Bavaria Itinerary Suggestions/Critiques Please
 

Hi everyone. I know there are several itineraries posted here (which have been a great help), but I would love your suggestions/comments for the itinerary I have come up with so far. My husband, me, and another couple are flying out of DFW on Lufthansa to Munich (we have a connecting flight in Frankfurt) on Oct. 8, 2010, returning on Oct. 19. We will be renting a car. This is the itinerary I have come up with so far:

Oct 8 – Fly out of DFW
Oct 9 – Arrive Munich
Oct 10 – Munich
Oct 11 – Drive to Burghausen and visit Burghausen Castle for the day
Then Drive to Salzburg
Oct 12 – Salzburg
Oct 13 – Drive to Mittenwald
On the way stop and visit Herrenchiemsee and Fraueninsel on the Chiemsee lake
Oct 14 – Mittenwald/Garmich - Partenkirchen (not sure which place we will stay?)
Visit Zugspitze
Oct 15
Drive to Hohenschwangau
See Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles
Spend night there?
Oct 16 – Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Oct 17 – Drive to Munich
Oct 18 – Munich
Oct 19 – Flight back Home

Too much? I would also like to visit Linderhof, where could that fit in? Any suggestions, comments, criticisms, alternatives are very much appreciated. We are in our 30's, love seeing beautiful scenery, architecture, and just taking in the culture in general. We are all easy going, I just like to have an idea of what direction to go for the day. This is our first visit to Germany, so we are very excited!

We love Germany and Austria - both countries are truly beautiful! We are headed back for trip #6 in november and cannot wait.

I am not sure that I would stay in Munich twice. Why not save that for the end of the trip and eliminate one hotel change? Head straight to Salzburg on arrival and spend three nights as the first day will be recovery from the travel. If you love beautiful scenery, The Salzkammergut is breathtaking and you could make a day trip or two from Salzburg to see this beautiful part of the world.

You could pick up your car in Salzburg at the end of the visit and head out on the next phase of your trip. Or pick it up day 2 or 3 and use it to visit some of the smaller towns and villages best reached by car.

We avoid one night stays as a rule. Others are fine with it. For me, this plan would be moving around a bit too much but that is personal preference. You have 6 hotel changes in a relatively short visit. It is not a trip I would personally plan as I do not like moving around so much.

Since we use public transport, I cannot advise on best way to see the other areas on your list. I only know that I like to keep hotel changes limited to maximize my time.

Garmisch is larger than Mittenwald so would be a better base if you prefer a larger town. We just booked there for 2 nights in December based on a day trip there 2 years ago. It is a place we want to return to and we will visit Mittenwald from there - 20 minutes by train. Check out Hotel Gasthof Schatten if you decide on Garmisch, highly recommended by a regular poster who lives there.

We spent the day at Chiemsee while staying in Munich last year. We took the short train ride, explored the town for a couple of hours then took the ferry to visit Herrenchiemsee and Fraueninsel. It was a great day trip. We also visited Linderhof from Munich 3 years ago and very much enjoyed it.

I am sure you will get lots of input from those that drive instead of relying on public transport.

Have fun planning and enjoy your trip - I bet it will not be your last to this part of the world.

Hi,

I agree with visiting Munich at the end of the trip. Also, I'd pick up tht car upon arrival and return it at the end of your trip in Munich (or back at the airport).
You are moving around a lot, but that's a personal preference. I'd drop Rothenburg. Seems like the one "out of the way place" and it's only for a night.

For our Salzburg visits, we like staying in the nearby Berchtesgaden area (Ramsau, Germany in particular) a half hour drive from Salzburg.

Me, I'd base in Mittenwald and visit Linderhof, Neuschwanstein/Hohenschwangau castles and the Zugspitze from here. Without Rothenberg you'd have 4 nights here. If you wanted a change of place/scenery, I'd suggest 2 nights Mittenwald and 2 nights Fuessen. You could then visit the Zugspitze from either Mittenwald (in Garmisch) or Fuessen (from nearby Ehrwald, Austria). There's plenty to see and do for 2 nights in each place.

