namee

Hello everyone,

My husband and i will be travelling to Bavaria in May 2018. Our rough itinery is as follows:

Day 1: Fly into Munich. Explore Munich.
Day 2: Munich
Day 3: Munich
Day 4: Leave for Berchtesgaden by train. See lake Konigsee and Obersee. Overnight at salzburg.
Day 5: Day trip to Hallstatt. Overnight at Salzburg.
Day 6: Go to Innsbruck. Explore it for a day. Overnight at Garmisch.
Day 7: Explore Garmisch & surrounding areas. Planning to visit Ettal, oberammergau, linderhof palace, eibsee etc.
Day 8: Neuschwanstein Castle & explore fussen. Overnight at Garmisch.
Day 9: Back to Munich. From here we leave for Italy.

Earlier we were planning to hire a car once we leave Munich. But i feel Navigation, parking and rental is quite a hassle. So now we are planning to completely rely on public transport.

Hence i would like to know if all these places can be easily done by using public transport? Does Garmisch have regional busses to go to ettal, eibsee and other places? In Garmisch we will be staying in an Airbnb at Alpspitzstraße 15, which is near bus station.

Does this itinerary look doable? Should we make any changes? Also Berchtesgaden and Hallstatt will be covered under Bayern ticket right?

Thanks
Namee

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PalenQ

Yeh you can go to all those places by public transit - in Bavaria use the Bavaria Ticket to travel unlimited on regional trains and buses all day - about 30-35 euro total for both you. Buy at stations. Only covers places in Bavaria not Austria except to Salzburg. That said it seems your plans are over ambitious IMO - you will not even see Salzburg at all and you are underestimating time needed to travekl. Anyway for lots on trains check www.seat61.com; BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com.

fourfortravel

Thinking about our various trips around Bavaria, Salzburg, and Innsbruck (with our personal vehicle), your itinerary seems very busy for having to rely on public transportation.

I am pretty certain the Bayern ticket is only valid within Germany, or at best, to Salzburg (though I am doubtful of this). There is a poster from Garmisch who is all knowledgeable on the subject who will hopefully see this question.

Good Luck!

PalenQ

Bayern Ticket is good to Salzburg because there is a DB station as part of Salzburg Hbf but not farther. And it is valid on trains Garmisch-Reutte (for buses to nearby Fussen, also covered) - this as to what has been discussed here before. Yes swandav will confirm or not - she lives in Garmisch.

And yes an impossible itinerary for many days.

PalenQ

Munich Tourist Information

explains is valid to Salzburg and from Garmisch thru Austria to Reutte and on to Ulm- because it is a German train linking two German places at start and end.

dugi_otok

This itinerary requires a car. You should consider skipping Berchtesgaden (spend that time in Salzburg). You might also consider skipping Innsbruck. Plenty to see around Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Mittenwald.

Day 4. Munich to Salzburg ( Berchtesgaden en route)

https://goo.gl/maps/uN5SjeqjTjN2

Day 5. Salzburg to Hallstatt (day trip)

https://goo.gl/maps/vLFFTambH4z

Day 6. Salzburg to Garmisch-Partenkirchen ( Innsbruck, Mittenwald en route)

https://goo.gl/maps/gYDLBU6gzM32

Day 7. Garmisch-Partenkirchen to Linderhof Palace, Oberammergau, and Ettal (day trip)

https://goo.gl/maps/g2EPMH7P62C2

Day 8. Garmisch-Partenkirchen to Neuschwanstein Castle, Hohenschwangau Castle, and Weiskirche (day trip)

https://goo.gl/maps/DpfTEZZ3VgC2

swandav2000

Hi namee,

Yes, I live in Garmisch, and I'm happy to help. And of course your itinerary doesn't need a car -- at all! I lived here for 9 1/2 years without a car, and it's quite easy and fun to get around that way!

I haven't been to Berchtesgaden yet, so I can't comment on the route from there to Salzburg and from there to Innsbruck. I will say that I've visited Innsbruck a few times and didn't really fall in love with it. It's a nice European city.... nothing really wonderful there. They have a nice old town next to a river, but that's not exactly unique!

For travel schedules, use the German rail site at

www.bahn.com

to get the schedules and prices.

The trip from Garmisch to Linderhof (use "Linderhof Schloss, Ettal" to get the right destination) takes about 1h10, with a change either in Oberammergau or in Ettal. I would head up to Linderhof first thing in the morning and tour the castle, then come back down and have lunch in Oberammergau, which is a very pretty little town. It's a 5-minute bus ride from Oberammergau to Ettal, so you may want to walk or hike that to enjoy the views. Anyway, make one more stop in Ettal, if you want, then take the bus back down to Garmisch.

