Southern Germany, Driving, Bed and Breakfast, ADVENTURES advice

When I am driving in that region, I usually pick the car as I leave Munich and make a circle SW through Bavaria, into Austria (Tirol) and back around to Salzburg. It's an easy drive back into Munich. The Austrian Alps are virtually the same in appearance as the Swiss Alps, and Austria is cheaper to travel through and more efficient than going into Switzerland.

With a rental car you can see so much more than taking a train or bus. We love to get up on the mountain driving from village to village.

Tirol has hundreds and hundreds of small hotels and B&B's to stay in. I would suggest you look at Booking.com. In Austria and Bavaria, you cannot go wrong on accommodations. They're impeccably kept properties for the most part. BavariaBen is another great source of rooms and information on the region.
The most adventurous thing I do is drive hard through the mountains--a thrill to itself.

The region has every kind of extreme sport known to man. If you go on top of the mountain (by ski lift), gliders and hang gliders will often come by.

One of our favorite sights is to sit at Kranebitten on the north of the Innsbruck Airport at dark watching the sail planes (gliders) land on the grass beside the runways.

For the best information on places to stay, try the town's website. Usually it has the format www.TOWN NAME.de (germany) or .at (austria).

Google 'fun forest germany' or 'kletterwald' for a fun activity that you may enjoy. You might also like 'sommerrodelbahn'

"I'm probably going to be driving a car to hit all the most beautiful outdoor places that are not as easily accessible. Does anyone have advice on taking a car and is there a better way to travel through that area?"

The main advantage of a car in Germany is that you are less limited by the need to find accommodations near the railway stations.

That said, there are something like 5,500 railway stations in Germany, a country that is incredibly well served by trains and connecting buses. And contrary to what you may think, beauty is not inaccessible at all. Oberstaufen, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Garmisch, Berchtesgaden and dozens of other alpine destinations have stations, connecting transport, lifts of all kinds...

BUT... trains tend to connect these places individually with low-elevation places (Munich, Augsburg, etc.) You cannot quickly and easily catch a train from one alpine destination to the next to the next in east-west fashion along the southern German border because the train routes run mostley south-north. East-west routes are covered by much slower bus travel.

So if you are trying to stay in the mountains the whole time, you will find a car easier. Visitors who will spend time in Salzburg, Augsburg, Munich, etc. probably won't require a car, but you might.

Although it's true that the rail lines in southern Bavaria tend to run radially out of mountains towards (north) flatter land, the entire area is well connected with a network of bus lines run by RVO, a subsidiary of the Bahn. The Alpenstrasse is a road running along the mountains near the Bavaria-Austria border. I've traveled on all but a few short sections by bus and, occasional, by train.