We are now within 30 days until we leave - I have two days at the beginning of our journey and can't decide where to stay. We (2 adults, 2 kids) leave Munich and will be driving to see the castles in southern bavaria. We hope to see N and H, first, then on to Linderhof and Ettall. Our destination at the end of these two days is Salzburg.

I see that I have three choices:
1. stay in Fussen first night, see N & H - then go to Mittenwald and catch Linderhof and Ettal the next day from Mittenwald - or
2. stay in Fussen the whole time and day trip, or
3. stay in Mittenwald the whole time and day trip.

I am very attracted to the photos of Mittenwald (where we would stay at Alpenrose), but it looks to be much less convenient to N & H. and a bit of a hike that first day from Munich.

In Fussen we have an offer to stay at the Hotel zum Hechten.

Not necessary, but preferred to stay 2 nights in one town, just for ease of not having to pack and repack each morning. But if it doesn't make sense to stay 2 nights in one town, then we won't! But as to size of town, etc. we do not have a preference at this point in our trip.

advice: Please!!

I'm honestly not sure what you mean by "a bit of a hike"

Why don't you leave Munich in the morning, drive to H and N and tour them, then drive on to Mittenwald. Overnight, see Ettal and Linderhof the next day. Overnight. On to Salzburg.

Seriously, there's not *that* much to see inside H and N.

I think Mittenwald is prettier than Füssen. Also, it is surrounded by mountains - more dramatic setting, while from Füssen you can see the mountains but are basically still in the plains at the foot of the mountains.

We stayed in Fussen for 2 nights and day triped to see Ettal & Linderhof and also stayed one night in Mittenwald. I loved loved Mittenwald and wished we spent for time there, but (IMO) it was more convenient to stay in Fussen to see H & N. I agree that Mittenwald was much prettier then Fussen.

I see a 3rd option which is a good location for your to do list---Oberammergau.

Hi JJ,

Either option 2 or what Bob suggests.

Either way, you will enjoy your visit.

Thanks all - Dukey, perhaps "a bit of a hike" is just my midwestern farmgirl showing. I do not literally mean "to hike"; but rather, that it will take more than about 30 minutes of driving to reach our destination. And yes, in my "neck of the woods" 30 minutes is the general cutoff for a hike/drive
Bob and Ira, thanks - my husband mention Oberammergau about 10 minutes ago. I'll check it out.

If it were my trip, I would pick Mittenwald just because it looks magical in the winter snow, think Santa's Village! And if it were my trip, I would skip N & H, I much prefer Disneyland where they have Mickey and Minnie's castle and better rides than those horse drawn carts.

I like the offered Oberammergau option and will add Garmisch-Partenkirchen as well. But Fussen would be my last choice among the mounting options.

Hi,

While we like Fuessen a lot (we stayed twice at the zum Hechten), we love Mittenwald. You could drive directly to Neuschwanstein first, take the tour and then on to Mittenwald in a day. Fuessen to Mittenwald via Lermoos, Austria is about 1:30 drive.

Hey all,

well, a funny thing happened. As I was trying to decide between Fussen or Mittenwald, I got offers/availability from each Hotel Hechten(Fussen) and the Alpenrose(Mittenwald). I was waiting for my Fodorite friends to respond and have been letting those offers float for a day in my email in box.
In the meantime, our 13 year old daughter has finally taken an interest in our trip! So, naturally, when she saw the emails from each hotel, she was curious to see what they looked like. Thinking that the "confirmation of offer" link would take her to the hotel website - she clicked each!!! the die has been cast - Hotel Hechten the first night then on to Alpenrose the second. Since we're within 30 days, each place would reduce by one night without penalty, but would charge a cancellation fee if we backed out of both nights entirely. Funny how things happen.

You may as well enjoy both villages, they both cater to tourists. I remember going to breakfast in Fuessen with our 13 year old son, we met a local older lady who had a couple tall glasses of beer for breakfast at 10 am. It's good for the digestion she said to my son who had taken 4 years of German saturday school in the US. What a colorful local character she was.

Have a great time in Bavaria!

Hi,

You'll love both places. We did! Have a great and safe trip.

Fussenwald it is then!

I liked Fuessen! Take a walk down to the river... it is a beautiful shade of turquoise! And, don't miss Woolworth's... who knew?

I think I am coming into this conversation late in the day. My thought is that all of these places are pretty close together. Either Fussen or Mittenwald are about 1 1/2 hours by car from Munich (depending on where you are coming from in Munich. Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau are guided tours and you can reserve ahead of time but be sure to be ther for your tour. The grand total if you schedule them more or less back to back is 2-3 hours. Linderhof is also a guided tour and you may want to check their website for times. That one is about an hour as I remember.

Other things that are fun to see in the area are Wiesse Kirche, Oberammergau and the aforementioned Ettal Monastary. You can see the Monastary and Wiese Kirche in about an hour each. We really liked the AlpenRose in Mittenwald. The restaurant was good for breakfast and at least one meal during the day.

I don't know the hotel you mentioned in Fussen. We stayed one time at Gutshof Von Schluxen in Unter Pinswang (just on the Austrian side of the border from Fussen). It is a charming farmhouse type b&b with farm animans and pet deer.

Also along the way to Salzburg you may want to stop in Hall Innsburck and Bertschesgaden. The whole area is charming and you will fall in love with every stop. Looks like you will be there for the Christmas markets so it will be doubly charming. Enjoy your trip.

Just to confuse you more I pulled out some websites that might be of interest to you.

Fussen
http://www.destination360.com/europe/germany/fussen.php
Neuschwanstein
http://www.neuschwanstein.de/english/
Hotels near Neuschwanstein
http://www.hohenschwangau.de/schwangauerhof.o.html Schwangauer Hotel near Neuschwanstein
http://www.hotel-hechten.com/ Hotel Zum Hechten
http://www.schluxen.com/ Gutshof Zum Schluxen