Castles Near Munich

If you go on a weekend, you can get an early start with a Bayern Ticket (32 EUR for 2) that will include the local bus up to the castles. Otherwise, week days, you have to start travel after 9 am, or buy separate tickets.

The regional train to Fuessen originates in Munich, so just get there 15 minutes early when they spot the train on the platform and you can be the first on board and have your pick of seats.

anne,

That's an easy trip to take by train, but travel time is about two hours each way so leaving early would be a good idea if you plan to visit both castles.

You'll first travel from Munich Hbf to Füssen and then connect with the local bus for the short trip (~10-15 minutes) from there to the castles. There's a bit of an uphill walk to get to Neuschwanstein but as I recall there are horse drawn wagons for those that don't want to walk. If you plan on doing the trip yourself, you'll have to book tickets for the Neuschwanstein tour. Be sure to allow some time for a visit to Marienbrücke, as it provides spectacular views of the castle.

A tour will provide more opportunity to learn about the history of the castle, as the guide provides a tutorial on the trip down from Munich. This tour firm is well rated - https://www.radiustours.com/en/english-tours/neuschwanstein-castle.html . I can't remember if they provide enough time to see both castles, so you'd have to contact them for more detailed information. Their office is in the Munich Hbf, so easy to access.

Have been to the castles 3 times I felt each time I see more crowds, and less rooms. In fact, I probably enjoyed the driving to the castles a bit more each time, as there are many little towns around the castle, no crowd and very pretty. The farmland and little churches dotted along the country road are very cool, and with a car I was able to visit nearby lakes and swim in a couple of them. If you book early the rent car is not expensive, but maybe a better experience overall. The castles are going to be super crowded in August, long lines to wait for you time to enter.

August is a bad idea; peak tourist season and most of Germany on holiday. But if you have to go and only do one, do Hohenschwangau. You can look across and see the other from there.

Mike's Bike Tours does a tour to Neuschwanstein with a bike ride, but you can opt out of the bike ride and do the other castle instead, so that would allow you to see both. Their bus from Munich is very comfortable and they were well organized. We did the bike tour version and absolutely loved it, FWIW.

Above it was mentioned to buy the Bayern Ticket...what all does that include? We are also planning to fly into Munich and staying the night in Fussen and going the next morning to the castles. Traveling by train.

A Bayern Ticket is a one-day travel pass that covers local trains (not ICE, IC, or EC long-distance trains) and almost all city and rural buses and trams in the Bavaria region. Full details.

A Bayern Ticket is a one-day travel pass that covers local trains (not
ICE, IC, or EC long-distance trains)

You really have to go out of your way to take a long-distance train to get to Füssen. The direct route uses one or two regional trains.

The really sneaky thing is that DB schedules the first after-9 train to Füssen to leave Munich Hbf at 9:52 AM (almost 10 AM), and it gets to Füssen at 11:55. However, the 8:53 regional connection to Füssen (with a 10 minute, same platform change of trains at Kaufbeuren) makes one stop at Pasing, still in the inner zone of the MVV at 8:59 and leaves Pasing at 9:00, so the Bayern-Ticket is valid from Pasing. A single trip, inner zone MVV ticket is 2,90€, for for an additional 2,90€ per person, you can leave for Füssen at 8:53 and get there at 10:55. The connecting bus then gets you to Hohenschwangau at 11:13. It's less than a 5 minute walk from the bus stop to the ticket kiosk, so you can schedule your Neuschwanstein tour for 13:00 and pick up your ticket 90 minutes earlier at 11:30.

For a tight schedule like Munich to Neuschwanstein, I would prefer the train option. I have found it to be very reliable. If doing it by car, you need to provide a time buffer. If you experience a traffic tie-up or a wrong turn, you could miss your ticket pick-up time.

We are also planning to fly into Munich and staying the night in
Fussen and going the next morning to the castles.

Then using the Bayern-Ticket before 9 AM is probably not an issue. You can buy the Bayern-Ticket at the airport and use it for the S-Bahn into Munich as well as the train to Füssen. Depending on where your accommodations are in Füssen, you might need to use a bus in Füssen, and that should also be included in the Bayern-Ticket. The next morning, a bus ticket to Hohenschwangau will undoubtedly be cheaper than any pass, but if you are returning to Munich that night, a Bayern-Ticket should be purchasable on the bus (exact change appreciated) and would cover round trip to the castle and return to Munich by train and any use of conveyances in Munich.

Shelbain: "...how difficult is it to travel by train from Munich to this area?"

Easy - and scenic one way. Good that you are at least staying overnight, I think. Daytrippers from Munich however face a fair level of difficulty. Spending nearly 5 hours altogether round trip on trains and buses + all the ticket-pick-up rigamarole + the walking up and back time (and of course all the expense) - and all for the very short (<30 min.) and overcrowded tour of N'stein and the tour of H'schwangau (and maybe a fast meal somewhere before your return to Munich) can be daunting and perhaps disappointing on a number of levels. I've done N'stein twice, once in English, and the guide's English had such a heavy accent that even I (native English speaker and German-speaker) couldn't sift through it.

Füssen itself and the surrounding countryside are rather nice. It's a shame day trippers do what they do and cheat themselves out of the better side of the area. I think anyone who visits both "castles" (which is what we English-speakers call them, but what's there now are 19th-century palaces built or rebuilt as private residences subsequent to the true castle period) should probably stay at least two nights, IMHO.

If you have time, in addition to the castles, there is the Museum of the Bavarian Kings. It's in town below both castles. The last time we visited the museum was still under construction, so haven't had a chance to see it. However my sister and her family visited a couple of years ago and said it was very interesting.
https://en.schwangau.de/sightseeing/museum-of-the-bavarian-kings/