Travel to Austria

By "Ludwig's castle", I assume you mean Neuschwanstein. Herrenchiemsee was also built by Ludwig and is a lot closer to Salzburg, but it's more of a palace (copy of Versailles) than a castle, and, IMO, not worth the effort to get to.

The trip from Salzburg to Hohenschwangau will pass through Munich, and it is all regional train (and a bus) from Munich to Hohenschwangau. Using express trains from Salzburg to Munich will take 4-5 hours (Salzburg to Hohenschwangau) and cost €52-58 one way per person. It will be virtually impossible to get to the castles before they open for tours at 9 AM. You'd better have reservations for a castle tour in mid-afternoon. You can take regional trains back to Salzburg after seeing the castle - 5 to 6 hours and €28 for both of you with a Bayern-Ticket.

But, think about this. Do you really want to spend 9-11 hours and ~$175 to spend 45 minutes in the castle?

There are a lot of thing you could see without traveling so far - the aforementioned Herrenchiemsee, Berchtesgaden (Eagles' Nest, Königssee), Hallstatt, the lake district (Mondsee, St. Gilgen). If you want to see a real castle, go up to Burghausen, on the German-Austrian border near Passau.

"Can I see the Ludwig's castle as a day trip from Salzburg?" Yes, although it's a little complicated by public transportation from Salzburg. Paging Lee or Tim to explain further...

"Any ideas for biking hoiidays in Austria?" I don't have any specific recommendations, but there always seem to be cyclists coming to or going to somewhere from Innsbruck in the summer.

A one day car rental would be much more convenient, and probably a little less.

One day rentals are expensive - you can actually get 3 day rentals for close to the same rate sometimes.

I don't often recommend a car in Europe, but Salzburg is one of those areas I would - lots of great places to see, especially if you can get a bike rack. =)

Sometimes it is worth it to spend the money on a car in order to have the freedom to go where you want, when you want. Why go to Europe if your not able to get to the places you want to see in order to save a few dollars. Money is not always everything.

"Why go to Europe if your not able to get to the places you want to see in order to save a few dollars."

If that were true, you might have a point. However, I have never found a place worth going to that I couldn't get to with public tranportation. The real trade-off might be sitting in a car watching the road vs the freedom of riding in a train,

Sugantha,

if you narrow it down a little to where your base will be (Vienna? Salzburg? Innsbruck?) then I will be able to give you a lot of ideas!

If you haven't decided yet, here is a link to get you started making some choices:
http://www.austria.info/us

I took a bike tour through the Wachau Valley. It was a day trip away from Vienna. I had a blast. It was gorgeous. We drank lots of good wine and met great people. The chance to bike through the vineyards was fabulous. Of the 30 day vacation I had, that was probably the best day.

Here is the website:
http://www.grapegrazingtour.com/
The tour guide picks you up in Vienna and takes care of all your transporation and everything (lunch included). Great day.

And I agree with Lee..if you are based in Salzburg, I think treking to Fussen for King Ludwig's castle is too much. Consider Hallstatt or Eagles Nest as they are much closer. I have been to Hallstatt (serene and beautiful - very relaxing place to go) but I have not been to Eagles Nest. I would like to get there, I understand it is a very beautiful landscape.