First time to Munich
 

Actually the trip will be our first time anywhere out of the US except for the Caribbean. I have been looking for a great deal for travel next month and on Expedia have found flight and hotel out of KC for $800-$900 a person which is great for my budget!

Questions: Does anyone have experience with the budget hotels Expedia is offering in Munich? I am not expecting luxury but do want to feel safe and have the hotel be very clean. Is there an area I should avoid? Can I trust Expedia "star" ratings?

This is our first trip out of US. We are not adventurous but REALLY want to be! How would Munich concerning language (no German) and transportation? I doubt we would have confidence to rent a car. Would we be able to see sights via taxi, public transport? What about the castle near Munich?

Thank you very much for any advice you are wiling to share!!!!!

If you are staying in Munich the whole time, you definitely don't want to rent a car! It's a complicated city to drive in. Fortunately, public transportation is great.

Most people in the service sector (hotels, restaurants, shops) will speak sufficient (and often excellent) English, so communication will not be a problem. Nonetheless, get a phrase book (Rick Steves has an excellent one!) and learn basic German-language pleasantries... including "Do you speak English?" A good phrase book will also help you maneuver your way through a restaurant menu.

Our favorite activity during our short stay in Munich was a bicycle tour through the city-center, with a stop-off at the Beer Garden in the massive English Garden (Englischer Garten) Park. Here's a link:
http://www.mikesbiketours.com/1.html

I don't think you need to worry about not speaking German. Almost everyone I came in contact with in Munich spoke English. Nevertheless, having said that, I like to learn at some basics of the language of the country I am visiting; it is amazing how far "hello," "please," "thank you," etc. go if you are speaking them in the native language.

Regarding transportation, Munich is pretty compact and very easy to get around. Most of the things you would want to see are within walking distance of each other. I don't remember taking a taxi -- you wouldn't need one unless you were coming from an outlying area to the center or vice versa -- but I stayed on Promenadeplatz just minutes from Marienplatz. Munich also has a very convenient, easy to use subway system which I did take advantage of several times.

Do you know yet what you want to see?

Munich is a beautiful city and as stated above you can get just about anywhere using public transportation.

You might consider bidding for a hotel on Priceline. We got a good deal on a Marriot in the northern part of the city, it took about 10 minutes to ride into the city center.

I think it's a great idea to learn the basics of the German language, instead of asking "do you speak English", I learn to say, "I'm sorry but my Deutsch is very poor." The most important word is bitte- please.

You’ll find a lot of helpful information at Munich.de, the official tourist board for that city.

You will want to be close to the Altstadt, the pedestrian zone in the city center. There are LOTS of hotels near the main train station. If you look at biddingfortravel.com to see what people are getting on Priceline you will probably see a lot at the Marriott Courtyard, an american-style hotel in that area. By American style I mean comforters rather than feather beds. You will find most of the hotels spotless.

Read up on guide books to see what you want to do. There is plent to see and so in Munich. Lots of people daytrip out of Munich to Neuschwanstein and to Salzburg.

As others have poited out, Munich has good public ransportation that is pretty easy to navigate.

Hi td,

>Does anyone have experience with the budget hotels Expedia is offering in Munich? <

You wouldn't have any names would you?

((I))

Thanks so much for the replies!

I mentioned booking on Expedia with those specific hotels because purchasing the pkg is what will make the trip possible budget wise.

Ira: There seem to be a lot of choices...Golden Tulip, Tryp Muenchen, Achat Airport, Raeter Park, Haus Inter., Landhotel Schueigers, Hotel Modern, Europaeischer Hof Hotel, Derag Theodor, Landhotel Martinshof, Dolomit, Alfa City Center, Rivoli Hotel.. the list goes on and on. If you have hotels that you could recommend that would be in the best area I could check the list?!

Thanks so much for the help!!

I wouldn't stay in Neuperlach or Hasenbergl. There aren't any hotels at Hasenbergl anyway :D.

I absolutely 2nd the Mikes Bikes Tour idea that BaltoTraveler brought up. It was so much fun, and a great way to cover a lot of ground in the city! It will be warm during the summer, but hey, it will just make the beer in the Englischer Garten taste that much better.

Also, from your list of hotels in the 2nd reply, I'm not sure if this was a typo "Landhotel Schueigers," but I stayed at Landhotel Schweigers which is out by the airport, and is by no means "in" Munich. These might not be the same hotel, but I just wanted to bring it up so you didn't find yourself with a 45+ minute commute into Munich each day. You'll want to find something in the city center, so follow the advice of those above.

I don't know the hotels listed but if you have an option stay close to the city center or the main train station (haupt bahnhof).

If you're only doing the regular tourist sights and activities, you won't have a problem finding someone around who can speak enough English to at least get by. Keep in mind that many sights (museums, palaces, etc.) have information about the exhibits only in German, or with some limited English translation. Also, they might or might not have one or more English-language tours through the day.

You may find a good hotel in Munich through Expedia, Priceline or any of the other U.S.-based Web sites, but do your homework first. Some, too many, of these places are boxy shoebox hotels on the edge of town, just like in the U.S. Track down the hotel's Web site on Google and see what Trip Advisor has to say about the place. (Disregard reviews that go to extremes, either pro or con; some of those are planted by friends of the management or competitors.) Before you commit, check out the recommendations in some guidebooks and travel Web sites for affordable, safe places in historic parts of town. See what the major newspapers like the New York Times recommend on their travel page web sites. I like to compare lists compiled by several travel writers -- usually several names will be repeated, and these are the ones I check out. I have not been disappointed once with that approach.

If it's the cheapest price for a room, you're looking for, you may want to look here: www.hrs.de and www.checkfelix.com

Have booked a bed and breakfast through www.bedandbreakfast.de for mid-June. Quite reasonably priced. You could give it a try.

Thanks to all for the helpful replies! It is exciting to see that this fodors board is as great as the Caribbean one that I am usually on!!

I was looking at Expedia pkgs because they seemed to be a good deal but after spending some time reading about Munich and surrounding area we just went ahead and booked flights without the pkg so we can have more freedom.

So, I am thinking a few days in Munich (still need reasonable priced hotel in good location) and then off to the countryside.

Is there a good place to spend the night near Neuschwanstein? It is on our list of "must see".

Any itineray ideas would be appreicated. We will have a week near the end of June!

THANKS!!