Hey, I will be going to Europe in about a month and one of the places I am visiting is Munich. I will also be going to see Castle Neuschwanstein and I was wondering if anybody had suggestions on the cheapest way of taking a train out there? Thanks

Okay, I have an answer to my own query. What's called the Bayern Ticket looks to be the best deal, but has anyone ever done this, and do they know where the ticket machines are located that you can buy them?

If they´re not on strike, a Bayern-Ticket is the cheapest option. Check www.bahn.de

>ticket machines are located that you can buy them?
Ticket machines (you guessed it) are at train stations in Bavaria

You should keep in mind, though, that the nearest train station for Neuschwanstein is Füssen, but you have to take bus 73 or 78 from there since the castle(s) are appr. 2-3 miles from the train station.
It's not really complicated since the departure of the buses is 10 minutes after the scheduled arrival of the train from Munich, so your total travel time from Munich central station will be appr. 2hrs 20min.

In Munich, you can also get the Bayern Ticket from the vending machines in the subway stations.

That ticket also covers all of Munich's local public transportation - as well as the aforementioned bus from Füssen station to the castles.

http://www.neuschwanstein.de/english..._get_there.htm

Thanks, everyone. One more question. Do you need to make train reservations once you get these Bayern tickets, or is it pretty easy to just hop on the next available train to Fussen?

You do NOT need to worry about reservations for the train to Fuessen and once you get there if you are anxious to get to the castle there will be taxis waiting at the station which can take you there, too.

You cannot reserve anything on regional trains.

The Bayern Ticket is valid on regional trains only, so there are no reservations available anyway.

Use www.bahn.de for timetables and connection. Remember to enter the name of the destination as "Füssen" or "Fuessen" if you cannot type the ü, but not "Fussen", otherwise the system will provide a choice of weird bus stops somewhere far away.

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The Bayern fare is probably your best deal. We used it two summers ago, from Munich to Fussen. It is only good after 'rush' hour, which I think means after 9 a.m.

Double-check your return schedule. We were given a printed schedule by the ticket window rep., but it was wrong, and there was no evening train directly back to Munich, even though it was printed on the schedule.

We arrived at the depot for our return train, and a local helped us figure it out. We had to take a train to a small town and wait two hours for another train to Munich. Not the worst thing in the world for us, as it was a cute small town and we found a nice little pub to get a snack and a drink.

But it could have meant not getting back to Munich that night at all. So, just check at least two places for the return schedule, is my advice.
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I've only used a bus to get to Fuessen from a neighboring village, but I have used Bayern-Tickets on many occasions.

In Munich there are three kinds of ticket machines. The new Bahn machines are touch screen and display in English. Look for a touch pad for Länder tickets.

The other two machines (DB local transit and Munich metro both have two columns of buttons, one of which is labelled "Bayern-Ticket".

On weekdays you can only use a Bayern-Ticket after 9 AM, but you can buy a point-point ticket to Geltendorf (€6,60) and take the 8:52 from the Hbf, which gets to Geltendorf after 9:00, and a Bayern-Ticket after that.

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make reservations online for Neuschwanstein or face a long wait in line or even being shut out if later in afternoon

allow at least 3 hours or better 4 from leaving Munich - after you get off the bus from Fussen station you still must either take a fiacre or hike up a steep hill to the castle itself