We are traveling with our two youngest children to Europe and will be stopping 2 days in Munich. We don't have that much time but would like to show them the castles on Wednesday March 18th. Rick shows either a train or bus trip. Does anyone have advice as to which trip to take (bus or train?). Thanks.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19092 posts
First, I assume you mean King Ludwig's castles, Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau, in Füssen. There are bus tours from Munich, but they are quite expensive. They're not necessary; you can do the trip on you own. Take a train from Munich Hauptbahnhof (main station) to Füssen; the trip takes about 2 hrs. When you get off the train in Füssen, there will be a bus to Hohenschwangau leaving from across the parking lot (bus stop #2) in 10 minutes; it takes 8 minutes and drops you off just down the street from the ticket kiosk.
With a €27 Bayern-Ticket, all four of you can ride the train to Füssen and back. The bus is also included.
The Bayern-Ticket is valid after 9 AM on weekdays, so the first train you can use with it leaves Munich Hbf at 9:51. It gets to Füssen at 11:55. The bus leaves at 12:05 and gets to Hohenschwangau at 12:13.
If you want to leave a little earlier, there is a train at 8:52, getting into Füssen at 10:55 and Hohenschwangau at 11:13. The first stop after 9 is at Geltendorf. To cover your travel up to there, you can buy 2 adult and 2 child 3 zone tickets at €6,60 and €1,10 per person repectively. Or, you can buy a Gesamtnetz Partner-Tageskarte (entire network partner day ticket) for €18 instead.
Posted by
OP
Clifton, VA, USA
21 posts
Lee, Thanks a lot for the detailed info. Do you mean that with one ticket for Euro 27, all 4 of us can travel on the train to Fussen? And the bus, too?
Also, we would like to know if we can reserve our tickets for the Castle in advance, so as to avoid the line there?
Thanks again.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32198 posts
Chris,
Given the short time frame of your trip, you might also consider a tour. I used Radius Tours in Munich, and can certainly recommend them. You'd have to check their web site to determine if they have special rates for children?
Radius took care of all the arrangements, including transportation and reservations to the Castle (entry must be made at a pre-determined time). They also provided the tour outside the Castle (local staff do the tour inside). I only visited Neuschwanstein on my last visit, as I was having "foot problems" and that's all I could tolerate. As you're travelling with young children, you might find that's all they have the patience for.
Happy travels!
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19092 posts
Yes, the Bayern-Ticket is valid all day (from 9 AM weekdays) on any regional trains in Bavaria. It is also valid on buses of the RVO (Regional Verkehr Oberbayern), which operates the buses from Füssen to Hohenschwangau.
You can reserve tickets in advance for a small extra fee. See www.hohenschwangau.de/ticketcenter0.0.html.
Posted by
Spokane, Washington, USA
28 posts
I just recently took the Grey Line tour from Munich to the castles and would highly recommend it. I had such a great experience. Our hotel made all the arrangements for us the day before we wanted to go. A shuttle picked us up at our hotel to take us to the main train station where the tour bus was waiting. It was very convenient and easy, as they made all the arrangements for you. The tour stops at Neuschwanstein and Linderhof. Check out Grey Line's website for more info.
http://www.grayline.com/Grayline/destinations/europe/munich.go?mode=activityDetail&apid=1327&sid=581
Good Luck and Have Fun!
Posted by
Orlando
191 posts
I have the same question, researching best way/cost and until I read the other replies was seriously considering renting a car for the day. Through Tiger Rental I can get an all inclusive quote for 50 Euro per day. (3 days 105) I thought it might be nice to have a car for unstructured adventure for at least one day while in Euorope. My 2 cents