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Daytrip by car in Bavaria. I need your advice, please.

Posted by (Atlanta, GA, USA) on

Next month, I will visit Germany for the first time; home base will be in Bavaria - Tegernsee. I want to do a day-long trip on a Sunday this June to the area of Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein Castles. I will begin and end my day-trip from Bad Wiessee in the Tegernsee area. It appears that the drive time is the same whether I drive from Tegernsee to Garmisch-Partenkirchen or Tegernsee to Hohenschwangau.

I am not sure how to plot out my route, so I'm seeking the advice of all you experienced travelers. Where do I go first and how much time to budget for each location?

I expect that we will want to hike in the Partnach Gorge for a couple of hours and may want to take the Garmisch Classic cable car (instead of the one to Zugspitze). Does it make sense to hike first thing in the morning? Is the castle area better viewed in the morning or in the afternoon?

So the question is which area to visit early in the morning, which to visit after lunch? Please share the benefit of your experience with me. Thanks much.

Posted by
1706 posts

I suspect you are trying to cram too many things in a single day. The decision is up to you, but some things to think about:

  1. I remember the zone as having exceptionally beautiful roads, but slow driving anyway.
  2. Usually mountain hikes are better attempted in the morning - with very good weather there is not a big difference, but on a so-so day usually more clouds develop after noon. On a bad weather simply give up.
  3. The actual guided visit to Neuschwansteing is short (twenty minutes). But the whole procedure takes time as you have to park the car, take a ticket with a reserved time, walk up a hill half an hour, wait in queue, visit, and then walk back to parking. Check if you can reserve in advance a time slot, otherwise the queue at the ticket office may be long. (I confess having visited the castle years ago so the ticket procedure may be a little different now). The castle is the same at any hour unless the weather changes.

So you have some time to drive and two competing activities, and both need time. Your decision.

Posted by
980 posts

It would be a very busy day to drive from Bad Weissee get a hike in the gorge then visit the top of the Zugspitze then a visit to Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein then back to Bad Weissee.

I'd recommend starting early and getting to the gorge right when it opens at 8am. Hike there for an hour then head strait to the top of the Zugspitze for lunch. If you can get this done and be down by 1pm there is still time to get one of the last visit to the castles (after 3pm).

It is busy but doable.

DJ

Posted by
12040 posts

If you park near the Olympic Stadium, you can hike up and down the Partnachklamm in just over an hour if you walk fast, but about 90 minutes to two hours is probably more likely. Once the more and more people start to arrive throughout the day, the walking can get a little slower.

I agree with the others, if everything fell into place you could fit it all in one day, but it would be very, very tight.

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