Micro-itinerary help: Munich to castles plus Salzburg

Which castles major and minor? That effects whether or not you will need a car.

Gee, I was hoping not to have to spell them! Castles I had in mind included Neuschwanstein, Hohenschwangau, the place with the grotto and then some which I don't know but which are recommended. My question was about what to see, where to stay and what route to take.

We have been to the Loire but not Germany so a combination of "major and minor" castles will suit us.

Linderhof is the third palace you're thinking of. Rick's Germany book suggests that, without a car, the only convenient public transport is local bus #9622 to/from Oberammergau. I would not hesitate to drive (as I did on my first visit), to easily include Linderhof, a luge ride, and other, spontaneous stops.

From Munich to Paris, the best train schedules have one connection in Stuttgart. Or, you can catch that train at Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, or Strasbourg. Tickets go on sale 3-4 months ahead on the German rail web site, which is usually the easiest and cheapest way to buy them. Tickets for travel through 8/22 are on sale there today at the best advance rates, so your date will be available soon.

I think you've underestimated Munich, as it's a great major city with many sights popular with children. It has incredible palaces of the Hapsburgs, and the huge Deutsche Museum. We took our 11 year old daughter to Dachau, and it really made an impression on her. After 5 trips, I never get tired of Munich.

I'm glad to see you're adventurous enough to rent a car as you leave Munich, as the roads throughout Southern Germany are easily navigated and well paved. I would suggest you take the 2 hour trip by car over to Salzburg. Then go south down to Innsbruck and through incredible Austrian Alps. It's a short drive to Neuschwanstein and do your German castle tours. You could either go back to Munich to catch a train or go northwest to Stuttgart to turn in the rental car and catch the train to Paris.

No matter which way you go, you will have a great time.

Thanks for the suggestions including those sent by private message.

I wish we had time for Munich and Dachau but we must go to Salzburg for The SOM and I have never seen the castles. They seem to fit best together.

I have narrowed down to picking car up in GarmischP after looking around, Linderhof then Ruette were we will stay. Swimming at the Alpentherme, possibly Highline and explore Erenburg ruins. Next day drive to Pinswang and park car and hike to Neuchswanstein and Hohenschwangau (they just roll off my fingertips now), possible Highline either early or later and swimming. Next morning drive to Freilassing breathing in deeply the alpen air to drop off car and hop across the river to Salzburg where we will take a bike tour, twirl, climb to the fortress and enjoy the expansive views from the gasthaus at which I stayed 21 years ago on my first big trip around Europe.

Then we will get to Paris (how exactly I have not decided) where I will rest by doing the Awesome Foursome (1,600+ stairs) and enjoying the butter studded with sea salt crystals and contemplating the sweet life.

Normandy has been shunted aside for Venice. Shhh. It's a surprise for the child.

"It [Munich] has incredible palaces of the Hapsburgs"

Not the Hapsburgs. They were in Vienna. The Munich palaces were homes of the Wittelsbachers.

I was not impressed at all with Reutte. It's not a very pretty town. I would stay instead in Oberammergau, which has very good bus service to the castles. If you need a place to stay, I would recommend Gästehaus Richter. It's reasonable priced, close to the Bahnhof and bus station, nice breakfast, and Frau Richter speaks very good English.

It's an easy bus trip, 25 to 30 minutes from Oberammergau to Linderhof, and Oberammergau is easily reachable by train and/or bus in under two hours from Munich. Take the train to Murnau, then train to Oberammergau, or train to Oberau, then bus to Oberammergau. The bus from Oberau to Oberammergau seems better timed for the bus to Linderhof than is the train. If you stay the night in Oberammergau, you can take a morning bus (8:30 or 10:25, 1 hr 20 min) to Hohenschwangau and the other castles.

Don't try to drive from Garmisch-Partenkirchen to Salzburg. Germany has the best rail system in Europe; take advantage of it.

You can take the train from Garmisch-Partenkirchen (or Oberammergau or Füssen) to Salzburg Hbf with a Bayern-Ticket for 23€ (fare for one adult; your under-15 daughter rides free with you). The trip by train takes about 3½ hours with a 10 minute change of trains in Munich (or you can take an hour later train from Munich and have an hour for lunch at the food court in Munich Hbf). The trip to Freilassing by car would take about 2½ hours assuming no stops, wrong turns, or traffic slowdowns. Then you have to find the car return in Freilassing, turn it in, and take a 25 minute bus trip into Salzburg. I doubt that you would save any time. Nor would a car save money. ViaMichelin estimates gas alone for a car at 21,40€, almost the same as the Bayern-Ticket, and that doesn't include the cost of a day's car rental or 3,50€ for the bus into Salzburg.

If you leave Oberammergau on the 9:38 train, you can take an hour for lunch in Munich and get to Prien before 2:00 (before 1:00 if you don't have lunch in Munich). From Prien it's less than an hour to Salzburg.

Thanks, Lee. I appreciate hearing from one of the leading Germany Travel Forum posters.

I understand that all of these sights can be done by public transport but would like to have the option of stopping along the way to make our own discoveries and to be independent of schedules. I really want to try the Highline and think my daughter would get a kick out of that and the ruins. I picked Ruette because of another recommendation and the Alpentherme nearby. I've been to a water park/swimming baths/spa in Austria and know that it will be a huge draw for my daughter who loves to swim and just generally goof around in pools. There's nothing like those European baths where we live - but we have a lovely, if cold, ocean a half hour walk away.

While most of our travel around England, Germany, Austria, France and Northern Italy will be via public ground or sea transportation, I will be renting cars in England for 2 days, Germany for 2 days and Italy for 1-2 days for trips around the countryside. The areas I plan to go to in England and Italy have some public transport but it's not extensive in the less populated parts of Northumberland and in Northern Italy to visit family friends in their village, it's non-existent. I consider them necessary, surgical strikes by rental car which I couldn't afford in my 20s. Over the course of a 5 1/2 week trip, they are an insignificant incremental cost. [Except in England where it is ridiculously expensive but I don't plan on going to Newcastle again so I will bite the bullet this trip.]

I rented a car or a week in the Loire a few years ago. While most of the places we went on that trip were accessible by public transport, it was nice to have a car so my daughter could nap, zone out or take pictures of me driving between chateaux and we could spend more time in a place which drew us in without being beholden to bus schedules.

I think it's less than 10 minutes by train and a few euro from Freilassing to Salzburg. Or we might run amok and take a cab to the bottom of the elevator.

"I think it's less than 10 minutes by train and a few euro from Freilassing to Salzburg."

Salzburg Hbf is 7 minutes by hourly Meridian train and 12 minutes by half hourly S-Bahn from the Freilassing Bahnhof, but it will take you another 9 minutes from the Hertz office or 14 minutes from the EuropCar office. The fare is 2,50€ for an adult. Your child is free.

The bus down Salzburgerstr. to Salzburg old town stops right in front of the EuropCar office, which is also 6 minutes from the Hertz office. The bus costs 2,30€ for an adult, 1,20€ for a child.

The Avis and Sixt offices are farther away.