Trip to Sieffen-- anyone familiar with this area?

Did you consider renting a car for a couple of days?
When are you planning to do this trip?
There is rail service to Olbernhau and bus service from there to Seiffen.

Are you familiar with this area and have traveled through this region? How much do you suppose a drop off fee would be in Prague, if we would even be allowed to drive in Czech Rep. Have you dropped off a car or driven in Czech?

I would never drop a car in another country. What you might do is take a train from Munich to Pilsen or Karlovy Vary, or even Prague and rent a car, then drive to Seiffen and stay there, then drive back to Prague and turn it in.
PS. Car rental prices are very reasonable compared to Germany.

I live in the region and yes, I am familiar with it ;-)

Been to Seiffen many times, although always in winter (mostly December). I usually drive there because it is a remote location in the mountains and hence public transportation is not really sufficient. Yes, you can visit the small private workshops/manufactures and showrooms of bigger manufactures (like Wendt & Kühn) in September and get sort of Christmas feeling. And you can buy all sorts of Christmas items (and other very nice craftwork/art).

Staying in Dresden for 2 nights and doing day trips? LOL That's not even enough time to see the highlights in Dresden! A day trip to Seiffen - no matter if you take public transportation or rent a car or hire a driver - would take up the entire only full day you have in Dresden. Why don't you stay in Seiffen? Coming from Munich you would go via Nürnberg or Regensburg to Hof, change there to a train to Flöha, change there to a train to Olbernhau and take the bus to Seiffen. At some point the next day you can hire a taxi to the closest Czech town with a train station (which would be Litvinov e.g.) and take the train from there to Prague (change in Usti n. L. e.g.).

Or you take public transportation around noon (bus to Freiberg, from there train e.g.) to Dresden where you can catch the direct train to Prague.

Of course you will miss lots of places and towns worth visiting in the region. Dresden was mentioned. Freiberg, Annaberg-Buchholz are outstanding. Castles like Augustusburg, Scharfenstein, Lichtenwalde. Narrow-gauge steam railways, paddle steamers ... The National Park Saxon Switzerland with bizarre sandstone formations, little canyons, viewpoints and endless hiking/cycling/climbing/kayaking and so on opportunties. Vineyards, beer and liquor breweries. Btw, the whole Ore mountains (Erzgebirge) region with is UNESCO world heritage.

Thank you Ibrenn. Really appreciate that you live near the area and shared this information. The RS Germany book makes no mention of it, other than Dresden. I was looking on line trying to get a feel for how remote it is, if a car is necessary, etc.

Your response just made our decision. (We had 5 different gameplans involving cars and trains.)

We will rent a car in Munich, get a very early start, and drive to Seiffen. We can stop as we please along the way. We should be in Seiffen around noon. We'll spend the night there. I see there is a DHL store, too-yea! Plus the town looks super cool and off the beaten path.

We plan on winging it lodging wise. Is there a guest house or hotel in Seiffen that is a must that you would recommend?

The next day we will drive to Dresden to drop off the car. Spend the night in Dresden and take the train to Prague. Frankly, it looked like a major hassle to get or drop a car off in Prague that involved a German border crossing.

We may not be able to see alot, but this part of our journey is a bonus. We will be in Munich for Oktoberfest, then had 2 1/2 days of doing anything we wanted before Prague. We'll get to Prague on Saturday, get to the hotel, and tour starts Sunday, This will give us time to run around Prague and hang out without commitments.

Thank you again for your insight and experience.

Make sure you specify that you will be traveling to Czech Republic when you rent the car. Some companies may forbid it, or restrict the type of car they will let you rent. If you do not tell them and have a problem (accident) in the Czech Republic, it will invalidate the insurance.

I am planning on going to Seiffen in late November. I have researched the complicated public transportation and the hotels for an overnight trip. Many places are already booked for the preChristmas season. I contacted the Seiffen chamber of commerce and they were helpful. I would not wing it hoping for a room.

Sam, the OP doesn't drive to the Czech Republic. They will only drive within Germany and return it in Dresden.

