent public transport.

Up to you.

sparkchaser

Good point about Prague. There is a DB express bus that runs several times a day from Nuremberg Hbf to Prague Hbf. It's cheap too, if you get your tickets early enough.

nytraveler

I would drive - but then we love rod trips. No -most cars don;t have GPS - you have to ask and pay for it - and be sure you know how to use that model.

We rent from Hertz since we get a sizable corporate discount and they tend to be large offices with a good selection of cars.

swandav2000

Hi Lodha,

I advise you to take the trains, always take the trains.

It's a lot more fun to travel that way; you get to have a peek or two inside the culture as you observe young families, teens, and oldsters on their daily commutes or out for a special occasion or a special trip. I love this little opportunity for some world-class people-watching!

It's also better for the environment. The DB site shows you how much carbon emissions you are saving with each train trip, and you may be happy to know that your vacation won't damage the beautiful countryside you came so far to see. In fact, scientists estimate that in 30 years, all the glaciers in Bavaria will be gone, and this summer the Zugspitze didn't keep its covering of snow. So, you may want to help preserve this beautiful landscape.

I live in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and I don't have a car. Just post again if you have any specific questions about the logistics.

s

Cowboy1968

If your resort is the Alpenhof hotel in Schönau, a bit South of Berchtesgaden, it will not be accessible by public transport unless you walk an hour to Berchtesgaden train station, or down to highway B20 which connects Berchtesgaden and Königsee to catch a bus down there to take you to Berchtesgaden train station.

sparkchaser

If the OP is arriving in 21 days (now 1day), then the train would be a poor choice because of ticket prices.

Rent a car.

It's important for Americans to note that most regional trains in Germany do not have air conditioning and for the few that do, they are surprisingly prone to breaking down and under-performing. Fortunately it looks like the heat wave we were having has broken so that won't be an issue if OP does decide to take the train.


<i>It's also better for the environment. The DB site shows you how much carbon emissions you are saving with each train trip, and you may be happy to know that your vacation won't damage the beautiful countryside you came so far to see. In fact, scientists estimate that in 30 years, all the glaciers in Bavaria will be gone, and this summer the Zugspitze didn't keep its covering of snow. So, you may want to help preserve this beautiful landscape.</i>

Let's be brutally honest here: if that was a concern for the OP, then they would not be flying to Germany.

swandav2000

I suppose, sparkchaser, that you think it’s a good idea to compound errors and bad events. If something bad has happened, we can’t undo it, so we should just accept it. Maybe even add another? If there is a disaster oil spill in the oceans, we should accept that and even accept second and third oil spills since one has already occurred. If you lose 100 euro, I suppose you accept that and even throw away a further 50 euro.

No, I can’t agree. When we have something bad, we should try to mitigate its effects and even to try to stop it from continuing or from happening again.

Yes, travel to Europe is a necessity for many people (it was for me when I lived in the USA). But travelling by car in Germany is not a necessity, and using the trains is a good, fun, way to mitigate the damage done to the skies.

s

swandav2000

Well, I guess I take that back.

If the OP is in the Alpenhof in Schönau, then probably a car *is* necessary, as Cowboy notes. Lol!

s

sparkchaser

We will have to agree to disagree on this.

According to DB's mobicheck, for two people a Salzburg-Fussen-München-Prague trian trip would be between 53.7 kg and 64.9 kg of CO2 via train versus 30.8 kg of CO2 via car.

Now, that does not include the trips to Eagle's Nest, Salt Mine, Ice Cave, etc. but I'm willing to wager that the car comes out as being the lower emission option.

flpab

I love public transportation because I enjoy the trip so much more than dealing with driving though I did enjoy driving the autobahn.
I always plan now to book accommodations that are close by trains and buses. There are day tours to Eagle's nest but if your aren't close to public transportation than you do need a car.
We base ourselves out of Garmisch-Partenkirchen and have the luxury of day trips from the Edelweiss lodge or hop on the train or bus. Much less stress.

swandav2000

For others who may be interested in this discussion --

sparkchaser, I believe your figures are wrong. I just checked on DB's Environmental Mobility Check, and these are the figures I got:

Salzburg - Füssen: 19.8 kg carbon dioxide by train, 34.2 kg by car.

Füssen - München: 13.4 kg carbon dioxide by train, 20.8 kg by car.

München - Prague: 19.8 kg carbon dioxide by train, 62.6 kg by car.

Totals: 53.1 by train, 117.6 by car.

Even if you figure two persons in the car, that would be 58.8 per person, still more than per person on the train. But if those two persons took the train, it would save 117.6 kg of junk in the air.

s

sparkchaser

I did Salzburg to Prague via Fussen and Munich. I left the defaults where they were.

I did it as one trip. Salzburg to Prague with stopovers in Fusssen and Munich.

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL146.../407343274.jpg

Did you do it as separate trips?

swandav2000

Yes, I did it as separate trips.

s