route from Fussen to Freilassing by car

Hi,

Just my opinion as one who didn't find the German Alpine Road, we drove from just west of Reit im Winkl, to be all that. Depending on how much time you want to drive, I like heading over the Fern Pass to the Innsbruck area and then to Worgl, to Lofer in Tirol, Schneizlreuth, to Berchtesgaden and then Salzburg. The high alpine scenery in the valley by Innsbruck and driving to Worgl is outstanding. The part from Scheizlreuth to Berchtesgaden is an extremely scenic drive. Never get tired of this drive, as we've done in many times.

Paul

At one time or another, I have been on most of the Alpenstrasse. (The one part I've missed is from Lenggries to Kreuth. That route goes right up to the Austrian border and might be worth seeing.) I would particularly recommend the part from Garmisch-Partenkirchen to Kochel (along Walchensee), the part over the mountains from Bayrishzell to Brannenburg, on the Inn, and Reit im Winkel. The Strasse ends in Berchtesgaden, but I don't think the part from Reit to Berchtesgaden is that great; I'd leave Reit and take the fastest route to Freilassing. Having never done the whole road straight through, I can't say how long it would take, but I would allow two days. Spend a night here, in Bayrischzell.

Thanks for the advice. We won't have the option to spend the night as we already have a hotel booked in Salzburg.

Then plan on a really long day, unless you deviate significantly from the Alpenstrasse.

I'm having a problem getting ViaMichelin to follow the actual Alpenstrasse, but it's showing over 6 hours, without any stops for meals, sightseeing, etc, for a route that neglects the Achenpaß loop from Bad Tölz to Tegernsee and completely deviates from the Strasse from where it crosses the Inn east to Salzburg. Although it does go through Reit, it skips Bernau am Chiemsee and Aschau as well at the part from Inzell into Berchtesgaden.

For 6+ hours, the only parts of the Alpenstrasse you will actually be on will be from Garmisch-Partenkirchen to Bad Tölz and from near Tegernsee to the Inn.

Then plan on a really long day, unless you deviate significantly from the Alpenstrasse.

I'm having a problem getting ViaMichelin to follow the actual Alpenstrasse, but it's showing over 6 hours, without any stops for meals, sightseeing, etc, for a route that neglects the Achenpaß loop from Bad Tölz to Tegernsee and completely deviates from the Strasse from where it crosses the Inn east to Salzburg. Although it does go through Reit, it skips Bernau am Chiemsee and Aschau as well at the part from Inzell into Berchtesgaden.

For 6+ hours, the only parts of the Alpenstrasse you will actually be on will be from Garmisch-Partenkirchen to Bad Tölz and from near Tegernsee to the Inn.

Hi Leki,

The route I suggested is under 5 hours non stop. If you left around 9 am. you'd have a nice drive and some time for a stop along the way.

Paul

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the advice. Sounds lovely!

Leki

Thanks, Lee. You have been very helpful!

I just did this this week with my daughter. It was fabulous and having a car made our out of the way experiences possible.

We picked up car in Garmisch, stopped at Linderhof and then went to our hotel outside Ruette. We went through Füssen on our way to the castles. If you can, stop at Ehrenberg on your way to Innsbruck. A 15 minute hike up the hill to the ruined castle and the 408m suspension bridge from the ruin to Fort Claudia was amazing - even in the rain!

We went south on 179 to Innsbruck and then took A12 to Frielassing. It took 4 hours without stops - I wanted to get to Salzburg before dark.

The drive between Füssen and Garmisch is not to be missed - even in the rain. After that get onto the A12 to make tracks. It was still beautiful even though not a twisty mountain road. I enjoyed it and am used to the scenery driving to Whistler and into the British Columbia interior. The motorway is in a valley with picturesque villages clinging to mountainsides.

Get good instructions to the drop off. I had trouble finding ours. "Close to the train station" is relative. It was too far to walk and only visible when we backtracked. We were not charged a drop fee or for the car seat. And got a lift to the station for the €2.50 train trip into Salzburg.

BTW, Do the Fräulein Maria bike tour even if TSOM is not your thing. You cover a ton of ground (10 km on our day), get loads of unique views of Salzburg and meet great people. It was the highlight of Salzburg even in the pouring rain.