Hostels in Germnay-- Better to stay in Munich to visit castles?

It's easy to get from Munich to Füssen or Garmisch by train; it's possible but a little tricky to get between Garmisch and Füssen - you usually need to take the train through austria to Pfronten or Reutte and bus from there to Fuessen. There are also a few direct buses.

Use this page to find schedules:

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

Type "Fuessen" or Füssen".

I'd prefer to spend a night or two in one of these smaller towns.

If you visit during high-tourist season, there are bus packages from Garmisch to the castles. If you have military benefits, the USO runs tours from the Edelweiss hotel to Schwangau (although I wouldn't recommend staying at the Edelweiss, because there are MUCH better lodging options in Garmisch).

If you catch the 9:35 9606 RVO bus out of GaP you can get to Füssen by 11:43, 2hr8min. The maximum fare with an RVO (Regional Verkehr Oberbayern) Tageskarte (day ticket) is €8,50. These buses go via Oberammergau. There are other connections during the day that change buses in Steingaden or Echelsbacher Brücke and take less than 3 hours. Fare is still €8,50.

You might consider staying in Oberammergau. It is a cute little town by itself and convenient to both Garmisch-Partenkirchen and to Füssen. In addition it is a very short bus trip from there to Linderhof.

Rothenburg - Haus Karin is awesome, small b&b, Karin is very friendly and it was very reasonable. 5 minute walk to the walled city, there is a path right in front of the House. www.haus-karin.de, [email protected]. You will not be disappointed!

Salzburg - we stayed at Bloberger Hof, about a 20 minute bus ride from the Old Town. It was beautiful and very clean. They speak great English and are really helpful. Not really a budget place, but not nearly as expensive as some of the placed in town. Not as much like a hostel but if you are travellig with someone and can share a room it might not be too bad - view of the Alps out of most windows.

I don't believe there are any hostels in Rothenburg. I visited there last fall and the B&B prices are quite cheap. I stayed in Gastof Griefen right off the town square for about $40/night. It wasn't the cheapest option - there are definately cheaper ones. Rothenburg & Prague were the only places I didn't stay in a hostel b/c the prices were close to the cost of a B&B so I splurged a bit.