jbjayhawk

Hello! My wife and I are starting to put our plan together for a 2010 vacation to Bavaria. Thanks to some research on here we are leaning toward an itin. such as this:

Day 1: Depart KC for Munich
Day 2: Arrive in Munich and get settled in
Day 3: Spend the day exploring Munich
Day 4: Day trip in the morning to Dachau & back to Munich in the afternoon
Day 5: Train to Salzburg (approx. 2 hrs.)- stay in Salzburg that night
Day 6: Train to Hallstatt in the morning (approx. 3 hrs.)- stay in Hallstatt that night
Day 7: Train back to Salzburg in the afternoon & stay in Salzburg that night
Day 8: Train back to Munich in the morning & explore the city in the afternoon
Day 9: Day trip to Mittenwald (approx. 2 1/2 hr. train ride)
Day 10: Day trip to Neuschwanstein (approx. 2 hr. train ride)
Day 11: Depart Munich for KC

Thoughts? We realize for some that's a lot of moving around but we don't think it will bother us. Do we have too much time in one place or not enough time at one place? We really, really love the outdoors so Hallstatt looks incredible. Would like to spend some time hiking around that area. One big question we are trying to answer is if should we try to time the trip during Oktoberfest? It looks like the dates are 9-19 to 10-4. I think it would be a really fun experience. My wife and I both like a good beer but we aren't huge drinkers & aren't ones for long doses of mass crowds. We could tolerate a day but don't think we could handle multiple days. Could we get into a public tent for an afternoon or evening? Would we need to get reservations for a tent? How do you go about doing that if you don't want to go with a tour company and you won't know 8 other people to reserve a table of 10? How far in advance should we book hotel rooms if we plan to stay in Munich? Does 90% of the room availability book or just the areas close to the beer gardens? I'd imagine we would try to stay away from the gardens and train into the area. Some basic help, thoughts on Oktoberfest are appreciated.

Thanks everyone. I'm sure we'll have many more questions but this will get us headed in the right path for building our initial itin. Oh, any thoughts on 2-3 hr. day hikes around Hallstatt are appreciated.

scatcat

I usually stay 2 nights in Hallstatt. Last month my son and I went on a day trip to Five Fingers in Dachstein. It's only a few minutes from Hallstatt by bus, then 2 cable cars up to the top of the mountain. Five fingers refer to five small platforms built on the edge of a rock formation which you can walk out on. It is really beautiful there. It overlooks the lake and villages. One has a glass bottom. If you have a fear of heights, this may not be for you. Although just the scenery is reason enough to go there. My son would not walk out to the end of the platforms. It was all I could do to get him to walk out enough to take my picture. And that wasn't easy for him.

Mittenwald is one of my favorite small towns. It is just what you expect from a Bavarian village with painted buildings surrounded by mountains.

You have chosen some of my special places that I visit at least twice a year, except Dachau. I only go there now when I am traveling with someone who has never been there.

I probably wouldn't spend two separate nights in Salzburg. Although you may not be bothered by one-night stays. That would total 3 one-night stays in a row.

As far as Oktoberfest, I have been in Munich several times during that period. I have never planned it, but we will go when we are there. Last month a man who has worked since 1983 at the hotel where we stay, went to Oktoberfest with us. We went to the Hofbrau tent, but we sat outside at the tables since we were not ordering food. If you don't like crowds, go early. We were there at 10:15 this last time and it was nice.

bettyk

We just returned from Mittenwald and it IS lovely. I'm not sure I'd sit 4-5 hrs on a train in one day to get there though.

It looks like there is an early train from Munich to Hallstatt that takes a little over 4 hrs. Why not do that on Day 5 and then spend 2 consecutive nights in Salzburg?

