Trip planned for Munich and Salzburg, 12/27-1/5

Hi there. Until the more experienced and knowledgable posters chime in on this, allow me to jump in. I'm no expert by any means, having only been to Germany one time. BUT: to me, it doesn't sound like you have anywhere near enough days for all of this.

Arrive on the 27th and depart on the 5th, right? They usually advise that the day of arrival and departure are basically a wash. So, it plays out more like 8 days on the ground. That is an awfully ambitious itinerary. It really doesn't sound doable to me.

Let's see what the experts have to say. They may know something that I don't.

You have 10 days, and realistically the first and last don't count as you will be recovering on arrival and prepping for departure. That leaves 8 days. In winter from Munich to Kitzbuhl is a full day, and if you plan to ski you'd do best to stay overnight on at least one end. Dachau is a day trip, the train goes right to the gates. Neuschwanstein is a full day, because you're going to want to stop in one or two of the smaller towns going down there and you'll probably also want to see Hohenschwangau. Same with Berschtesgarten, and Heidleburg. So you just spent a week and haven't seen Munich, and it's time to go to Salzburg, do the Sound of Music tour, and then get back on the train as you're flying out of Munich the next day.

Way to much to do in the time allotted. And you want to do this over the New Years Holiday? Two days when, if it isn't closed, service is minimal?

Do yourself a favor, pick the three things you "have" to see/do. Put them into your schedule, and then, if you have time, try to do that.

Personally I don't think you can see a city in less than three days. I've spent months in Munich and Salzburg and haven't seen everything. I've skied Kitz and Ishgl for 4-5 days at a time and still feel the need to go back for things I've missed.

I'd drop Dachau, Heidelberg, Kitzbuhl, and Innsbruck. Kitz is going to be jammed with vacationing skiers. Dachau is extremely depressing. Heidelberg is clear across Germany and the autobahn is not that fast in winter. Innsbruck is on the way to Salzburg (if you drive), but is best in the spring.

What I'd do is arrive in Munich on the 27th, go to the Castles on the 28th, go to Berschtesgarten on the 29th, hang out around Munich or drive up to Rothenberg on the 30th, hang out in Munich New Years eve. Catch a train to Salzburg on the 1st, do what you want around there, and then either head back to Munich early or whatever turns your crank. You could even do an overnight in Innsbruck; it's only an hour from Munich by train.

Have a good trip!

I agree with KCG. You have planned too much for too little time, especially since your trip occurs over New a years, when most sights will be closed. Slow down, visit more in a Munich and enjoy your trip, rather than racing around trying to cram in just one more sight. And, to answer your Christmas Market question — Christmas markets stop before Christmas.

Many thanks for the valuable input, helpful!

Kitzbuhel is not worth it unless you are skiing or fascinated by famous ski places.

My family, similar ages, will be there around the same time period. At least you're arriving when the sites open back up, we will be in these two cities over Christmas. I had the similar feedback on my initial request for input. And I felt these much savvier travelers deflated my balloon a bit when I was seeking ideas in prioritizing what to see; I had no intention of seeing it all, that would be impossible! After distilling the responses, we are taking this trip with a relaxed approach. We hope to see 1-2 main sights a day, with maybe one half day trip outside of Munich. We'll likely be spending Christmas in a biergarten, but that is fine with us! In Salzburg, we are not going outside of the main old town, but also only spending 1.5 days there. We go from there to Vienna where we will hopefully do a day trip to Bratislava. Overall though, as someone new to traveling Europe, my idea is to take what I know my FAMILY can handle (less museums, more relaxing), while still trying to see the sights, even if that just means walking around looking at the architecture. I am admittedly a novice to foreign travel but have done extensive US trips. So my advice is to consider your family's thresholds and plan from there! Good luck with your plans!

Good suggestions, thanks!

My other half and I once traveled while trying to see as much as possible in one day. We finally realized that this concept doesn't work for us. I find that I enjoy my travels much more if I pick a few things to see and hope that I'll be back again to see the rest.

We always make a list of what we HAVE to see on a trip. We each pick one item. Those are a priority for the trip. Everything else is a bonus after that.

You've had some great, trip specific advice in this thread. I hope you and your family have a wonderful European adventure!

In areas like Kitzbuhel, Berchesgarten and Innsbruck, you will encounter the skiing tourist that may fill up lodging. Also, it may snow while you are there. Do you plan on renting a car? If it snows, you may find driving difficult.

Also, going in the Winter, you will encounter short days (it gets dark about 4:30) and you will need warm clothing with hats and gloves when outside.
Christmas Markets end just before Christmas.

Thanks to all for the valuable suggestions!

Innsbruck is on the way to Salzburg (if you drive), but is best in the spring.

I can't vouch for Innsbruck in spring, but I really enjoyed it in December last year. But I agree that removing more things from the list is a good idea.

