Tips For Planning Your Neuschwanstein Day Trip From Munich

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Want to visit the Neuschwanstein Castle while in Munich? This guide will help you plan your perfect day trip.

If you have our Germany Travel Planner, be sure to watch the planning video and review the insider tips and photos in our interactive planning map!

Quick Answer: Best Guided Day Trip from Munich

Many of our clients opt to visit Neuschwanstein castle via guided tour from Munich. This is a super convenient option because all you need to do is book the tour and then show up at the meeting point!

You don’t have to worry about not being able to get tickets to tour the castle or missing your timed entry time due to a delayed train. If you’d like everyone in your group to enjoy the ride, consider a guided tour.

Here are 2 tours our clients have enjoyed:

• Linderhof & Neuschwanstein Day Trip from Munich (by Bus)
• Neuschwanstein Full-Day Trip (by Van)

Why Visit Neuschwanstein Castle?

Bavaria has its fair share of beautiful castles, but Neuschwanstein Castle (Schloss Neuschwanstein in German) truly embodies a real-life fairy tale setting.

With its breathtaking landscape and fascinating history, it’s easy to see why this is one of Germany’s most popular places for travelers to visit and one of the top day trips from Munich.

Nearly every client we’ve met with in a one-on-one consult or created a custom itinerary for has wanted to visit this castle! And that’s why we have an entire section of our Germany Travel Planner devoted to visiting Neuschwanstein.

By the time I finally made it to Neuschwanstein, I’d already been living in Germany for almost 3 years. Even though I’d already seen so much of Germany and had visited other castles, Neuschwanstein was THE castle I’d dreamed about visiting since I was a kid. It was a dream come true for me to see it in real life and I throughly enjoyed it.

Many visitors to Germany feel the same way. This famous castle attracts over 1.3 million people per year, with as many as 6,000 tourists per day in the summer time!

Neuschwanstein castle is truly breathtaking and the whole alpine area around the castle is stunning. Whether you visit in the summer, winter, spring or autumn, you’ll be swept off your feet by this fairytale castle.

If you’re not sure how to make the trip Neuschwanstein, this guide will help you choose the best option for you. Here’s everything you need to know to plan your Neuschwanstein Castle day trip from Munich by car, public transportation or guided tour.

What is Neuschwanstein?

Neuschwanstein is a castle with a very interesting history. It was ordered to be built by King Ludwig II in 1868 but was actually never completed.

King Ludwig spent the majority of his childhood in the nearby Hohenschwangau Castle, a Neo-Gothic palace rebuilt by his father, King Maximillian II of Bavaria. Hohenschwangau Castle was filled with scenes from medieval legends and poetry.

This became a source of inspiration for King Ludwig as he set out to build his own fairytale castle. He had ambitious plans. Had it been finished, the castle would have had 200+ rooms but only 14 rooms are currently finished.

One of the castle’s interesting facts is that despite its medieval style, it’s actually equipped with the newest technological comforts of its time. This includes hot and cold running water, flushing toilets, central heating system, and even telephone lines.

The exterior is equally impressive. The castle boasts a white limestone façade and is furnished with dark blue turrets, towers, and balconies. Built on a rocky hill with a backdrop of the Alps, it’s no wonder many artists were inspired by this magical scenery.

The most famous case is of course, Walt Disney. Two famous Disney castles, the Cinderella Castle and the Sleeping Beauty Castle, bear striking resemblance since they’re rumored to be modeled after Neuschwanstein.

How To Visit Neuschwanstein from Munich

From cars, to trains or buses, or a guided tour, you have a few different modes of transportation to choose from. Here are the different ways to get to Neuschwanstein Castle from Munich.

Car: The Most Flexible Option

Driving is the most direct and flexible way of getting to Neuschwanstein. You can easily rent a car from the Munich airport or train station. The drive is approximately 75 miles/120km or around 2 hours.

We’ve rented cars in Germany many times over the years and have found driving there pretty easy. That said, there are differences in approach to driving, laws, and road signs.

If you’re nervous about driving in Germany for the first time or want to avoid getting a ticket, we highly recommend this Germany driving tutorial. It’s excellent and zeros in exactly what you need to know to drive with peace and confidence from day 1. We found this tutorial helpful and many of our clients have also raved about it.

According to the castle’s official website, to get to Neuschwanstein from Munich, take the A7 motorway heading towards Ulm-Kempten-Füssen until you reach the end. Once you get to Füssen, take the B17 road to Schwangau and follow the signs to Hohenschwangau.

You can also take the A7 motorway and exit at Kempten. From there, follow the B12 road to Marktoberdorf and then the B16 to Roßhaupten (OAL I to Buching). And then same as the other route, taking B17 will lead you Schwangau and Hohenschwangau.

Having a rental car is a great option if you like following your own schedule. Plus, you can personalize your itinerary, add any other stops along the way, and have the experience of driving on the famous Autobahn.

