We are planning a trip to Germany in April and no matter how we arrange our trip, we end up in Munich from April 10-13. But this is during a trade show and the hotels are crazy expensive. Even the hostels are over $300 a night. Does anyone have recommendations for towns to stay in nearby where we could day trip to town? We're having a hard time finding anything with a reasonable price, even outside of Munich proper. Alternatively, if there are any castles nearby that have been converted to hotels, we'd be willing to pay more to do that. Any help would be great!
Posted by
924 posts
What about Augsburg? It's one of the oldest cities in Germany. It's a 30 minute train ride to Munich.
Posted by
San Francisco
14980 posts
How far do you want to be from Munich? I would suggest Ulm if Augsburg is not satisfactory. One of Germany's most famous cathedrals is located in Ulm, das Ulmer Münster.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thanks for these recommendations! I'll take a look. The goal is to be close enough to be able to see Munich's sites during the day. We're already planning to do Rothenburg and the Bavarian alps beforehand. We won't have a car, so wherever we choose will need to be along the train line. It's just tricky to know what directly to focus our time, and how long the train commute is reasonably going to take.
Posted by
Alsenborn, Germany
1488 posts
If you can, stay in Starnberg. Direct trains every 15-20 minutes, 30 minutes to Munich. Nice town, on the lake, off the American tourist radar.
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
8063 posts
I have stayed in Freising a couple times, convenient to the airport and easy frequent trains in to Munich HBF plus you can take the S1 from Freising (or change to the S1 along the way) and continue on into central Munich stops (Marienplatz for example).
I have also stayed in Tegernsee, a beautiful town on a lake in the foothills of the Alps, but admit, at nearly an hour, it is a bit difficult getting into and back from Munich, but maybe worth it.
Posted by
Adams Basin
559 posts
When I used to attend Productronica, I always stayed in nearby Feldkirchen. While we were vacationing this summer, I did the same. It's an easy place to get to that is outside of all of the Munich madness.
Posted by
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
10606 posts
We ran into this problem in September when our plans suddenly changed the day before our flight due to flooding and train track damage at our first destinations in Austria. We were flying into Munich just a few days before Oktoberfest started. I found a reasonably priced hotel in Dachau, which is only about 20 minutes from Munich on the S bahn. It worked out very well.
Edited to add the link for the hotel.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thank you all for the suggestions. It looks like all the outlying towns are either booked, or similarly expensive. Looks like we may just have to decide to pay it, or skip Munich altogether
Posted by
Northwest Arkansas
680 posts
skip Munich altogether
First, do you make or drink hoppy mead?
So, hate to see you miss Munich. IMO a less expensive hotel comes down to have far you want to travel on day trips. Nurmeberg is just over an hour away and I would expect that it is not significantly affected by Munich's trade fair. Lots of hotels in Nberg that are walking distance to the Hbf. Not all that far for a day trip or two from breafkast time until after dinner. Last spring I stayed at the Dusseldorf Hbf and day-tripped into Cologne for Carnival. Well worth the hotel savings.
You could also book a major chain hotel in Munich that can be cancelled on relatively short notice. Then check to see if prices drop in Munich as the fair starts. I don't like to do this to the hotels, but their flexible demand pricing models make it acceptable to me. I sometimes make two reservations for the same night(s) and then make a cancellation day decision on which city to visit.
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
8063 posts
Yeah, I looked briefly on Booking.com, and things are tight, lots of places filled, the filter showed 15 places available for under $250 a night, most of them Hostels, and that was with my discounts as a frequent user. A room during Oktoberfest opening weekend was easier to find.
I would try further out, and daytrip in maybe. Two hours or so by train each way sucks, but if you want to see the city.
Posted by
Chicago
2047 posts
I would look in Nurmberg-smaller than Munich. A lot to do and regional train service to use your Bayern ticket for a long day trip.
Posted by
Munich
221 posts
Unfortunately, you're out of luck, the bauma trade fair will take place in Munich from April 6 to April 13. This is the world's largest construction machinery trade fair, which takes place every 3 years.
Hotel prices during this time are at least as expensive as during the Oktoberfest.
You could look for places outside the Munich S-Bahn area but with good regional train connections. Ideally a place that is in the direction of your other destinations.
Buchloe (37 - 45 minutes to Munich main station), is on the way to Füssen/Neuschwanstein.
Tutzing (26-43 min) or Weilheim (37-45 min) on the way to Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Petershausen or Pfaffenhofen (29-36) are close to Dachau.
Landshut (44-48 min) is a nice city with direct connections to Munich, Regensburg and Munich Airport.
Or you could stay in the Nuremberg area and visit Munich as a day trip.