Hi, my husband and I are thinking of going from Munich to Zugspitze to Reifenstein castle in one day by car. We would rent a car in Munich and go to Zugspitze and then Reifenstein castle and then back to Munich. We wanted to know how long we should plan on being at Zugspitze and Reifenstein castle? Has anyone driven this route? Is it difficult? We are from Texas and have not driven in any of these countries before. Thank you for any advice!
Posted by
Bavaria
2480 posts
I assume you mean Burg Reifenstein near Sterzing / Vipiteno? That would make for a long and stressful day. The pure driving time is about four hours one way (including time for finding your parking lot at Eibsee and buying the Austrian toll sticker). You would have to leave Munich around 6:30 a.m. to reach the first cable car at Eibsee (8:30 a.m.); after a stay of, say, 60-90min at the Zugspitze you could be back at the Eibsee parking around 12:00 p.m., and you'd arrive at Reifenstein around 2:30 p.m. For the way back you should calculate 3.5 hours, provided that there is no stau at the Brenner toll station and elsewhere on the route. Driving is easy, but I guess you would be exhausted in the evening.
Posted by
Southeast US
4046 posts
In case the OP does not know, stau = traffic back up, a frequent occurrence in the German-speaking world. A stau due to construction on the road from Berlin to Frankfurt added about 90-120 minutes to my driving trip in September.
Posted by
OP
7 posts
Thank you so much for your response. I was using Rome2 Rio to figure out how long it would take and perhaps that's not the best source. This helps a lot!
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33861 posts
Michelin (the French tyres/tires folks) have good apps and websites for planning a route. Their timings are slightly optimistic but the routes are accurate as as their costings. You tell them what kind of car and what fuel and they will give, in English or many other languages, you timings and cost estimates, adding the appropriate tolls or vignettes and accounting for the price of fuel. They also show you, with the colour green, the most scenic routes.
Posted by
3 posts
The train from Munich to Garmisch is quite easy to take and then there is a bus that will take you to board the transport to the Zugspitze. Garmisch is a pleasant town and quite walkable so you may enjoy a visit there instead of the castle. A short distance away (via train) is Mittenwald and it is quite nice also. If you haven't used the trains in Germany they are nice, run on time, safe and easy to use. The Munich Hauptbahnhof (main train station) is a hub of activity and fun to visit.