Thinking about doing a 1-day car rental in Munich for a party of 4 to tour Neuschwanstein Castle and see some smaller town sites along the way. Has anyone else done this? Good idea or bad? Advice?? The bus tours/ train routes sound overly long.
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
4891 posts
Doable, provided you have booked the castle timed tickets in advance. Drive time would be anywhere from 1.5 - 2 hours depending on traffic in Munich. Probably prudent to head straight to N'stein first, then do your small town stops on the way back. A visit to the Wieskirche, Oberammergau and Ettal wouldn't be that big a detour. That would make for a very full day, by the time you drove back to Munich.
Posted by
Austin, Texas, USA
541 posts
We did this a long time ago. It was my first time to drive on the autobahn as we had come up from Austria to Neuschwanstein. The drive from there to Munich was a pleasant (and fast) one. Enjoy!!
Posted by
Paradise
6663 posts
How much time will you waste picking up and dropping off the car? Or stuck in traffic? Or looking for parking? You cannot drive right up to the N'stein entrance anyway.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7ckkP_nUR0&t=5s
The train takes you directly to the nearest town - Füssen - in 2 hours - through lovely countryside, with no driving responsibilities. Relax and enjoy the views.
The shuttle bus ride from the train station to the N'stein stop takes exactly 8 minutes.
Since you want to spend time in a small town... Füssen is a good choice. It's actually an interesting and attractive town... Nice churches, museums, the Hohes Schloß... hiking nearby. Tourists too often get distracted by N'stein and don't bother with the town. Go figure. The town is much more interesting than N'stein if you ask me.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g187316-Activities-Fussen_Swabia_Bavaria.html
I wouldn't go to all the travel and trouble just for N'stein's overpacked, overpriced 30-minute tour. But if you're going to make a day of it in/near Füssen, sure - but make it easier on yourselves and take the train.
Posted by
TX
980 posts
I’ve never done this as a day trip by car or train. It’s a little too far for to meet my day trip threshold. If you still want to try, I'll put in my plug to recommend a car for this particular trip from Munich. Yes, you can get there by train but the drive is nice and a car gives you the option to stop along the way at places like Starnberg, Wieskirche, or even venture into the mountains a little. I've done both and honestly I prefer to little breaks we can take in the countryside on the drive up and down.
DJ