June trip to Munich
 

We(2 adults, 2 teens & 1 6yr old) are headed to Germany in June and will be borrowing a friend's car to drive from Weisbaden to Munich. Considering staying in suburbs and going by train into Munich and down to Neuschwanstein. Any advice on towns or guest houses? Also wondering if it is advisable to make reservations ahead of time for Rhine river cruise and Neuschwantstein. Any other good tips would be appreciated.

Although I don;t think you would need a car to get around within Munich itself I do think it would be more convenient for you to have one for the area around Neuschwanstein. You can do it by train and bus, traveling to either Fussen or Oberammergau and therein lies the problem as trains to that area from Munich only run North and South and once you get there you really need to be able to go East and West for the castles.

I cannot comment on the reservation need for Neuschwanstein. Last time I visited there were occasional tours conducted in English (once they got enough English speakers together to justify having an English-speaking guide)...there may be more of those in the high season than when I was there.

There have been threads about where to stay in that are and you might want to do a search with Neuschwanstein in the title for recommendations as to places to stay.

Leah, check out http://www.bensbauernhof.com, a noncommercial website with lots of info about places to stay in Bavaria. I think the German schools are in session until the end of June, so families don't start traveling until after school is out. We've been OK without reservations in early June, but I wouldn't chance it later in the summer. Most towns have tourist info offices that make reservations for you.

No need to make reservations to cruise the Rhine on a day trip. There are many boats at all hours of the day.

I would drive to the castles from Munich. I don't usually like to drive, especially on vacation, but I must admit that driving from Munich to Hohenschwangau (the little village where the castles are located) was easy, fun, and interesting.

We left sometime after 9:30 AM, stopped at a couple of small towns with interesting antique and craft stores, stopped to see Linderhof, had lunch along the Plansee in Austria, and still arrived in Hohenschwangau in time to check into our pension and tour Hohenschwangau castle that evening. We toured Neuschwanstein the next morning.

We made our castle tour reservations in advance on the internet--it did save us some time as there was a line at the ticket center when we walked over to pick up our tickets. We stayed 2 nights in Hohenschwangau and enjoyed the area very much.

thanks for your feedback. I was looking at some small town near Munich for as a "home base". Anybody have any thoughts on Diessen or Tutzing?

Can't say anything about Diessen, but Tutzing is right on Lake Starnberg. That whole district is one of the if not the richest area of Germany. There are lots of opportunities to hike, boat and swim on/near the lake. Getting to Munich is also very easy, as there are direct trains straight to the Central Station in Munich (and not just suburban S-Bahn trains).

can anyone recommend any guesthouses/inns that are reasonably priced in Starnberg or Tutzing? We will probably also spend 2 nights in Fussen or thereabouts. We want to be in a town or in easy walking distance and when near Munich want easy access to train.

Diessen is a great little town on Ammersee lake - a sereen little spot. About 1 hr. by train into Munich (get a Bayern ticket - 22 Euros for the whole family.) It's also convenient to Garmisch, a bit less so to Fussen (about the same as going from Munich in the case of Fussen.) There's a ferry from Diessen over to Herrrsching (hike to Andechs Monastery/food and beer establishment from Herrsching.) I stayed at the simple and traditional Gasthof Unterbraeu in the middle of town - a few steps from the station and from the town's beach and docks:

www.diessen.net/gastronomie/unterbraeu/

I see now that Diessen might be a bit further out than we want to stay so am narrowing to Starnberg & Tutzing which look to be on the same rail line. Any suggestions on reasonable accomodations? I am seeing 90-110 Euros/night per room anyone have any cheaper suggestions?

With two teenage boys I would HIGHLY recommend making a trip down to Reutte, Austria and going down the Biberwier Luge! It is a great thrill, even for 2 38 yr old ladies such as ourselves!

We stayed in the village of Hohenschwangau where Neuschwanstein and Hohenshcwangau castles are located. We stayed at the Romantic Pension Neuschwanstein right below Neuschwanstein castle.

http://www.albrecht-neuschwanstein.de/preis_engl.htm

It was 64 euros double, modern private bath, breakfast, free parking, walking distance to the ticket center.

The hostess recommended the restaurant at Alpenhotel Meier--just a few minutes drive away on the road between Hohenschwangau and Schwangau. It was excellent.

Last August, I went on both a Rhein cruise and to Neuschwanstein with my two sons. We found no need for reservations for the Rhein cruise - We started in Koblenz, and there were plenty of boats and detinations to choose from, all with availability. We went to Rudesheim, which was beautiful, but too far - we took the train back. For Neuschwanstein, I'd really suggest that you buy your tickets in advance, with an admission time. When we were there, it was extremely crowded, and the wait time between buying a ticket and gaining entrance to the castle was approx. 3-4 hours.