Plan to fly to Munich September 24, rent car and drive to Salzburg for conference through September 29. From there, Berchtesgaden, Füssen, Augsburg, Ulm, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Nuremberg, and back to Munich. Leaving October 8 or 9. Is this realistic?
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
Do you need the car during the conference? If not, then take a train to Salzburg (slower trains covered by a Bayern Ticket or other local deals) and pick up the car upon departure. The closest car rental location on the German side of the border is at Freilassing, reachable by local S-Bahn.
Posted by
OP
5 posts
Thank you. Hadn't thought about that.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19099 posts
First, assuming you leave the conference on the 29th and go for the night in Berchtesgaden, and you spend the last night in Munich before leaving on the 9th, you'll spend 10 nights in 7 hotels, and have traveled, some of it extensively, on 6 of those days. I really think that is too much travel and too little time per place. It entails a lot of checking in and checking out.
Second, assuming you do that itinerary, did you know that all of these town have rail stations and the stations are all interconnected. Germany, and in particular Bavaria, has the best system of public transportation in Europe. Salzburg and Ulm are considered border stations for the Bayern-Ticket, so you can travel from Germany to/from each of them with the Bayern-Ticket. The Bayern-Ticket, which is valid for unlimited travel in Bavaria (and Ulm and Salzburg) all day costs 23€ single, 28€ for two. There are also regional ticket for just parts of Bavaria for less. You can get from Salzburg to Berchtesgaden on a bus, the Watzmann Express, one-way, for about 5€ per person.
I looked up gas prices for your intended trip on ViaMichelin, for a compact car, and the total price for gas, at today's prices, for the trip was 110€. That's avoiding tolled roads in Austria. That doesn't include the cost of the rental for two weeks.
Using the Bayern-Ticket and other regional passes, plus the TagesTicket Plus for Greater Nürnberg (for Rothenburg to Nürnberg) and the estimated cost of the bus from Salzburg to Berchtesgaden, I got 144,20€ for one person, 187,70€ for two, using public transportation.
As for renting a car in Freilassing, the S-Bahn or regional train goes from the Salzburg Hbf to the Freilassing Bhf. If you are staying in the Salzburg old town it's a bit of a walk to the Hbf, then it's another walk to the rental offices in Freilassing. But there is a direct bus that goes from Hanuschplatz, near the old town, to Salzburgerstr. in Freilassing. Hertz and Europcar are both closer to Salzburgerstr. than they are to the Freilassing Bhf.