I will be traveling from Munich this fall to Oberammergau/ Fussen area by train arrriving in the late evening.
I am going to stay for 2 nights in the area then head off to Prague.
Day 1: Neuschwanstein Castle and Hohenschwangau Castle
Day 2: Linderhof Palace
What train station is the best to come in on (Oberammergau or Fussen )?
What buses would I take from the train station to each Neuschwanstein Castle and Hohenschwangau Castle and Linderhof Palace ?
It is a very short bus ride from Fuessen to Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau. Bus 78 from the train station goes, but I believe there are also others. The buses from Fuessen to this area leave several times an hour.
You say you are arriving in the area in the late evening, spending 2 night there, then going to Prague on the third day. I assume you head for Prague in the morning. That gives you only one full day to see all three places.
Having traveled extensively in that area, and having visited all three of the places, I cannot recommend that someone try to see all of them in one day. Unless you are just trying to impress your friends with the names of places you have been to (briefly), I don't think you can do justice to all three. Even the bus tours don't try to see all three; they just do Neuschwanstein and Linderhof.
The tours in Hohenschwangau are pretty regimented. You pick up your tickets (you would need to reserve in advance) at the kiosk in the village one hour before the first castle tour starts. The kiosk opens at 8:00. If there were no one in line in front of you, the first tour, then, would be Hohenschwangau at 9:00 (or later, depending on when the first English tour started). The tours take 35 minutes and I think they figure 45 minutes to walk up the hill from Hohenschwangau to Neuschwanstein and set the Neuschwanstein tour 45 minutes or more after the Hohenschwangau tour ends. Then you walk back to the village (30 min downhill). The whole process will take at least 3½ hours, meaning the earliest you can leave for Linderhof is 11:30, probably later.
Linderhof is not so regimented. The tour of the small palace, which was essentially an apartment for one person, Ludwig, doesn't take very long, but the grounds are very extensive, and you can easily spend half a day (when I was there, I spent about 6 hours).
Spending two full days (3 nights) would be more appropriate. If you can't schedule two days this trip, see Hohenschwangau/Neuschwanstein this time and come back some other time for Linderhof.
I plan on going to linderhof on my day in the morning.. My from fussing doesn't leave until 3 pm.. So I figure leave linderhof around 12 get back to hotel by 1 take a car by 1:30 to be at the fussen train by 2:30
We generally recommend basing in Fuessen, since it served by some direct trains from Munich. If you do visit all three castles in one or two days, you will travel Fuessen-Oberammergau roundtrip by bus regardless of which town you start in. Only a few Fuessen-Oberammergau bus per day are direct; departing Fuessen at 12:45 and 17:10 and departing Oberammergau at 10:25; others require one or more connections; re-confirm schedules for your actual travel date.
But, Laura, Munich to Füssen takes longer, 2 hours, and half the time there is one change of train, usually at Buchloe. Munich to Oberammergau take less time, 1 hour 45 min, with a change at Murnau.
The complete bus schedule between Oberammergau and Füssen (RVO 9606) is here. The bus schedule between Oberammergau and Linderhof (RVO 9622) is here.
There is a bus leaving Oberammergau at 6:40, getting to Linderhof at 7:05. Linderhof doesn't open until 9; you don't want that one. The next bus is at 9:30, getting to Linderhof at 10:00. There are buses leaving Linderhof at 10:50 and 12:00. The 12:00 bus (giving you 2 hours at Linderhof) gets to Oberammergau Bahnhof at 12:24 on school days, 12:29 on non-school days. There is a bus leaving Oberammergau at 12:50, changing at Echelsbacher Brücke, getting to Füssen Bahnhof at 14:51, 14 minutes before your 15:05 trains.
But, if you are staying in Oberammergau, why go to Füssen to catch the train to Munich (the 15:05 train gets to Munich at 17:05). There is a train leaving Oberammergau at 14:39, giving you more time to get your luggage at the hotel, and getting into Munich at 16:26, half an hour earlier than the train from Füssen).
If you go to Munich from Oberammergau, you could stay at Linderhof until 12:50, get back to Oberammergau at 13:09, still with plenty of time to catch the 14:39 train to Munich.
If you are staying in Oberammergau, I would recommend Gästehaus Richter. It's a nice place, good price for Oberammergau, Frau Richter is gracious and speaks good English, and it's about a block (220 m, 3 min walk) from the train/bus station in Oberammergau.
If you are staying both nights in Oberammergau, you can make reservations in advance on the Hohenschwangau website, take the bus in the morning to Hohenschwangau and pick up your tour tickets at the kiosk, tour both castles, and catch the last bus back to Oberammergau at 17:10.
All of this assumes weekday travel. The buses on weekends run less often.
I am a little concerned about you itinerary. You said you were going to Prague later that day, and that you were going to Füssen to catch the 3 PM (15:05). That train gets into Munich at 17:05, and I don't see any connections to Prague other than the 18:12 ICE to Nürnberg and the bus from there to Prague. Is that the connection you were planning on using? On the other hand, if you take the 14:39 train from Oberammergau, you''ll arrive at Munich Hbf at 16:26, in time for either the 17:00 bus from Hackerbrücke ZOB to Prague or the 17:02 ALX train to Prague.
