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Need help with itinerary (swiss-germany)

Hi all Rick Steve Forum member

(This is my first time posting a topic on this website. If I did something inappropriate I apologize in advance.)
I plan to go to Switzerland-Germany between 1-14 September

My plan:
//Day 1 : Thun Lake - sleep : Interlaken
//Day 2 : Schilthorn, Lauterbrunnen - sleep : Interlaken
//Day 3 : Brienze Lake - sleep : Grand Hotel Giessbach
//Day 4 : Jungfraujoch - sleep : Grindelwald
//Day 5 : Grindelwald First, Bachalpsee - sleep : Grindelwald
//Day 6 : Pilatus/Titlis - sleep : Lucerne
//Day 7 : Munich Altstadt - sleep : Munich
//Day 8 : Linderhof - sleep : Munich
//Day 9 : Neuschwanstein & Fussen - sleep : Munich
//Day 10 : Zugspitze - sleep : Munich
//Day 11 : Heldelberg - sleep : Heidelberg
//Day 12 : Bacharach to St.Goar (Down stream river cruise) then train back - sleep : Bacharach
//Day 13 : Burg Eltz - sleep : Bacharach
//Day 14 : Frankfurt (and flying back from Frackfurt airport at 20:40 pm)

I want to ask:
1. Has anyone ever been on a trip similar to this? What type of pass do you recommend buying? (I have a tentative idea of ​​maybe buying a Berner Oberland Pass + buying separate tickets Zurich > Interlaken, Lucerne > Munich
2. I have never been to Germany. If based on this trip roughly What kind of travel ticket should I buy? (I think I will travel mainly by train in Germany.)
3. Besides Neuschwanstein You have to reserve early. Are there any places on this scheduled trip that require booking?
4. Is the travel schedule too tight? Do you have any special advice?

Thank you very much in advance!

Posted by
14 posts

We were in Switzerland last summer and again in the fall. We have done all of the things on your Switzerland itinerary except Jungfraujoch. I feel like your first 5 days could all be done from the same home base. We stayed in murren and did thun and grindelwald day trips very easily. Lauterbrunnen and schilthorn of course are very close to murren. We could have done Jungfraujoch from murren easily as well, but chose to do beautiful hikes in murren/mannlichen instead. Maybe you like staying in a different hotels every night, but you may want to consider consolidating bases so you are not spending so much time packing and unpacking, checking out and checking in.
Our first time we used the Swiss travel pass. Worked great, just had to pay a few fares for cable cars that were not included. Second time we purchased a half fare card and berner overland pass. Worked great, just had to pay fares on way to interlaken area. Probably spent around the same doing the different passes, and can’t say one worked better than the other. I’d just go to the SBB office in the airport train station, show them your itinerary and they will tell you best pass to buy.
Have not been to Germany yet, have a 2 week trip planned in a few weeks! The only thing we have reserved in advance (besides hotels and rental car) is neuschwanstein)
Hope that helps!

Posted by
2588 posts

Day 8&9. Take a tour from Munich that visits both in one day

Posted by
4046 posts

I agree with the above recommendation to consolidate Days 1-5 into a single base. I like that you are doing 4 nights in Munich.

I will be in Bangkok for a few days in late May/early June!

Posted by
3 posts

Thank you everyone very much for the answers.
(I haven't been able to view this post since it was posted. I thought it was broken)
These answers helped me a lot.

Posted by
1488 posts

You do realize that Linderhof, Neuschwanstein, and the Zugspitze are all in the same area? You're wasting way too much time traveling back and forth. Stay a night in Fussen or Garmish (or anyplace near there). The same with Interlachen and Grindlewald. And why not just stay at Burg Eltz? Seriously, you can walk all of Bacharach in a couple hours, St Goar also.

Posted by
3 posts

Thank you KGC very much for your reply.
The reason why I stay in munich and have a round trip to both Linderhof and Neuschwanstein is that I don't want to change hotel too often, and I want my plans to be flexible. Moreover, I plan to travel by train so I booked accommodation in Munich and planned round-trip transportation from there. In fact, I was interested in a tour that took me to Linderhof and Neuschwanstein castle on the same day as well, But I'm afraid I'll be in too much of a hurry. Has anyone had experience buying a tour to visit Linderhof and Neuschwanstein in one day? How was it?

Posted by
5620 posts

I wouldn't sleep in Bacharach, I'd sleep in Boppard, and you're closer to Berg Elz. Boppard is a charming river town with many options for hotels and restaurants and transportation. I know Bacharach is an RS fav, but is very small and sleepy.
Have a great trip!

Posted by
1488 posts

You can do Linderhof and Neuschwanstein in the same day.

Posted by
21162 posts

Another advantage of Boppard over Bacharach is that if you stay in Boppard, you will get a free VRM transport card that will cover transportation by train and bus to Burg Eltz and back.