We don't like big cities and we especially don't like crowds, so I would stay as far away from Oktoberfest as possible. But that's me. You might really enjoy it.

jbjayhawk

Thanks for the thoughts! Great idea to train directly to Hallstatt and re-structure that way. It looks like we're headed down the right path. Any additional thoughts are welcome. I'm sure our next series of questions will pertain to logistics i.e. trains to take, cost etc. We haven't researched any of that yet but will & then try to get some help as needed. Thanks again!

annhig

hi jb,

IMHO you are dotting arou nd too much and therefore spending a lot of time in trains, rather than walking/exploring.

I think that I would tweek your plans as follows:

Day 1: Depart KC for Munich
Day 2: Arrive in Munich and take train to Salzburg. Stay 3 nights.
Day 3: salzburg [day trip Mondsee/st. Wolfgang, st. Gilgen?]
Day 4: salzburg
Day 5: Train to Hallstatt in the morning (approx. 3 hrs.)- stay in Hallstatt that night
Day 6: Stay in Hallstatt
Day 7:Train back to Munich [probably all day!]
Day 8: Stay Munich & explore the city
Day 9: Day trip to Mittenwald (approx. 2 1/2 hr. train ride)
Day 10: Day trip to Neuschwanstein (approx. 2 hr. train ride)
Day 11: Depart Munich for KC

this gets rid of all your 1 night stands, rationalises your train journeys, and gives you maximum time to walk/explore. you ar efor example asking a lot if you think that with one night in Hallstatt you are going to be able to do a trip like the one to the Dachstein, and look round Hallstatt as well.

have a great trip,

regards, ann

it assumes that you are flying into Munich in the morning; if not, you could swap it round a bit and give yourselves a night there before setting off.

EmilyC

First, the question of Octoberfest. There is an outstanding parade that starts off the Octoberfest festivities. All of the breweries hitch up their finest horses and wagons....the parade starts in downtown Munich and ends at the festival field. I had the opportunity to see this a few years ago and it was the highlight of my trip. The grounds are fun but later in the day it gets very crowded.

If you had a rental car once you left Munich, you could do about 5-7 nites outside of Salzburg and visit Salzburg, B'gaden and Hallstadt, Mondsee and multiple other towns all from one hotel or B & B. Staying in the outlying towns will generally cost less and is really a different experience than staying in the cities. At then end, you could return your rental to MUC airport ....

jbjayhawk

Thanks all! Really appreciate your thoughts and ideas!

bmw732002

jbjhawk:

Beautiful part of the world! You are going to have fun!

I agree with annhig schedual but I might tweak it a bit.

Not sure of the train situation, someone with more info might jump in here........but how about:

Day 7 Train to Garmish/Mittenwald. Stay Mittenwald
Day 8 Nueschwanstein and train back to Munich
Days 9, 10 do up Munich!
Day 11 auf Wiedersehen!!!

John

jbjayhawk

Has anyone rented a car in this area? That's another consideration and may be less hassle that dealing with all the trains ...

bettyk

We just got back from a 3 week driving trip that included both Mittenwald and Salzburg. This is the 6th such trip we have made over the past 10 yrs to Germany and Austria.

While it wouldn't make sense to have a car in a large city like Munich, to me it would allow you to see the smaller towns on your own schedule. You could pick up the car when you leave Munich and return it to the Munich airport before you return home.

EmilyC

I second bettyk's comments.Renting a car, while not necessary in the city, opens you up to very different experiences. You can choose to stay in areas that are more rural and much less costly.

We have had wonderful stays in hotels in cities like Munich and Salzburg, but we have learned more about areas and the people when we have stayed in the countryside. On the whole, rooms at the rural locations are larger, always include breakfast (same as in the city), and in the heat of the summer are certainly cooler.

We stayed at the Platzl hotel in Munich and I loved the location directly across the street from the Hofbrauhaus. But, what I really remember much more fondly, is staying in any of the small villages outside of B'gaden/Salzburg and having a mountain view with my breakfast.

We generally pick up our car outside of Munich for better rates ( we like to stay in Freising for our first nite)using Sixt and Munich airport return is easy.

For your 10 day stay, you can spend the first 2-3 days in Munich and for the entire remainder of the visit be on your own for Salzburg and Hallstadt and wherever else you would like to go.