Tours of Bavaria

You don’t need a coach, a guide and a little flag on a stick. These are the routes I’d take round Bavaria myself, with a train ticket and a free day or two.

TOURS OF BAVARIA: This page used to send you off to book organised tours. Some of them are fine, but most of what they do you can do yourself for a fraction of the price, at your own pace and without being herded back onto a bus after 40 minutes.
So instead, here are my own do-it-yourself tours of Bavaria. Each one strings together places I’ve been and written up on this site, and all of them start from Munich and work on public transport.

Before you set off: the Bayern-Ticket

The Bayern-Ticket is the secret weapon for all of these. It covers a whole day on regional trains and most local buses anywhere in Bavaria, for up to five people travelling together, and prices start at around €34. On weekdays it’s valid from 9am, at weekends from midnight. In a group it works out ridiculously cheap.
If you’re staying a while, the Deutschlandticket (€63 a month, as a subscription you can cancel) does the same job on regional trains right across Germany. Neither ticket covers the fast ICE trains, and neither covers a bike. My Oberammergau page explains the bike rules.

1. King Ludwig’s castles

Two or three days. The fairytale king built three palaces and lived in a fourth, and you can see the lot without a car.
• Day one: train to Füssen (about two hours), bus to Hohenschwangau, then Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau Castle side by side. If you’ve got legs left, go up the Tegelberg for the view down on to Neuschwanstein. Book your castle tickets ahead, they sell out in summer. Here’s how to get there.
• Day two: Linderhof, Ludwig’s little palace in the Graswang valley. Stay in Oberammergau and cycle there like I did, stopping at Ettal Abbey on the way back. Don’t miss the Venus Grotto.
• Day three: train to Prien am Chiemsee (about an hour), then the boat out to Herrenchiemsee, his copy of Versailles on an island.

2. Lakes and mountains

Pick and mix, one day each. Munich is an hour or so from the Alps, and you can be up a mountain by lunchtime.
• The Königssee, Bavaria’s most beautiful lake, with the boat, the trumpet echo and St. Bartholomä. A long day, so go early.
• The Partnachklamm, a wild gorge just outside Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Bring a waterproof.
• If you’re fit, the hike up to Ludwig’s mountain hideaway, the Königshaus am Schachen. Leave very early, it’s a long way up.
• Winter? Have a look at the ski resorts near Munich.

3. Up north: Franconia and the Upper Palatinate

Two days, with a night away. The north of Bavaria feels like a different country, with different beer and a different accent to go with it.
• Bamberg, with its town hall in the river and smoked beer. It takes under two hours to get there on the ICE.
• Amberg, a walled town that still feels like a hidden secret, and the world’s smallest hotel.
• Nuremberg and Regensburg are on the way, so slot one in. My cities in Bavaria page has the lowdown.

4. Monks and beer

As many days as your liver can take. Bavaria’s monks have been brewing for centuries, and the abbeys make a cracking day out even if you’re on the soft drinks.
• Kloster Andechs, the holy mountain of beer. Take the S-Bahn to Herrsching and walk up through the woods to earn it.
• Ettal Abbey, where the monks make beer and a herbal liqueur under a huge Baroque dome.
• Back in town, the classic beer halls and beer gardens.

5. Time it for a festival

Bavaria does a festival for just about everything, and if you can plan your trip round one, do.
• Late September: the Oktoberfest, obviously.
• July: the Kaltenberg Knights’ Tournament, jousting and all.
• Spring: the Strong Beer Festival and the Spring Festival.
• Advent: the Christmas markets.
• See them all on my Munich festivals page.

Rather have a guide?

Fair enough. Sometimes it’s nice to have someone else sort it all out. For Neuschwanstein, see my page on Neuschwanstein tours, and for the city itself have a look at tours in Munich. My advice either way: book the castle tickets direct with the official palace administration, and check exactly what’s included before you pay for a tour.
Ticket prices checked October 2026.

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