OP, if you are interested in Christmas markets you need to be on the other side of Germany, in Alsace, France . Some of their Christmas markets stay open after Christmas. Nothing in Germany does, however. Innsbruck has one of their small markets remaining open until Jan 6th, but that's probably not worth rearranging your trip for.

Thank you so much for the input. Do you have any perspective on the wisdom of a day trip from Salzburg to Berchtesgaden in January? We will not have a car, so will train. Is it feasible and worthwhile to go there? Will Eagles Nest be open or possible to get there with possible winter weather? If it is not any suggestions on a different day trip from Salzburg. Thanks.

I've only visited the Eagle's Nest twice in summer, the first time we did a tour from Bob's Tours in Salzburg as we didn't have a car. It was a bit of a splurge but our tour guide Jurgen was great, and we got to enjoy the Eagle's Nest and spend a little bit of time in Berchesgarten afterwards, and then were returned to our pickup point. The second time we visited the area by car, and it was in the summer I'd recommend checking the Deutschebahn website and other local info to see how feasible this trip is by public transit - I remember going with Bob's because it didn't seem feasible for us by public transit in 2011, but I don't know if anything has changed since then.

Just a note, Berchtesgaden and Salzburg are 30 mins apart. I would not make a trip from Munich to Berchtesgaden and then go back to Munich just to go back to Salzburg days later.

If I were planning the trip, here is what I would do

Munich (Day trip to Dachau)
Berchtesgaden/Salzburg
Innsbruck
Fussen/Neuschwanstein/Hohenschwangau
Munich

I also second dropping Heidelberg it is way too far for a day trip.

I'm not trying to be snarky, but spelling town names correctly might make it easier to plan. For instance:
Neuschwersten is Neuschwanstein,
Berchesgarten is Berchtesgaden,
Heidelburg is Heidelberg, and
Innsbrook is Innsbruck.

That said, you have 8 venues: Kitzbuhel, Munich (Dachau), Füssen (Neuschwanstein), Berchtesgaden, Heidelberg, Salzburg (SOM tour), salt mines, and Innsbruck in 8 days, including your first (partial, jetlagged) and last (morning flight?, almost no time). Too much, too little time.

There will be no Christmas markets after Christmas. Kitzbuhel and Heidelberg are too far away for day trips - skip them. "Innsbruck is on the way to Salzburg" - like Atlanta is on the way from NYC to Chicago. I love Berchtesgaden, but the best thing (Eagles Nest) will certainly be closed and the second best (Königssee) will probably be closed. Worth a day trip from Salzburg, but not overnight. In Salzburg, skip the SOM tour and see Mirabell Palace (do-re-mi steps), the old town, and the fortress on you own. Most of what the tour shows you (Leopoldskron, etc) wasn't at all in the movie or (small gazebo) didn't have a significant part (the song and dance routines were filmed in a larger gazebo in a sound stage in Hollywood).

So, spend some days in Munich, there's a lot to see in the town, visit Dachau if you must, take a day trip to the castles, go to Salzburg (you could stop on the way at another of Ludwig's palaces, Herrenchiemsee), you could take a day trip from Salzburg to Berchtesgaden (there is an RVO bus to B'gaden, about a 45 minute ride), but not much will be going on in the winter (there are salt mines there, if that interests you, and the Dokumentation Zentrum would be open).

Thanks so much for the input, it is helpful!

I think the Eagle's Nest is closed in the Winter.

You're likely to have slightly better weather if you don't spend all that time in the Alps. I'm for going to Heidelberg for part of this. I assume you already know what Heidelberg offers so I'll just focus on options nearby...

12/27-31 or 1/1: 5-6 nights in Munich w/ day trip to Salzburg + one other day trip

1/1 or 2 - 1/4 or 5: a few nights in Heidelberg. Direct morning train to Heidelberg (takes 3 hrs.) + day trip to Speyer. Speyer is off the US tourist radar but only 45 minutes from Heidelberg by direct train and very worthwhile...

The Speyer Christmas Market is OPEN in January.

Speyer information

The Speyer Cathedral is one of Europe's best Romanesque buildings and site on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The Technik Museum in Speyer is a treat.

From Heidelberg take a train ride along the Neckar River a ways if you like...

Hirschhorn w/ Hirschhorn Castle:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Hirschhorn_altstadt_wv_ds_09_2007.jpg/800px-Hirschhorn_altstadt_wv_ds_09_2007.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirschhorn_(Neckar)#/media/File:Hirschhorn_in_Winter_2005.jpg

Bad Wimpfen:

https://www.orte-bw.de/grafik/uploads/1842_2010_1040.JPG
https://farm7.static.flickr.com/6109/6276628448_9cee375fe6_b.jpg

Ladenburg is a pretty old-world town 15 minutes by direct train from Heidelberg.

Return by train from Heidelberg to Munich or to a MUC hotel whenever you have to.