karen

We will be in Germany from 5/19-6/3. We have been planning to spend the first part of our trip in Munich. 19-24. We will not be renting a car (we hate to drive) so we were going to branch out on trains and bus tours from Munich as one part of the trip. We need to be in Dusseldorf at the end of our trip to meet family so we really don't want to just swap our days around. We just found there is a fair in Munich the time we are planning to be there. Every hotel I have checked has raised there nightly charge from $40-60 a night. Does any one have any suggestions as to what city to stay in other then Munich in the area with good train/bus access and day tour access. We had hoped we could get by with 125 a night in Munich. Even hotels that were 100 are now 150 during the "fair". We really don't want to pay 5 star prices for 3 star hotels. I would rather spend my money somewhere else.

Bob Brown

You might try the Hotel Astoria.<BR>I was there last year during Oktoberfest. Although the prices were higher than normal, they were not inflated 70%-80% like some of the others in the downtown area. <BR><BR>The hotel is in Schwabing, on a short street called Nicolaistrasse.<BR>The U-Bahn is close and within 3 stops you are downtown. <BR>The area is full of shops along Leopoldstrasse, which is the main street through Schwabing. The Englisher Garten is close as well. <BR>The hotel is mainly occupied by businessmen, and the breakfast buffet is terrific and ready promptly.<BR>

Bob Brown

PS, I might add that Munich is one of the most expensive cities in Germany. Apartment rent in the city is high, and hotel rates reflect the general living costs of the area.<BR>

Nick

You may try the smaller pensions which may be better than hotels but web sites not always good. But fair times are bad news for value, so 2 commuter town alternatives - Augsburg and Rosenheim. Augsburg is about an hour away with lots of trains.It is a smaller city and has a real history to it - check out early insurance millionaires, teh F&uuml;ggers, pretty centre without so many good day trips as Munich. Another commuter town which has a very pretty location is Rosenheim (45mins south). No real history compared to Augsburg but OK. Or you could go for more of a countryside trip e.g Lots of references to Neuschwanstein, but lots of foreign tourists just do it as a day trip, whereas it can easily occupy a few days as there is such nice countryside. F&uuml;ssen the main town (2.5 hours train) has a lot of lakes for sports, ice rink, lots of castles nearby that will be accessible by bus (not just Neuschwanstein). Other closer to Munich option is Priem - Herrenchiemsee palace is there-. Good facilities and an hour away from Munich (train station is, however,not that close to centre). May be that countryside is not what you had in mind, but would be a much better value option given the problem. Also day trip tickets for the family are very cheap. In 2000 - about $15 for up to 5 adults anywhere in Bavaria for the whole day.

Ken Horn

Karen- I have been faced with your problem several times. And every time I tried to save a few bucks on the hotel in Munich I wound up spending almost all of the hotel savings on trains, taxis, and buses. Not to mention the extra time spent waiting for and riding on these trains, taxis, and busses. <BR> If you want to spend 1 or 2 days in Munich and the rest of the time outside<BR>of Munich, then you might be better off going to Fussen and staying there for several days to see all of the castles. Then transfer to Garmisch for 3-4 days and ride the train back and forth to Munich 1 or 2 days (about 1 hour each direction) and see Munich. Spend the rest of the time around Garmisch. Then it would be easy to catch a train back to Munich and on to Dusseldorf.<BR> This itenary saves you the wear and tear and wasted time spent riding trains to Munich then riding more busses for your day trips then riding the train back to your hotel at night.<BR> If you really insist on staying in Munich, then I would recommend you spring for the hotel in Munich for those few days then move your base out into the area you want to daytrip to in order to save money after those few days in Munich. Another daytrip/2-3 day base option you might consider is the Salzsburg/ Berchesgaden area. Salzsburg is only 2 hours south of Munich by train and will have 3 star hotels (or pensions) at 3 star prices, providing there is no conference or fair there during this time. Berchtesgaden is a short bus ride from Salzsburg. I much prefer Salzsburg to Munich EXCEPT during the 'fest. <BR> Have a good time- <BR>