Salzberg and Munich

Thanks - I hear you but we really don't mind one nighters as we travel very light and would rather a one hour one way ride than a two hour round trip. I am thinking the one nighter in Salzberg might be too much though. If we scrapped that and did the last three nights in Munich it might make the trip less hectic. That said, we do like to be on the move. If we do three nights in Munich any suggestions of must do daytrips to replace our Salzberg overnight. We are two "adults" and a 12 year old.

With all the hassle of one night stops, bronwen, I wonder why the one nighter in Bamberg. The reason I ask is it is an easy day trip from Nuremburg, just 44 or 45 minutes by train...

Agree w/ Nigel. Stay in Nuremberg to daytrip to W'burg and Bamberg. It's only 15.60 RT for 2 to Bamberg on a VGN daypass - the Tagesticket Plus. Buy at a ticket machine at the Nuremberg station. W'burg lies outside the VGN network; use a Bayern ticket (29€) to get there. You can get a bus or a train from Salzburg to Berchtesgaden. Another bus will get you to the Königssee from there.

Hi, If you stay the 3 nights in Munich, day trip to Salzburg 2 hours away. Shame to miss one of Europe's most beautiful old towns, being as you'll be so close. The old town is relatively compact and easy to see on foot. Paul

bronwen, It's very likely that the Eagle's Nest will be closed in the first week of April, and possibly well into May depending on the "snow situation" at the time. If visiting Berchtesgaden, you could also visit the Obersalzberg / Dokumentation Centre and Bunkers above the town. The displays are all in German, but you can rent an AudioGuide in English. There's also a Salt Mine which can be toured there. Rather than renting a car, one option for a day trip while staying in Salzburg, would be to take a day tour with This firm (the website is sometimes slow to load, so you may have to click on it a couple of times). I used that method for a day trip to Berchtesgaden, and it was a very pleasant and interesting day. Happy travels!

If at all possible, don't scrap Salzburg. It's one of the most beautiful cities anywhere. The alps can be hit and miss in April due to unpredictable weather. I'd probably know my options and make a go/no go decision when you're there based on the day's weather forecast. It really isn't impressive when you're socked in the clouds - although the Salt Mine tour in Berchtesgaden can be done anytime.

eagle's nest looks to be closed when we are there - looking at April 4-5, 2012. thinking about two days so that we can do the salt mine - need to discuss with the family. we missed the salt mine outside Krakow - I would have loved another day there. So - thinking I should add a day to Salzberg and see salt mine. maybe.

Don't rent a car to go to Berchtesgaden, but don't spend $120 each for a "profit added tour" either. RVO (Regional Verkehr Oberbayern) runs an hourly bus, the Watzmann Express, RVO 840, from in front of the Salzburg Hbf to Berchtesgaden Hbf. An RVO Tagesticket, for €9,00/p will cover your RT travel from Salzburg to Berchtesgaden and any other bus travel in Berchtesgaden, like from the Hbf out to Koenigssee and back. The Salzwerk is two stops from the Hbf coming into Berchtesgaden on the Watzmann Express, so easy to access.

bronwen, The Dokumentation Centre and Bunkers should be open at that time of year, so you could still pay a visit to those.

Thanks! So - I am beginning to lean towards spending two nights in Salzberg and one in Munich. We would spend a day taking the bus over to Berchegaden - I know I spelled that wrong. Part of me feels as I am doing a disservice to Munich but my gut tells me differently. So. We would stay Wurzburg, Bamberg, Nurnberg (2), Salzberg (2), and Munich. I am thinking since we'll be taking the train almost everyday to but train passes. My understanding is that with the pass we can get on any train as long as we have reservations on the ones where reservations are necessary. I like that. I looked into using the Bayern ticket but I don't want to be limited to slower trains. Thoughts? Also, I don't want to deal with buying tickets each day. We would but Second class twin for husband and me and youth second class for my youth (he's 12). Apologies for typos. I am, as usual, on the train. Makes me debate spending vaca on the train!

"I looked into using the Bayern ticket but I don't want to be limited to slower trains." Don't make assumptions. For some routes in Bavaria (e.g., Würzburg to Bamberg), it's only regional trains. On other routes (e.g. Bamberg to Nürnberg) the difference is only a few minutes. If you start eliminating routes where you can't avoid regional train or where the time difference doesn't justify the price difference, you might find there's nothing left for a rail pass.

We have a long haul route - Cologne to Wurzburg.and then Nurnberg to Salzberg. I think with those two trips included that the pass will be worth it. Still.time to change my mind.

If I could only choose one city, Salzburg or Munich, I'd take Salzburg. If the weather pemits, grab a table at the cafe on the Festung and enjoy the Alps. The view is stunning. The is much to do in this great European city. If you decide to go the Munich route, day trips would be Dachau, Andechs, and of course, the King's Castles (almost a can't miss, in my opinion). But if you can, weigh more heavily to Salzburg.
One note about one nighters. Your 1 hour trip to a new town vs 2 hour round trip for the day isn't quite accurate, in my opinion. Yes, you travel for an hour, but you spend time packing in your room, slower travel to the train station, travel with all of your luggage, unload, try to find your hotel, go through the check in process, hope that your room is ready, unpack (if necessary), then start sightseeing. Most of this additional time will consume that hour saved on your roundtrip, and adds stress trying to figure much of it out. Just something to think about.

Thanks for your input. I do think we will stay two nights in Salzberg and spend the second day taking the bus to Berchesgaden. Regarding one nighters - we have traveled lots and never unpacked a bag. We are also early to rise people and really like to be on the move!All hotels we are booking are hopefully very centrally located - and if possible, also near the train station. At this point our one nighters will just be Wurzburg, Bamberg and our last night in Munich. Thanks for your input!

I have gone to both twice-each trip in May....and I loved both cities.....Munich may be bigger and have accessibility to so many more places in all directions. And I loved staying in small hotels and meeting the lovely people there. We went to stay in Salzburg at the end of our trip and fell in love with it. We stayed in the old city and actually cancelled a night at our lovely hotel in Munich (and still payed for it) just so we could spend more time in Salzburg. I went back 2 years later and I still have not seen all of the city or area around. Not because it is a big city, but because we just took our time and enjoyed walking and enjoying the city and area. I am not a bus trip tour fan, but took the half day trip to Eagles nest and that was fine (it was open then) they have short trips or even commuter buses to the salt mines and other places. The hotel we were in was helpful (and I never felt they were pushing us towards any particular company or place for a tour). I did not take a Sound of music type tour, and actually never went out of our way to any of the sites associated with the movie, as I wanted a sense of the "real" area -as much as any tourist can. (seems like almost everyone here asks if we went there to see the Sound of Music stuff...like that is all there is there!!!! Not true!) We took the train from Munich to Salzburg the second time and the views were great of the mountains.
As they are if you drive, which I have also done. the plus on driving is that you can make the side trips to lakes and other places that ARE open that time of year.