Bavaria Itinerary

Do you really mean Oberstadt, in Thüringia, or Oberstdorf, in the Oberallgäu?

I meant Oberstdorf, thanks for the correction!

I would rethink your approach. Perhaps pick one or two locations for lodging and see the rest as daytrips. All of these towns are fairly close to each other, but this many hotel changes in such a short time will slow you down. Plus, in the Alps, you need to keep a flexible schedule. What happens if it rains on the one day you had allotted for hiking? Also, although I'm a big fan of both Oberstdorf and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, on such a tight trip, visiting both is somewhat redundant. They're both sizable but attractive Alpine resorts. GaP is the bigger of the two, and Oberstdorf is perhaps slightly nicer. As for Reutte... not worth your time. The ruins of Ehrenberg are of about average for Austria and Germany, which have no lack of castle ruins, and the town itself is rather ordinary. But if these are the only castle ruins you'll encounter on the trip... hmmm, maybe keep it in consideration. Overall, I would cut back on the number of lodging changes, spend a little more time in Munich, choose between GaP and Oberstdorf, drop Reutte, use your first available sunny day for Alpine hiking, and visit Füssen as a daytrip on a day with less than perfect weather.

I agree that this seems like a lot of moving around and changing hotels. How about something along these lines: D1 Fly into Munich and take 2 hour train to Fussen. Sleep in Fussen. D2 Neuschwanstein Castle – sleep in Fussen D3 Take 2 hour bus/train to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, via Reutte (quick stopover to see ruins). Sleep in GP D4 Zugspitze or hiking in Partnach Gorge. Sleep in GP
D5 Take 1.5 hour train to Munich. Sightsee and sleep in Munich D6 Sightsee and sleep in Munich D7 Fly home You may want to rearrange or swap out towns, but the general idea is to not be moving every day. This way you're spending 2 nights in each place. Another option would be to land in Munich and go straight to Oberstdorf (2.5 hour train) for a couple nights and then come back and base yourself in Munich for four nights and do Fussen and Garmisch-Partenkirchen as day trips. Just some thoughts!

Thanks Tom and Dawn! I think I will definitely cut Oberstdorf or GaP, and spend two nights in every locale...I love your suggested itinerary Dawn. I'm leaning toward cutting Oberstdorf.

Unless you're going skiing, cut Oberstdorf. Cute town, but you've got better options listed. My suggestion is to not skip around to give you the maximum options. For starters, skip Reutte, I've driven through a dozen times in the last few years, I don't get what the excitement is all about. My suggestion is: D1-2 Munich. D3-6 Stay in Garmisch or Partenkirchen. Staying the few days there will allow you the option of heading up the Zugspitze if the weather is good that day or over to Fuessen through Oberammergau if it's cloudy and rainy on the mountain. D6 back to Munich.

Well, the Illertal (valley of the Iller river, which goes through Oberstdorf) is just about my favorite part of Germany, my first "back door". I've spent almost 4 weeks there since 2000. From Oberstdorf, you can take a bus up into the Kleinwalsertal, a gorgeous part of Austria, but isolated from it, accessible only from Germany. In the summer there are infinite hiking possibilities. The TI office has a map of the hiking trails. A lot of people ride the ski lifts up and hike down (harder than it sounds). From Oberstdorf, there is a bus to Füssen, leaving Oberstdorf in the morning. It's an exciting ride, including a switchback climb up the mountainside out of Bad Hindelang and continuing over Oberjoch pass. The bus stops in Pfronten-Ried just before it gets to Füssen. I'd advise staying in Pfronten (nicer than Reutte, less expensive than Füssen) for your visit to Füssen. Stay here. With the resort tax you pay in Pfronten, you'll get a pass good for the round trip bus to Hohenschwangau. Stay two night, visiting the castles during the day. Then, the next morning, buy a Bayern-Ticket and go by train to Munich via Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

I really appreciate all the feedback. I'll cut out Ruette and try to stay 2 mights in every location, but still having a hard time determining whether Oberstdorf and GaP are redundant based on mixed feedback, and if they are, how to choose between Oberstdorf (with a day trip to Kleinwalsertal in Vorarlberg, Austria per Lee's suggestion, sounds amazing!) and Garmisch-Partenkirchen with the Zugspitz, etc. My big question is this (and I realize it's a silly one, but I'm a first-timer!): What is there to do in GaP and Oberstdorf/Vorarlberg other than ski and hike? (My husband and I don't ski.) We probably won't want to go on more than 2 hikes since we only have 6 days. We're hoping to explore Munich, see the castles, go on a couple hikes and do some biking (not much), and just see the country-side and eat/drink some great German food/beer/wine. I'd also really like to find a winery if at all possible! Just for a tasting, no tour...so if anyone has any suggestions...? :) So as far as itineraries go, how does this sound: Two days in Munich, one day trip to Fussen to see castles (sleep in Munich), one day trip to Garmisch to climb Zugspitze (sleep in Munich), two days in Oberstdorf with day trip to Kleinwalsertal. Too much hiking in this itinerary? And too much traveling back and forth from Munich? Since I would need nice weather for 3 of the 6 days (Oberstdorf and Garmisch), I will need to be flexible on which day I do what.

Or would it better to start in Oberstdorf (2 nights, wouldn't be able to wait for nice weather) and head straight to Fussen from Oberstdorf (stay in Pfronten per Lee's suggestion, one night, just to see the castles). If weather bad on day 4, head back to Munich for remaining 3 nights and day trip to Garmisch on first sunny day to climb Zugspitze. If weather good on day 4, head to Garmisch to hike and spend night. Last 2 nights in Munich. I realize that if the weather cooperates on Day 4, I'll be moving around a lot, but wouldn't it be worth it to cut the commute time from Munich down?

Oberstdorf is mostly about skiing in the winter and hiking in the summer. The center of town is quite nice (like a slightly more upscale version of a typical Alpine resort), and there's several spa hotels, if you're into that sort of the thing. Even in this palyground of the wealthy, however, farmers still walk their cattle through the streets everyday, going to and from the pastures. But the main reason to visit (and GaP) are certainly the mountains, not the town itself. Search through the archives of the "Trip Report" section. I took a 3 day hiking trip there last September and filed a report. Although I tip my hat to Lee for first putting Oberstdorf on my radar, I don't get as excited about Klein Walsertal. Yeah, it's an interesting geographic anomaly, but is it worth going out of your way? My experience in Klein Walsertal is admittedly limited to skiing down the back side of Fellhorn, and looking down on it from the ridge of Fellhorn that forms the Austrian-German border. It looks pretty enough, but not necessarily any more attractive than the German side. I can see it as perhaps a slightly more bucolic lodging alternative to Oberstdorf, but if I was staying in one, I don't see much reason to visit the other.