Fussen or Oberammergau for base

We stayed in Fussen for the ease of seeing the castles. In fact we biked to the castles. In is only 3miles and mostly level. Fussen is busy during the day but less crowded at night.

Oberammergau is a very cute town. If you stay there, Linderhof is about 15 min away by bus; Garmisch-Partenkirchen is 45 min away. There is a bus from Oberammergau to Fuessen. It takes about 1½ hrs to Fuessen and stops at Hohenschwangau (the castles) a few minutes before arriving in Fuessen. The schedule is here. I imagine the RT fare per person is more than the price of a day pass, which is €9,50/p. The last bus back to Oberammergau leaves Hohenschwangau bus stop just after 5 PM. If you stay in Oberammergau, I would recommend Gästehaus Richter.

Hi Mimi, We also stayed in Fuessen for visiting the castles. We liked Fuessen and the area so much that we included it again on a trip 2 years later. We found Fuessen to be a very charming old town. We stayed both times at the Hotel zum Hechten. www.hotel-hechten.com Paul

I've used Oberammergau as a base, but it works better to have a car. There are frequent direct trains from Munich to Garmisch which has rental cars. With Oberammergau as a base you are about an hour's drive to the castles, going via Steingaden. Half way there you will see a sign to the Weiss Kirche, which is definitely worth a visit. Of course, Linderhof Castle is just a short distance from Oberammergau and, if you want to see one of Bavaria's prettiest villages, Mittenwald is only about a 40" drive away. As for lodging in Oberammergau, we've stayed at the Wolf Hotel and the Turmwirt.... both very nice. Like you said, if you want to stay with trains, Füssen is the better choice.

Another choice would be Pfronten. It doesn't have as many buildings with murals on them, but it is a completely pleasant town. There are frequent buses from the Ried Bahnhof to Fuessen in about 20-25 min. I would stay here