My husband and I are planning an 11-day trip to Bavaria>Northern Austria>Prague in March and I’d like to get some feedback on our proposed itinerary. I’ve listed some specific questions below, but even general feedback/thoughts on our trip would be greatly appreciated!

Itinerary:

Day 1: Depart SFO
Day 2: Arrive Munich, sightsee in Munich. Overnight in Munich.
Day 3: Munich sightseeing. Overnight in Munich.

Day 4: (pick-up car) Munich to Dachau (museum), to Schwangau (Neuschwanstein), to Oberammergau. Overnight in Oberammergau? (possibly add Schloss Linderhof on this day if timing allows)

Day 5: Oberammergau (Schloss Linderhof) to to Salzburg, Sightsee in Salzburg. Overnight in Salzburg.
Day 6: Salzburg. Overnight in Salzburg
Day 7: Salzburg to Berchtesgaden (Eagle’s Nest), to Hallstatt (salt mines). Overnight in Hallstatt (or skip Hallstatt completely and go straight to CÈeský Krumlov)

Day 8: Hallstatt to CÈeský Krumlov (quick sightsee) to Prague. Overnight in Prague
Day 9: Prague sightseeing. Overnight in Prague.
Day 10: Prague (sightseeing in early part of day), drive to Munich. Overnight in Munich.

Day 11: Depart Munich, Arrive SFO.


Questions:

Timing:
I’m concerned about the road conditions around Hallstatt in early March—how bad will snow/ice be/will roads be closed that time of year? If we forego Hallstatt, I’d opt to add a night in Prague.

Car Needs:
1—Can I pick up a car on a Sunday morning in Munich?
2—I’ve heard that parking in Prague is $$$$. What are the train options and costs between Salzburg or Hallstatt and Prague? I’ve heard its a little tricky traveling between Germany/Austria and the Czech Rep—can anyone provide specific guidance? I’ve not used the train in that neck of the woods.

Time for Dachau/Castle Loop:
Would it be overly ambitious to do Dachau/Neuschwanstein/Schloss Linderhof in one day? I’m wondering if I can pick up a night somewhere by skipping the night in the Oberammergau area.

Brechtesgaden and Hallstatt to CÈeský Krumlov:
What are your thoughts on trying to leave Salzburg, drive to Berchtesgaden (do Eagle’s Nest), drive to Hallstatt (do salt mines) and then go on CÈeský Krumlov for the night? Is it too much driving?

Check your map or go to viamichelin.com and put in your destinations.

Dachau is basically a Munich suburb. You can get there on the Munich mass transit system. It is North of Munich. Fussen (Schwangau) is South of Munich.

You might want to take about a half day while you are in Munich to do the trip to Dachau then pick up your car and head for the alps. While you are in Munich we love to have dinner at the Augustiner in the fussganger zone about two blocks toward the train station from Marienplatz.

Make reservations ahead of time for the castle tours then make sure you are there in time. That will save any possibility of killing an hour or so before your tour time.

After the castles you can drive to Wiessekirche, Oberammergau, Ettal Monastary and Linderhof. You might overnight in some place like Mittenwald. Then go through Hall on your way to Salzburg.

While you are in Salzburg plan to have dinner at St Peter's Shriftskeller (near the Sound of Music graveyard).

Bertschesgaden is beautiful but if you are just going for the salt mine tour there is also a salt mine tour in Hallstatt. Bertschesgaden is about 15 miles West of Salzburg. Hallstatt is about an hour Southeast.

You're trying to do too much in too short time. Definitely drop one of your activities on each day from the itinerary.

Sightseeing in Munich after arriving on a flight from SFO? With jet-lag? I wouldn't want to do that. At least go slow.

Day 4 is VERY ambitious. Road conditions in early March can be tricky anywhere in that region. Schloss Linderhof is definitely NOT an option.

You won't see much of Salzburg on day 5, btw.

Definitely stay overnight in Hallstatt or, even better, skip it completely. The drive to Prague is looooong. Not much time to sightsee in CK either. IMO Prague is too far out of the way to visit on this trip, but that's just me. I am just back from a four-day business trip to Prague (with another day for sightseeing) and think it is not worth the hassle for just one full day if you have such excellent options in Southern Germany/Austria.

Parking and also accommodation can be expensive in Prague, at least if you are looking for some quality. My four star hotel (that I would only rate a three star) had private parking in a garage for 20 Euro per night. The room was 86 Euro (single), which was a special rate through a travel agency.

To answer your final question: Definitely not doable. You wouldn't have time to enjoy the places you visit and the drive can be very tricky (depends on road conditions, unpredictable).

Ingo

I'd second Ingo's recommendation. You will be frazzled, remember hardly a thing and possibly be disappointed if road conditions hamper your plans. Over the years, I've found that less is often more when it comes to Euro travel.

If you buy that notion, you might consider 3 places in this order:

Day 1: Depart SFO

Day 2: Arrive Munich, train immediately to Salzburg and relax/stay in Salzburg

Day 3: Salzburg

Day 4: Salzburg--day trip to Hallstatt or Berchtesgaden

Day 5: bus or cab to Freilassing Germany (short distance away), Pick up rental car and head to Oberammagau

Day 6 Oberammagau--day trip to castles

Day 7 Oberammagau--day trip to Wieskirche, Ettal or the Zugspitze

Day 8: Drive to Dachau, drop car either in Munich outskirts, airport or even downtown, depending on options available to you.

Day 9 Stay in Munich; Sightsee.

Day 10: Munich.

Day 11: Depart Munich, Arrive SFO.

Good luck and enjoy

BTW
I should have mentioned my reasoning behind Salzburg first:
1. Easy connections from MUC airport
2. Cars do no good in Salzburg and parking is costly
3. Both Berchtesgaden (especially) and Hallstatt are reachable through public transportation
4. Nearby Freilassing means you don't have to incur huge drop-off fees by renting in one country and returning to another
5. Munich's public transportation system, traffic and parking costs makes a car unnecessary and convenient to drop off before going into the city.

Prague is beautiful, but I think you should save it for another trip. It's too far away from your other destinations.

Eliminating Prague gives you the time you will need to see all the things you want to see in Bavaria and Austria. Otherwise, you can't.

Following up on what JN said about parking in Salzburg. The same is true in Munich. Save the parking and the big city traffic hassels by using the public transit system. It is good and it is pretty easy to navigate. Either drop the car when you get to Munich or pick it up on the way out of town.