stephyjo_us

I am making my first trip to Bavaria in August. After reading many posts, I am planning to stay at Reindl's in Garmisch. I want to travel from Garmisch to Schloss Neuschwanstien using public transportation. I consulted www.bahn.de for options. It looks like it will take over 3 hours and 4 connections. I thought Germany was the land of efficient public transportation?!?! If anyone knows of additional options including private bus services, I would apprecaite your help. I know many of you strongly recommend driving but I really would like to avoid renting a car. Thanks!

Clea

Unfortunately these are both relatively small towns which means no direct train routes. It is very easy to find tour buses from most hotels and B&B's in Garmish directly to Neuschwanstein. Some tours include another castle Linderhof in the tour. these tours are day trips and are reasonably priced. Once you get there you can go on your own as long as you are back in time for the bus departure. Keep in mind you are not allowed to see inside castles unless on a guided tour which are held every hour or so depending on the crowd size.

RufusTFirefly

And just to avoid any confusion, the castles are actually at the little village of Hohenschwangau, just up the road from Schwangau.

Intrepid

Germany IS a land with excellent public transportation..you just have to know that on this particular "route" the best mode is by bus and there are plenty of them. Enjoy!

jason888

Just saw Neuschwanstein in June of this year. Thought you might be interested in some of these details.

You should probably plan on seeing both castles, Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein. It will be a pity to have travelled so far and seen only one castle.

The tour of each castle is only 1/2 hour long. You are rushed through because there are just hordes and hordes of people.

You need to budget a minimum of four hours -1/2 for one tour, then an hour and a half to get between the castles, then 1/2 hour for the second tour and then a walk to the Marienbrucke for the fabulous view of Neuschwanstein.

If you are determined to stay in Garmisch and can catch a tour bus from Garmisch, that would be the best. Otherwise, I would consider staying in Hohenschwangau itself. There are a number of excellent pensions in the little town, which is only three streets by three streets. Staying close to the castles will allow you better flexibility in terms of time and, believe me, you will need the time!

Enjoy your trip! Those are fabulous castles. Be sure to catch the multivideo show after the Neuschwanstein tour!

Intrepid

As an alternative, you might also consider basing yourself in nearby Fuessen.

Gothampc

There is city bus service between Garmisch and Hohenschwangau. The trip takes a little less than two hours. If you go to www.bahn.de and type in the two city names, you can see a listing of the bus schedule. I would suggest that when you get to Garmisch, you ask at your hotel about the details of how to catch the bus. (In Garmisch, you can catch it at the train station among other places).

You may also want to consider seeing Linderhof which is easier to get to. You can take a bus from Garmisch that drops you right at Linderhof.

stephyjo_us

Thank you very much for all of your suggestions and advice. I apprecite it!

RufusTFirefly

stephyjo--if you end up having to rent a car, don't worry about it much. I don't particularly enjoy driving, but I found driving in southern Bavaria and Austria to be easy.

stephyjo_us

I recently returned from my trip to Germany. I just wanted to post that getting to Schwangau (Neuschwanstein) from Garmish using public transportation is cheap and easy! I would do it again and recommend it to anyone that does not want to rent a car or drive.

The two cites are connected by public bus and the trip takes about two hours. The route itself is worth the trip! It takes you through Ettal where there is a beautiful monastery, Oberau, and several other small Bavarian towns.

To catch the bus from Garmisch, look for the orange and green RVO bus number 9606 in front of the railroad station (Bahnhof) next to the taxis. Tickets can be purchased from the bus driver. Seven euros will buy you a round trip ticket from Garmisch to Schwangau!

There are several a.m. departure times. Precise times can be found at the bus stop, the tourist office in Garmisch or online at www.bahn.de.

Sometimes the 9606 bus goes directly to Schwangau but sometimes you will need to transfer to bus 73 at Echelsbacher Bruche. This is the last stop for 9606 buses that do not go onto Schwangau so you can't miss it. The connection bus is clearly labeled Schwangau/Fussen. This bus (and the 9606 if it goes all the way) will drop you right at the ticket booth for both castles.

I highly recommend staying in Garmisch. In my experience, the areas close to the castles are teaming with tourists. In contrast, there were very few tourists in Garmisch. It is large enough that there is plenty to do, many places to stay, eat and drink and yet it retains its Bavarian charm. One added benefit - all local buses in Garmisch and P. are free with a visitors card that you receive once you check into your hotel!!!

Thanks again for all of your helpful replies! Happy travels!

abbekit

We also just returned. We did not rent a car in Germany and found the public transportation to be excellent. We took the train from Munich to Fuessen, directly across the street from the train station is the bus stop to the castles (Hohenschwangau). Bus cost 2,90 EURO and takes about 5 minutes.

Hohenschwangau can be overrun with tourists but if you are staying there you realize that most tourists leave by 5 or 6 p.m. then you have the village to yourselves (at least that is how it was in the fall, wouldn't want to be there in summer probably).

Can't wait to go back and visit Garmish next time!

RufusTFirefly

We stayed in Hohenschwangau (Pension Albrecht) for 2 nights in June of last year. There were absolutely no crowds after 5 or 6PM. I think most people are either daytrippers or they stay in Fuessen. We made no restaurant reservations either night, and had no problem walking in and getting a table right away.