Need Advice on 5 days in Bavaria/Austria. Itenerary and do we need Reservations?

"Is this going to be a hassle or stressful in the short time we have?"

Only if you think you must see everything.

I think your best bet might be Berchtesgaden.
Wood Bridge in B'gaden
Austrian Castles
Eagles Nest
Museums
Schönau am Königssee (alpine lake)

You'll probably be making a couple of trips into Austria.

It sounds like you are trying to 'plan' a spontaneous trip while using public transportation. This would be very stressful to me. I have traveled this area often, usually without reservations or a plan, but always with a car. You want to see so much but you will be hauling your luggage with you to each of these locations and tied to a train schedule, yet maybe not have a room. What if everything is booked? Then you have to haul your stuff to another town to find a room. If you really want to play it by ear you should consider renting a car, then you can move about at will, and if you don't find a hotel just jump in the car and move on to the next town. This is a really easy place to drive and see all of these sights, but I would not attempt to do it by train without hotel reservations, If at all possible add that extra day. It's a long way to go for such a short time. You do not need a car while in Munich.... The whole area is so beautiful and driving can be fun , but you are traveling during summer and things will be crowded.

You're probably already aware, but just to emphasize... you don't have a prayer of accomplishing all of those things or even half in 5 days,. So, what are your priorities? I second the suggestion of renting a car if you even want to accomplish a fraction of your wishlist.

A few more details..." Lots of Castles and Ruins, more medieval than fairytale. We will get the Castle Pass." Castle ruins are very common in central Germany, sort of common in northern Bavaria, much less so in southern Bavaria. Burghausen is a good option, although a little out of your way for so little time. Also, Burg Trausnitz in Landshut might meet your expectations, although tours are only offered in German. There's also a pretty big and well preserved castle in the Alps between Salzburg and Klagenfurt along the Autobahn, but it might be difficult to reach without a car. And there's also Hohensalzburg, although I didn't find the interior particularly interesting. I'm not sure what the castle pass is, but I doubt it would be worthwhile for your short trip.

"Walled Cities" Much more common farther north, but I can't think of single one in southern Bavaria or Austria...Radstadt in the Hohe Tauern region of Salzburgerland is partially walled, but this town isn't worth going far out of your way to visit unless it's along your route to somewhere else. The closets walled town I can think of to Munich is Nördlingen.

"Small town with window boxes of flowers" Everywhere in southern Bavaria. Probably harder to find one without window boxes than with. "and a wood bridge." I can't think of a single one, other than some small bridges over hiking trails.

"Alpine town near a lake... " Tegernsee. Eibsee near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, although the town isn't on the lake. Schliersee. Walchensee. Forgensee near Füssen, although the lake was partially drained for some kind of engineering work last time I was there in February. Alpsee at Schwangau. Not in the Alps, but the Alps are clearly visible, Chiemsee. And for the grandest combination lake and Alpine view of them all, Lindau on the Bodensee, although this isn't convenient to anything else on your list.

Finally... such a wide wishlist for such a short amount of time means that you have very little built-in flexibility. You can expect that if you budget only one specific day for an Alpine excursion, that one day could very well get wiped out by bad weather.

t-meg:
You do not have time to do a "loop" trip, which, as has been pointed out, would involve checking in, unpacking, packing, checking out, hauling luggage around, etc.... not by train or bus, OR by car either. You will need to get reservations in ONE place and find the things that interest you (and you did a good job of articulating them) within a certain radius of that place. A tight radius will also be helpful with a tight budget.

Based on what you said, I suggested Berchtesgaden - with day trips into Austria - as a place where you could indulge most of your interests. Salzburg is a bus trip of maybe 40 minutes.
Berchtesgaden sights

You may not even need Bayern Ticket for outings from B'gaden. B'gaden offers a free guest card to visitors. The card offers discounts here (including the Eagle's Nest bus) and there and permits free public bus travel within the immediate region; a supplement is payable for trips to Salzburg.

Eagle's Nest FAQ

If you are flying into and out of MUC, then the Bayern ticket will be handy for trips between there and B'gaden. You might be able to work in a stop at Dachau on the way to or from MUC.

With only 5 nights I would suggest you travel to Salzburg on the 22nd, stay a couple of nights and then travel back to Munich for 3 nights. There's a lot to see in Salzburg to keep you busy for 2 days and nights and there are many scenic towns near lakes close to the city. At Munich you can do a day trip to Ludwig's castles which leaves you with 2 days to see the sights in and around the city (Dachau?). If you can extend your stay in Germany do so. I'm sure you will not regret it. For some reason time speeds up when you are over there. Have fun.

Thanks for the replies. My current plan is to stay three nights in Munich and three in Saltzburg and do some day trips. I looked in B'gaden but the whole place was booked when we would need to be there, but plenty of rooms the weeks before and after. Weird.

I still think we have too much on our list, but can plan each day according to our whim and the weather.

Tom: thanks for the lists. They helped me narrow down my options while giving me lots of ideas for the things that will work.
Russ: your input was very helpful. Too bad B'gaden was so packed. That looked ideal.

**I'd still appreciate suggestions of less touristy things to visit from our home bases of Munich and Saltzburg using public transportation!

This is basically the trip we did (same towns but we arrives DUS and departed MUC..). Arrive and head right out of town. I would go first to Salzburg - home base there two days and take bus day two to Berchtesgaden. North to Nurnberg, Bamburg and somewhere else (we visited Wurzburg) before last night out of Munich). Trains were very easy we did use a train pass as it figured out to be coat effective. I think we were in Germany 7 days and got 5 day passes.

