Traveling by car from Fussen to Munich

Do know, paul, that Munich is only 90 minutes or so by car?

If you go all the way around it will take much more time....

You have to park your car and take the special mountain bus up to Kehlsteinhaus (Eagles Nest). You are not permitted to drive up the private road.

Don't forget to get the Vignette before you cross into Austria.

Driving in Europe is going to be another adventure, I understand there are going to be tolls and I think I have read something about this vignette you mentioned but don't know what I need to do about it.

I am hoping to pick up my car in Lindau and return it to Munich to avoid the charge of dropping it in a different country. I am not looking forward to driving in congested cities, but I think I would like to take my time and enjoy the scenery along the way, stopping whenever I want.

Plan as of now is train from Lucerne to Lindau, pick up rent car and drive to Fussen, would like to dip down to Liechtenstein for a bite to eat before arriving in Fussen for the night. Tour the castles then drive on from there maybe 2 nights in Innsbruck and 2 nights in Salzburg. I have booked my room in Fussen for 25/09/2015 and have a train from Munich to Paris on 02/10/2015.

Steve

Visiting Liechtenstein is no big deal - no better than the surrounding bits of Switzerland and Austria, and in my opinion not nearly as good as several other areas in Switzerland and Austria.

But - you can check off a small country on your list.

I wanted to do that myself several years ago, and was seriously under impressed. We hunted for a place to eat and wound up at a McDonalds in Vaduz, a small town that did nothing for me.

The white lettering on black numberplates on cars is kind of cool.

You need a Vignette to drive on any green signed roads (motorways and expressways) in Switzerland and Liechtenstein which will cost you CHF 40 (around €40, but varies based on the exchange rate, available at the border or filling stations before you cross) for the year. There are no shorter periods available. It is the same price if you are there a few hours or a calendar year.

You also need a Vignette for Austria, available at filling stations before the border. Austrian vignettes are available for as little as 10 days, for just under €10, from official filling stations before you cross the border. Look for very large signs with a picture of a vignette, and the words "Vignette Hier" on it.

Both need to be affixed like a decal, by peeling off a layer and pressing the vignette to the windscreen in the way printed on the back of the vignette, in the place indicated. Once applied they are destroyed if an attempt is made to remove it, and it is punishable with a large fine to affix them and try to use tape to hold it up.

The route through Austria between Liechtenstein and Innsbruck has several very long tunnels, especially the Arlberg Tunnel (14 kilometres), all of which cost a toll in addition to the Vignette.

Stay off the major highways (freeways) in Austria and you don't need a vignette. Avoid driving thru Munich to airport from Fussen (or anywhere else for that matter) unless you have a GPS and someone else in the car to help navigate. Signs are good but lot of traffic and construction. Instead, turn the car in at Fussen and take a local train from Fussen to Munich, then the train from Munich to the airport. If there's more than one of you check the train for group ticket. Sometimes, if it's not during peak hours, up to four people can travel for the price of one.

PS. If you stay at a hotel in Fussen or nearby, but in Germany, you will get a coupon for discounted tickets to sights, including the castles, and free local bus rides. You've paid for it with a room tax.
PS You can drive to the Eagles Nest ticket office and park but you must ride a bus to the top. No cars allowed and when you see it you'll know why. Because of this tickets are limited so you may not be able to walk up to the ticket office and get the next tour or a tour at all. Also check opening times. Due to high altitude and snow it's not open year round. Nothing to see if it's closed but the town of Bertesgarten (?) is worth a visit.
PS the castles are crowded, even in Oct. You might want to get advance tickets to make sure you can get in when you want.
PS you can walk all the way around the lake near the Neuschwanstein parking lot (not the pond in the lot). Beautiful, especially in the fall,

Thank you maryc, lots of good info.

I am planning on keeping rent car and going from Fussen to Innsbruck area (Hall) then Salzburg before heading for Munich, i might drop car off in Freilassing then train into Munich...traveling solo.

I go every year to the Fussen, Garmisch, Innsbruck area. Going again on 18 Oct. My favorite area in all the world. I know you'll love it. September/October is the best time of year as far as I'm concerned. I would drive from Fussen to Oberammergau, stopping at the Weiss Church along the way. Oberammergau is a small town of wood carvers, elaborately painted houses and the world famous Passion Play. Drive to Garmisch with a detour to see Linderhoff (another of King Ludwigs castles). Garmisch-Partenkirchen is gorgeous with the old town in Partenkirchen with authnic German restaurants. The 1936 winter olympic site is there ar the mouth of a beautiful gorge you can hike thru. From Garmisch go to Innsbruck by way of Mittenwald, a violin making town in the past and a favorite of Rick Steves.

I was there at the end of June 2008, this time it will be end of September...how will the weather be? Snow?

Im in Houston, Texas...we dont see snow much.

Snow is possible in late September but not much and usually at night. Having said.......it might come a blizzard but I've always had good weather in September/ October.

I'm in Houston area too. Hard to think about snow with this heat.

Just a few points:
I would buy the Austrian Vignette. Only 8.50 Euro. Driving your entire route on local roads will take forever. IF you accidentally get on an "on ramp", it could cost you some big money in fines.
I agree, Liechenstein did nothing for me. Nothing special or even different from Austria and Switzerland at all.
Returning the car in Freilassing makes perfect sense.

Paul

Just to add to the advice you have received about the Austrian Vignette. Make sure the rental car doesn't already have a valid Vignette on the windshield before you buy a new one. On our first trip years ago we didn't know what it looked like and bought one, only to discover we already had a valid one on the windshield of the rental car. We felt more than a little stupid after that. You will get lots of signs warning you to buy one before you cross the border into Austria.

What is the hotel situation for 1 night at the Castle area in June without reservations? Are Zimmer Frei always available? Easy to find by just driving on main roads? Is there a room finding service at the tourist center?

I know you said that you don't want to take a tour, but I can highly recommend this Eagle's Nest Historical Tour -- http://www.eagles-nest-tours.com/EN/eagles-nest-tours/index.php?navid=2. My husband and I took it a few years ago and it was well worth the money. It happens in the afternoon and takes about 4 hours. It goes through October...IF the mountain is accessible.

I can say how great it is because I went up there in the early 80's when I lived in Germany. We went on our own. The US Army had control of many of the buildings that are now historical spots well worth visiting. In fact, I think we stayed in one of them! Back then I think we could even drive up, but I may be wrong about that. I learned way more on the tour than I did just driving up so many years ago.

The people are knowledgeable and have been doing these tours for a long time, essentially since the Berlin wall came down. Two of them are Americans. Be sure to click on "our team" to learn more about all of them.

Liechtenstein is not worth a drive on its own, in any case remember that the Arlberg tunnel is closed for maintenance till November 14th, so driving between Tirol and Voralberg is going to be really time consuming.

Mike, Zimmer is the German word for a room; frei means available. People with a room to rent hang out a sign saying "Zimmer". Under it is the word "frei" if it is available, "belegt" if it is occupied. You just asked if rooms available are available.

Personally, I would not rely on finding a free room at the last minute. Sure, there might be some, but a lot of people reserve rooms in advance. They don't find a good one and say, "I'll let someone else have it". You'll likely get what no one else wanted.

Unfortunately, rooms in private homes are not often shown on booking website, but they will be shown on Füssen's website, here. (It's in German, but, hey, that's what they speak in Germany.)