Hitler's Eagles Nest

I've done the "Nest" twice. First time there was some freelance guides at the Bus Parkplatz. They charged a couple of Euro; that was worth it. Second time I didn't bother with a guide. There really isn't much that a guide can tell you that you can't read in one of the guide books they sell in the Eagles' Nest. The bunkers are part of the Dokumentation Center, which is just around the corner from bus stop at the base of the mountain. There are no guided tours of the Dok center but you can rent an audio guide in English (the displays are all in German). If you are at the Berchtesgaden Hbf, there are buses (#838) that go to the base of the mountain, where you will have to take a special bus to the top.

Thanks Lee! I am thinking we will forego the tour. By the way, any good restaurant recommendations for Pfronten (you answered and earlier post for me as well)?

Agree with Lee - no guide needed.

If you are planning the stay in the area, the hotel turken is neat for the historic reasons they also have a section of the tunnels under the hotel. For when doing the Eagles nest the buses to the site can fill up if tour groups show up, also if you cannot see the site from the ground it is not really worth it going to the site. The building is kind of neat but the view is the main reason for going. Also schedule time for going to the Konigsee. That area is a little hard if you don't have your own transportation, but will be waiting for the bus alot of time. Besides that it is easy to get around, don't expect english from everyone but you will have no problem getting around.

I agree with Lee, no guide needed. A word of advice from my lesson learned, if you are doing a day trip from another city try not to do it on a Sunday. We did it from Salzburg and the trains weren't running often and by the time we got to the Eagle's Nest there wasn't enough time to go up and see the dokumentation centre. I didn't realize that you have to take a bus to the top and back down and they run at certain intervals. We wouldn't have stayed that long at the Eagle's Nest as there isn't really much of it to see, but worth going up for the view itself. By the time we came back down the dokumentation centre was just closing. I pouted for the rest of the day :( One of the only regrets I have of my trip to Europe.

As other posters mentioned, you will be fine without a guide. Make sure that you pay attention to the bus schedule (838) from the base of the mountain back to Berchtesgaden Hbf. We came back from Eagle's nest around 1600 to find that the last bus already left. Fortunately, one the buses that go up to the entrance to Eagle's Nest gave all of us a ride back. BTW- My wife and I had a delightful meal in Pfronten-Steinach at the Pension Rosenstuble Restaurant last October. They have wild game. It's about 1/2 km north of the Pfronten-Steinach Hbf on 309. Enjoy the Pfronten area, it's really nice.

The schedule for RVO bus 838 can be found here. I don't know what it was when you were there, but today there are three buses from the Dok center/Kehlstein Bus Abfahrt after 1600, at 16:39, 17:39, and 18:39. The 18:39 bus runs only M-F. Anyway, he's right, know the schedule.