Day trip to visit Dacchau concentration camp from Nuremberg

Yes, it is at least a 2 hours drive, oneway. But only, if there is not one of the always happening traffic jams on that Autobahn, and if not a traffic accident closes the road. Even without such problem the drive won't be nice, because all of this Autobahn are cramped with trucks.
And to mention: you first have to take your rental car, what also could take long. And you have to give it back, what also takes time.
If your cruise-company offers a tour, then it would be a possibility, because I also cannot recommend any publi transport on that route.
But I really have a question: why do you think to visit Dachau? If you don't have a special interest in that topic I never would think about to let my holiday spoilt with that.

Juanita, it would help to know what time of year you will be there. But regardless, it is doable. I would suggest taking the train, which would probably be a bit easier. It's a little under 2 hours if you take one of the high-speed ICE trains from Nürnberg Hbf. You will have to transfer in Munich, but it's an easy transfer, and then you would take the train or even S-Bahn to Dachau. You can check dates on the DB website. It's very easy, but feel free to come back here if you have questions. Just do a search from from Nürnberg Hbf to Dachau Hbf. https://int.bahn.de/en

rei.beate, many people wish to visit Dachau to remember the horrors that happened. It was something I definitely felt I wanted to do when I was visiting Munich, and I still feel that way. Many other people feel that way as well. History repeats itself and we need to remember what happened before. It's not always about looking at pretty pictures and scenery while you travel. 😊

Mardee, for sure I know and accept all what you write. But I always think, lots of people coming from America think, Dachau is a touristic MUST DO, maybe comparable with visiting Alcatraz at SF. And therefore are not prepared for the really bad-feeling experience there. So I always try to warn them.
But ofcourse, you are right, we shouldn't forget (and we Germans don't forget) what happened. But I only think doing this remembrance during a holiday is not the right way.

But I only think doing this remembrance during a holiday is not the right way.

I understand but keep in mind that for those of us traveling from the United States or other countries, the only time to see it is when we are on holiday/vacation. That's when we are traveling and if we don't see it at that time, then we don't see it at all. 😊 And I've been to Dachau, and it really doesn't compare to other more touristed prisons. I certainly don't think the people there treated it like that. Everyone I saw was extremely respectful and aware of the pain and suffering that happened there.

There really are no "revelations" to be learned from a Dachau visit. If you already know what transpired in Nazi concentration camps / work camps, then you know what Dachau was about. The Dachau Memorial site was established in 1965 to remind GERMANY'S citizens - and Holocaust deniers everywhere - that the horrors imposed by the Nazis on those deemed to be undesirables/deplorables really did happen. The point of the place is to jolt visitors with photographs, displays, and detailed information about methods of abuse and extermination. Well, most of us have never had any doubt that the Holocaust was real and probably have no trouble at all remembering it because the memoirs, the lessons, the photos, the films, etc. which years ago proved to us the reality of the Holocaust are impossible to forget.

I do not recommend a visit to Dachau - much less spending 4 hours round trip + a visit - to anyone... unless you belong to some very oddball political group or are from some country on the planet which denies the Holocaust, that is. For anyone who feels a visit is necessary, it's quite simple in 2026 to access all the grisly details that went on there from the PC in your home.

Unwisely, Rick Steves recommends a visit there and describes it as a "powerful sightseeing experience" in my GAS edition. Powerful, yes. But it's not "sightseeing" - and it's stomach-churning, and day-ending too. And with the very limited amount of Germany your cruise will show you, I don't see what is achieved by re-visiting some of the worst moments in recent German history. I think you'd be FAR better off to explore some of Germany's more interesting sights. Nuremberg has museums of all kinds and lots to see and do:

https://tourismus.nuernberg.de/en/discover/places-of-interest/
https://tourismus.nuernberg.de/en/discover/museums/

Or take a side trip to the Franconian Freilandmuseum, an outdoor museum with dozens of interesting historic buildings that explain what life in this part of the world was like for centuries. It's in Bad Windsheim, a "perfect day trip from Nürnberg."

Claudia, nobody here thinks that US Americans are stupid but Germans experience very often that people have a pre-travel picture in their head - about Germany and some sights. Take Oktoberfest as the best example which is a Munich thing only but we see questions where Oktoberfest in Berlin is for example. So, not about stupidity, but about wrong expectations.

In general, what Dachau stands for is not a German thing only, concentration camps in their original intention (not far from a specialized long-term "storage" for political prisoners, see historic newspaper article) were used by other nations before and after. Turning them into ideology driven racism and death places is a different thing and found its perfidious perfection in organized and industrialized extermination camps (not Dachau).

Germany has the world's most comprehensive reflection culture on its own history because a guilty conscience for Germans was intended to establish by occupying powers - and it was, not only for good but this interests no visitor.

I think you can say that about all travel destinations…. Preconceived notions.

Like all the tourists that come here, where I live, Hollywood, California.

It’s a joke. Other than the forecourt of Graumans Chinese Theatre there’s Nothing but tatty, crappy souvenir stores. People expect it to look like Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. It doesn’t, not even close.

Hey all, I think we’ve all gotten away from the original poster’s question, which was how to get to Dachau from Nuremberg and if it was possible. If anyone else wants to clarify my response about the train or add to it, feel free, but otherwise I would suggest you start your own thread about the morality of visiting Dachau.

Credit Mardee with the suggested train alternative to the question, "is there a better way to get there?"

But assuming that the ICE train breaks precedent and actually arrives at Munich Hbf on time for the transfer there, the improvement over the 4 hours of transport will still be only marginal and won't do much to allay Juanita's concerns about travel time. So the unasked but obvious question then becomes, "is it worth the long journey and most of a day's time?" So IMO any comments on the MERITS of the distant destination are fully thread-worthy.

An alternative with a car would be to trave to Flossenbürg. About a two hour drive on secondary roads across the Oberpfalz. Check the opening times. A short stop in Amberg or Weiden? The Flossenbürg castle ruine is something to see too. You would be right on the border with Czechia. Other than the Soldiers and civilians that work at the nearby military bases you won't see many US tourists.

https://www.gedenkstaette-flossenbuerg.de/de/besuch/ausstellungen/konzentrationslager-flossenbuerg-1938-1945

The comments about it being 5 hours in a car or trains aren't crazy. Are there other Holocaust Remembrance sites that would be a better use of your time? For instance, there's a museum on the old Nuremberg Nazi Rally grounds. Does your tour stop in Amsterdam where the Anne Frank Museum does a wonderful job of bringing the crimes home on a very personal level while reminding us that we haven't learned much. The nearby Dutch Resistance Museum is excellent as well.

And I totally understand what rei.beat is saying. Dachau is really heavy emotional lifting; as it should be. If you're a normal person, the experience will affect you emotionally and that can be incongruous with a holiday experience. And there's nothing wrong with saying you'll get to it when you are actually in Munich.

But if it's important to see Dachau on this trip, then you should go.