carolyn rylands

Help! We're really stuck on this one. We're spending 1 week in Bavaria in early March. We're flying into Munich and then need to travel 2 hours to a village called OOberstaufen, where we'll stay for 1 week. then it's back to Munich for 1 night before we fly out. We want to see alot of the Bavarian region, including all of the castles, and we'd like to visit Switzerland for a day, and maybe Austria for a day. Are we crazy to rent a car for the whole week and drive around the Alps in March - will the weather be so terrible? Or, do we get Europasses and do the trains everywhere? Our gut instinct is to rent a car because we love to explore and we want to see alot - my husband would prefer to drive around, but I'm concerned about weather. I hear it's easy to drive in Germany, and of course, I think the rental car would be cheaper than 2 train passes. Any advice? Also, where do we get good maps, and it there a site somewhere that we can get driving directions from, for say, Munich to Oberstaufen? <BR> <BR>All comments, advice, and suggestions would be greatly appreciated - we're really stuck on this one! <BR> <BR>

Mary Ann

First, for detailed trip tics between locations, use www.cwlease.com. Use the routeplanner which will give you driving times and distances in kilometers, including exits. Sometimes when driving a compass is helpful due to east/west or north south interchanges on the autobahn. <BR>Second Yes the autobahn is wonderful and easy and well maintained however a car for two may not be that much cheaper for what you are planning to do. Both Austria and Switzerland require the purchase of driving passes. Switz. is an annual pass with I think costs about $32 (but it has been two years). Austria you would need a week pass and I think that runs about $20. <BR>We rented a car in September (rent from the US it is cheaper if you do). We had it for 21 days in 6 countries and it ran about $32 a day. This did not include parking, gas (at about $4 a gallon). keep in mind most rentals are manual shift, automatics can be requested but not guaranteed. That did not bother us, our rate was with a manual. <BR>The best bet would be to work out your itinerary on cw. Then check out the cost of train tickets to your locations. As you mention, weather could be a factor in driving. At the end of September, they already had snow in the French Alps above Chamonix. Once you figure out a detailed itinerary, driving times/train times may put your trip in perspective. Besides, planning can be half the fun!

Bob Brown

Michelin has some good maps of Germany. <BR>I have one of southwest Germany that is complete, but does not take in much east of Munich. The one I have includes your destination. It is Michelin Map 419 -- Deutschland Sued-west or South-West Germany. Try One Map Place in Dallas; www.onemapplace.com. I purchased maps of Paris and London from there and got them quickly. Email [email protected] and tell him what you want. I think he will reply with a list and prices, plus shipping via UPS or Fedx. <BR> <BR>As for the car versus other means of conveyence. You need to travel many miles on trains to amortize the cost of a rail pass. If you are confining yourself to one village for overnight lodging and want to travel around from there, my general impression is that you need a car unless you want to wait on a lot of buses. <BR>Even then, buses don't go everywhere, nor do they go when you want them to. <BR>I poked around that part of Germany once; a lot on bus, some on foot when renting a car was totally out of my financial question. Now, some 40 years later, I would rent a car. <BR>Judging from a similar experience this summer in Switzerland, which has a very comprehensive public transit system, I found that a car gave me the freedom and flexibility to go places I could not get to via bus/train. Bear in mind also, that if the "we" that you refer to is 2 people, you are trading 2 train fares against 1 rental fee. <BR>If the Oberstaufen you refer to is the one buried in the hills between Kempten and Bregenz, I would take the Autobahn west from Munich to Memmingen. Then from Memmingen to Wengen, and follow the road to Himenkirch and finally to Oberstaufen. It is longer that way, but otherwise you are twisting over mountain roads for along distance. An Alternative would be to <BR>go from Memmingen to Kempten. Just south of Kempten turn west toward Waltenhofen and south to Immenstadt and then west to Oberstaufen. Get a map and you will see the routes I mean. I have never driven it, but my guess is that you have several hours of driving in front of you. Let me know how it is down there, because I would like to poke around that area, too. However, bear in mind that Oberstaufen is isolated and not many roads go through it. Take a look at the map when you get it and you will see what I mean. <BR>So in conclusion, if I had the decision, I would take the car. Otherwise, I fear I would sit waiting for a bus or train when I had rather be doing and seeing something else.

