London, Berchtgaden and??
 

My wife and i are planning a trip for next May. We are in our mid seventies and have travelled quite a bit in the past, but has been many years since we were in London and Berchtgaden. Thought 3 or 4 days in London then 2 or 3 days in Berchtgaden, really want to see the Eagles Nest. Is a train from London to Berchtgaden possible or should we just get a car from Auto Europe? Also, since we usually go for at least two weeks, thought we might add a third destination, but where?
If we go by train would it make sense to return to London for the flight home (USA) or book a flight from our last destination?
Any thoughts or recommendations would be appreciated.

If I was in London and wanted to travel to Berchtesgaden quickly I would fly, either to Salzburg or Munich.

If time was not an issue you could travel from London to Salzburg by train http://www.seat61.com/Austria.htm#Salzburg

I would not even think of hiring a car unless I could afford the drop off fee, have plenty of time, wanted to see numerous places en route and was after a road trip adventure. And the hire company was OK with taking the car (which will be RHD) out of the UK.

It would make sense to book a multi city flight - into one airport (Heathrow) and home to the US from your final destination.

As to where you want to go - dunno, that's up to you.

Train in a linear fashion and fly home from where you end up - say Munich or Vienna - so-called Open Jaw ticket.

It's a long long train trip from London to Bavaria - why not break up the trip in say Paris and or Switzerland.

don't rent car in London or you'll have a right-hand drive vehicle in the left-hand drive oriented Continent plus dropoff fees for picking up in one country and dropping off in another can be very steep.

You may consider flying from London to Munich if you just want to go straight to Bavaria - then take trains, which go everywhere you'd want to, or rent a car there.

For lots of great info on European trains check these info-laden sites: www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.seat61.com.

You need to think about flying from London and NOT taking any trains which would lengthen the time between these two destinations unnecessarily.

If you want recommendations for budget-level one-way flights I suggest you look at Skyscanner.com

You can easily take the train from somewhere like Munich to Berchtesgaden. What IMO you NEED to do is arrange for the Eagles Nest tour and there used to be only one agency that could take you to all of the various locations, including the underground bunkers, that have long been associated with such a tour.

You can Goggle them.

>>Is a train from London to Berchtgaden possible . . . <<

Not "A" train, but several and a looooooong journey.

>> . . . or should we just get a car from Auto Europe?<<

Not to drive from London, Now, renting a car after you are in Germany - sure.

Flying makes more sense.



IMO a nice 2 week trip could be something like London for a few days, train to Paris for a few days, and the rest in Munich & Berchtesgaden.

Your best bet is to fly open jaw into London and home from Germany or vice versa.

A car? You mean DRIVING from London (RH steering), taking a ferry/Channel Tunnel crossing and then driving on the wrong side of the car for the right side of the road?

Seems a bit off.

Berchtesgaden is an easy day trip from Salzburg, Austria, by S-Bahn or bus and also from Munich - I think with limited time I would base in one of those and do day trips from those pleasant bases. But if you like smaller towns with not a whole lot of 'must sights' then Berchtesgaden may be sweet.

Or of course stay in a smaller town and day trip to Salzburg for the day - in any case Salzburg is one of Europe's visual feasts IMO- a Baroque wonder.

Yes, Salzburg is worth a visit, as is Innsbruck which is about 2 hours away from Berchtesgaden by car. Zell am See, Hallstadt, Hohenwerfen Castle, and Ludwig's palace Herrenchiemsee are also close by with a car... there are lots and lots of lovely places to explore using Berchtesgaden as a base, I think.

I agree with the others who suggest flying from London to Salzburg and then renting your car if you wish, unless you want to turn this into a European road trip that would take much longer than 2 weeks, imo.

If you want to see Eagles Nest be aware that the route up doesn't open until mid-May and then may close for a day or two anytime until late May if there is a late snowfall

Really appreciate your responses. How is this for a plan: Fly to Salzburg and rent a car to see Eagles Nest as well as other sights such as those suggested by Trophywife007 (Nice Handle) we would also like to see the Bishops palace again in Salzburg. Munich, (I have pictures of every glockenspiel movement from 1973 visit) as I recall, a beautiful city and would like to see the Hoffbrau House again.
Fly from Salzburg to London and then home to USA from London, or would Munich be a better home base? How much time should we a lot to the Salzburg, Munich, portion of our trip? Maybe a week? Then 4 or 5 days in London?

Salzburg is also convenient for the Sound of Music Country - the fabled Lake District just an hour or so by bus or car east of Salzburg - St Wolfgang being the main destination, lovingly set on its lake - do a boat ride or take the steam engine up a mountain for fantastic views.

I've heard nice things about Bad Ischl, as well, but haven't been there myself... Where's BettyK when we need her? She know all about this area...

Just a couple more questions.

1. Are advanced tickets required for Neuschwanstein - Linderhof and the Eagles Nest or can I purchase at the door?

2. If we go in June will it be easy to find a guesthouse around Neuschwanstein or Linderhof. Trying to do both castles on the same day would be too much. I guess I am really asking if there are places to stay close to the castles and would they all be full? I prefer not to make advance reservations.

3. Will we need to take a tour of the Eagles Nest and other bunkers below or can we do on our own? Really want to have lunch out on the balcony and not sure a tour gives time for that.

Are advanced tickets required for Neuschwanstein>

advisable if you do not want to wait a long time in line. Linderhof I wouldn't worry about in June - still not high season and not such a demand as at one of the most famous castles in the world.

Schwangau, lovingly set on a lake near Neuschwanstein has dozens and dozens of guesthouses which at that time should be generally available I think.

Thanks PalenQ.
Do you feel it is necessary to book a tour of the Eagles Nest? We would rather just go on our own. Want to have lunch and also take out time seeing it all. Advance tickets required?

Howell - don't know haven't been there - hopefully someone else will respond or better you make a seaparte post to bring the topic to the attention of many more who may know - gets kind of lost in an older thread that many pass by.

We booked a tour from Munich to Eagle's Nest a few years back. It was a medium sized group, included a great lunch at a small cafe and a sort of guide. She pointed out a few things to us but we were more on our own in and around the sites. I think it was a Gray Line tour - kids were a bit younger, we'd do it on our own now.

http://www.eagles-nest-tours.com/EN/...ex.php?navid=2

wow more to the Eagle's Nest than I thought - never went there cause I thought it were just a restaurant with little left of Fuhrer's days there - wrong - underground bunkers, etc.

This tour lays out what to see on your own - but a tour like this or other may make sense and give more meaning to it!