I am going to be in Salzburg with my brother and parents for 4 days in early Dec. We are flying home at the end of the 4 days from Munich. My mom recently saw a pic. of Neuschwanstein Castle and asked me about the possibility of a visit while we are in Salzburg. Here are my questions:
1. is it possible or mostly just insane to do a day trip there from Salzburg? How long would it take? Are there tours that go there?
2. what if we only stayed three nights in Salzburg and then went to Fussen and stayed the last night there? It looks like we end up just as far from Munich Airport time wise though...I was thinking we could get closer to the airport (a good selling point for dad to offset the change of hotels) and see the castle but from the map I saw it doesn't seem to help much.

Some things to consider: my parents are in their mid sixties and get around pretty well but mom has knee issues that limit her a little and dad doesn't love very complicated travel agendas...I might be more inclined to just give it a shot if it was just my brother and I who could sleep wherever and wouldn;t care about a lot of running around but I don't want to end our trip on a bad note if it is just going to be too much with the luggage and all that for my parents.

Thanks for any help.

You have omitted several pieces of important information. How are you traveling? By car or by train? What time does your flight leave from Munich? What day would you travel? How old are the travelers?

The absolute least expensive way, even less than fuel for a car, to get from Salzburg to Neuschwanstein would be to use a €27 Bayern-Ticket. It would be valid for all four of you for travel on regional trains from Salzburg to Füssen. Regional trains would take a little longer, but since most of trains are regional anyway, not much.

The trip will take 4-5 hours, so it you want to get there by noon, you would have to leave Salzburg around 7 AM. That's no problem on a Saturday or Sunday, but the Bayern-Ticket is only valid after 9 AM on weekdays. If you left Salzburg at 9:00 and got to Füssen by 14:00, and had a reserved time, you might be able to see Neuschwanstein at, say 13:30, and spend the night in Füssen. However, that would be cutting it tight. If your flight leaves Munich late in the day, you could go to Füssen late in the day, spend the night, see the castle in the morning and go to the airport later. The nice thing about the train is that you can be relatively assured about arriving on time, vs. driving where you could be delayed by traffic, mechanical problems, or a wrong turn.

If you are willing to spend a little more money, and are willing to book a non-refundable ticket online, you could book €19 pP Dauer-Spezial fares and use express trains.

Other than that, the express train fare from Salzburg to Füssen is €48 per person. If either you or your brother are under 15, you travel for free. Regional fares, usable at any time, which take a little longer, are €38,50 per person. Same free under 15 applies.

A quicker train route i believe would go via Innsbruck to Reutte, about five miles by buses from the Reutte train station to Fussen and then bus from Fussen station to the castles, two miles out of town.

But the Bavarian Pass is only good on the Garmisch-Partenkirchen to Reutte section (even though most of this is in Austria) i believe and probably not on the Salzburg to Innsbruck route even though that is nearly entirely in German - the so-called Corridor Trains run by the Austria railways but using the quickest route, via Germany - Larry Bavarian passes could possibly be valid on Corridor trains - i don't know - do you?

We just did something similar in June. We were in Salzburg for 4 nights then drove to Fussen for one night then drove to Munich and stayed one last night before flying home.

We drove through Oberammergau on our way from Salzburg to Fussen, and the drive (not incl. lunch in Ober.) was 2 hours and 50 min.

The next day we had our timed entrances for the castles at 9:15/11:15. We did both Hohenshwangau and Neuschwanstein, but if you just did Neuschwanstein you could be done even quicker. The guided tours of each castle are about 30-35 minutes each. We had time in between to walk around the grounds and up to Marienbrucke (the bridge with fabulous views!) We were done around noon. Ate lunch right near the castles and then headed to Munich. We were headed to the BMW Museum and it took us about 1.5 hrs. to get there - the airport is probably another 20-30 minutes. I would say we arrived in Munich before 3pm.

As much as I hate moving from hotel to hotel, I think it was worth it rather than staying in Salzburg and driving 3 hrs. there and 3 hrs. back in one day. Fussen is a charming little town. We stayed at Hotel Zum Hechten which we enjoyed very much.

Hi,

I can't see neuschwanstein as a day trip from Salzburg. You could spend the night in Fuessen (we also liked the Hotel zum Hechten, twice) but it doesn't put you closer to the airport at all. I don't know where you're coming from but could you stay a night in Fuessen before Salzburg?
Another option... visit Ludwig's Neues Schloss (Herrenchiemsee) just about an hour from Salzburg. We went last year and loved it. While not nearly as picturesque on the outside, the interior is amazing!

http://www.herrenchiemsee.de/englisc...lace/index.htm

www.hotel-hechten.com

Hope this helps.

Paul

I'd suggest you look at ViaMichelen.com to see how long the drive is going to take from Salzbueg to Fussen and their estimated cost of tolls (Austrian sticker)and gas.

If you look at the map there are wonderful places in between includning Mittenwald, Ettal Monastary, Schloss Linderhof, Oberammergau and Wiese Kirche. Just that part of the trip makes it worth the drive. Spend a day going along to Fussen then see the castles.