We can recommend places to stay near Salzburg- www.mayringerlehen.de, in Mittenwald - www.schwalbennestl.de and Fuessen - www.hotel-hechten.com.

We stayed at the Mayringerlehen in '06, '07 and '09
We stayed at the Schwalbennestl in '05 and '06
We stayed at the Hotel zum Hechten in '01 and '03

My trip suggestion would be:

Oct 8 – Fly out of DFW
Oct 9 – Arrive Munich, stay in Salzburg (Ramsau, Berchtesgaden area)
Oct 10 – Salzburg (Ramsau, Berchtesgaden area)
Oct 11 – Salzburg (Ramsau, Berchtesgaden area)
Oct 12 – Mittenwald
Oct 13 – Mittenwald
Oct 14 – Fuessen
Oct 15 - Fuessen
Oct 16 – Drive to Munich
Oct 17 – Munich
Oct 18 – Munich
Oct 19 – Flight back Home

You could also consider taking a night from Salzburg and adding it to either Mittenwald, Fuessen or Munich depending on your preferences.

If interested, we have photo's of these places at:

www.worldisround.com/home/pja1/index.html

www.worldisround.com/home/pja1/travel15.html

We also have trip report that you may find parts of helpful:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...nd-austria.cfm


Paul

Linderhof is a short drive (around 45 minutes) through northern Austria from Hohenschwangau (where Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles are located). The Mittenwald base suggestion for daytrips works well, or you could just do it on the way to or from Hohenschwangau or as part of a daytrip from there or Garmisch or Oberammergau, etc. It's easy driving.

You are all SO helpful! I completely agree that we should just save Munich for the end. I was worried we'd be too tired to travel on to Salzburg, but a quick look at a map showed how close it was, so that shouldn't be a problem. Thanks for pointing out to me how much packing/unpacking I was doing.
Paul - Loving your itinerary! I think we will stick pretty close to it. A friend was interested in visiting Rothenburg, so we will play that by ear once we get there.
So here is what I have now:

Oct 8 – Fly out of DFW
Oct 9 – Arrive Munich – Drive to Salzburg
Oct 10 – Salzburg
Oct 11 – Salzburg
Oct 12 – Drive to Mittenwald or Garmisch-Partenkirchen
On the way stop and visit Herrenchiemsee and
Fraueninsel on the Chiemsee lake
Oct 13 – Visit Zugspitz, Linderhof
Oct 14 – Neuschwanstein & Hohenschwangau
Oct 15 – Possibly Drive to Rothenburg ob der Tauber (we’ll
decide once we’re in Garmisch whether or not to stay
in that area or go on to check out Rothenburg)
Oct 16 – Drive to Munich
Oct 17 – Munich
Oct 18 – Munich
Oct 19 – Flight back Home

I will definitely pre-book a hotel for Salzburg and Munich. Our friend's mother is from Germany, and she says it should be no problem for us to find a guest house wherever we decide to land for the evening. Would you suggest this? I'm the kind of person who likes to know where I'm sleeping that night so I don't have to spend time searching for a place. But, I'm trying to be relaxed about this since it's not just my husband and me traveling alone. Have any of you done a trip without booking lodging first?

Is the fall a good time to visit, in terms of daylight, weather and whether the public transport options to the castles are as available as in the summer?

I think I asked about visiting in late November or early February and the answer appeared to be no, too dark, not enough time to get out to the castles before they close.

Well, early October was the best time for us to travel, so we will just have to be satisfied with the sites that we do get to see. I'm sure we'll still have a great time.

"we will just have to be satisfied with the sites that we do get to see. I'm sure we'll still have a great time."

I am sure you will. We go to Europe on Thanksgiving Day this year and have done so a number of times. Each season has its attraction and we love the winter air and holiday spirit as well as the mountains covered in snow! We don't get there here at home in Florida.

I bet it is beautiful in the winter! When we travel, we don't get too caught up in what we may miss, but rather focus on what we do get to experience. It's why my husband and I have such a great time traveling together - we make the most out of anywhere we visit. Hope you enjoy your holidays in Europe!