If you can easily park at your hotel or apartment in Munich, renting a car to take one or more day trips could be a good idea (if you have our Germany Travel Planner, look at the interactive map for great day trip ideas, along with our tips, info, and photos to make your planning easier). If, however, you’re mostly visiting big cities or will only drive to Neuschwanstein, taking public transportation or a guided tour could be a better way to go.

Public Transportation: The Cheapest Option

Unfortunately, there’s no direct route from Munich to Neuschwanstein via public transportation. The good news is that it’s a fairly easy trip and can be broken into two legs: first, a train ride from Munich HBF (Munich Hauptbahnhof / Munich’s Main Train Station) to Füssen and then, a short bus ride from Füssen to Hohenschwangau.

If you aren’t using the Deutschland-Ticket, we highly recommend getting the Bayern Ticket (Bavaria Ticket). This train ticket gives you unlimited trips on regional trains within Bavaria for up to 5 people for an entire day. It’ll save you so much money since you can use it for both legs of the trip (as long as they’re both completed in 1 day) – and kids under 5 ride for free.

You can buy your Bayern ticket here online (this is where we buy our tickets), in the DB Navigator app or in person at the train station. Do note that you can’t use the ticket before 9am Monday through Friday but you can use it anytime on weekends and holidays. Since it’s only valid on regional trains, you can’t make seat reservations.

There are trains to Füssen every 1-2 hours. Some are direct, while others require one change of trains. The journey time is about 2 hours. Pick up a snack in the Munich train station before getting on the train and enjoy the beautiful scenery on the way!

Once you arrive in Füssen, it’ll be easy to spot crowds of tourists exiting the train station and heading across the street to the bus stop. The buses run regularly and are timed to leave shortly after the train arrives. Take the bus number 78 heading to Schwangau. It brings you to Hohenschwangau in around 15 minutes.

Guided Tour: The Easiest Option

If you want to skip the stress of arranging transportation, getting to the train station, and finding your way to the castle, then booking a day tour is the best way to go. After years of always arranging everything myself, I’ve started taking some guided day tours when traveling alone. It’s just so easy! Plus, it’s fun to meet and talk with others on the tour, and I always learn something new from the guide.

This option is also super convenient if you’re traveling as a family with kids or a group. Taking public transportation is doable but it might be tiring. And if a train is late, or if it’s crowded, or if you just didn’t sleep well the night before, the added stress could put a huge damper on the entire day. With a tour, all you have to worry about is enjoying your trip!

One of the highly-rated tours you can take is a day trip from Munich to Neuschwanstein and Linderhof Palace.

You’ll board an air-conditioned bus and travel from Munich to the first stop, Linderhof Palace. Though this palace is less known, it’s as beautiful as Neuschwanstein and where King Ludwig actually spent most of his time.

The tour then takes you to the small town of Oberammergau and Schwangau, before arriving at Neuschwanstein. With all the additional stops, this tour is a great way to maximize the convenience of private transportation and visit more sights than you’re likely able to do on your own.

If you’d prefer a tour with no detours, you can book this full-day guided trip from Munich to Neuschwanstein. This is more of a private tour, done in small groups and in a private vehicle. If you’re traveling with a small group of friends or as a family, this could be perfect for you.

Aside from Neuschwanstein Castle, this full-day tour includes visiting the Church of Wieskirch, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and trying out a cheese and sausage platter at a Bavarian farm.

How to Buy Neuschwanstein Castle Tickets

The inside of Neuschwanstein Castle can only be visited via a 25-minute guided tour. The tickets for the guided tour can either be bought on site at the official Ticket Center in Hohenschwangau or reserved online from their official website.

The tickets sell out quickly onsite. There is only a limited amount of tickets available for the day and by morning they’re mostly, if not completely, sold out.

That’s why we highly recommend purchasing tickets in advance online. Tours are timed-entry so you’ll need to reserve a specific day and time in advance. Currently, the adult tickets cost €18.00.

The last time we visited Neuschwanstein, tickets were sold out a couple weeks in advance. If you’re visiting during busy seasons, book tickets several weeks or even a couple months in advance, especially if you need tickets for a specific day and time.

The guided tour of the inside of the castle takes around 25 minutes and is offered in German and English. There aren’t many live English tours but they offer portable audio guide devices in English and other languages, free of charge. So as long as you don’t book the live German tour (unless you speak German, of course), you should be ok with any of the others.

We did a live English tour of Neuschwanstein and a guided audio tour of Hohenschwangau. Both tours were great and the live English tour really wasn’t any better than the audio tour.

Pro tip: If you’re taking a guided day trip, make sure to double check if the castle entrance fees are actually included in the price of the tour. You might need to purchase your castle tour ticket from the guide on the day of the excursion. Expect to pay a little more than if you booked via the official website.

What to Expect at Neuschwanstein Castle

Here are some additional things you should know to help you prepare for your trip:

• If you’re getting there by car, you can’t drive directly to Neuschwanstein Castle. The public roads are closed for all vehicles. You’ll have to park in Hohenschwangau. There are 4 parking lots in the village with different parking spaces for cars, buses, motorcycles, and even mobile homes. Last time we parked there it costs €10,00 for the day. We arrived at 10:30am and while it was getting busy, we had no problem finding a place to park.

