tour Neuwschwanstein and towns along Romantic Rd--advice soon!

It's about two hours from Munich to Neuschwanstein, two hours back, and then two hours in the other direction to Rothenburg. That's without stopping. It could physically be done in one day, but not if you want to get out of the car. Pick one or the other, and it's a full day trip from Munich. The Romantic Road is just a road, nothing special about it if you don't have time to stop.

Are you interested in actually seeing something or just bragging to your friends that you have briefly occupied some well known geographic locations? This is what I call a check list tour - all quantity, no quality.

By the way, if you've never been to Munich, there is far more to see there than you can do in one day, and you don't have to spend all day traveling to see it. Stay in Munich.

And, BTW, although not the icon that Neuschwanstein is, Hohenschwangau is interesting as an example of castle living in the early 1800s. My wife and I visited both; she liked Hohenschwangau better.

Evangeline,

Visiting both Neuschwanstein / Hohenschwangau and Romantic Road medieval towns in one day is going to be VERY challenging and somewhat of an ordeal (and perhaps not even possible, except for a huge cost). I'd suggest choosing one or the other.

For visiting the Castles you can easily travel by train to Füssen on your own and then take the local Bus to the Castles. You can either walk up the hill to Neuschwanstein or take the horse drawn carriage. I'd suggest leaving some time to take a walk across Marienbrücke (Mary's bridge) as it provides fantastic views of the Castle. If you use this method, you'll have to make the time-specific reservations for the Castle tour on your own.

You could also take a guided day trip with Radius Tours, which is based in Munich at the Hbf (main station). You'll still be travelling by public transport, but they'll take care of all the arrangements and the Guide will provide a brief tour and describe the somewhat unusual history related to King Ludwig and the Castle. With this option, you may not have time visit Hohenschwangau.

Try to see some of the sights of Munich as well, as there are a LOT of very interesting and historic places to see there.

Happy travels!

Evangeline,

The other posters are right, you simply do not have time to visit both Rothenburg and Neuschwanstein. With only one full day in Munich, I'd stay in the city. There really is a lot to explore, including Nymphenburg Castle (more of a palace, really), if you are looking specifically to fit in a castle. You could easily spend two to three days exploring and that doesn't include visiting any museums.

If you are looking to visit Neuschwanstein Castle, you can get there very easily by train but my personal preference would be to rent a car (it really is pretty straightforward to get to and from the main train station, especially if you have a GPS). Or, if you really want to, hiring a private driver/tour guide. If you had a car/driver, I would suggest starting early and heading straight to Neuschwanstein. I'd visit Hohenschwangau, it really is the more interesting tour in my opinion, and/or Neuschwanstein. Then I'd head to Linderhof, King Ludwig's 'hunting lodge'. Although it may not resemble a fairy tale castle, it really is the best of the castles he built and he actually lived here for a while. If you had time, I'd fit in a visit to Wieskirche, Oberammergau, Ettal Monastery and/or Andechs on your way back to Munich.

I'd skip Rothenburg, it will take you about 3 hours to get there either by train or by car, then 3 hours back. There are other posters here who can recommend good alternatives that would be closer. If you do decide to go, I'd head straight for the town centre and then spend all your time exploring.

I hope this helps a little. Have a great trip!

All the advice above makes sense for your short stay. If you don't have the time or interest to see more of Munich, you could sleep in Fuessen, instead, to be closer to those sites.