Bob Brown

Michelin has some good maps of Germany. <BR>I have one of southwest Germany that is complete, but does not take in much east of Munich. The one I have includes your destination. It is Michelin Map 419 -- Deutschland Sued-west or South-West Germany. Try One Map Place in Dallas; www.onemapplace.com. I purchased maps of Paris and London from there and got them quickly. Email [email protected] and tell him what you want. I think he will reply with a list and prices, plus shipping via UPS or Fedx. <BR> <BR>As for the car versus other means of conveyence. You need to travel many miles on trains to amortize the cost of a rail pass. If you are confining yourself to one village for overnight lodging and want to travel around from there, my general impression is that you need a car unless you want to wait on a lot of buses. <BR>Even then, buses don't go everywhere, nor do they go when you want them to. <BR>I poked around that part of Germany once; a lot on bus, some on foot when renting a car was totally out of my financial question. Now, some 40 years later, I would rent a car. <BR>Judging from a similar experience this summer in Switzerland, which has a very comprehensive public transit system, I found that a car gave me the freedom and flexibility to go places I could not get to via bus/train. Bear in mind also, that if the "we" that you refer to is 2 people, you are trading 2 train fares against 1 rental fee. <BR>If the Oberstaufen you refer to is the one buried in the hills between Kempten and Bregenz, I would take the Autobahn west from Munich to Memmingen. Then from Memmingen to Wengen, and follow the road to Himenkirch and finally to Oberstaufen. It is longer that way, but otherwise you are twisting over mountain roads for along distance. An Alternative would be to <BR>go from Memmingen to Kempten. Just south of Kempten turn west toward Waltenhofen and south to Immenstadt and then west to Oberstaufen. Get a map and you will see the routes I mean. I have never driven it, but my guess is that you have several hours of driving in front of you. Let me know how it is down there, because I would like to poke around that area, too. However, bear in mind that Oberstaufen is isolated and not many roads go through it. Take a look at the map when you get it and you will see what I mean. <BR>So in conclusion, if I had the decision, I would take the car. Otherwise, I fear I would sit waiting for a bus or train when I had rather be doing and seeing something else. <BR> <BR>Bear in mind that it will still be cold down there in early March. Still winter and it could be snowing.

Ed

Trains are excellent between major cities, and in some countries (e.g. Switzerland.) For Germany, at least for Bavaria, we've found a car much more useful. <BR> <BR>If you rent beforehand from the US you're costs will be pretty reasonable. <BR> <BR>We've used AutoEurope quite a bit and find rates and service quite good. But it's worthwhile to shop around. <BR> <BR>We found driving in Germany quite comfortable. The roads are excellent. <BR> <BR>You'll find a bit of info on driving in Germany at http://twenj.com/bavariacar.htm

Suzanne

We just did a similar trip, though granted, in nicer weather. Took a rental car and loved having it. It was much better for doing what we wanted when we wanted. Although we used AutoEurope because they beat the best price of the competition, we got much better quotes on rates from DER and Kemwel. We then went back to AutoEurope with those rates and they beat them, but they originally quoted higher than the others. The Austrian vignette for the highway cost only $5 for 7 days. I would double-check on the Swiss, as they also probably have a small charge for a week. Yes, gas is expensive, but the cars get great mileage--I was totally amazed at how far we went on one tank. Parking was only a cost factor in large cities and even Salzburg, we actually found free parking. The hotels in rural areas did not charge for parking and the tourist area parking lots were minimal. When comparing the price of a side-trip to Prague by train or car, the car was much cheaper.

Suzanne

We just did a similar trip, though granted, in nicer weather. Took a rental car and loved having it. It was much better for doing what we wanted when we wanted. Although we used AutoEurope because they beat the best price of the competition, we got much better quotes on rates from DER and Kemwel. We then went back to AutoEurope with those rates and they beat them, but they originally quoted higher than the others. The Austrian vignette for the highway cost only $5 for 7 days. I would double-check on the Swiss, as they also probably have a small charge for a week. Yes, gas is expensive, but the cars get great mileage--I was totally amazed at how far we went on one tank. Parking was only a cost factor in large cities and even Salzburg, we actually found free parking. The hotels in rural areas did not charge for parking and the tourist area parking lots were minimal. When comparing the price of a side-trip to Prague by train or car, the car was much cheaper.

nickie

All good advise. There's also www.euroshell.com. which is really helpful in regard to driving distances. We opted for renting a car, because so many things in Bavaria are difficult to get to by train/bus, for instance, Linderhof castle. The german road system is fabulous. You might encounter bad driving conditions in Austria, but you can request information from the tourist bureau re what is likely to be closed down at that time of year.

wes fowler

Carolyn, <BR>By all means rent a car. There are a number of truly magnificent sights in Bavaria (Wieskirche, for one) that are not conveniently accessible by train. To visit it and any number of other places, you'd incur taxi or bus fares in addition to train fare. <BR>Mention has been made here regarding Swiss and Austrian vignettes for auto travel within those countries. I've rented from Kemwel and AutoEurope in Germany frequently and found the rental car was equipped with the Swiss vignette decal. Rent from the US and ask if vignettes are provided. <BR>Michelin map 419 is an excellent map for plotting itineraries in the Allgau Ammergau and Pfaffenwinkel areas of Bavaria in which your interests lie. You should be able to get it at any large chain bookstore. The Michelin Green Guide to Germany and particularly The Visitor's Guide to Bavaria, published by Hunter Publishing (ISBN 1 55650 085 8) are excellent in their coverage of Bavaria. <BR>I have a number of itineraries for Bavaria, encompassing its castles, Alpine lakes, Baroque churches and the like which I'll be happy to make available to you if you'll Email me directly. I'd suggest you acquire the Michelin map beforehand, though. My itineraries are really "shun-pike" tours and a good map is essential to follow along with them.

M & J

We just returned from 9 days in Germany (Rhine River area and Rothenburg). We took Wes Fowler's advise and purchased Michelen maps (# 417 and #419) and drove scenic areas as much as possible. These maps are incredibly detailed. We also recommend you check out web site www.enconnect.net to learn about the street/highway/Autobahn signs. Another thing is know is this (again, tip of hat to Wes): the word "ausfahrt" means exit and you got to know that just to get out of the car rental lot at the airport. And, "Einfahrt" means entrance. Again, these words are listed on above web site.