I doubt you'd have time to get to the Eibsee on this same day. You can get to the Eibsee two ways -- either the train from the Zugspitzebahn or the Eibsee bus. Both means travel only once an hour, so the transport is limited, and travel time is about 20 or 30 minutes (train is faster but bus takes an interesting route in & out of neighborhoods). The wonderful walk around the lake takes about 90 minutes, and it's really well worth doing to enjoy the scenery.

For your day in Füssen (if you can't make the umlaut for ü, then you need to write it out as Fuessen), the bus from Garmisch goes first by Hohenschwangau, so you' just hop off there and get tickets, etc. I've been to Füssen a few times but haven't ever gone inside the palace. Anyway, when done, just take the bus back down to town and enjoy it. It's a lovely town with a real, older castle right in town, and a beautiful river running by the town, and a beautiful lake just outside of town. Have lunch in Füssen, and explore.

I'd suggest that you drop the day in Innsbruck and spend it in Garmisch. You say you want to "explore Garmisch and surrounding areas," but you don't really have the time. It'll take about a full day to see both Garmisch and Partenkirchen, to get off the main drags and explore and see the town. Then one day for Linderhof/Oberammergau/Ettal, and one day for Füssen. Of course, there's a lot more to see -- Partnachklamm and Zugspitze of course are big draws here. And the beautiful village of Mittenwald is really special (Mittenwald sits between Innsbruck and Garmisch).

Please note that there is a new, regional ticket that can save you money, called the Werdenfels Ticket, which is cheaper than the Bavaria Ticket and has no time restrictions. Like the Bavaria Ticket, it works like a pass for all-day travel on trains & busses:

https://bahnland-bayern.de/de/ticket...ket-werdenfels

Although the text is in German, you should be able to read the map as well as the fare. You can see that it is valid as far as Innsbruck, as an add-on.

Let us know as other questions come up --

Have fun as you plan!

s

Cowboy1968

It would be too little time for me in Salzburg.
I'd probably skip Berchtesgaden - Alpine scenery plus cute lake can also been seen later in Halstatt.
If pressed, I'd also skip Innsbruck. Taking the train via Kufstein and Innsbruck instead of backtracking to Munich will cost bit more (not covered by Bavaria Ticket), but will offer nice scenery, IMO.
Day 7 around Garmisch looks really busy. Not sure if I wanted to squeezed all that into one day.

PalenQ

Yah - day 4 skip Berchestsgaden and devote day to Salzubrg.

namee

@palenQ Thank you for the details on the Bayern ticket. Also when i tried to get this post up there was a problem and so i was under the impression that this was not posted and hence i ended up posting the same querry today again. Thank you for drawing my attention.

@fourfortravel @dugi_otok @cowboy1968 Thank you for the inputs. I think i will be dropping Innsbruck from the itinerary so i can plan better and try not be too overambitious.

@swandav2000 i was hoping you would see my query since you have the best knowledge about Garmisch region and the public transport there. Thank you so much for the detailed information. So as i mentioned earlier i will be dropping Innsbruck on day 6.

New plan is as follows
Day 4: Leave early for Berchtesgaden and explore lakes. And in the second half explore salzburg.

Day 5: Day trip to Hallstatt and explore salzburg in the evening.

Day 6: Reach Garmisch. Hike partnach Gorge & Lake Eibsee. Explore Garmisch.

Day 7: As you suggested will start with Linderhof and then onto Oberammergau and Ettal. Will try to fit in Mittenwald on either day 6 or 7 if time permits.

Day 8: Neuschwanstein Castle and explore Fuessen. Not planning to go inside the castle. Fuessen looks like a lovely little town so planning to see the old town and visit lechfalls/ Lake Alpsee.

Hope this plan works. Also will look into Werdenfels Ticket which sounds great.

fourfortravel

"Day 6: Reach Garmisch. Hike partnach Gorge & Lake Eibsee. Explore Garmisch."

I don't see Day 6 working. Trains from Salzburg to Garmisch take close to 4 hours. One you have reached Garmisch you still need to get to the gorge entrance. The hike through Partnachklamm is 6 kilometers and takes a couple of hours, plus time to admire the scenery, take photos, and have a snack. Then you have to reach Eibsee somehow, and the walk around the lake is about 7 kilometers, plus additional time for said scenery, photos, and refreshments.

PalenQ

The castle interior Neusxchwanstein is awesome - don't miss it a surprise at every turn:

https://www.google.com/search?q=neus...w=1503&bih=738

swandav2000

Hi again,

Oh, I'm delighted to help!