Mo R - glad to be of some help. Good plan! September is not very busy in Seiffen, so you can play it by ear - no problem to find decent accommodation. I've stayed in Hotel Buntes Haus, a traditional inn right in the centre, and was very happy with it. Nothing out of the ordinary, but all you need, very friendly staff that also (at least some of them) speak English. Good, hearty, regional food, too, in the restaurant. Yummy breakfast included.
buntes-haus.com

Another option, higher up outside the small town (but no problem with car, quiet location) with panoramic views from many rooms (ask for it!) and a very good restaurant is Hotel Berghof. Been there three years ago.
www.berghof-seiffen.de

A very nice B&B in town, a historic house from 1705, is Pension Altes Bergmannhaus. Friends of mine stayed there and loved it. Cosy, rustic, run by a very friendly family.
www.altes-bergmannshaus.de

Danke Ibrenn--Wow- thank you for the recommendations. I will check them out. I'm just glad that you responded because the car option became a no brainer due to the remoteness of this area. It reminds me of Lake Tahoe--lots of things to do, mountains, great outdoor stuff to do, but you need a car.

We just have to be in Dresden by 4 or 6 pm to return the rental car if we go with Hertz. Is there a European rental car company we should consider? When I did a google, all sorts of companies pop up and it's hard to know what's good or not. I can also contact Triple AAA too.

We are even more excited thanks to your help and suggestions. Thank you so much.

You're welcome, Mo R! That's what we are here for.

I never rent a car in my region, so my knowledge about that is limited. I can say, though, that there is a Europcar rental station close to the main railway station in Dresden (Strehlener Straße 5, backside in eastern direction of the station, so to speak) which is open 24/7. It goes by "Dresden City" in Europcar's system. Also, their rental station next to the railway station Dresden-Neustadt offers returns of cars 24/7, so when the office is closed, too. Just park the car and put the envelope on which you note the day and time plus the key in their mailbox.

I am pretty sure it is similar with other rental companies.

Clearly, ibrenn is a local voice and full of good information. I just came to offer an outsider's experience of driving to Seiffen.

I was there in August of 2019. I rented a car in Prague that would allow me to cross borders and made the round trip in one day. The part I would like to add is that while we can see this is a mountainous region, I was truly surprised by the degree of incline paired with some near-hairpin curves in the route. The roads are beautifully maintained so no issue with the drive but it was almost distracting to want to take in the mountain/winding drive combo while trying to navigate it for the first time. In an unfamiliar car. While also making sure I knew speed limits and foreign road signs. With a line of traffic behind me. And the GPS speedometer didn't match the rental car's speedometer. I was traveling solo so hopefully your passengers will be good energy during this stretch. Depending on your CA location, this may not phase you but it's one of my favorite adventures to remember because of that exhilarating/terrifying surprise.

The general parking lot was easy to find and it was easy to pay for my time. The walk down to the shops was easy, returning on an incline with bags of purchases was just a bit less easy.

Seiffen was lovely and I purchased a pyramid and other items to take home with me. I took some wonderful photos - one of which now hangs as a canvas in my home office. English wasn't super comfortable for some of the shopkeepers I spoke with and I knew enough German to use my manners and express that I'm a vegetarian so having a translation aide handy was also helpful and local counterparts seemed to appreciate this as well.

Enjoy your trip, safe travels!

Thx Pts and Miles. If it's like the road to Hana, I'm sure it was an interesting ride. (I haven't done road to Hana, but a similar road on the north end of Maui and it wasn't worth the "excitement" hahaha). Looking at the topo maps, we are coming in from the autobahn. The roads on the German side don't appear to be as mountainous as the roads on the Czech side. Good point to consider and be aware of--Thank you.

Ibrenn--thank you again, will check out Eurocar. I'll probably just call American Express Travel or Triple AAA to get some guidance. Hertz was very limited in their hours, I like the idea of 24/7 drop off. We are just very excited to see this part of the country. We also checked out the lodging and sent emails. Thank you so much.