Good Day All!
Trying to plan our fall vacation somewhat last minute, and hoping to get some advice from all you knowledgable folks.
Wanting to fly into Munich to catch a few days of Oktoberfest (approx Sept 29-Oct 3), as well as just explore the city, I believe we should have about 5 days total.
The on to Salzburg via train to spend a few days.
Off to Vienna for maybe 5 days or so, then fly back to CA.
Question is, what should I be looking at as far as an itinerary, and where to stay?
Fly into Munich
Train to Salzburg
Train to Vienna
Fly out of Vienna
Thank you AI, you're a genius.
Nail down hotels in Munich. Prices go up and availability goes down for Oktoberfest. Do it now.
Any input as to where I should stay, knowing we will go to Oktoberfest for a day or 2, but explore other areas as well?
GO PACK GO!
I would start with booking.com to see what is available at what price. Any where between Rosenheimer Platz and the Hbf would be good. It is easy to get around Munich with the S-Bahn, U-Bahn, and trams.
Don't stay in Munich. Already pretty booked up and expensive in that period for what's left.
Good that you want to explore. There are some great towns you can visit without setting foot in Munich (except for O'fest and whatever sights you have in mind) and without sleeping there. Here's a plan that should work across 5 days:
Freising for 2 nights... then Regensburg for 2 nights... arrive in evening of Day 5 in Salzburg stay. Details:
Day 1: 10 minute train ride from the airport to Freising. Do the Weihenstephaner, see town.
Day 2: Direct train into Munich (27 minutes on the direct RE train) for O'fest; return by the same route in evening.
Day 3: Direct Train to Regensburg, takes 1 hr. (UNESCO World Heritage medieaval town center.) Drop bags at hotel, tour town.
Day 4: Direct Train to Nuremberg, takes 1 hr.; full day there, return to Regensburg in the evening.
Day 5: Check out. Direct Train to Landshut, takes 45 minutes; drop bags in a station locker for sightseeing stopover for a few hours. Direct train in afternoon to Salzburg, takes 2.3 hrs.
It's possible that Freising is already impacted for your dates; if so, you could book LANDSHUT instead for 2 nights and get into Munich from there.
I think it's a fine itinerary. Except for Vienna, I will be there around the same time. I enjoy Munich and you will find enough to do over 5 days, especially if a couple of them are visiting Oktoberfest. Same for Vienna...so much to do there. Salzburg may be a little small for "a few days" depending upon your interest in music and/or the Sound of Music.
As for hotels, if you are a frequent traveler I suggest you start by looking at your perferred chains, such as IHG, Marriott, and Accor. If you want more of the single owner, local hotels, then look at the reviews found on this site. As mentioned, hotels are pricey in Munich during Oktoberfest and many are already sold out. One strategy many use is to find a hotel further out for the city center that is near and S/U-Bahn station,
