suneet

We are a couple with 2 kids (3 years and 6 years) coming to Bavaria and Tyrol this June (9 June to 25 June). Leaving aside our arrival and departure days we should have 15 clear days which we have decided to divide equally between 3 bases.

We have already finalised and booked for our first (Garmisch - we will use it to explore Mittenwald, N'stien Castle, and Innsbruck besides of course Garmich region). We have also finalised and booked our 3rd base which would be Munich.

In between we had planned to keep Mayrhofen as our base for 5 nights. However I have read that Penkenbahn is closed for the summer and there is a lot of construction on in the town so are worried that it may not be a good idea staying there. I am looking for advise whether to change my base or not and if so which would be a good alternative. Someone suggested Kitzbuhel. Mayrhofen sounded interesting due to the various activities we as a family together could indulge in and the fact that it could make for a nice base to explore Hintertux Glacier, Achensee, etc.

I would really appreciate your views on a choice of base. The important thing should be that it should not be too similar to Garmisch. I must add that we have already covered Salzkammergut region a couple of years back so while we really enjoyed that area we are keen to explore a new region this time.

Thanks in advance.

Suneet

Nonconformist

Kitzbuhel is nice but it is quite a big town by Tyrol standards.

Will you have a car?

suneet

No, we don't plan to have a car.

asps

Half of Tyrol - most people think the better half - is in Italy. IMHO Innsbruck is the best place in Tyrol - even better, staying in the small villages around Innsbruck - but if you cover Innsbruck as a day trip from Garmisch, I would consider some places in the Italian Tyrol like Bressanone, Merano or Ortisei, that I like more than Kitzbuhel or Mayrohofen. And the Italian half has better food and better wine...

swandav2000

Hi suneet,

Sorry I don't have a good suggestion for your bases -- I'm sure you'll get lots of good ideas from posters here, though.

I just wanted to remind you that the G7 meeting will take place just outside of Garmisch (at Elmau) on 7 & 8 June. The area will be crazy with convoys and police and media everywhere. I'm already seeing one or two long police convoys every day. I doubt everything will shut down on 9 June either -- there is already a big media tent city growing at the base of the Kreuzeck cable car station, and it'll take a few days to break it down again and cart everything away. If you are in town then, you may find some disruption at the sights and on trains and busses.

I would just suggest that you maybe flip your itinerary, if you can, and hit Garmisch later in your trip.

Have fun as you plan!

s

suneet

Hi Swandav, while I was aware of the G7 but now I realise that I had mistakenly assumed that the circus would have moved town on 9th. I hadn't budgeted for the time taken to mop up the mess created for the event. I think I made the mistake of making a non-refundable hotel booking - let me check if they can change it as I agree with your views that it would be best I flip the itinerary to go to Garmisch later in the holiday.

However if the hotel booking can't be modified what would you suggest would be the best way to utilise those days? Probably do the Innsbruck day trip first up. What else for I think Mittenwald, Fussen may still be best avoided for the first few days?

suneet

Hi ASPS,

I am quite open to southern Tyrol/Dolomites but I didn't explore that option too much as I heard that it is not easy doing that part without your own car. However this myopic view of mine may be without base as I haven't researched much on this. Can I request if you could educate me on this aspect? (We just don't like driving during our holidays and prefer to only use public transport or taxis)

Suneet

swandav2000

Hi again,

Neuschwanstein may be ok -- hopefully all the VIPs will have finished their tours of the castle. Well . . . then again . . . maybe all the other vacationers who couldn't go on 7 & 8 June may be crowding the castle on 9 & 10 June. I would just call and see if you can get a tour time without trouble.

I might explore the small towns around Augsburg (Schongau, Landsberg, etc) and Augsburg itself. Maybe see Murnau and/or the Starnbergsee.

I'm not sure about Mittenwald. Yes, it's close to Elmau -- but I don't know how much support staff is centered there. Once the VIPs leave, it may be back to normal.

I'll be following this!

s

swandav2000

Just fyi, the Garmisch community posted this on Facebook today:

The G7 Summit, an annual meeting of heads of state from seven leading industrial nations, will be held June 7-8 in Elmau, Germany, which is about 12 miles from Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

There will be very little, if any, lodging available in the Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Mittenwald communities from June 1-10, including the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort. Additionally, thousands of protestors are expected to demonstrate in downtown Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Mittenwald in the days leading up to, during and a day or two after the summit, resulting in potential road closures, travel delays and heightened security measures.

Those traveling in the area need to ensure they have proper identification on them and to expect police checkpoints. Also, there will be border controls implemented at Scharnitz and Griessen.

People who are making vacation plans are encouraged to wait until at least 2-3 days after the summit ends to begin their stay. Also, U.S. service members, civilian employees, family members and retirees are encouraged to lower their personal profiles if they still plan on visiting during the summit timeframe.

And please remember to maintain awareness of your surroundings and avoid situations in which you may be isolated or caught up in protests that have the potential to turn violent.

asps

Suneet, if you are into hiking, South Tyrol is much better than North Tyrol, but you should better have a car to reach more remote and scenic areas. There are good bus services, but they are slow and buses are always more difficult to navigate than train to the first time traveller.

But there are a few towns lying on railway lines. Bressanone is much understated, but it was the seat of powerful bishops for centuries so it has a beautiful Cathedral and bishop palace, the nearby Neustift abbey is very beautiful and the abbey itself grows the best wines in the region.

Merano is a spa town and is the town that has lost less its end-of -19th-century-Hapsburg appeal. It may be very hot in summer.

Brunico and Dobbiaco lie on a side railway line. Dobbiaco is very tiny but offers some easy low quote hiking like the trip to the hut where the composer Gustav Mahler wrote some of his late works.

