Bavaria & 3 Castles

Old Jul 24th, 2007, 09:44 AM
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Bavaria & 3 Castles

Hi,

We will be staying in Mittenwald for 3 days. In addition to visiting Mittenwald, Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Oberammergau we wish to see some of the famous castles in this area: Neuschwanstein, Linderhoh and Hohenschwangau.

My question(s) is: 1) how long to schedule for each castle 2) what would be the best order to visit the castles to minimize travel time 3) can all three castles be done in one day, or is that even worth it ... so basically im am asking for any assistance to those who have experienced this area and can provide any travel info to make this three day stay as great as possible....

Thank you in advance for your time,

GreekGazoo
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Old Jul 24th, 2007, 09:52 AM
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Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau are on opposite hills. It takes about a half a day to go through both. Linderhoff will take 2-3 hours. As you have seen, the road from Fussen back over to Mittenwald has a lot of attractions. The Wiesekirche and Ettal Monastary are worth a stop.

If it was me I would spend one of my nights in Fussen or the area around there, seen the castles (N & H) then head out toward Mittenwald seeing Wiesskirch, Oberammergau, Linderhof and Ettal Monastary on the way.
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Old Jul 24th, 2007, 09:54 AM
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to add to the soup:

Herrenchiemsee, another Mad Ludwig creation is in many ways to me the best of the lot - lovingly set in the middle of the Chiemsee.

are you driving? if not Chiemsee is impossible from Mittenwald

if driving you obviously can do Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau the same day since they are adjacent to each other. bu Linderhof is a fair poke by road or RVO bus from those two. Yes possible but not practical.

For Fussen hop train to Garmisch and then via Austria to Reutte from where buses go thru the gap the several miles to Fussen and the castles a few miles out of town.

For Linderhof take train to Oberammergau and then bus six miles or so to the castle.

schedules: www.bahn.de, German rail web portal
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Old Jul 24th, 2007, 10:04 AM
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We plan to use public transportation while in this area.

Our lodging accommodations have already been made in Mittenwald for 3 nights.

Day 1 - we wish to spend in Mittenwald and see the town.

Day 2 - See Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Oberammergau and Linderhof Castle.

Day 3 - Travel to Fussen to see Neuschwanstein Castle.
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Old Jul 24th, 2007, 10:09 AM
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Yes vary possible. Investigate the bargain Bavarian Pass sold locally - 29 euros a day covers up to 5 people - on weekends for two days maybe. Can't board before 9:30am however M-F; can't use express trains but you won't be anyway. May even cover Garmisch-reutte train because this is a German train that after Reutte continues on to Germany again (not sure ask at Mittenwald station) but pass covers most buses as well. check regular fares at www.bahn.de - German rail site to see what is better.
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Old Jul 24th, 2007, 10:10 AM
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If you have a car, you can easily do all three in one day as long as it's not in the winter--all the castles are open 9-6 through September.

It's about a 45 minute to 1 hour drive from Mittenwald to Linderhof, so you should be able to get there by 9 or 9:30 AM easily. See Linderhof, then drive along the Plansee in northern Austria to the village of Hohenschwangau where the other two castles are located. Have lunch along the way.

It's only about a 45 minute drive, so even with a leisurely lunch you can easily be seeing one of the castles by 2 PM, and the other by no later than 4 or 5 PM.

You can make reservations for the castles online so you don't have to wait in line to buy tickets.
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Old Jul 24th, 2007, 10:25 AM
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I agree that Herrenchiemsee was by far our favorite of all the castles - and after that Linderhof. To me - Neuschwanstein looks too much like Disneyland.

For that area I would strongly suggest that you rent a car. It's much more convenient than the cross-country when it turns up local transport. And - assuming you want to have the tours in english, rather than German - your time to do each site is somewhat restricted by when they have englishtours available.
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Old Jul 24th, 2007, 11:05 AM
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If we do decide to rent a car while in this area, is it necessary to rent the car from Munich when we arrive at the airport, or is it possible to rent a car in a small city such as Mittenwald ?
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Old Jul 24th, 2007, 12:17 PM
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If you want to rent a car try to NOT pick it up at the airport or train station. They tack a 19% surtax on cars rented at those places.

Contact Bob Bestor at Gemutlichkeit Travel Gemut.com for a good deal on a car. He has always gotten us a better deal than I could find on my own. You don't have to subscribe to his newsletter to rent a car through him.

Going to Fussen from Mittenwald then going to Oberammergau/Linderhof from Mittenwald the next day you will be back-tracking over virtually the same route... but it is a pretty drive so it won't kill you to do it again.
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Old Jul 24th, 2007, 12:32 PM
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"To me - Neuschwanstein looks too much like Disneyland."

