Eagles nest tour

We visited on our own by car from Salzburg.
I'd say it was definitely worth it. There is not much reference to Herr H up at the Eagle's Nest, but the museum at the bottom has a lot of information (some of which may not be suitable for young children).

We drove there and toured it independently.
What struck us was the feeling of paranoia that
Hitler had, putting his tiny home way on top of a mountain. He built elevators inside the mountain that could take many vehicles up to the top.
Worthwhile to visit.

The Eagle's Nest was built and gifted to Hitler by the Nazi party. He is only documented as visiting it about 14 times, as he was scared of heights.

The Eagles Nest was not Hitler's home. It was a "tea house" given to him by the Nazi party for him to entertain visitors during the day. There was no overnight accommodations at the Nest.

I've visited Kehlsteinhaus (the Eagles Nest) three times. The first time, I was staying in Freilassing, Germany, in order to visit both Salzburg and Berchtesgaden, and I commuted down to Berchtesgaden for the day and took the bus trip up to the Nest. At that time there were free-lance guides operating from the bus parking lot below the Nest. I thought the guide for the tour I took was excellent; the information I received from that guide agreed with everything I have since learned about the history of the Eagles Nest

The other two times, each time with a different partner, we were staying in Berchtesgaden and made the bus trip up to the Nest.

In my opinion, it is better to stay in Freilassing, Salzburg, or, preferably, Berchtesgaden. It's too far from Munich to do as a day trip. Public transportation (rail and bus) takes almost 7 hours, RT, so 3rd party tours do it by coach, but the price, around $75/person (not including the bus trip up to the nest), makes it an awful expensive trip for a few hours at the nest. I've always made my visits to Berchtesgaden three night (two full days) trips. There is a lot to see in Berchtesgaden. I've always devoted one day to the Eagles Nest and the Dokumentation Center, the other to Königssee and, once, the Wimbachklamm, with the evening between the days to explore the actual town of Berchtesgaden.

The rail trip from Munich, or anyplace else in Bavaria, using a Bayern-Ticket, costs €32 for the first person, €10 more for each extra person up to 5, total (so €21 each for two people), and covers not only the regional trains from anywhere (Munich?) to Berchtesgaden Hbf but also the buses in the Berchtesgaden area, including the bus from Berchtesgaden Hbf to the starting point for the bus up to the Nest.

Admission to the Nest is free, if you want to hike up, but the special mountain bus up the private road to the Nest and the elevator ride from the bus parking lot to the Nest costs a little over €30. If you are staying in Berchtesgaden, you might get a guest card which will give you a discount on the bus up to the Nest and free use of the buses in Berchtesgaden.

On my last two trips to Berchtesgaden, I've stayed here, at Gästehaus Alpina, and I would recommend it. It's less expensive than most places in Berchtesgaden (€65 for a DZ, €5 more per person for breakfast) because it's down below town, but near (~¼ mi) from the train/bus station where you would catch the bus to the Dok Center, which is the startup point for the buses to the Nest, to the spa or salt mine, or to Königssee. From the Hbf/ZOB, there are buses to town and a dirt footpath up to town (<½ mi).

Eagles Nest Historical Tours out of Berchtesgaden is very good - www.eagles-nest-tours.com. You can easily take a train and/or train/bus combination from Munich to Berchtesgaden, via Salzburg or Freilassing (2.5 hours, 2/per hour). See www.bahn.com for schedules and tickets.

For those who don't want to take a guided tour, this website has a whole lot of information about the Nest.

I wouldn’t take a tour from Munich. Mainly because I would only go if the weather is clear, and a tour would require advance reservations. The views are spectacular, but what you see (as far as the building) is very limited. You take a very winding bus ride up, then take the elevator up. Then you can visit the building (which is now a restaurant), or have lunch on the terrace. You can hike up the hill a bit, and on a clear day it is gorgeous.

You can make the trip on your own using public transportation. Use Google maps to get directions. The destination would be Eagle’s Nest Historical Tours. Click on the train symbol for public transportation options.

Thanks for the info

We took the bus from Salzburg using the directions in the Rick Steves guide book. It was easy to get there and had beautiful scenery.

I know the original post was some time ago but I just saw it. I’m reposting my forum report about our experience here last year.