Bolzano is the center of the region. I do not like it very much but it may have its merits.

flpab

Bolzano or Brixen.

neckervd

You may check:
Oetztal (Soelden, etc.)
Merano/Meran
Groedental/Val Gardena (St. Ulrich/Ortisei, etc.)
Kalterersee/Lago Caldaro
Cortina d'Ampezzo
Lienz in Osttirol

coffeequeen

Hi,

I'd suggest 5 nights in the Val Gardena (Italian Dolomites). This is less than 2 hours from Innsbruck.

www.val-Gardena.com

Once there, no car is needed. The 3 towns/villages of Ortisei, St. Christina and Selva are just a few minutes bus ride from one to the other, Ortisei being the largest (but still small, with a pedestrian zone) and St. Christina being in the middle of the three.

Paul

suneet

Hi Swandav, it seems I can't change my Garmich reservation so unfortunately will have to start my vacation when G7 is still winding down. Any idea if Zugspitze will also be impacted (assuming the weather is fine for it)? Talking about Zugspitze, can you advise if it is worth buying the Zugspitzcard while we are there for 6 days? I believe one is given a visitor pass by the hotel while you are there - so if i supplement that with a 2 peak family ticket (Zugspitze and Garmisch Classic) (2 adult plus one child - the other kid is free anyways). The two peak ticket will cost me euro 138 Whereas Zugspitzcard Gold will cost 114 plus 114 plus 50 or Euro 278. I am not fully aware of what the usual visitor card offers so wondering if it is worth spending that extra euro 140 on the Zugspitzcard Gold?

S

suneet

Hi ASPS, Coffeequeen and Neckervd

I looked at Val Gardena and it seems that while it seems to have a lot of beautiful hiking trails there seems to nothing much more to do besides what we would have done at Garmisch. Maybe I am missing something? What I liked about Mayrhofen was the plethora of activities around that would have kept the kids interested - cheese factory, falconry show, lake Achensee, etc - would there be similar activities in Val Gardena region? Can you point me to the right place to research on this?

While on Mayrhofen, can any one advise if I have indeed heard correctly that there is a lot of construction happening in the city? Is it still worth sticking to the city despite Penkanbahn being closed and this supposed heavy construction?

suneet

Any comments on which is better to do - Stubbai Glacier or Hintertux glacier?

swandav2000

Hi again,

Well, again, I'm not really sure what the situation will be at the Zugspitze. It might be at normal operation since all the VIPs will have gone. . . but on the other hand, maybe all the media workers and construction workers and support staff might take advantage of a "free" day and head up to the Zugspitze. Funny thing -- the other day when I was walking past the media tent city at the Kreuzeck cable car station, I saw one policeman taking a picture of another policeman with the mountains in the background. So, all that support staff isn't local, and they may run up the Zugspitze (or to Neuschwanstein) once the hullabaloo is over.

I guess I would just plan some options, then see what the crowds are like when you arrive. You can use the webcams at the Zugspitze to see what the crowds are like at the top. If you don't already have it, here's the website for the webcams:

http://zugspitze.de/en/summer/mounta...niswelt-gipfel

You can also download the Zugspitze app if you'll bring a smartphone, and you'll be able to check the webcam all the time.

I'm sorry but I'm really bad at comparing rail/transport prices. I'll try to help . . .

Let's see. The difference between the ZugspitzCard and the ZugspitzCard Gold is that the Gold includes one round-trip to the Zugspitze. The difference in price in the cards is 35€, so you'd be saving money getting the Gold if you were going to get the ZCard.

The best advantage I can see for the ZCard is that it includes the Eibsee bus -- but the bus only costs 4,50€, so that's not a great advantage. Other advantages are admission to some swimming areas, the casino, the Strauss Institute, the Partnachklamm, the Wank, etc. If you don't think you'll be using any of that stuff, then, no, the ZCard is probably too much coverage for you. But if you were thinking of taking it, I don't think you would need the 6-day ZCard at all, though -- you could just use the 3-day Card at 53€ (or the 3 day Gold at 88€), and go up the peaks on those days. You could just purchase it at the Zugspitzbahn station after checking the weather.

I guess if it were me, I would get the 2-peak pass. The difference between the 3-day Gold and the 2-peak pass is 26€, and I don't think you'd be using the Eibsee bus/Partnachklamm, etc, enough to get 26€ out of it.

Well, hope that makes sense.

Hope you're having fun with the planning!

s

suneet

Hi Swandav,

Thank you for this, this is so helpful. I think I would agree with you and it seems it would be better to take the 2 peak family ticket which would take the cost difference with the Zugspitze Gold even higher.

Any advise on what to pack for that period? Is it very rainy then?

Suneet

swandav2000

lol, it's rainy ALWAYS.

Summer in Bavaria comes in quick spurts of 3 or 4 or sometimes 5 days of warm temps and sunny skies. The problem is that you can't tell in advance when those spurts of summer days will come. They can come anytime between April and November. In between the summery spurts, the weather is fall-like, with highs around 60 and grey skies and wind.

Weather forecasting is difficult in a mountain town, to say the least. I have 2 or 3 forecasting apps on my phone, and I have to average them out to get an idea of what the weather will be -- and even then, it's not really accurate more than 12 hours in advance.

Best advice is to pack in layers so that you can put everything on for chilly nights and take everything off for warm afternoons. I usually recommend a t-shirt for the base layer (can wash easily and dry overnight), then a mid-weight sweater, then a cardigan or polartek vest, and finally a raincoat. Always pack an umbrella.

Have fun!

s

Adelaidean

It rained every day (4 days) we were in Mittenwald last July (even snowed on the Karwendel mountain). But it is SO beautiful.