Berchtesgaden

Angie,

A few options for you to consider.

Have a look at Bob's Special Tours in Salzburg as they offer tours that cover all the places you mentioned. They're listed in Rick's books. One of their tours covers the Salt Mines and the Documentation Centre & Bunkers above Berchtesgaden, but I'm not sure if they cover the Eagle's Nest on that same tour? You'd have to contact them. They'll pick you up at your Hotel in Salzburg.

You could also have a look at Eagle's Nest Tours who are based in Berchtesgaden. You'd have to travel there on your own to meet the tour (it's not a difficult trip). They specialize more in tours of the Eagle's Nest, so not sure if they'd be able to help with the Salt Mine tour?

Berchtesgaden is a beautiful town and the surrounding scenery is stunning. Be sure to have a look around the town also.

Happy travels!

The Kehlstein (Eagles Nest) is a must, but skip the salt mines. Do a tour of the Konigssee instead. Also, there are some great places to get traditional Bavarian food and beer, like the Berchtesgaden Hofbrauhaus.

A tour from a company isn't necessary. City buses (line 849) leave about hourly from in front of the Hauptbahnhof. Get your ticket from the bus bahnhof window to the right as you come out of the Hbf and he will tell you which bus stop. Those buses take you to the base of Kehlstein, to Obersalzberg, where you buy your ticket to Kehlsteinhaus (Eagle's Nest). The ticket costs €15 and covers the special bus up the private roadway to the bus parking place just below the top. At the parking place you get a reservation for a bus back down. The ticket also covers admittance to the Nest via an elevator inside the mountain. At the parking place there will be people selling a guided tour in English. I paid for the tour once, but didn't feel it was really necessary.

Worthwhile seeing also is the Dokumentation Center, a museum devoted to the rise of Nazism in the 30's. The exhibits are all in German, but you can rent an English language audio guide. You can also go into some of the SS bunkers that were there.

I started at the Hbf in the morning, went to the Eagles' Nest, toured it, had lunch, then went down and spent the rest of the day in the Dok Center.

I think it's possible in a day. We drove from Salzburg and only did the salt mines which took about a half day.

RVO (Regional Verkehr Oberbayern) runs a bus from Salzburg Hbf to Berchtesgaden. It's called the Watzmann Express (Bus 840) and takes 45 min. For the price of an RVO dayticket, €8,50 pP last I checked, you can ride the bus to the Berchtesgaden Hbf, use any RVO buses in Berchtesgaden to get to the Eagles' Nest, Königssee, or the salt mine, then take the bus back to Salzburg. The Watzmann Express Bus stops at the salt mines (Salzbergwerk) on the way from Salzburg to Berchtesgaden.

The only thing that won't be covered is the special mountain bus from Obersalzberg to Kehlsteinhaus.

Angie:
We agree with Lee as we used his advice & tips last May. We saved money and experienced so much.

Bus 840 runs between Salzburg and Berchtesgaden.
From Salzburg, Bus 840 stops for Salzbergwerk. You have a short walk across the street to the entrance.

From Berchtesgaden,
Bus 838 stops at Salzbergwerk and Obersalzburg.
Bus 841 stops at Jenner and Lake Konigsee.

In one day you can do the Salzbergwerk, the Obersalzburg, and the Kelhsteinhaus.

A suggested day would be to take an early Bus out of Salzburg. Your first stop off would be for the Salt Mine Tour. Allow yourself 2 hours for this tour with opening hours from 900am-500pm.

Walk back and use the Bus stop on the same side of the road as the Salzberwerk. Next, take Bus 838 to Obersalzburg.

Here, you can do the Documentation Center using the English audiotape. Your time here is dictated by your
interest level. We did most of the exhibits, saw some of the brief film (it was always in German when we peeked in) and toured the inside bunkers.

Afterwards, buy your ticket for Kelhsteinhaus and the mtn bus to visit Eagle's Nest. You can also buy this when you first arrive.

This sight is open longer in the summer so if you do this last you'll have had time for all 3 sights.

Return to Salzburg on Bus 849.

Thanks for the info! So I gather it is not necessary to join a tour company to Bechtesgaden. Is it difficult getting a ticket to Eagle's Nest on the same day?

Diane,

first, I think you meant "return to Salzburg on Bus 840". That's the number of the Watzmann Express. Bus 849 goes to the top of the Kehlstein.

Second, it's Obersalzberg.

The bus to the Eagles' Nest is 849. Sometimes it is just from Obersalzberg to the top. Sometime the bus number from Berchtesgaden Busbahnhof is 849, but I think the regular bus goes just to Obersalzberg and you have to change there for a mountain bus to the top. Bus 838 also goes from Berchtesgaden to Obersalzberg but not to the top.

You buy the ticket to the Eagles' Nest at Obersalzberg. It includes the round trip via the special buses to the Bus Parkplatz, near the top, and the use of the elavator in the mountain the rest of the way.