Germany/Switzerland/Austria
 

itinerary recommendations for travel from Munich to Basel to Vienna, where to stop and stay.
Thanks

While I'm sure you will receive lots of great info here on Fodor's, you have to give us more info for any of it to be useful.

What time of year are you traveling? How many days are you able to devote to your itinerary? What are your interests? Big cities, small towns, wine or beer, museums, outdoor activites?

Arriving in Munich on Oct.2nd, attending Oktoberfest that evening to celebrate my brother's birthday. We thought 2 nights in Munich would be enough. We fly home on the 21st of Oct. from Vienna (in that timeframe will be visiting family just outside Graz and family in Delemont Switzerland as well) Our group are not into museums, they enjoy wine and beer and would like to see the castle Disneyland was modeled after and Hitler's Eagle Nest, Salzburg

After Munich, you can head down to the Ludwig castles as well as visiting the Garmisch-Partenkirken area.

I'd then spend a day or two in Meersburg on Lake Constance. From there you could head to Delemont for a couple of days.

On your way back from Delemont to Austria, you can visit Hall in Tirol, near Innsbruck. You could do a day trip to Innsbruck by train or bus as it is just a couple of miles away. Many people find Hall to have a better "old town" than Innsbruck.

You could then go on to Salzburg for several days where you could do numerous day trips including Berchtesgaden where you will find the Eagle's Nest, the Dokumentation Center and Koenigsee, St. Gilgen and St. Wolfgang on Wolfgangsee and/or Hallstatt.

From there I'd head to Graz and then finish up in Vienna.

I don't know if it will be of any help to you, but you are welcome to read my trip reports and view our photos from all of these areas (except Graz and Garmisch, as we haven't visited these in many years).

Link to Photos for 2007 Germany/Austria Trip on Webshots:

http://travel.webshots.com/album/561038806XxDcvw

Link to 2007 Germany/Austria Trip Report on Fodors:

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=35079647

Link to 2006 Germany & Switzerland trip report on Fodors:

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34813676

Link to Photos for 2006 trip:
http://travel.webshots.com/album/554510509SyxotU

Link to 2005 Germany & Austria trip report on Fodors:

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34625250

Photos:
http://travel.webshots.com/album/354616542PMkPVQ


Of course, there are many other choices that could be made and I haven't plotted this out on a mapping website like mappy.com or viamichelin.com but I think most of the distances should be doable.

thank you for the itinerary suggestions, after viewing your great pics we will most likely take your advice, my brother also wants to see the castle Disneyland was modeled after and Stuttgart to look at Porsches. Do you have any hotel recommednations in the places you mention and have pics from

The Disneyland castle is called Neuschwanstein. It and another King Ludwig castle, Hohenschwangau, are both near Fussen. We visited the castles many years ago when we lived in Vienna, so I can't help you with recommendations on where to stay. But do a search here on Fodor's for Neuschwanstein or Fussen or Schwangau and you will get lots of info.

In Meersburg, we stayed at the Gasthof zum Baeren. It’s a very well known historical building and is in a good location. While not on the lake, it is near all the old historical buildings. They have an excellent restaurant also.

http://www.baeren-meersburg.de/
http://www.frommers.com/destinations...rg/H35042.html

Another hotel right near the zum Baeren is the Weinstube Loewen

http://www.frommers.com/destinations...rg/H35046.html

Both of these hotels start at around 85 Euro for a double.

In Hall in Tirol, we stayed at the Gasthof Badl. It’s a rustic hotel located on the Inn River and about a 5 minute walk from the old part of Hall. The views are amazing. Rooms start at about 65 Euro for a double. They also have a good restaurant.

www.badl.at

We have stayed in Salzburg at the Trumer Stube; in Berchtesgaden at the Hotel Wittelsbach; in St. Gilgen at the Schernthaner Hotel. While they all offer different comfort levels, I would recommend all of them as good value. Either Berchtesgaden, Salzburg or St. Gilgen would make a good base for spending several days in the area.

http://www.trumer-stube.at/ (Salzburg)

http://www.hotel-wittelsbach.com/hotel_engl.htm (Berchtesgaden)

http://www.hotel-schernthaner.at/sei...sh/index_e.htm (St. Gilgen)

In Vienna, we have stayed twice at the Hotel Admiral which is located behind the Museum Quarter just a few minutes walk to the Ringstrasse near the Opera and the beginning of the “old town”. They have an elevator and parking spots for guests, which are hard to come by in Vienna.

http://www.hotel-admiral-wien.at/admiral/en/

Don't know anything much about Stuttgart, but the Porsche factory is a popular tour. Do a search here on Fodor's and you'll find info. We have stayed in Tuebingen and Bad Wimpfen neither of which is far from Stuttgart, but you may want to actually stay in the city. We usually try to avoid the larger cities like Stuttgart.

Sorry this is so long. Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

We greatly appreciate all the info you have provided. Looking forward to checking out the links provided. Thanks.
bye for now

I like everything Betty told you. I would also start South from Munich then work East. The changes I might make is Berchtesgaden maybe as a stop before arriving in Salzburg, (so you don't have to backtrack) and add Melk abbey before Vienna.

I might also add Bratislava and Budapest after Vienna. That would give you a good trip covering some good areas in a logical sequence.

I'm also one that liked Hall better than Innsbrooke. Hall is relatively compact and can be done as a stop enroute rather than a stay.

thanks to all who responded to my request. the info has been most helpful in planning our trip.