Neuschwanstein and Linderhoff - how to get there?
 

Is there a train from Munich to visit these castles, or do you recommend using a tour company?

Any recommendations for a good tour company will be appreciated.

Füssen is served by regular regional rail service, about 2 hours from Munich. If you can leave after 9 AM weekdays (anytime weekends) you can use a Bayern-Ticket for €19 single person, €27 for up to five people. This gives you unlimited regional train travel all day long in Bavaria. With the Bayern-Ticket, the eight minute long bus ride from the train station to the castles at Hohenschwangau is included.

Linderhof can best be reached by bus from Oberammergau, which is also accessible by train from Munich.

Schedules can be seen on the German Rail (Bahn) website at http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en.

Once again, thanks so much Larry.

We are planning on going on Sunday, and this sounds simple enough.

Do you know if the wait to enter is long this time of the year?

As for the wait, I really can't say. In recent years, I have been to Neuschwanstein in January and to Hohenschwangau castle in early September. In neither case did I have to wait. The tickets (with entrance time) are sold at a kiosk near the bus stop. If I recall, the lines there were short, and we got the entrance time we wanted. In both cases we timed it so we could have lunch before the tour. Just up the road, on the right, is a large white hotel - the horse carriages leave from in front. We found it to be a good place for lunch.

If you come out on the train and bus, you can be confident when you will arrive in Hohenschwangau and can purchase tickets in advance. There is an online ticket page. You can get to it from www.neuschwanstein.de. Click on the link for "Hohenschwangau ticket center".

Hi M,

If you want to see N and Linderhof on the same day, get an early start.

Bus schedules between Fuessen and L are at www.bahn.de. It's about 2:20 hr.

If you can only visit one, I suggest Oberammergau and Linderhof over N.

((I))

I kind of agree with Ira. Depending on how much time you want to spend in each place, it might be difficult to coordinate with the bus schedule. As an alternative to Oberammergau and Linderhof, you might consider seeing Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau. My wife actually liked Hohenschwangau better than Neuschwanstein. You could visit the old town in Füssen after touring the castles.

Another thought is why use Munich, which is expensive, as a base. Spend a night in Füssen or Oberammergau.

We toured Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau and really enjoyed it - we thought Fuessen was a nice town too. We didn't make it to Linderhof, but we did go to Oberamergau. A lot of people really like O, but we were sort of lukewarm about it. I think it might have more appeal to Christians because of all the murals depicting Bible things and the whole Passion Play aspect. For us though, we weren't really moved by O.