My wife and I are looking to visit the Munich, Salzburg, Innsbruck area. We will have about 10-12 days(including travel days). I have heard Innsbruck is not really that great, but I want to visit an alpine type town. I would love to make it to Interlaken, but feel it is too far to travel with the time we have. Looking for an interary that will allow time to enjoy food, small towns and scenery. Would like to make use of train travel, possibly overnight trains to see more and eliminate hotel costs. We have been to paris and rome so we have train experience.
Posted by
NYC area
2950 posts
Hi Kevin,
I'd suggest Mittenwald, Germany in place of Innsbruck. A simply gorgeous small town surrounded by mountains. It's less than an hour from Innsbruck.
Paul
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19232 posts
First, there are many, many things to see in Bavaria. You don't need to go far enough to use overnight trains. If you want to keep accommodation costs down, spend more time in small towns, and use the towns' websites to find inexpensive local places (see here) like Privatzimmer (rooms in private homes) or Ferienwohnungen (vacation apartments.
For traveling around in Bavaria, you can save by using the €28 Bayern Ticket for up to five people. It is a pass good for unlimited rides on regional trains, all day long (after 9 AM weekdays). You could, for instance, make a day trip to Mittenwald for €28 or an overnight trip for €56 (2 Bayern-Tickets).
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
I sympathize with you for not wanting to spend the train time it would take to get from Munich to Lauterbrunnen. On the other hand, if you really really want an Alpine Village then you will find just that in the Lauterbrunnen Valley...specifically in the towns of Muerren and Wengen.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
"Would like to make use of train travel, possibly overnight trains to see more and eliminate hotel costs."
If you're staying only in the Bavaria/Tyrol/Salzburg area, the distances are too small to make night trains useful.
Innsbruck is OK, especially in the winter, but it's more of a city than small town. Mittenwald certainly fits the description, as does Oberamergau. Opinion seems to be divided on Garmisch-Partenkirchen. I love it, and I find it an ideal base for hiking in the warmer months and skiing in the winter. The Garmisch section of town, however, for some feels too much like a resort. The Partenkirchen section (which most people don't visit), is more cozy and full of old world Bavarian charm.
Posted by
NYC area
2950 posts
Hi again Kevin,
First of all, with 10 to 12 days including "travel days" you're plan of Munich, Salzburg and Innsbruck (or somewhere in the area) is really good in my opinion. Certainly not too much. We did a similar trip a few years ago.
We flew to Munich and headed right to Salzburg. From Salzburg we went to Hall in Tirol (6 miles from Innsbruck), then to Fuessen and ended in Munich.
While we never took the trains here, I can say (as others have) that these places aren't really too far from one another. Examples:
Munich to Salzburg is about 2 hours
Salzburg to Innsbruck area is about 2 1/2 hours.
Innsbruck area to Munich about 2 1/2 hours.
Keep in mind this is by car. Someone else can give you more accurate times and routes via train though.
Paul