Hi All,
Need your help in designing a 15 nights itinerary for Germany-Austria trip in June'15 ( I am traveling with my husband for my second honeymoon). We will be flying into Munich from Mumbai, India and out of Vienna. I have created a tentative itinerary as below-
Munich 2 nights
Oberammergau/ Fussen( See Neuschwanstein Castle, Hohenschwangau Castle)- 1 night
Garmisch-Partenkirchen (visit Zugspitze)- 1 night
Mittenwald 2 nights
Innsbruck (Visit Hintertux for summer skiing ) 1 night
Zell Am See (Visit Grossglockner Alpine Road) 2 nights
Hallstatt 2 nights
Berchtesgaden/ Salzburg 2 nights
Vienna 2 nights
I know that there are 1 nights stays at 3 places that might get some criticism on this forum, but I am visiting Germany/ Austria for the first time and really want to make the most of my trip. I don't mind stretching myself a little. My husband and I are interested in picturesque landscapes coupled with sports like skiing and parasailing. We are damn excited to see the pretty villages of Mittenwald and Hallstatt!
Please advise if all these places are easily reachable through a mix of trains/ cable cars or should we go for a rented vehicle? I guess there are hefty charges if you rent and return cars in different countries.
Plus feedback on the overall itinerary..many thanks in advance!
Posted by
NYC area
2906 posts
Hi,
You could rent a car without the drop off fee: pick up when you leave Munich and return in Freilassing, Germany, just across the border from Salzburg, before heading to Vienna (by train).
Think about combining overnight stops. Mittenwald is 20 min. from Garmisch. Fuessen and Innsbruck are about 1 hour from Garmisch. By car, Salzburg and Berchtesgaden are less than 30 min. apart. Hallstatt is les than 1:30 from Salzburg and Berchtesgaden.
For me, with a car:
2 nights Munich
Pick up car and:
4 nights Mittenwald or Garmisch
2 nights Zell am See
2 nights Hallstatt
3 nights Berchtesgaden/Salzburg
2 nights Vienna
Paul
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
I agree with the above poster. You have several stops very close to each other that you could better arrange as daytrips rather than separate overnight stops. Also, you should try to avoid one-night stops in the Alps and don't try to plan your exact itinerary far in advanced. The weather in the mountains is usually quite volatile. It would be better to pick one or two central locations and use this as a base for your activities, adjusting as needed for weather.
Train vs. car can be a very heated debate on this website, but the ultimate answer depends on your priorities, plans and other factors. I generally prefer to drive in the Alps (and I lived in Germany for several years, so I had a car at my easy disposal), but others prefer to take the train everywhere. Either is a reasonable choice depending on your personal needs. There are usually drop-off fees for renting a car in one country and dropping it off in another, and although they aren't insignificant, neither are they as bankrupting as legend on this website would have it. An idea might be to take the train from Munich to Innsbruck and rent the car there. You could drive the car back into Germany without any extra cost (my preference would be to stay in Garmisch-Partenkirchen or Mittenwald, not Innsbruck) and because your ultimate departure point is Vienna, you would avoid a drop-off fee. If you're fine paying the drop-off fee... just get the car as you leave Munich...
... but the one place you definately don't want to bother with a rental car is within Munich while you stay there. German cities are relatively easy to drive in, but Munich is one of the biggest exceptions.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32746 posts
Note that there are additional answers in the duplicate thread on the Austria Forum.