Well, technically it is the other way around - LOL.
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Old Jul 24th, 2007, 12:37 PM
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This is an article about a structure at Disneyland
Sleeping Beauty Castle is the fairy tale structure at the center of Disneyland Park and Hong Kong Disneyland Park. It is based on Germany's Neuschwanstein castle.

Wikepedia confirms that. Walt disney however i think said he based his original castles in early films on Usse castle, The Sleeping Beauty Castle in the Loire Valley.
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Old Jul 24th, 2007, 02:36 PM
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One of our favorite days on our trip this summer was our "castle day". We had 9:15 reservations for Hohenschwangau, then 11:15 for Neuschwanstein. We had a car, so afterwards took the beautiful drive, stopped at the Wieskirche and onto Linderhof. We had 2 nights in Fussen, so this worked out well for us. You don't need a reservaton for Linderhof. I had been worried about the crowds for the first 2 castles, but everything is so well-organized. Of course, we were there early in the morning, so parking lots were virtually empty and it was easy getting in and out. Good luck to you! You're in for a treat!
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Old Jul 24th, 2007, 03:29 PM
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I returned yesterday from 19 days in both Germany and Austria. We had a WONDERFUL trip. We traveled by train, which thankfully was not affected by any rail strikes, but for three days I rented a car and had it for the Bavarian area. We spent three nights in Reutte, across the border from Fuessen. I picked up the car in Kempten, but returned it in Fuessen without any problems. The road from Fuessen up to Lindehof, etc., was having construction so I was advised to go through Austria by way of Reutte which was not a problem since we were staying there. Unfortunately I was not able to see the Wieskirche again on this trip due to time restraints and the fact that I was the only adult traveling with three teenagers who did not want to see another church. We also spent a lot of time at the top of the Zugspitze. We went up it from the Austrian side. The kids had a blast in the snow. We live in Houston, TX and very seldom see snow so this was a lot of fun for them. On the way back from the Zugspitze we stopped at the longest luge ride in Austria and had so much fun we each road the luge three times! I made reservations for Neuschwanstein, but we just went on our own to Linderhof. The group for our tour at Linderhof had no more then 12-15 people, if even that. Both our tours were in English. Have a wonderful time!
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Old Jul 24th, 2007, 04:51 PM
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The Bayern-Ticket does cover the route from Garmisch-Partenkirchen through the Tirol to Reutte. That route is called the Ausserfernbahn, and, although it is in Austria, it is run by German Rail and the Bayern-Pass is valid there. The Ausserfernbahn extends from Reute back into German at the very scenic towns of Pfronten. If you go to Pfronten, the Bayern-Ticket also covers the half-hour bus trip from there to Füssen.
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Old Jul 24th, 2007, 05:37 PM
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JCorrea -

Yes- but I saw Disneyland first (as a small child) before the famous travel posters of Neuschwanstein. So - it's never seemed as real to me (esp since it's so new) as many other castles.
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Old Jul 24th, 2007, 06:11 PM
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As i read many of your posts, it appears it is adviseable to rent a car for the 3 day Bavarian visit, prior to heading to Salzburg.

I know this is a difficult question to answer, but is there anyway that someone can give a rough estimate on the cost of renting a small car for 3 days from Munich to Mittenwald and traveling from Castle to Castle. Cost of gas, cost of car, any other hidden costs?

THANKS SO MUCH
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Old Jul 25th, 2007, 03:21 AM
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Greekgazoo--the best way to find out how much a car will cost is to check some rental brokers like autoeurope.com and gemut.com. It'll take only a few minutes, and they also have toll free numbers if you'd rather do it by phone.
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Old Jul 25th, 2007, 05:25 AM
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Gas ranged in price from 1.02 to 1.15 per liter of diesel when I was there two weeks ago. I only used about a half tank driving around for three days.
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Old Jul 25th, 2007, 05:34 AM
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>To me - Neuschwanstein looks too much like Disneyland.

Neuchwanstein came first.
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Old Jul 25th, 2007, 05:45 AM
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Hi GG,

I also suggest a car for this stay.

Check www.novacarhire.com, www.autoeurope.com, www.gemut.com (I think that they will be the cheapest). The price you are quoted will be the price you pay + a daily road tax of a couple of Euro.

It will be cheaper to pick up the car in downtown Munich rather than at the airport or train station, but check to see how much you will save compared to the inconvenience.

Plot your driving route at www.viamichelin.com. You can estimate your fuel costs from that.

You can get a ticket for H and N at www.hohenschwangau.de/556.0.html

Don't skip the Venus Grotto at Linderhof.

Enjoy your visit.

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