trip planning for Germany/Austria Mountains

In the mountains of Austria around Innsbruck, I suggest going east to Mayrhofen/Hintertux area or further to Kitzbuhel. To the west, the towns of Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis, and the town of Nauders are really fun towns with lots of atmosphere and superb mtns. Garmisch-Part is a great place to base as well. You say southern Germany, just southeastern Germany? or Southwest as well. In Southern Germany, western part, visit Lake Constance/Bodensee for great atmosphere, you can skip the castles, but there's a great one in Meersburg.

BTW, answers here are provided by the general public, not by anyone affiliated with Rick Steves' company. So as to why GaP isn't in Mr. Steves' Germany guide, I can only speculate... he seems to go out of his way sometimes in the book to steer people away from locations with a US military presence, but the actual reason, who knows? For me, GaP, particularly the Partenkirchen side of town, is easily the best town in the area. Extremely scenic, convenient to great skiing, hiking and biking, and centrally located for visiting other towns and castles in the region. As to Hall and Reutte...meh. Nobody would mention Reutte if it wasn't in the Blue Book. Hall is worth a 20 minute stop or a meal only if you're driving by

Both the Zillertal and the Stubaital are in the Innsbruck area and are very scenic.

Carl, have you thought of free wheeling your trip? You are going off peak so hotel availability should not be a problem. We always use a car and never make reservations in advance. We have been in Germany in March, September, and November. Where are you flying into and how long will you be there? We enjoyed Garmisch, Innsbruck, and Fussen. We visited the Zugspitze Thanksgiving weekend when there was snow, so we skied. Climbing to the top was not an option. We spent one night in Innsbruck while driving to Italy and wished we had more time. Some people like to have everything planned out, we start with a rough idea and adjust as we go. Are you aware that you must stop when crossing into Austria for a road tax sticker?

Hi Carl, Just a note: We took a trip late April to the Alps (Austria/Bavaria/Dolomites) and outside of the cities, the villages were pretty quiet. I agree with Tom concerning Reutte. Our 2 favorite places in the Innsbruck area to base are Hall in Tirol and Mittenwald. We've stayed twice in Mittenwald (4/05 and 10/06 for a total of 7 nights) and Hall in Tirol 4 times (10/01, 10/03, 4/05 and 11/10 for a total of 12 nights). Mittenwald is convenient to many places, such as G-P and the Zugspitze, Oberammergau, Seefeld, Ettal, etc. Hall in Tirol is convenient to Innsbruck (and area) plus Italy and the Dolomites. The Dolomites, which are like nothing else you'll see in the Alps, are about 1:30 from Hall in Tirol. Actually, since mountain scenery is a priority, I'd make a point of staying a night or 2 IN the Dolomites and driving some of the spectacular Dolomite Passes. We stayed in the Italian Dolomites in 10/03, 4/05, 10/06 and 9/09. http://www.worldisround.com/home/pja1/index.html Another area you might consider is the Zillertal. In Sept. '09 we stayed 2 nights in Finkenberg (above Mayrhofen) in the Zillertal. The alpine scenery here is nothing short of spectacular. Hope this helps. Paul

I've been to that region a few times. On one trip, stayed in Garmisch for a few days, and loved it. If you end up there, here's a great B&B choice: Guesthouse Hohe Tanen http://www.hohe-tannen.de/index.php/en/guest-house.html It's in a quiet neigborhood that's a very easy walk to the entrance to the cog-wheel train for the 1st part of the trip to the Zugspitze. It's also an easy walk into the town and to the train station (I was on a side, 2 night excursion from Munich). It's immaculate and neat/organized (in that typical German way!), comfortable and welcoming. Rooms are very nice; it was the kind of homey room you looked forward to sleeping in after an action-packed day in the area. Excellent, hearty breakfast each AM, too. As a 2nd option, if you seek the mountains; St. Anton am Arlberg, a famous ski resort town in Westen Austria that is equally as beautiful in the summer, with endless hiking and mountain excursion options. The cable car whisks you up from the center of the town; up top, the views are nothing short of breathtaking. And here's a B&b option there (also a small, family-run, very clean and very comfortable/homey place): Pension Juen b&b/inn Alte Arlbergstraße 64, AT-6580, St. Anton am Arlberg St. Anton am Arlberg, Arlberg, Tirol, Österreich
Tel: +43 5446 2501 / Fax: 05446 2501