• Be ready to do a lot of walking and give yourself plenty of time to walk up to the castle. To get from the bus stop or parking lot to Neuschwanstein, you’ll need to walk uphill about 40 minutes. It’s a hike but do-able if you enjoy walking. I like to give myself an hour to get up to the castle so I can enjoy the walk and stop to take photos and just enjoy the overall experience. Keep an eye on the time, though, because you do not want to miss your entry time into the castle.

• If you don’t want to walk to the castle you’ve got 2 options. The first is a shuttle bus. It doesn’t go directly to the castle, but it brings you to Marienbrücke, a lookout point that’s 10-15 minutes away from the castle entrance. The shuttle does not run when there’s snow and ice, though. And there could be long lines of people waiting for the shuttle, so allow for that in your planning.

• The second option is taking the horse carriage ride. This is the perfect way to add to the fairytale experience. Like the shuttle bus, the carriage drops you about 10-15 minutes walk from the entrance. I’ve taken the carriage down the hill a few times and it’s fun. Whenever I’ve visited the castles, there has always a long line for the carriage, so if you want to take it up the hill, give yourself plenty of time.

• For the tour of Neuschwanstein Castle itself, you can only enter at the specified time on your ticket. Be sure to plan accordingly and arrive on time since you can’t get a refund or change the entry time of your ticket. I’ve seen people arrive late and get turned away.

• Also, keep in mind that you’re not allowed to take any photographs inside the castle. But don’t worry! You can take tons of impressive photographs of the castle’s exterior from various trails and lookout points like the Marienbrücke bridge.

Day Trip or Stay Overnight?

Can you visit Neuschwanstein on a day trip from Munich? Yes!

However, if you want to tour both Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles, walk around the lake or explore Füssen, I recommend spending at least 1 night in the area.

To find a great place to stay in the Neuschwanstein castle area, use our accommodation guide as a jumping off point.

What to Wear & Bring With You

• Layers. Dressing in comfortable layers is so important when you travel and especially on a day trip when you can’t easily drop by your hotel to drop off a coat or pick up a sweater. Being able to easily take off or add layers will make your day trip so much more enjoyable.
• Comfortable shoes. If you’re visiting Neuschwanstein on a full-day trip from Munich, you’ll do a lot of walking on various types of surfaces – cobblestones, pavement, gravel, etc. Do your feet a favor and wear your most comfortable shoes.
• Backpack, day bag or travel purse. Bring one that will hold what you need for the day but isn’t too heavy or uncomfortable to wear all day. Bigger isn’t always better, especially when the weather is on the hotter side or if you’re traveling to places that are likely to be crowded (like Neuschwanstein). Note: the Neuschwanstein website indicates that “rucksacks” are not permitted and requests that you leave them in the car. Keep this in mind if traveling by public transportation!
• Umbrella or rain jacket. You never know when it’s going to rain in Germany. We almost always carry an umbrella or a rain jacket.
• Snacks. It’s always a good idea to bring a few snacks with you – an apple, a granola bar, a bottle of water, etc.
• Back-up battery for your phone. This is a must! If you’re taking photos, videos, listening to music, watching videos, or reading on your phone, you’ll run down your battery super fast. When I travel, I always bring a back-up battery and use it to recharge my phone about half way through the day. Tip: make sure to charge both your phone and your back-up battery the night before your day trip!
• Ear phones/buds. Not only for watching videos or listening to podcasts or music, you can often listen to audio tours through your phone.
• Phone, ipad, camera, etc. Self explanatory!
• A travel journal. So you can jot down notes and observations during the day! I do just about everything on my phone but I still always keep a journal when I travel. There’s just something about putting pen to paper while traveling that is so satisfying and relaxing. And I always appreciate those journals months or years after my trip. This is the travel journal I use (spoiler alert…I designed it).

Other Day Trips from Munich

If you have more time in Munich and want to explore the area, here are 3 other great day trips to look into:

1. Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial

If you want tour that doesn’t take the whole day, Dachau Concentration Camp is a 40-minute U-bahn ride away from the city center. The former concentration camp recalls the dark period of the Nazi era and is a memorial to honor the victims who suffered during this time. If you’ve never visited a concentration camp before, I highly recommend visiting Dachau. Book your tour led by a professional guide here.

2. The Romantic Road

If you want to cross even more German castles off your bucket list, check out this guided trip through Romantic Road. This tour begins at Harburg Castle, one of the oldest castles in Germany, and ends in Rothenburg, a well-preserved charming medieval town. This is a beautiful part of Germany to explore!

3. Salzburg, Austria

Want to explore another city outside of Germany? Then book this day trip from Munich to Salzburg, Austria here. This world famous destination is celebrated as the hometown of Mozart and the setting of “The Sound of Music.” Salzburg is only a few hours a way and a fun city to explore!