I agree with fourfortravel above that Day 6 may not work. Here's some information on the logistics --

You take the town bus to the Olympic Stadium to begin the walk up the Partnachklamm (the trip can take 10 minutes or 20 minutes, depending on where you start from), and the walk from there to the start of the Klamm takes about 20 minutes. Then the walk up through the Klamm takes about 2h. To return, you can either continue walking uphill for about 10 minutes and then take the cable car down (located at the Das Graseck hotel) and walk back to the Stadium, or you can just turn around and reverse your walk up. So this activity could take around 5h.

The Eibsee isn't located in Garmisch but actually at the foot of the Zugspitze outside of Grainau, about 5 miles from Garmisch. You can get there 2 ways -- either the cogwheel train from the Zugspitze train station (Zugspitzebahnhof, located behind the main train station in town) or the Eibsee bus. Both only run about once an hour, but the train is a little faster (about 10-15 minutes) while the bus is more enjoyable as it winds its way in and around some sweet neighborhoods (about 20 or 30 minutes). So you'll have to take the town bus from the Olympic Stadium to the train station and then catch either the train or the bus to get to the Eibsee. Then the walk around the Eibsee takes about 90 minutes. So, with the town bus transportation plus the trip to the Eibsee, this activity could take about 3h, assuming you don't have to wait half an hour or longer for the train or the Eibsee bus.

Here is the website of the Eibsee bus, which is only in German:

Eibseebus.de

"Fahrplan" will give you the schedule, while "Streckenplan" will give you the route, and "Tarife" is, of course, the fare.

Here's the website for the Zugspitze train schedule:

Opening hours / timetable : Bayerische Zugspitzbahn Bergbahn AG

Have fun as you plan!

s

namee

@PalenQ Thank you for the information. The interior does look interesting.

@Fourfortravel @swandav2000 I agree day 6 does look difficult. So if i had to choose between walk around Eibsee and Partnachklamm, which one would be a better option in terms of scenic value?

Also for Day 7 when we will be doing Linderhof/ Oberammergau/ Ettal, which day ticket should we get for commute? Should i get RVO bus day pass or any other pass?

Similarly for Day 8 while going to Fuessen would a Bayern ticket make more sense or RVO pass?

Thanks!!

PalenQ

Whatever pass is cheaper and covers everything you will take. I think they have identical benefits but just different coverage areas or perhaps blackout times when can't be used like weekday mornings before 9am. etc.

fourfortravel

We did the Eibsee hike on a sunny, blue sky day in winter, hiking counterclockwise from the start to capture Zugspitze before the sun crested the peak--absolutely stunning. The water was a beautiful blue-green; once the sun was fully up, the reflections from the snow-capped mountains made our photos memorable! We also hiked the gorge on a sunny, summer day; in places the water seemed teal in color, and the contrasts with the bright green foliage and the rocks also made for impressive snaps as well.

My opinion? You can't go wrong with either on a sunny day. If we had to choose between them on a cloudy day, I'd probably go with Eibsee; there might be too many shadows in the gorge otherwise, and the grays and blues of Eibsee and the mountains could be dramatic.

swandav2000

Hi again,

I think the answer will depend a little on what kinds of landscapes you like to see --

I personally prefer wide open rolling hills, backed by high beautiful mountains, and that's the kind of scenery you'll get walking around the Eibsee.

The Partnachklamm, on the other hand, is a gorge, so you'll have towering cliffs around you at all times. Many people think it's a dramatic scene, with the water rushing by, but I just think it is .... nice.

You may want to do an image search at google and see if one or the other really draws you.

For the trip to Oberammergau, etc, I would get the Werdenfels Ticket, as I noted above. For the trip to Füssen, yes, the Bavaria ticket would work best. It will be valid on both trains & busses for the day.

Have fun!

s

Masterphil

Another vote for more time for Salzburg and skipping Berchtesgaden!

PalenQ

IMO the Austrian Lakes District just east of Salzburg (a k a The Sound of Music Country) is just as nice or nicer than the Garmisch area and being compact so much easier to manage even without a car:

https://www.google.com/search?q=aust...w=1503&bih=738

Consider more of Salzburg and a stay in the lovely Lake District a short postal bus or drive away.

PalenQ

and the Bavarian Ticket does cover train travel Garmisch to Reutte even though mostly in Austria and I presume bus from Reutte to nearby Fuessen. Because there are German trains on it linking Garmisch and after Austria another part of Germany. Quickest way Garmisch to Fuessen probably. Buses at least one way let you stop off at places like Linderhof en route.