train from salzburg to fussen, germany

Vicki,

That's not exactly an easy day trip from Salzburg, as the travel time to Fussen is about 4 hours each way. Spending eight hours on the train for a couple of hours at the Castles is not something I'd recommend.

How long will you be in Salzburg? Is there any possibility you could stay in Munich for a night or two, as the trip is much easier from there. From Munich you could either take the train to Fussen and tour the Castles on your own OR take a day tour with Radius Tours (listed in the Guidebook).

Good luck!

Thank you for your replies.
I will be in Munich for 3 days, then Salzburg for two nights and then head to fussen for 2 more nights.
If the train trip is 4 hours it will work and then we will see the castles the next day.

As already mentioned, the trip from Salzburg to Füssen, by express train, the fastest connections, will take about 4 hours. Full fare, depending on the class of train, is €50 or more, per person, 2nd class. If you can commit to a specific train and order online, you can get a Sparpreis fare on the same trains for as low €49, 2nd class, €79, 1st class. That's for two adults; any children under 15 are free.

Travel from Munich to Füssen will be by regional trains regardless. If you use regional trains from Salzburg to Munich as well, the trip will still take less than 5 hours and you can use a Bayern-Ticket for the whole trip. The Bayern-Ticket costs €28 and is valid for 2-5 adults or parents and all of their children under 15. There is no limit to the number of Bayern-Tickets sold. You can buy it from the DB automat in Salzburg just before leaving.

If you use a Bayern-Ticket, you could also use it that day for the bus to Hohenschwangau. There are accommodations there, and you can find them under "Hotels" on the Hohenschwangau website.

BTW, the website mentioned above (Transport to Neuschwanstein) contains two inaccuracies. The price of the Bayern-Ticket has gone up €1. There are four buses to the castles. All you need to know is that they leave from bus stop (Haltestelle) #2 across the parking lot from the station building.

For more information about getting from Munich to the castles, see my webpage.

One other hint, the train from Salzburg will come into the Munich Hbf in the main shed area (tracks 11-26) or into the Holzkirchner Flügelbahnhof (wing station, an annex on the south side of the main part of the station), tracks 5-10. The trains to Füssen leave from the Starnberger Flügelbahnhof, attached to the north side of the Hbf. To get to the Starnberger Flügelbahnhof, go out alongside track 26. Part way out there will be an opening in the wall leading to tracks 27-36.

See map.

We took the train from Fussen to Salzburg using the Bayern ticket. IT took about 4 1/2 hours I think-- factoring in the train change in Munich. THe BAyern ticket is also good for taking the bus to the castles. Fussen was a very quaint town, we enjoyed staying there very much.

Thank you all for such detailed train information.
The trains seem the most confusing part of the whole trip. Too many choices! Great ideas for this leg of the trip. More questions to come for other legs!!

I know Neuschwanstein is sort of the icon for Germany, but there are other castles closer to Salzburg (including a very impressive one in Salzburg). Lugwig's Palace at Herrenchiemsee is modeled after the palace in Versailles. Just down the Salzach from Salzburg is the castle at Burghausen, a much older castle than anything Lugwig built.

I think sometimes we jump all over Europe just to see a few places that have become popular in guidebooks.