gaelle

I am having trouble deciding between 2 itineraries....one with Innsbruck and another without. The internet has both negative and positive reviews of Innsbruck so that is making me wary, although it looks lovely to me. So please comment on my 2 plan ideas. We have not been to any of these places before. Car rental in Austria is too expensive compared to Germany so that is why we have to return to Munich. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Plan A:
Munich 4 nights (we will have 3 1/2 days there)
Salzburg 2 nights (train from Munich)
Innsbruck 2 nights (train from Salzburg)
Take train from Innsbruck to Munich and rent car. Drive to Fussen 1 night (we will get there about 4 pm) and do castle in the morning
Drive to Donauworth 2 nights (visit Rothenburg as day trip)
Return to Munich airport from Donauworth (1.5 hours)

Plan B:
Munich 4 nights
Salzburg 3 nights (day trip outside city)
Train back to Munich and rent car
Fussen 2 nights
Donauworth 2 nights

Trophywife007

Plan A seems a bit rushed for my taste. Innsbruck is worth visiting, but it seems your priorities lie elsewhere, so maybe you'll make another trip and include it then.

Melnq8

I love Innsbruck, but I also think only two nights in Salzburg (and only two in Innsbruck for that matter) is very rushed. There's only so much you can do in one full day, and there's a lot to do in and around both Salzburg and Innsbruck. I've spend five nights in/around Salzburg on two occasions and still want to go back as I missed so much.

Have you considered skipping the car and traveling by train exclusively?

fourfortravel

You don't indicate when you'll be traveling (which can impact your holiday); but still, both itineraries seem rushed. It may be worth your time to identify your priorities and then plan the travel around them. For example, what is your interest in Donauwörth?

gaelle

I agree it is rushed, but it was all the time we had based on work schedules.

We are arriving August 27 and leaving September 7. We have cut out Innsbruck and so will have 4 nights Munich, 3 nights Salzburg, 2 nights Fussen and 2 nights Donauworth. Why Donauworth? Because we tried finding a hotel in between the airport where we will return car on Sept. 7 and Rothenburg. Both are about 1 and a half hour away. We considered staying in Nordlingen. We are willing to consider other places to stay for the last 2 nights if anyone has a suggestion.

Again, thank you for taking the time to answer my question. So very thoughtful.

Melnq8

So your only reason for two nights in Donauworth is so you can return the rental car to the airport before your flight?

Maybe return the car the night before and stay at a hotel near the airport for one night? Then get to the airport by train or shuttle? That way you'd have an extra night to tack on to Salzburg...or spend that extra night in Rothenburg? It's best seen after the day trippers leave anyway.

I assume you have an early flight, otherwise you could spend two nights in Rothenburg and then drive (or train) to the airport.

You can also do this trip via public transport. The Fussen to Rothenburg will be a long day, but certainly doable.

Melnq8

I assume you're flying into and out of Munich?

Perhaps reverse the order of your trip - head to Salzburg right from the Munich airport, then head to Fussen, then head to Rothenburg, then back to Munich, and just take the train to the airport from Munich after your stay there.

Munich to Salzburg via train - two hours
Salzburg to Fussen via train - just under five hours
Fussen to Rothenburg via train - five hours
Rothenburg to Munich via train - three hours
Munich to Munich airport - 45 minutes

A few long train journeys, yes, but as it is you're letting the car rental dictate the itinerary, which doesn't make much sense to me.

Trophywife007

I like the idea of staying the night in Rothenburg o.d.T. if you can work that out with your rental car return. I've found many places that are crammed full of day-trippers are lovely -- magical even -- and well worth a visit, once the day-trippers have left.

Melnq8

I had a similar itinerary back in 2019, but we had more time. You have 11 nights, correct?

We did this with 14 nights, all on public transportation:

Munich - 3 nights
Rothenburg - 3 nights
Innsbruck - 3 nights
Salzburg - 4 nights
Munich - one night before departure

You can also visit Fussen as a long day trip from Munich - I've done it three times - twice by public transport, once via bus tour. A long day, yes, but doable.

Trophywife007

Whatever you do, look into getting your tickets for Newschwanstein and Hohenschwangau online ahead of time. The place has turned into Disneyland, which doesn't mean I don't think you should visit, just be prepared.

https://www.hohenschwangau.de/en

neckervd

And nobody spoke about the trains from Innsbruck to Ulrichsbrücke-Füssen (Austrain railway station for Fussen). It's a 2 1/2 hrs journey, for example Innsbruck dp 8.38 - Ulrichsbrücke-Füssen ar 11.12.

gaelle

Thank you all for your advice. Will take it all in and make changes accordingly. I so appreciate the expert help from this group.