Tour Guide or Not
 

I'm leading two families to Germany Austria in June. We'll have rental cars. We'll be hitting a lot of the most popular tourist spots. I know that a tour guide can help make each visit more enjoyable but that comes at a steep price. I can't afford a guide at all stops, but want them when most appealing. So which of the following are best visited with a tour guide and which can be enjoyed without one. We'll be spending 5 of our 11 days at the military's Edelweiss Lodge in Garmisch, so will be able to book tours through them....but they ain't cheap.

"Disney" Castle (can't spell it).
Salzburg
Rothenberg
Munich
Hallstatt
Ettal Monastery
Berchtesgaden

I wouldn't think you need a guide for any of those. Just buy some guidebooks. Much cheaper and you can read them sitting down. (For some reasons guides seem to think you have to stand in front of whatever they are talking about.)

Neuschwanstein castle inside can only be toured with their guide.
Rothenburg ODT has a fun Nightwatchman's Tour that I recommend. Otherwise roam about on your own. Walk the wall, visit the park at the back of town. Very easy.
Hallstatt is very easy to see on your own. You can walk from one end to the other along the lake.
We did Munich on our own also. If you feel you might get more from it, you can take the 'beer bike' tour. You pedal around town on a giant bicycle contraption with a dozen other people. When the guide says 'drink' everyone toasts and drinks, and then pedals on to the next location.
We tend to visit everywhere on our own.

Do you have a specific barrier or dissability that requires a guide, eg language limitation, reading limitation within the group (for instance my mother was blind so we used to use guides because she could not read guide books)? If you do then it might be worth it. Other than that just buy the Rough Guide for Austria and the RG for Germany. Make different people responsible for different parts of the tour and that gets people out of being passangers and become leaders.

Rough Guide seems to have stopped doing paper books, and in any case was never especially good for sightseeing. Like Lonely Planet it was better on logistics. I would look for Bradt, Cadogan, Michelin. Possibly Insight and Eyewitness to read ahead of time. Maybe even Rick Steves, although he is mot popular on this board.

Rick Steves might not be popular but he does give the very basic information that other guides do not. We find his info invaluable for a first time visit to a city or country. I do not use his alone though, Eyewitness is great also, lots of pics to help with planning.

All great advice - thanks everyone. I'll definitely join the Nightwatchman's Tour in Rothenburg which seems reasonably priced. I didn't realize that the Neuschwanstein castle could only be toured with a guide, so that settles that one. I guess other than those, we'll get a guide book and audio recordings and go that route. This morning I did book us on the Fraulein Maria Sound of Music Bicycle Tour - seems to combine history, activity (for the kids) and a little fun. It was half the price of the bus tour and seemed to get reviews.

From the Rough Guide website
"Rough Guides are available in print from all leading bookshops and retailers"

just checked amazon.co.uk, can get Germany and Austria

Interesting. I was looking to buy from the "Shop" section on the RG website. How silly of me....

Hey, thursday, that is where I went and it almost caught me too. Tricky site. :-)

Bruce1701: My husband and I did the Fraulein Maria bike tour in Salzburg in 2012 and LOVED it! You're in a small group and they take you to places that busses can't get to. Trust me, you will love it! Highly recommend!