Avoiding lines at Neuschschwainstein Castle

I'm not aware of one, but even showing up to purchase non-reserved tickets, I don't think I've ever waited more than 10 minutes in line.

The one caveat I'll give is that I never visited in the summer.

On our trip in December the line for non-reserved was wayyyy long. The line for reserved? Non-existent. As long as you have your email confirmation printed out (which they asked for) you save so much time.

In 2009, I traveled through Hohenschwangau and took pictures of the lines. There was one for Neuschwanstein only and one for reservations/Hohenschwangau. The line for Neuschwanstein tickets half filled the serpentine; there was maybe one person in the reservation pickup line. In 2013, during Oktoberfest, I returned to Hohenschwangau and the Neuschwanstein line had more people outside the kiosk than in it. Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of the reservation pick-up line, but I don't remember it being significantly long.

Thank you everyone! I think I will just reserve my tickets directly from the Ticket Center. The only other skip-the-line option I saw was to collect the ticket from some hostel in Fuessen. Not sure if I want to deal with that so I'll go straight to the source.

In June of 2012 we reserved online and walked right up to the window and picked them up with our reservation confirmation in hand....no waiting at all.

Additional question - how far in advance must one reserve tickets? We'll be staying with friends near Munich for 10 days in July, but aren't ready to plan specifics yet. I'm hoping we can wait til we get there and just reserve a few days ahead.

Hi Mia,

My wife and I just returned from there (we toured Neuschwanstein on May 7th). We had reservations and had to stand in a short line to pick them up. If you plan on taking transport to the top of the hill (either by horse or bus) be prepared to wait in another short line. Once you reach the top, you will have to wait around until there is 5 minutes before your scheduled tour begins. At this time, you are prompted to insert your ticket in a machine and enter to queue in another short line. Your tour will last 25-30 minutes where your group will shuffle from room to room as the group in front of you exits it.

Best,
Robert