MrsJenn,

That's the best attitude to have. Enjoy what you do see and enjoy being away. Your "revised" itinerary looks good. I don't know how much of Munich you want to see, but personally, I'd cut a night there and then do 2 nights Rothenberg and just 2 nights Munich. That's just a personal preference, as we like the small towns and villages over the larger cities.

Oh, October is our favorite time to travel in these areas. 5 trips in October so far and we prefer it over any other time of year. We always book places to stay in advance. If we didn't, I'd probably make a list of a few places we'd like in each of the areas we may be visiting.


Paul

I had just heard that certain parts of the year, some sites close early and you can't take the train there for a day trip like you would be able to in the summer months.

scrb11,

Some places do have shorter hours in the "off season". It's best to check the websites of the places your interested in visiting (castles, museums, etc.) to see what the hours are when you'll be there. That's the only way to know for sure.

Paul

"I'd cut a night there and then do 2 nights Rothenberg and just 2 nights Munich. "

We have been to Munich several times and really enjoy the city. We were in Rothenberg ober der Tauer for the first time last year and it is indeed postcard card, but totally tourist oriented. It is not a place we would chose to spend one night let alone two.

While we do enjoy small villages, we prefer the ones that are more authentic and not seemingly designed solely for tourism. Berchtesgaden, St. Gilgen (a short drive from Salzburg and lovely) and Garmisch had few tourists when we have visited. Rothenburg had umbrella carrying tour guides everywhere.

JMO.

Hi,

Just giving my opinions also. We just don't care for the cities too much. That's just us. Rothenberg is very touristy, without a doubt, but we still found it to be beautiful. The Nightwatchmans Tour, Tilman Riemanscneiders 500 yr. old wood carved alter in St. Jacobs church and a walk along the wall in the evening were the highlghts for us. While we were there in October '07, it was crowded during the day but in the evening (after 6pm) and at night it was pretty quiet.

Paul

Thank you all for your input! It's been such a great help to get everything narrowed down(so much to see, so little time!)

Regarding Rothenberg: Our friend is very interested in seeing a city that is surrounded by a wall like this - are there other places like it that you would recommend instead? We will probably visit Berchtesgaden while we are staying in Salzburg. We don't mind a little touristy if the surroundings are pretty and we have a good time. Also, we like exploring on our own and getting "lost" in new places.

I failed to mention before that our friend has family in Germany, so we will be visiting with them one night in Munich. I'm excited to have a local show us the "real" Munich. But this will just be one evening, so if we decided to cut one day out there it shouldn't be a problem.

Dinkelsbuehl, also on the Romantic Road, has well preserved town walls. A very nice town that also gets tourists, but is not nearly as many as Rothenburg. Rothenburg is very nicely maintained, but it is pretty much just a tourist enclave. For some people Rothenburg's photogenic beauty is enough; for other people it isn't. We liked Dinkelsbuehl better; other people like Rothenburg better.

Oh, Nordlingen also has well preserved town walls. It's also an interesting town sitting in the middle of a meteor crater. Population around 20,000, compared to Dinkelsbuehl's and Rothenburg's 11-12,000 each.

I would second Dinkelsbuehl. We did Rothenburg and Dinkelsbuehl and loved the latter. Took the advice from this forum. We stayed at the Hezelhof and it was perfect. Right in the center of town across from the square and cathedral. Walled city, just postcard pretty. If you happen to be there when the square heats up on a Friday evening, its fantastic. Had done Rothenburg, liked Dinkelsbuehl more.

As for Salzburg, we're not big on staying in the city, but in this case, we thought Salzburg would be the exception and in my mind, it was. Stayed at the Gablerbrau, which is a basic accommodation, but one that is right across the bridge from the old town area, and the restaurant on the main floor is 600 yr's old with excellent food. Great to get up and go for a jog, grab some coffee, or just wander the riverfront, churches (which are awesome) and old town. Views from the fort are fantastic as well. At night, the fort on the cliff is lit up, as are many of the church domes, there are a couple of rooftop cafe's on the river to get a refreshment, etc.