Stops between Munich and Berchtesgaden

The A8 can be a parking lot, for something different I'd recommend heading this route stopping at Wasserburg am Inn then and Chiemsee. If the weather is nice you could skip the A8 past Chiemsee and continue on the B306 and B305 to Berchtesgaden.

DJ

Edit: fixed Google Map link to actually go through Wasserburg!

I love the ability to stop whenever I want and sight see!

And I love the ability to sight see without having to stop or take my eyes off the road, which is why I advise public transportation. In 18 years of traveling with public transportation in Germany (over half in "that area of the world") only once (Pfronten) have I passed through a place where I wanted to stop and see more. I've since gone back to Pfronten several times to visit and seen everything.

My best advice to you would be to do this with public transportation, so since you aren't going to take my best advice, I shouldn't give you more, but I will. 305 goes through Reit im Winkl, which I think is a really gorgeous town (I've stopped there twice while doing the Alpenstraße), and the roads in and out of it are scenic also. 305 is part of the Alpenstraße. I don't know how to tell you to get to Prien, but I would definitely recommend 305 to Berchtesgaden from there.

Chiemsee itself is worth a full day. Wasserburg has a very pleasant inner core but will add a little to your travel time.

And from there it's short ride to Aschau with it's castle and the cable car up to the Kampenwand offering nice views on lake Chiemsee.
Near Bad Reichenhall there is the Predigtstuhl cable car, a technical monument dating back to 1928, which has been in operation since then with the original equipment. Nice summit restaurant, good view.

A few years ago, I went from Munich airport to Salzburg with a stop at Herrenchiemsee. I didn't need a car at all. I made a stopover with the train from Munich to Salzburg at Prien Bahnhof and took the steam streetcar from the Prien station to the boat dock at Stock. Easy to do. At the streetcar Bahnhof, which is next to the Bahn station, you can buy a combination ticket for the streetcar and the boat.

And from there it's short ride to Aschau

"Ride". There is an RB out of Prien to Aschau Bahnhof. Takes 14 minutes. From Aschau Bahnhof it's a 5 minute bus ride (RVO 9502) to the stop at the base of the castle (Hohenaschau) and the Talstation for the Kamperwandbahn.

Thanks for the advice all, I’ll check everything out!

And Lee, while I appreciate that public transport is awesome, I don’t understand the need for people to be so deamening towards those that like to have the freedom that a car affords you. I like being on my own schedule and having the freedom to do what I want. I like to wander off a bit and really enjoy myself and I love driving. I think public transport is great and use it almost exclusively when I travel, but having a car in this area of the world to freely stop and see what I want brings me great joy and is something that I wouldn’t miss out on. My favorite memories come from the day we rented a car early one morning in Munich and headed out towards Fussen. We ended up going to Fussen, Linderhof and Oberammergau all in one day with lots of little stops along the way. I think back to that day all the time and can’t wait to do it again! So while I appreciate your advice, I would also ask that you respect the thread I created in which I made it clear that I would not be talked out of renting a car.