I'm trying to decide whether to rent a car and visit Schloss Neuschwanstein from my home base in Salzburg, or to use the last day on my rail pass and go to Munich/Dachau, paying for a point-to-point ticket from the Austria-Germany border.
Any hints? Is it better to reserve a car before I leave or to do it when I arrive (mid May)? Has anyone rented a car in Salzburg? I am only 24 so I know I will need to pay the young driver's premium. All tips are helpful!
Posted by
Niceville, FL, USA
154 posts
Hello, It is much better to rent a car before you go. Use the Auto Europe that Rick Steves recommends. I drove from Vienna to Salzburg and had a blast.
Posted by
Milwaukie, OR, USA
12 posts
We got great rates on www.gemut.com, Andy is very helpful. We went to Neuschwanstein and just looked around the outside, was snowing heavily but was beautiful. I had read prior to our trip that Schloss Linderhof is more spectacular inside than Neuschwantstein and it is a bit closer to Salzburg so you might want to consider that.
Posted by
NYC area
2980 posts
Hi Ashley,
I can also recommend using www.gemut.com. We used them last Oct., wound up with a car from Avis and everything went well and as noted previously, they are very helpful. Just some alternate advice... between Salzburg and Munich is Ludwig's Herrenchiemsee Palace (castle). It's spectacular and just about an hour drive from Salzburg and Munich. It sits on an island in the beautiful Chiemsee. Also a drive around the Berchtesgaden area just west of Salzburg (on the way to/from Herrenchiemsee) is filled with fantastic Alpine scenery. Our recent pics are at:
www.worldisround.com/home/pja1/index.html
www.herren-chiemsee.de/englisch/n_palace/index.htm
Paul
Posted by
Mansfield, GA
850 posts
Have used gemut.com several times. Great customer service and rates.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
I don't think it would be worth it to use a railpass day, but that doesn't mean you have to rent a car. According to via Michelin, fuel alone for a compact car would cost €44 RT. A Bayern-Ticket will get you most of the way to Neuschwanstein and all the way back. If you go on a weekend day, you can use a €19 Bayern-Ticket-Single the whole way.
If you are doing it on a weekday, the Bayern-Ticket is only valid after 9 AM, so you might want to buy a point-point ticket for part of the way, until after 9 AM, after which you can use the Bayern-Ticket for the rest of your trip. For instance, you can leave Salzburg at 8:17 with a €9,90 ticket to Chiemsee at 9:03. At Chiemsee, the Bayern-Ticket, which you bought in Salzburg, will be valid the rest of the day. You would have a little over 25 minutes to change trains in Munich, then arrive in Hohenschwangau at 1:13 PM, plenty of time to see the castle if you have a reservation (www.hohenschwangau.de).
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
As long as you arrive back in Salzburg by 3 AM the following morning, the Bayern-Ticket is valid. A Bayern-Ticket is valid for unlimited travel for one day on regional trains in Bavaria, and since Salzburg is considered a "border" station (DB runs the trains from Freilassing, Germany the few km into Salzburg), the Bayern-Ticket is valid for trips starting or ending in Salzburg.