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Appenzell - Fussen - Reutte

We will be traveling to Switzerland and Austria at the end of September. Mid way through our trip the itinerary includes

Day one:

Travel from Appenzell to Fussen by train and or bus, leaving Appenzell early (7 – 8am).

See Neuschwanstein Castle that afternoon.

Travel on to Reutte, Austria and spend the night there.

Day two:

Travel from Reutte to Salzburg.

Questions:

  1. I realize day one will be long and somewhat tiring, but is it reasonable to expect to be able to do all that?
  2. The only website I can find that will give me a breakdown of the various train and bus rides involved is www.bahn.com, but some of the details aren’t clear. For example, one leg of the trip from Appenzell to Reutte includes: St. Gallen (CH), AB | walk 4 min on foot | St. Gallen(CH) I have no idea what I’m supposed to walk to. Is there some way to “decode” these directions?
  3. Would it be a better idea to rent a car in Appenzell and drop it off in Salzburg (or some smaller town along the way)? I’m willing to spend the money if it would make for a much more enjoyable trip.
  4. Are there other alternatives for transportation that I should consider?

Thanks in advance for any answers anyone can provide. I’m most happy to supply more details if needed.

Posted by
300 posts

I recommend you research the website for Neuschwanstein regarding ticketing and recommended visit duration. There's a bit more to it than the castle, including an older mansion and some other grounds. Moving from the parking area up to the intermediate grounds and then up to the castle takes some time, as do obviously the mansion and castle tours. I'm concerned you'll run short of time.

In St. Gallen you transfer from a light rail sort of train that took you from Appenzell to a regular Swiss ICE train. The two stations are a few minutes walk apart but the signage is fairly obvious.

Avoid renting a car in one country and dropping in another if you can. You'll pay a drop off fee that's a significant portion of the rental cost if you do. You can do a one - way rental within a country (we picked up in Friedrichshaven and dropped off in Munich) and there's just a nominal fee if any.

Posted by
16893 posts

You can also preview the Appenzell stations on Google Maps; see the small one labeled Bahnhof AB.

Posted by
500 posts

I did not look to exact schedules, but day one looks almost impossible to me. You would need a long combination of local and fast trains - adding on top of that the notoriously time consuming visit at Neuschwanstein and a bus trip to Reutte looks to me too much. - Probably the instruction means that your first leg would be on Appenzeller Bahn (a Swiss private railway) and in St. Gallen you have to walk from the little AB station to the large SBB station (if memory does not fail me, the two stations are very close and 4 minutes looks a likely walking time).

Taking a car across borders costs a lot. Another option could be renting a car just past the Austrian border (say in Bludenz, if possible). A car is useful for visiting Neuschwanstein as public transportation is very slow. Still, it looks that your plans are too much even with a car, as the Arlberg tunnel is closed till November 2015, you would have to drive the pass that is quite time consuming. Probably you will have to spend the first day traveling to Füssen and staying there for the night. In the morning of the following day you will visit the castle (leaving your bags at your hotel) and then travel to Salzburg. - While rushed, this looks possible.

Posted by
4 posts

Many thanks to all of you for your helpful information and insights. We've rearranged our plans in order to visit the castles on the morning of day 2, and will then travel to Salzburg.

Posted by
19052 posts

I don't understand the obsession with Reutte. I was there in 2009, and I didn't think it was a particularly pretty town. Instead of going to Reutte after Neuswanstein, stay in Füssen and take the train to Salzburg via Munich the next day. Or, if you cant find a reasonably priced place in Füssen, take the bus to Oberammergau (the last one on a work day leaves Hohenschwangau at 5:18 PM) and stay here for 72€ per night for two with breakfast.

The next day take the train to Salzburg via Munich. Whether you stay in Reutte, Oberammergau, or Füssen, you can travel to Salzburg by regional trains via Munich with a Bayern-Ticket for 28€ for two people. The trip will take about 4 hrs from Oberammergau, 4½ hrs from Füssen, or 5½ - 6½ hrs from Reutte.

Posted by
2898 posts

Just wanted to say I agree with Lee on his opinion. I don't get Reutte as a destination to stay either. Visited twice, as we were passing by anyway from our base in Fuessen. Don't get it. Stayed twice in Fuessen though, and it's closer to the castles. Just my 2cents.