I'm planning to spend the month of July in the Garmisch area next summer. So I'm looking for housing for 2 adults and 2 teenage children for 3-4 weeks. I've been there and stayed on the military base, but no longer have base privileges. Any suggestions on housing for that period of time? I'd also consider a house exchange with a family coming from that area - I live in Florida.

Hi sandidog,

I live in Garmisch now, and I've spent five weeks in a vacation apartment in Mittenwald (20 mins by train) and nine weeks in a vacation apartment in Grainau (right next to Artillery Kaserne). So that's what I think is your best bet -- a vacation apartment, called Ferienwohnung in German.

You can search and find one at Garmisch's website:

www.gapa.de

Change the language, then click on "Accommodations" in the center of the page. Input your dates, select "Holiday Flat" under "Accommodation type," and input the number of adults and children. You'll get a complete list of apartments that are available, and most will have photos.

Once you have a short list of possible apartments, find out where they are in town -- either the apartment site will have one, or you can put the address in at google maps.

Let me know if you'd like any more info about a specific one you find, or general info here.

s

A few years ago I rented an apartment just outside of town for 1mo. Since a) it's a popular winter destination and b) renting an apartment (ferienwohnung) is quite common in Germany there are LOT of properties available.

I forget how we came upon ours - this was in the days before internet posting were as common. I think we got a printed book from the Garmish Partenkirchen chamber of commerce and called or emailed different owners.

Garmisch has a good local website

http://www.gapa.de/en that has some "Holiday Flat" listings

and there's a Ferienwohnung listing site for all Germany here.

http://www.ferienwohnungen.de/europa...partenkirchen/

We really enjoyed the location. We used it as a base for the entire mo, and did many 1day and several 2-3 day trips to Munich, Salzburg, and Innsbruck - it was handy to leave the luggage at the apartment and only bring overnight bags.

A lot of the time we just stayed in G-P and hiked or explored locally.

A washer was a great convenience, and we just air dried clothes on the racks supplied.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen area has tons of holiday accommodation, much of it in holiday apartments or chalets called Ferienwohnung(en). As it's a popular winter sports area, you pay high season prices but standards are high. As suggested, best comprehensive listing is on GP official site, where you can book some apartments online and others by email, a few by phone or fax. It used to be the case that German owners didn't demand deposit in advance, but nowadays increasing numbers do, around 20-30% and balance paid (usually in cash) before departure. Tourist tax (Kurtaxe) may or may not be included in the quoted price, and may be around 2€ a day per person. Saturday is a popular arrival/departure day, but you may be able to negotiate different days.

Sorry you want in July. It will also be high season, but in Germany the difference between high and low season is pretty small, sround 20% (not 100%+ as in Spain or Italy), as holiday seasons are more evenly spread, between June and September (staggered school holidays depending on Länder/States).

We found that summer prices were higher close to the city (town) center - our location was about a 15min walk from the center, southwest of town and it saved us some $. At first we would have preferred being close to the town center - walk to shops, restaurant, etc. After about 3 days we found we actually liked being further away - there wasn't anything drawing us into town on a daily basis, and I could ride the loaned bicycle to explore then stop by the bread shop for morning goodies before the and be back home before the rest of the family even woke up. Of course we had a car, so going places was no big deal.

Hi again,

Great note by J62 -- having bikes for everyone is a great plus here. There are many bike trails through town, around town, and in the countryside, and it's a particularly wonderful way to get around. So if one or another of the apartments notes that they have bikes to rent, grab it.

Of course, town busses take you everywhere easily, and you should get a free bus card from your apartment.

And you really don't need a car here. I don't have one, and it's really easy to get to Innsbruck, Mittenwald, Oberammergau, Füssen, etc.

Anyway, hope your search is fruitful!

s

You can get to all those places without a car, but as a Bavarian, I can tell you, it's no fun at all and takes a long long time! .

heehee, it may take a longer time, but it is loads of fun!! I love sitting back and enjoying the scenery, watching the other folks in the car, reading, or just listening to my iPod. It's very relaxing and sublime. I'm an expat American --

s