Help with Munich/Salzburg for Jan 11-15

I don't know your age, but I'm going to guess under 40. I think your plan is doable and I've done similar. Many don't like Neuschwanstein. I thought it interesting, tho I liked the castle across the street more (Hohenschwangau) It was lived in, the tour was more interesting and there were a lot more furnishings. Knowing what I know now, I think I would recommend people see the exterior of Neuschwanstein and walk up to it and visit the interior of Hohenschwangau.

We were in both Munich and Salzburg at that same time of year. Both were very beautiful with fresh snow. We LOVED Salzburg. You will have a brief taste of each city and I, personally, think that is fine.

Make sure you see the clock in the Marienplatz in Munich. I think the characters came out 10 and noon?? Another fun pub/brewery is the Augustinerbrau, it is just off the Marienplatz.

There is a Rick Steves walking tour of both Salzburg and Munich. We did both and it got us to many of the top sites. There may be a combined guide, but I'm not sure.

The cathedral in Salzburg is drop dead gorgeous.

For your train rides, depending on day of the week and time, you could use a Bayern ticket to and from Neuschwanstein and between Munich and Salzburg. It can be a price savings.

My recommendation is to skip Fussen altogether and have one more day in magical Salzburg.
Have a great trip!

I liked Fussen well enough, but, I have to agree with Pat. I would drop Fussen and the slightly complicated logistics and spend another day in Salzburg.

Thanks all! We are leaning towards just setting on Munich/Salzburg. Any idea if we need to book Munich to Salzburg train early? I would assume not, but would love to hear any experience. Thanks!

Both times that I used the Bayern train/ticket, I bought the tickets the night before, one less thing to do in the am.

The Bayern ticket is a day pass that covers regional train trips throughout Bavaria (Bayern) and will work for Munich > Salzburg and vice-versa on the REGIONAL trains (BRB for example) on this segment. It also covers all inner-city transport within Munich (bus, subway, etc.) Use anytime Sat or Sun, and on weekdays after 9 am. Do not use long-distance (Railjet, ICE, etc.) trains with this pass.

scroll down at the link below for info.for info:

https://www.discover-bavaria.com/tickets

Rail map of Bavaria:
https://www.bayerwald-ticket.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Streckennetz_Bayern_2012.pdf

Agree with the others on the Füssen outing... no sense wasting a day for a half-hour tour of this place. Visit Nymphenburg Palace in Munich instead. More interesting altogether than N'stein.

With only 4 days I'd just go with Munich/Salzburg. I would spend another day in Salzburg as I found two full days allows you to see what you want. I'd recommend looking into the Salzburg pass. I used it for the cable cars, transport and to see a concert in Mirabell chapel.

I would also recommend a guided walking tour at least for Munich. I went on the City Walk and the Beer and Brewery tour at night and very much recommend that tour as you learn about Oktoberfest and are taken to several beer halls and taste different beers-plus pretzels and some Bavarian nibbles. The female American guide from Oregon was awesome.
The Salzburg one was okay but not my favorite.

That said, while Salzburg is beautiful I loved, loved Munich! It felt more small-town and livable than Berlin. If I had a job and could find an apartment there-I'd move in a heartbeat.

Additionally, ive seen the posts about potential train strikes so will
keep an eye on that.

Some hints in case of train strikes during your stay:

U-Bahn, tram and busses in Munich will operate as normal.
For Munich airport to city connection Deutsche Bahn would try to keep a reduced service running (may be train every 20 or 30 minutes, but there could also be a full shut down) and there a taxis and a bus service to Hauptbahnhof.
If you are adventurous you could also subscribe to a car sharing service (e.g. Share Now, Miles) and use one of their cars from the airport to the city. But you would need to find street parking to return the car.

For Munich to Salzburg there exists also a private train operator westbahn.at
During the train strike in early December Westbahn could run their trains on that route.

Be aware that train strikes in Germany could also impact the Salzburg to St. Anton connection as the shortest connection runs via Germany.
If that track would be blocked, the alternative Route via Zell am See, Kitzbuehl and Woergl would be slower and cause delays.

Skip Fussen.

Hi Paul 636,

Thanks for those notes. Just saw an article calling for “disruptions” beginning January 8th. What a headache. So in order to get to Salzburg the Westbahn would still run if strikes were ongoing? Thinking of just booking through them. Additionally, even the railjet would be delayed if heading for St Anton? I do see that it passes through Germany but I expected the delays to be driver based and not route based. Thank you!

So in order to get to Salzburg the Westbahn would still run if strikes were ongoing?

Yes, and the same holds for the regional trains of the BRB (way more frequent and, since accessible with the Bayern Ticket, cheaper than Westbahn trains), which is not on strike. BUT, unfortunately, it could always happen that one or other swith tower is manned by a member of the GDL union, which can then bring the entire train service to a standstill.

Do Westbahn trains run on that route? I kept reading that they did but at Salzburg station I never saw an office nor a machine to buy their tickets.

Buy the Bayern Ticket on your day of travel, no need to pre-purchase. Be sure to write the names of everyone travelling on the ticket in ink. If you buy from a human it may be 2 euros more.

Train strikes are a pain for travelers. We were affected by train strikes in Portugal. We ended up using FLIX bus and it worked quite well for us. FLIX operates through out Europe.

Buy the Bayern Ticket on your day of travel, no need to pre-purchase. Be sure to write the names of everyone travelling on the ticket in ink.

Or, If you buy it via the DB app (or another one), you enter the names there when booking.

Do Westbahn trains run on that route? I kept reading that they did but at Salzburg station I never saw an office nor a machine to buy their tickets.

They do, but only five times a day (and the fare for two is approx the double of the Bayern Ticket which you can use on the BRB trains).

There is a so called "WestShop" in the main hall of Salzburg Hbf.

Just saw an article calling for “disruptions” beginning January 8th.
What a headache.

Unfortunately, it is not yet clear what will happen.
GDL is willing to strike. But we don't know yet whether it will start on January 8th or later. We don't know whether BRB or Westbahn will be affected.

You can either live with the uncertainty and react flexibly or you can opt for Flixbus from Munich to Salzburg.
If you book now it is cheap and many possible times are available. If you book at short notice, it will be more expensive and sell out quickly once the date for the train strike is announced.

I would always prefer the train to the bus. But for a 2-hour journey, the bus is just fine.

Given all the issues with German trains lately and based on my own experience, I would just take the bus. Peace of mind and you won't have to worry about any strikes or train cancellations delays. Two hour trip is not bad at all and plenty of Germans ride the Flixbus.

Salzburg is nice but in the other direction from St. Anton. Soooo how about spending your first three nights enjoying Munich (lots to do) and then take the train down to the Neuschwanstein area to visit both castles and overnight (we stayed in Hohenschwangau)? Then head on to St. Anton.

Hi Kbk,

That sounds nice but looks like there is no connection on public transit between st anton and fussen area. Would have to go back to munich. Also not sure with the train situation.

If you're flying home from Munich take a look at driving. I don't have much experience traveling by train since we usually rent a car and drive all over the place. You could rent a car in Munich or take the train from Munich to Fussen and then rent before driving to Hohenschwangau and St. Anton before reversing course. On our trip we drove to Hohenschwangau from Zurich via Vaduz and spent the night. Then it was on to Munich for several days before heading to Salzburg and then onward. We had no problems driving and were not tied to any public transportation schedule. Regardless of what you do enjoy your trip!