salzburg to fussen or oberammergau

"The easiest way to get to Füssen is via Innsbruck".

NO! The fastest, and easiest is to go via Munich (4:40 vs 6:25 through Innsbruck), the way DB recommends on their website. The ÖBB train from Salzburg to Innsbruck goes without stopping through Germany (Rosenheim) to Kufstein. You might as well go from Rosenheim to Munich. And, from Innsbruck, the fastest way to Füssen is via Munich, since there are no train lines from the Tirol to Füssen, just buses.

BTW, if you want to stay in Oberammergau, the bus takes 1 hr 15-20min from there to Hohenschwangau (where you go to the castles). It stops in Hohenschwangau before getting to Füssen.

The RVO bus between Salzburg and Berchtesgaden is called the Watzmann Express and a roundtrip is €8,50 with an RVO Tageskarte.

It would be possible to do the trip from Salzburg (about 4 hours one-way) and/or Berchtesgaden (about 6 hours one-way), although if I were planning it I'd stay nearer to the castles.

http://www.bahn.de/p/view/international/englisch/international_guests.shtml

Use this link to look at train journeys and fares. The castles are open on Sundays & Mondays, but you should also look at the webpage for them because occasionally they close for holidays. http://www.neuschwanstein.com/english/index.htm
You can also reserve your tickets ahead of time, which is smart to do if you're travelling during peak season.

Without a car, the best option is probably to stay in Fuessen, particularly if you visit during the peak travel season. I would normally list Oberammergau, Bertchesgaden, or just about any other Alpine town as a better place to stay, but without a car, you can't beat Fuessen's convenience.

Fuessen (be sure to use that spelling for schedule searching) is technically possible but makes for a really long day. Keep in mind that Bayern-tickets are only valid after 9:00 weekdays, so about the only way you'll get reasonable transport costs is to do the journey on a weekend: leave Salzburg at 6am, arrive in Fuessen around 11:00 with all the other tourists, and leave Fuessen around 18:00 and arrive in Salzburg around 23:00 or midnight.

Short version: do Fuessen as a daytrip from Munich or on your way from Salzburg to someplace else.

Berchtesgaden, on the other hand, is a 45-minute bus ride from Salzburg. No idea how much it costs, but it can't be that bad. The bus schedule is on the DB site, so you should be able to make something work.

Oberammergau looks doable as a daytrip from Fuessen (90-minute bus ride) if maybe a bit long. It's still not quite realistic as a daytrip from Salzburg.

It's a good time to check out a detailed map. As we learned there is no easy route on the German side to stay along the Alpine corridor. Roadways go north, then south regularly. The easiest way to get to Füssen is via Innsbruck, because the Inntalbahn is ma major route; alternatively, you'll have to travel up to Munich and then catch a train south.

There is a Ludwig palace at Chiemsee, the Bavarian Ocean, halfway between Salzburg and Munich that should not be missed by Ludwig-seekers.

Hello Kristina. I agree with Tom. The best place for overnight accomodation is Fussen, for visiting the castle Neuschwanstein. I recommend being at a hotel in Fussen 2 nights. Thus you would have one whole day for visiting King Ludwig's 2 castles, and riding on the Tegelberg gondola up the mountain (located near Neuschwanstein. A bus goes to it).

Thank you so much for all the help. I have developed my itinerary taking all of the suggestions into consideration. I have a very limited time of only 4 nights in the area, so I know I will miss out on a lot, but I'm trying to see what I can while there. I will likely not be able to return for quite a while if ever, so wanted to say, "I saw..." I think the following itinerary will maximize my time, while allowing me to see everything I want to see: Day 1- arrive in Fussen(this is flexible- I can arrive anywhere, but it will be in the evening), night in Fussen. Day 2(saturday)- see castles, maybe the gondola up the mountain, travel to Munich for the night. Day 3(sunday)- see city of Munich, travel to Salzburg for the night (maybe Cheimsee on the way?). Day 4(monday)- see Salzburg and Bertchesgaden and Eagles Nest, return to Munich for the night. Day 5-flight out of Munich(already have plane tickets). Further suggestions?

OK, Lee - you got this right again. I had taken that route from Füssen only once by car down the Lechtal through those many tunnels. Since I knew this to be a major route north, I didn't bother checking train options. Of course, by car the way I'd prefer is through the Inntal and Innsbruck.

We just returned from Germany.

Buses from Berchtesgaden to Salzburg run hourly.
The ride was 20 minutes maximum and very scenic.
Cost was 4.60 euros pp one way or 9.20 for 2 pp, equalling 18.40 euros RT.

It would have been only 15 euros for 2pp, RT, but we didn't commit to taking the last bus back from Salzburg to Berchtesgaden.