Sunday, May 19 - Salzburg to Berchtesgaden and Back
This is a day I had been looking forward to - our historical tour of nearby Berchtesgaden that was so important during WWII. My husband and I had always been interested in WWII - probably due to the fact that our fathers had both participated, his father in Europe, my dad in the Pacific. We have visited many sites associated with the war, but somehow always missed the Eagle’s Nest and the Berghof. Today was the day to fill in those missing pieces.
We had another one of the great Imlauer Hotel Pitter breakfasts, then walked to the bus stop to catch our ride to Berchtesgaden. We had checked out the stop the day before so we knew exactly where to head. The bus was on time and we were off on our 30–40-minute ride. The ride itself is quite scenic.
We had taken an earlier bus than we needed, so we had plenty of time to walk up the path from the station into Old Town Berchtesgaden prior to meeting our guide. It was Sunday morning, so it was rather quiet in the Old Town.
By the time we walked around the town and then walked back down, it was almost time to meet our guide, Steve Lewis. He was already there to meet us so we were able to get an early start on the tour. I had booked this tour using GetYourGuide, but learned that Steve does have a website, so if you want to book, I’d definitely suggest doing that. Through GetYourGuide and Viator, only his 1/2-day tour is listed - on his personal site, he always offers a full day tour. We definitely would have taken that (had we known). Steve and his wife run their tours. They have done extensive research, interviewed survivors of the period and children of survivors who remember living there, and they provide a very history focused tour. They even live in one of the old SS barracks that had since been converted into apartments. They really know this area well.
We immediately started our climb up toward the Berghof. Along the way, Steve pointed other SS quarters, the site of Bormann’s home and Goering’s home, along with other homes of German leaders of the era. Steve also pointed out sealed bunker entrances along the drive. The scenery was stunning as we continued to wind our way up toward our first major site - the Berghof, Hitler’s retreat during WWII. When we reached the area, Steve pointed out the structure, close to the Berghof that remains from the period - a former hotel, Hotel zum Turken. Bormann did not like it being so close to the Berghof so he had it “purchased.” It then was used by different security services. While it did sustain some bombing damage at the end of the war, it had been restored by a relative who had regained control of the property after the war.
Right next to the hotel, Steve pointed out the final checkpoint before the Berghof as well as the service entrance and main driveway of the Berghof. During this time, Steve was also showing us period photos on his iPad.
We parked right at the entrance of the main driveway and walked up to the actual site where many famous photos have been taken. We stood in front of the location of the huge picture window and viewed the scenery that hasn’t really changed since Hitler lived there. It was eerie.
We walked around the site which, of course, is now wooded. The Allied bombing at the end of the way had almost destroyed the Berghof, but the West German government called for it to be completely removed in 1952. The only original things that remain are the supporting wall of the southern slope and a few small remnants of the foundation.

Continuation of repost from above:

Sunday, May 19, continued:
We were the only people there until about ten minutes before we left, when a couple of hikers came over to see the area. The government does not encourage the official Eagle’s Nest tours to come here, even though there is a small tourist-style sign placed at the location. Steve said that none of the tourist literature of the area include directions here. It’s interesting to note that the official tours go to the Eagle’s Nest, where it is documented that Hitler only visited 14 times. Yet, he spent 1/3 of the wartime years at the Berghof, where many momentous decisions were made. We were just glad we were able to come to this site and would be able to see the Eagle’s Nest, too. After our stay at the Berghof, we headed further up the mountain road to the Obersaltzburg Documentation Center.
Unfortunately, on the 1/2-day tour, you don’t have time to really visit the museum part. We did have time to visit the bunkers that are open to the public. The construction of these bunkers began in 1943 as Germany began to suffer more bombing. The tunnels that connected the bunkers were dug by slave labor. There was plenty of signage along the walkway to learn a lot about each bunker area. I especially liked an area where you could watch a video of the building of the bunker system.
We could have stayed longer, but we needed to head to our timed-entry bus to take us up the Eagle’s Nest (actually called the Kehlsteinhaus chalet). Only official buses are allowed to access the very narrow (original) road up to the Eagle’s Nest. Since the Eagle’s Nest is at such a high elevation, it doesn’t open until mid to late May. We lucked out because it had opened just the previous week. The drive up was beautiful.
Although Hitler did not visit the Eagle’s Nest very often, Eva Brau loved it. When we arrived at the parking area, most of the bus passengers headed straight for the elevators that whisk you up to the chalet, which is still quite a distance up. Steve took us to a side door that was clearly marked Verboten. But Steve had a key to the door and he led us in to see some of the equipment used for chalet maintenance. It also gave him time to explain some more history and allow the crowds at the elevator to disperse. By the time we got to the original polished-brass elevator, we had it to ourselves.
When we reached the top, Steve walked us through the rooms, providing explanations and more iPad photos of the Eagle’s Nest rooms and exterior from the period. This was great because a lot has changed inside the building. It is a restaurant now. Steve could point out what was original, partially original, and totally changed. After his brief tour of the Eagle’s Nest, he left and gave us another 45 minutes to explore on our own before meeting him back down at the parking lot. We walked up the mountainside behind the building to get a good view. Again, the weather was on our side. When it was time to head down to meet Steve, we discovered that the original bronze elevator wasn’t working so it was an unexpected hike down to the parking lot (actually, we enjoyed it).
The buses were kind of off schedule due to the elevator malfunction since buses can only travel in one direction at a time due to the narrow road, so we had to wait for about twenty minutes in the parking lot. Once we got back to Steve’s car, it was a quick trip back to the bus station to catch the bus back to Salzburg. It had been a great tour and we highly recommend Steve’s tour!