Salzburg

More expensive express trains go from Salzburg to Munich Hauptbahnhof (Hbf, main station) in about 1½ hour; regional trains take about 2 hrs. From the Hbf in Munich, it is 38 minutes (21 min by S-Bahn, 10 minutes to find the bus, 7 minutes to the memorial). The S-Bahn to Dachau, S2, leaves the Hbf every 20 minutes. Finding the bus is easy. The bus stops are in front of the Bahnhof; the correct bus is very well marked.

As long as you start after 9 AM, a Bayern-Ticket, which you can purchase from an automat at the Salzburg Hbf for €28, will cover all of your travel (train to Munich, S-Bahn to Dachau station, bus to the memorial, and back). The guided tour at Dachau takes about 2-3 hours. If you take the regional train to Munich, I think the entire round trip will take about 8 hours.

You don't need (want) a car at the castles. You can go out to Füssen by train and take the bus to the castles. The correct bus stop (#2) is clearly marked with a silhouette of Neuschwanstein and the bus probably says "Königsschlösser. The road to Neuschwanstein is closed to car traffic and there is no place to park at the castle, itself. Park at the bottom of the hill, near the bus stop, and walk up the hill like everyone else. There is a horse drawn carriage to near the castle (Neuschwanstein) or a bus that takes you up above Mary's bridge and then you walk down a steep path to the castle.

See more at my webpage.

For Salzburg- We have stayed twice at Haus Reichl and loved it both times. Large rooms, excellent breakfast, and you can catch the bus a short walk from the front door. (it is in the RS book or you can google it) She did our laundry for a reasonable price. If you want to stay with in walking distance of the Old Town, try Pension Bergland. We stayed there in 2001, and it was lovely. However, with the fall of the dollar, it is no longer in our budget range.

We stayed with Helga Bankhammer on the Moosstrasse in Salzburg a couple of years ago. Her rooms are very reasonable, around 50 euro, and ours had a HUGE bathroom. She's in Rick's book.