Travel from Appenzell, Switzerland to Fussen, Germany

I'm the Grinch here, but I don't think Fussen is worth visiting. It's very crowded and there are lines for everything, including the bathrooms. Do you REALLY want to go?

Yes, those are the two choices; no real short cut around them. Prices are best to pick up and drop off a car within one country, but you're still likely to have some train connections on at least one end.

Yes, it's a "lose lose" situation.

• If you rent a car, you will be hit by a big surcharge for a one-way rental with drop-off in a different country.
• If you take a train, it is many changes, as the lines in that area all go the wrong way.
• If you take a train across the border to Germany (Lindau) and pick up a car there, you still need multiple trains to get from Appenzell to Lindau.

It depends on what you are doing after Füssen. Is a car useful then? If yes, the third option may be the best, and Lindau is worth visiting.

BTW, Neither Appenzell or Füssen are "small villages", they are towns. Population 6,000 and 15,000 respectively.

WOW! You are such great resources! Thanks so much for your comments. We arrive in Geneva on September 24 and stay in Grandaux, Switzerland. We then go to Appenzell on September 29, and go from Appenzell to Füssen on October 4 and then on to Berlin on October 9.

Do you think it will be really crowded in Füssen at that time of year? We were going to stay in Munich, but because of the Octoberfest, the housing got crazy, so opted for Füssen. Also, are you familiar with using a private car transfer? We are going with another couple and we are all active seniors.

Chicken,

That's not really a daunting journey, provided you can tolerate an early departure. On the current schedules, there's a departure from Appenzell at 07:09, arriving Füssen at 12:55 (time 5H:46M, 2 changes in St. Gallen and Buchloe). There's a 47 minute layover in Buchloe, so you could stop for a coffee or whatever. Assuming the schedules don't change too much, that's the one I'd use as it gets you into Füssen in time for a nice relaxing late lunch.

Hi, Ken... Haha! I have never been called a chicken before...chicken lover yes! Getting another batch of chicks in March. Thanks so much for the train info! That was really helpful! Now that Christmas is over, we’re back looking at the details.

Fussen is one of my favorite places that I've been-I would never have gone there if my daughter hadn't wanted to see Neuschwenstein Castle. I really enjoyed the museum in Fussen.

Car rental originating in Switzerland is as expensive as it gets, even without taking into account what will be a substantial drop-off fee.

I like Fussen, have spent a few weeks there in the past, and it should be manageable crowd-wise the time of year you plan to go.

I did this train route from Füssen to Appenzell back in 2016 with a german day regional pass and a Swisspass after Lindau. It was a great journey as I recall now. Fun and easy. I believe I left Füssen near noon around 11 and arrived Appenzell near 17hs. I really enjoyed both towns. The stopovers were easy and I don't remember any problem regarding connecting trains.

I also remember from that leg, that I made a short stop at St. Gallen (don't remember exactly wich change station was, but it was a bigger town than Appenzell) and walked 5-10 mins to a Salt brand mobile shop to buy a local SIM card for the reminder of the Swiss trip ahead.

No insult intended with the "Chicken" moniker. I just used the first part of your profile name. Many of the forum group use their real first names, and it's always nicer to address people that way (IMO).

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this, but there's a RS travel group in the Denver area. Should you have any questions, I'm sure the helpful group there would be able to provide some answers - https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/travel-meetings/denver-travel-group-meeting-dec-15 .