Hi Meg- The folks responding above all provided good advice. And you are right, it looks like Salzburg is pretty expensive 22-23-24 July. When you get to Munich, rent a car at the airport and drive to Berchtesgaden and get a room for 3 nights. Stop at any station on the Autobahn and get a good map. That way you can do 1.5 days in Berchtesgaden (Small town with window boxes of flowers and a wood bridge, the Eagle's Nest, Alpine town near a lake... Schönau am Königssee) , and hiking. Then spend a day in Salzburg (about a 30 minute drive from Berchtesgaden) where you can see a couple of castles (Festung Hohensalzburg and Schloss Hellbrun) , walk the old town, tour Mirabell Gardens, etc. If you drive on any autobahn in Austria be sure to get the Austrian autobahn sticker(Vignette) for your car before entering Austria. Then Friday morning drive back to Munich and drop the car off. Public transportation is wonderful in Munich. Then Fri afternoon and Saturday spread the time between the 2 museums in the middle of town (Alte Pinakothek and Neue Pinakothek), visit the Marienplatz, Englisher Garten, and the Hofbrau house. Check the weather forecast before you leave to firm up your daily activities (indoor or outdoor). I personally would not visit Dachau on this first trip…

Usually the hotels are emptier during the week (and less expensive) in the smaller towns and just the opposite in Munich (emptier and less expensive on weekends). I would suggest you try and make hotel reservations before leaving to save time searching for a room since you don't have much time on the ground. I have had good experience with Booking.com in that the site is in English, they have a wide variety of rooms, and they provide good maps for the locations of the hotels. (I just checked Berchtesgaden for July 22,23, and 24 . The second or third hotel listed is Hotel Grunberger- Looking at the picture I believe I stayed there a few years back. Cost for these 3 nites is about $425 total, with free parking and breakfast. From the listing,
This centrally-located hotel in Berchtesgaden has Alpine-style rooms, an indoor pool, and a daily breakfast buffet. It stands right on the River Ache, a 3-minute walk from Berchtesgaden Central Station and offers free Wi-Fi.
The rooms at the family-run 3-star Hotel Grünberger have cable TV channels and Wi-Fi internet. Most rooms feature a balcony.
Guests enjoy free use of Hotel Grünberger’s sauna and pool, which features massage jets. There is also a large sunbathing area where guests can relax.
Berchtesgaden Congress Center is a 15-minute walk from the Hotel Grünberger.
Parking is free at the Grünberger. Königssee Lake, the Berchtesgaden Nature Reserve and the Kehlsteinhaus are less than 10 minutes away by car. Salzburg can be reached in about 30 minutes.
We speak your language! Hotel Rooms: 66

I didn’t look at any of the other hotels listed since this one seemed adequate…

Also make your car reservations before arriving in Germany. There is a car rental company (www.Gemut) that a lot of travelers swear by. They will provide a lot of good information about car rentals in Germany. Be sure and check the car for dents, etc and insist that these are noted on the rental agreement to prevent any misunderstanding when you return the car. If your car has GPS, you can drive it to your hotel and car rental return location. Else it is very easy to drop the car off at the Munich airport (gas station to refill the tank is on the access road between the Autobahn and the airport terminal) and take public transportation ( S-Bahn 1 or 8) back to Munich.
Don’t drink and drive as the laws are very intolerant…It’s too bad you can only spend 5 nites on this trip. It seems like a long way to fly for this amount of time, but have a great trip and plan to spend more time on your next trip!!

Hi,

Just curious, did you only check Berchtesgaden itself for rooms?
Buses will take you to/from Berchtesgaden to Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden OR Schonau am Konigsee, 10 minutes or less away from the town of Berchtesgaden.

We can recommend these places:
www.mayringerlehen.de
www.friedwiese.de/enska/isl.htm
www.ramsau.de

Did you look into Mittenwald? Very easy by train to/from Munich.

www.schwalbennestl.de
www.edlhuber-mittenwald.de

We always go through Andy Bestor at www.gemut.com for rental cars. I think with the short amount of time you have, best bet would be pick up a car upon arriving at Munich airport and head either to the Berchtesgaden area or Mittenwald area and base for 4 nights. Leave early and drive to Munich, drop the car and stay your final 2 nights.

Paul

I am also planning my first trip and I agree it's so overwhelming and far more difficult than I anticipated. I try to plan, get stressed and walk away from the computer. I think my biggest worry is the train system as I have NO clue what I am doing and am traveling with my 9 yr. old daughter, I'm sure I will figure it out but it's nerve wracking to say the least.

Another option for rooms is www.airbnb.com, we plan to stay at some places I found on there in Vienna, Salzburg and Berchtesgaden. I am excited to stay with someone that lives in the country and we will be able to learn a great deal about their home plus the prices are very reasonable.

We fly into Vienna and the first week plan to do Vienna, Hallstat, Salzburg with a side trip to Berchtesgaden and Fussen. Then our second week we plan to tour around Northern Italy. I haven't even begun to try to figure out Italy yet and we leave June 19th. YIKES!!

Good luck, have fun and I will be following the replies on here as we are heading to many of the same areas. Like you I know that there are way too many places I want to see in a short amount of time, my husband keeps telling me to slow down, enjoy and not run our brains out while we are there as it will be stressful. I am trying to be in the mindset that I will return again and what I don't see this trip I will see next time. Easier said than done.