A word of caution about your Mom's ability to get around. The Neuschwanstein tour has a lot of stairs and a pretty good walk up the hill from where the bus or horse drawn carraige lets you off.

I agree with the last post about the steep climb to and fro the castle. I think there was a horse/cart alternative for some of the way. We did not use it.

If you use the Bahn website (http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en) for schedules, you will find some express train connections through Munich in less than 4 hours. Regional connections through Munich take 4-1/2 to 5-1/2 hours. Connections through Innsbruck all take at least 6 hours.

I have never read anything to indicate that the Bayern-Ticket is valid on the "corridor" route, non-stop Salzburg to Kufstein via Rosenheim. These trains are Austria Eurocity Trains (ÖEC), express trains. I would not expect the Bayern-Ticket to be valid on them. Actually, sometimes, the fastest route from Innsbruck to Füssen is through Munich.

Hi K,

You can get driving directions from www.viamichelin.com, train schedules from www.bahn.de.

A visit to Neuschwanstein is a lot of walking up stairs if you visit the interior. There is also a steep climb, even if you take the horse-drawn carriage.

I wouldn't make the trip just to see the exterior of the castle.

If you will have a car, you might want to visit Linderhoff, instead.

Just so you are aware of weather in that area. We stayed in Ruette in mid-September and had snow - there was snow at the castle also. In December I would think you will have a lot of snow. It may not be the best time to go to Neuschwanstein Castle.

We drove from Ruette to Salzburg and had snow.

Even if you did do this I would not count on driving to Munich the same day as I was flying home.

If you would be driving, there is a parking lot close to where you find the horse drawn cart that will take you up to and castle and back down. I forget the cost. We paid to ride up and we enjoyed walking down.

Actually we visited Neuschwanstein Castle in the snow and it was glorious! Definitely not a day trip from Salzburg but worth rearranging your schedule to visit this beautiful place. It is a bit steep and there are stairs in the castle however it's not a deterrent unless your Mom has a serious knee problem...all the more reason to give yourself as much time as possible for exploring both castles - if you're not in a hurry, it's not a major mobility issue in my opinion.

Hi everyone...thanks for the responses...we were going to travel by train as I was not to sure how the roads would be in early dec. We are coming from Italy by train on a Sat then staying Sat-Wed in austria and flying out of Munich on Wed at about noon. So...under the alternate plan we'd arrive by train in Salzburg on Sat in the mid afternoon...stay in Salzburg Sat, Sun, Mon, then Tues morning train to Fussen somehow...spend the night in Fussen I guess and then Wed AM get to Munich for our noon flights. Alternatively we could get a car in Munich and drive to Fussen but that would require dropping the car in Munich and I understand that becomes much more expensive since we got it in Austria and dropped it in Munich. As much as I think the castle would be very memorable I am not sure if it will outweigh the logistical nightmare I am creating especially since we willbe towing our luggaeg around throughout. Thoughts? Thanks again...
Kelly

Oh...and FYI to Larryincolorado...my brother and I are both in our 30s ...thanks for all your thoughts.

I think Neuschwanstein is a waste of time and travel costs. It's a 30-min. tour in marginally intelligible English of a castle that really served no purpose aside from attracting tourists. I've done the tour twice (the second time only on account of my travel companions' wishes) and had the same experience both times. It's an overblown tourist trap IMO.

I totally agree with pja that a daytrip to Herrenchiemsee is much more do-able - and worthwhile.

Your flight leaves Wed. at noon? With that short of time I think I might convince your Mom that it just can't be squeezed in. Also, even though it is only supposed to be 1.5 hrs. from Salzburg to Munich, personally I would get to Munich the night before and not have to worry about traffic or weather. That's just me, the less stress on the long travel days the better.

Neuschwanstein actually has a lot more interesting history surrounding it than do some castles hundreds of years older; e.g., Burg Eltz which is a must visit, wonderful old castle, but not much ever happened there.

In fact, we've visited so many old castles in Europe that we found Neuschwanstein very interesting just because it is so unique and "new"--especially considering its history and the story of Ludwig and his fevered fascination with Germanic mythology and Wagnerian interpretations of that mythology.

In addition, though not all of the rooms in the castle were finished, those that were are well worth seeing; again, very different from your typical European castle hundreds of years older.

Of course, different strokes for different folks.

But it is a shame that the tours only allow you about 35 minutes inside.

Oh, and southern Bavaria is a wonderful area for driving, but in your case I do think public transport would be better overall.

bookmarking thanks.

Take the 9:18 am train from Salzburg to Fuessen (via Munich & Buchloe). Arrive Fuessen at 1:59 pm. Use the Bayern Ticket for 27 euros (up to 5 people can use it). There is a DB ticket machine in the Salzburg Hbf. Check it out on www.bahn.de or www.bayern-takt.de. The latter website is for BEG (Bayerische Eisenbahngesellschaft, which covers train travel in Bavaria). Please note that even though Salzburg is in Austria, the Bayern ticket is still valid. Also, indicate in the "womit" or "by" box, "local transport" or "nur Nahverkehr". This will ensure that you get the correct connections for the Bayern Ticket.

thanks. bookmarking to help plan our May trip to Austria