We are going to be in Germany from August 1 to August 12th. The first and last parts of our trip will be visiting family in the Giessen area. We will be on our own visting Southern Germany from about August 3rd to the 8th. I%26#39;d like to catch the train from Giessen to Munich and use Munich as a base for the 5 or so days to see Southern Germany. I need help in seeing what towns aretrain accessible from Munich and what type of pass I should get.
I was thinking of the German Twin Pass for 4 or 5 days. Will this allow for me to use the train to see the following sites? Salzburg, Garmish, Dachau, Regensburg, Royal Castes and Bertchesgarden and cover my round trip train travel for Giessen/Munich?
Is Munich a good base to see these sites or should I stay a night or two somewhere else? Also, any hotel/bed and breakfast recommendations in Munich? We like central location, clean/comfortable and reasonable prices.
Thanks!
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I don%26#39;t know for sure, but guess you might find it cheaper not to use the railpass. Instead use the Bavaria ticket from Munich. All the places you mention would work from Munich, which is central to them all.
In other words if you were to go to, say Salzburg, you%26#39;d likely want to travel through Munich to your next destination (although Berchtesgaden and Salzburg are close and could be combined)
Choose hotels, as b-and-b %26#39;s are a bit different here in europe to what you have in the US. I%26#39;d stay near Munich Central Station (Hauptbahnhof) for ease.
People have asked if it%26#39;s seedy; well, it%26#39;s not. There in a Le Meridien and a Sofital there, but I%26#39;d not stay in either as too pricey, and both are on main street so potentially noisy. My own preference is for hotel Apollo, but there are many orthers. Choose side streets for quiteness, as you may need to open windows at night (aircon may not be on the menu).
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For details on the Bavaria ticket (Bayernkarte), see the %26quot;Search%26quot; box on the top of this Forum page, enter Bavaria Ticket or Bayernkarte. It really is a good deal; up to 5 people can ride on the same ticket, for EUR28. It is a day pass.
Also, check www.bahn.de for the schedule and prices for trains from Giessen.
I agree with ethelman that very likely you are better off buying point-to point tickets.
I wouild do day tours to Salzburg, Garmisch, either the Fuessen castles (Neuschwanstein, not myfavorite) or Herrenchiemsee (station is Prien. I would make Berchtesgaden a separate trip. Dachau is a half day excursion, by S-Bahn (commuter train). But don%26#39;t shortchange Munich.
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Thanks for your thoughtful comments. A few followups:
1) What about renting a car in Germany versus the train? Any advice?
2) Any other cute/quaint towns you%26#39;d recommend staying at in Southern Germany (other than Munich)? My husband likes small towns and isn%26#39;t thrilled about my idea of using Munich as a base - he%26#39;ll stay there a few days but loves the small towns. Any recommendations?
Thanks again for all of your help!
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I would always rent a car. More flexibility in going when you want and leaving when you want. If you take the train from Giessen to Munich, I would spend a day or max two in Munich. Pick up the rental car and I would head south to Fuessen, see the Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles, drive to the Wieskirche (must see!), Oberammergau, Ettal and then into Garmisch and spend one or two nights there. Small town at the base of the Alps, beautiful. After that, depending on time you can drive the Alpenstrasse over to Berchetsgaden, Salzburg.
Only problem is Regensburg which is north of Munich and would be tough to see once you head south. Maybe take the train from Giessen to Regensburg..then train to Munich. Regensburg is beautiful and a nice town to spend a day.
In Garmisch there are many nice places to stay. I have stayed at the Hotel Sissi many time and it is convenient to everything and price is about 100 Euro for a double w/breakfast.
http://www.haus-sissi.de/en/index.htm
If you stay in Fuessen, look at the Villa Jagerhaus:
www.hohenschwangau.de/jaegerhaus0.0.html
Both hotels have reviews posted on TA.
The problem with this area of Germany is that there is so much to see and usually not enough time to see it all!
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We always use a larger city as a base and make daytrips and Munich is excellent for doing so. However, you might consider Salzburg to make your husband happy.
Lovely small city with great transport links. We based there for 6 nights last year and did day trips to Berchtesgaden, Koenignsee (awesome scenery and boat ride), St. Gilgen and St. Wolfgang. We enjoy the city itself very much and are also basing there for several days this December.
Based in Munich (several trips over the years) we have visited the castles, Dachau, Garmisch, Fussen and more.
I personally would base in Salzburg based upon your initial post as I think it will accomplish everything you want and there is also a nice selection of moderate hotels and B%26amp;Bs (Weisse Taube, Stadtkrug, more).
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The problem in Germany is that almost anywhere there is too much to see, certainly weeks%26#39; worth at and around any place, Germany has over 30,000 castles and palaces alone. While you are going to Munich, you are also passing by a lot of great places, you might want to see some things along the way (e.g. Rothenburg oib der Tauber), but if you stop to see too much you%26#39;ll never arrive at your distant destination.
If you want to visit the countryside, travel by car, as many places are poorly served by public transportation (but there is also plenty to see using it). The nice thing if traveling by car is that you can just toss the luggage in the back and forget it, and you also don%26#39;t have to constantly backtrack as you would if you based yourself in Munich for day trips, thereby giving you more time to see things. However, if you are only visiting cities and their surroundings, use the train and public transportation, driving in strange cities is no fun,and parking can be expensive. Staying in the countryside or in smaller towns also usually means much lower prices for your room.
bwelsted%26#39;s suggestion of staying at Villa Jaegerhaus is excellent, our favorite hotel in Germany, with close-up views of lit-up by night Neuschwanstein Palace from your room and possibly your bed. (Click on my name for my review, another reviewer has also taken some excellent photos.) It%26#39;s nice to see it when most of those tourist hordes have disappeared for the evening, and perhaps stroll around it and be the only people there. And with that car, if you desire to see the German or Austrian Alps, it%26#39;s simple. Just head to Salzburg through them for some magnificent scenery along the way.
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Thanks so much. I love your suggestion about staying in Salzburg for a few days, I think my husband will be happy with that!
Thanks everyone!
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Thanks, I will defintely consider renting a car (we rented a car last year in ireland and had no problems). Do you have any car rental agency recommendations? Also,do you know where I could find out the train times/rates for going from Giessen to Munich and back?
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bahn.de is the rail site. They have an English version and it is easy to use.
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I am a huge fan of the Twin Pass. Buy the first class for the most fun. You can hop on and off amy train anytime, anywhere, change your itinerary; wait until the morning until you decide where you are going; add another town, or if it rains just take a train trip for scenery all day long. You also can go to Salzburg for no extra charge. although you might be well advised to take a bus tour for the castles.
I suggest you find a hotel right by the train station. It%26#39;s two stops from the Marienplatz and a very busy station where you can get frequent trains to wherever you want to go. You can find a close hotel to the train station use hrs.de where the distance to the station shows. If you are looking for budget hotels though, I would stay somewhere other than Munich. Nevertheless, I still would suggest Munich.
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