calgary1989

My wife and I will be in Munich in August. We can take the train but we are thinking of renting a car to go. Cost is not a factor for the rental. Just wanted to know if there is anything interesting along the way. We leave at 8 in the morning and hope to drive back by 10 pm or later. Any thoughts.

Andrew

I took the train years ago. Some beautiful countryside between the two. I'd guess it would be a beautiful car ride too. But are you planning to do this in one day? Assuming you'd want to stop along the way (why else would you drive?), that's going to be a long day without a whole lot of time to see Salzburg, I'd guess. I think driving would make more sense if you had a few days to take it easy, then explore Salzburg, then drive back. If your primary goal is to see Salzburg, I'd take the train.

kja

As Andrew notes, whether a car makes sense depends on how Salzburg fits into your plans for the area. Some other considerations:

Having a car can offer a freedom not otherwise available and a chance to see places that are not readily visited via public transportation, and certainly, there are times when I choose to rent a car! But there are disadvantages to having a car, for example:

- Some of those “oh, doesn’t that look charming!” places aren’t actually that charming, and by the time you get back on the road, you can end up with less time than might be ideal for visiting the places that were your priorities.

- Driving can be stressful – and I say that as someone who loves driving! But some roads are challenging, unexpected detours or GPS failures can be a bit daunting, and driving into cities (and finding parking) can make the last part of a long trip less than pleasant.

- Driving – or at least responsible driving – can also pose constraints on the driver. For example, the driver may be unable to truly enjoy spectacular scenery, as s/he needs to pay attention to the road -- sometimes, very careful attention! And depending on how much one eats and one’s size and and how long one relaxes over a meal, even a glass of wine with lunch may carry risks.

- Driving is generally not a particularly green choice – and for some of us, that is a worthy consideration.

- And driving deprives you of one of the best things about taking public transportation: Taking a train or bus can sometimes give you wonderful opportunities to interact with people from the area, or gain insights into local norms and traditions.

Hope that helps!

Cowboy1968

Yes, there are both interesting stopovers like Herrenchiemsee castle or Berchtesgaden/ Königsee as well as scenic byways like highway B305 - but both will cut significantely into the time you can spend in Salzburg.

The direct route between Munich and Salzburg, Autobahn A8, is notoriously crowded and super long traffic jams are not uncommon. Especially not in high season in August when everybody is on vacation. And especially between Munich and Rosenheim which is part of one of the major arteries to Italy.

IMO, there are many ways to enjoy taking the car in Bavaria - a daytrip from Munich to Salzburg is not one of them.

fourfortravel

Renting a car just to connect Munich and Salzburg, as others have said, is not recommended. There are slowdowns on the return from Austria as police are profiling travelers at the border; and, there is construction near Rosenheim to ruin your Fahrvergnügen. Plus, there is the hassle of parking in Salzburg.

Renting a car to see Herrenchiemsee or Königsee would be a fine idea, but I wouldn't try to see either and combine that with a day trip to Salzburg.

montannito

We did the following route a couple of years ago: Munich - Salzburg - Innsbruck - Neuschwanstein - Munich and it was nice and not a problem at all with borders. Just make sure you buy the stamp to be able to drive in Austria.

neckervd

A somewhat decent visit of Salzburg (and immediate surroundings) takes AT LEAST a full day. If you want to visit places between Munich and Salzburg too, plan AT LEAST 2 days (or visit them in day trips from Munich).

PalenQ

Yes for just Salzburg take train - cars useless in Salzburg - yes nice sights along way but make that a separate trip - use the bargain Bavarian Pass for unlimited regional train travel between Munich and Salzburg - like 35 euros total for 2 or so - can't use faster trains but only marginally slower with regional trains - for lots on German/Bavarian trains check www.bahn.de/en - German Railways site - www.seat61.com; BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com. You may find cars nice for driving around rural Bavaria - hitting castles and neat towns but for just getting to Salzburg only trains make sense.

Mimar

Cars in Austria need a vignette, a kind of license to use the roads. You can buy it at the border or at a gas station near the border.

Midway between Munich and Salzburg we stopped to see Herrnchiemsee, a impressive palace built by King Ludwig to outdo Versailles. It's on an island in Lake Chiemsee. You have to take a boat to the island, then walk around the island. What sticks in my memory from the tour of the palace is a beautiful chandelier made of Meissen porcelain.

PalenQ

'Mad' Ludwig built three famous fantasy palaces or castles - I thought Herrenchiemsee was as nice as any - excellent suggestion to stop by Mimar - boats go from Prien - right on main roads Munich-Salzburg I believe.

Dukey1

Ludwig actually built four. You can do Herrenchiemsee by rail easily; get off at Prien and either take the connecting train which is an experience in and of itself or walk from the main train station to the ferry dock. The boats go from Stock, NOT Prien.

scrb11

I've done Salzburg as a day trip out of Munich but it was a coach tour. Only had a couple of hours to grab lunch and walk around the center.

The one thing about this tour is that they took you to Wolfgansee, both at a vantage point overlooking St. Gilgen and then drove you around to St. Wolfgang, from which you took the ferry back to St. Gilgen and then back to Munich.

When I toured Austria with a car, I didn't go directly from Munich To Salzburg either way. I wanted to go to Konigsee but that cable car was down for maintenance so I didn't go.

Only advice about the day trip is that don't try to book anything until you have a pretty good forecast of the weather, because it rains a lot in this part of the world.

PalenQ

Ludwig actually built four.>

Neuschwanstein, Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee -if you say the 4th is Hohenscwangau next to Newuschwanstein I think Ludwig's pop re-made that castle from anicient ruins and Ludwig grew up there and of course embellished it but did not build it from scratch like others.