I am planning to visit the Eagles Nest in Berchtesgaden in a couple weeks. I am trying to decide if I should book a guided tour or simply tour ourselves. There are four of us traveling and so it appears it would cost 200 Euros for the guided tour. I've read posts where people say a guide is not necessary and other posts saying their guide was fantastic. I'm trying to determine if you see more with a guide, save time in line with a guide, or simply learn more history. I would appreciate your thoughts or recommendations. Thanks.
I don't think there is much information about the Eagles Nest that you can't find out online or from books available in the souvenir shop. And I'm sure anyone who shelled out 50€ for a guided tour is going to tell you it was worth it. For sure, if you do opt for a tour, take one that begins in Berchtesgaden, not one that buses you from Salzburg, as those tours charge a great deal for doing for you what you can easily do yourself.
My husband and I went on the Eagle's Nest Historical Tour in 2011. I expect that's the 50 Euro one you are contemplating. And I will be one of those people who think the tour was great. We went to Berchtesgaden and spent a couple of nights there just to do that tour. It was fun for me because I had been there in the 1980's when we simply drove up. Yes, you can learn just as much maybe on your own, but personally, I like having a history-savvy person point out all the special little things that I might miss in my research. If the tour you are considering is not the one I'm talking about, here is the link: http://www.eagles-nest-tours.com/EN/eagles-nest-tours/tour-content.php?navid=3. By the way, the woman in the picture on this page was our tour guide. Click on "our team" at the top of the page for more info about her, her husband and the other tour guide.
Jeff, If your budget will allow, I'd suggest taking the guided tour. I've found that I learn far more and it's a much more interesting "travel experience" with a tour. Eagle's Nest Tours is highly rated and I believe they're also recommended in the RS Guidebook. The Trip Advisor ratings are a bit "mixed" but definitely weighted towards the "excellent" end of the chart. Happy travels!
Thank you all for your suggestions! I'm probably only going to be there once so we will probably take the tour since they are so highly recommended. Thanks again.