Questions between Salzburg and Neuschwanstein Castle

Brenda here are my thoughts. Don't go to Munich unless you want to see Munich. Its not that close to the castles if you're just looking for a hotel. Its a great city with lots of things to see, but not just to sleep in one night. You could see Neuschwanstein as a day trip from Salzburg, but there are plenty of nice towns nearer - Garmisch, Füssen, Reutte, Oberammergau,etc. Also why drive from there to Luzern (and pay the out-of-country drop off charge on top of fuel and parking issues), when trains take you right into the center. You're thinking a drive will be more scenic, but its the same scenery on the train. Again, just my opinion.

I agree. I wouldn't go to Munich unless you have something specific you want. There's enough to do, see and stay at without going out of your way.

If you go to Neuschwanstein Castle, make the effort to walk to the foot bridge off in the distance. It would be "behind" the castle I guess you would say. It's a decent little walk but you will get a tremendous photo opp. We have a pic of ourselves that looks like a postcard. It's quite impressive.

There are other castles in the area to see as well. I'm not sure you need more than 1/2 a day at the castle. It's just a castle after all. You can see quite a bit in one day that way

If you do decide to rent a car in Germany and drive it into Switzerland, don't neglect to purchase the mandatory Swiss toll Vignette and stick it to the windscreen. It will cost you CHF 40 regardless if you have it for its up to 14 month validity or one day. Very large penalties for not having it and they do check, right at the border.

I suggest paying for a day tour from Salzburg to the castles, bringing you back in the evening to Salzburg. Then take the train from Salzburg to Lucerne.

Some things to consider - the train ride from Salzburg to the castles is 4 hours one way; the train ride from the castles to Lucerne requires 5 changes if you want to do it in less than six hours; the train ride from Salzburg to Lucerne is also about 6 hours and only requires one change; one you are in Switzerland, I don't think you will need a car.

The fastest way from Salzburg to Füssen is through Munich. If you book well in advance, you can get a Savings Price ticket for two from Salzburg to Füssen using an express train (RJ or EC) from Salzburg to Munich and regional trains (that's all there are to Füssen) from there to Munich for 49€ for the two of you (I assume you are two). The trip by express train takes 4¼ hours (Incl. the bus to Hohenschwangau). You can purchase these tickets on the Bahn website up to 92 days before travel. The prices are tiered, and when the lowest priced tickets sell out, the price goes up, so purchase them as soon as you can commit, but understand that the tickets are for a specific train and refundability and exchange are limited.

You can also go from Salzburg to Munich on a Regional Express (RE) and from there to Füssen using a Bayern-Ticket, which, if you buy it from an automat in Salzburg, will cost 28€ for the two of you. The Bayern-Ticket is usable for on/off travel on any regional trains in Bavaria (Salzburg is included as a border station) after 9 AM workdays, all day on weekends, and includes RVO buses, so it will get you all the way to Hohenschwangau. The first connection from Salzburg leaves at 9:13 and takes 4¾ hours to Füssen, so you'd get to the castles at 2:15 PM (14:15). It would be a good idea to have advance reservations for the castles or to go the day before.

You could also use Oberammergau as a base for seeing the castles. It only takes 4 hours to get to Oberammergau with regional trains (change in Munich and Murnau). In the morning there are buses from the Bahnhof in Oberammergau to Füssen at 8:29 and 10:25. The trip to Hohenschwangau, where the castle ticket kiosk is, takes 1h20m. If you are not coming back to Oberammergau, you luggage would be an issue. The castle website says you can check you luggage (for a fee) at the Tourist Information office next to the bus stop in Hohenschwangau.

Hello brendabailey02. I think that is too many places to go to in the amount of time you will be in Europe. I suggest : do not go to Neuschwanstein. It looks like a very short trip in Europe. I recommend : go to northern Italy, and Switzerland, only.

I believe that Neuschwanstein Castle requires a reservation for a certain time spot in order to go inside the castle. It is recommended to make these online in advance if you want a particular day and/or time. It also takes the better part of a day depending where you stay the night before and after. Also, there is a shuttle bus, requiring a ticket, that goes most of the way up the huge hill but it is still quite a steep hike up the from there. FYI.

I would stay a walk away from the two castles, a fair walk. I suggest the hotel HELMER, Mitteldorf 10-Schwangau...

I didn't mention the possibility of using the horse conveyence up and down when going to Neuschwanstein. It will cost a few euro but adds a pleasant touch. Also, the other castle is perhaps equally as interesting or even more interesting. We saw both on the same day, as they are "together."

We stayed the night prior to seeing the castles in Reute. That allowed us to be at the castles first thing in the morning, maybe 30 minutes before opening. We were there third week of October and driving a leased car (later went to Salzburg, then drove to Verona, Venice, Tuscany then south).

We got in line about ten minutes before the ticket windows opened and had about 50 people in front of us. We were able to get visit times to see both castles before noon (something like 8:30, first open time at Hohenschwangau and 10:30 at Neuschwanstein). When we came down from Neuschwanstein, after our tour, the lines looked like a bad day at Disneyland, with dozens, if not hundreds, of tour busses in the parking lot.

After we left, we stopped at Wies Kirche on the way to Munich and got to Munich in plenty of time to find our hotel and start exploring.

I felt it was a pretty good approach. If you aren't at the castle early, even in October, expect to spend way too much time in line and waiting for your entry times to the castles so spending the night before seems more efficient. We stayed at the Gasthof zum Schluxen. It was a splurge, for my daughter, because it was supposed to be a working farm. If you go, don't go expecting a farm. It's a really nice hotel but not much of a farm (some reindeer you can feed acorns through a chain-link fence and some small cages, probably hens, the owner didn't want kids to get near).