One Week in Bavaria Itinerary

Bavaria is one of my favorite trips I have done in Europe. Originally, all I had on my itinerary was Oktoberfest in Munich as that was the main draw to go to Germany. I decided to make a week out of it. Some considerations when planning an itinerary to Germany: there is a LOT to see. I think you really have three choices with one week: 1) pair Munich with one or two other big cities such as Vienna or Amsterdam; 2) take advantage of Germany and really get to know the state of Bavaria; or 3) do Munich and another region of Germany such as the Rhineland, Berlin, the Black Forest, or the Romantic Road.

Once you start researching, you will find that even trying to pair Bavaria with other states of Germany will be hard. You really only will have time for Munich and one of these things in order to make sure you are not looking at the inside of a train your entire trip. I really encourage you to take the second option as Bavaria has sooo much to offer. You can do a city to city trip sometime else, and you can tour the rest of Germany sometime else, but if you come to Bavaria, get to know Bavaria. It could be easy to spend several weeks to see everything Germany alone has to offer. Hey, it is a good excuse to plan another trip! Trust me I had my heart set on seeing Eltz Castle in the Moselle Valley. Every way I looked at it, it was just too far.

A quick note, to get around on the train you have two options. A cheaper regional train that is not direct or a faster direct train. It could save precious time while on vacation, but if you are money conscious like myself then taking 2 extra hours on a one-way trip is worth it. If you really want to save time, renting a car would be the way to go, but then you have to deal with the hassle of driving and parking.

Another note, my itinerary is very fast pace even with narrowing it down to Bavaria. I try to fit in as much as I can and maximize my time while in Europe! What makes my itinerary different than many others though, is that I really try to make sure you aren’t moving TOO much. I only have hotel stays in 2 different cities (Salzburg and Munich) so you aren’t carting your bags all over Germany. Many other itineraries are more focused on a road trip where you are in the car every day and moving hotels every day.

So without further ado, here is a one week in Bavaria itinerary with Oktoberfest:

Day 1: Fly in

Fly into your choice of airports around Germany. I personally did Stuttgart because this was cheapest. Ideally I would have done round trip from Munich or even fly into Salzburg and leave from Munich. Depending on where you fly into and what time you land, today is for getting situated in Germany.

Day 2: Salzburg

Salzburg is famous for being Mozart’s birthplace and the filming location of the Sound of Music. Technically speaking, Salzburg is in Austria just a few minutes past the border of Germany. Touring Salzburg is a great way to see one more country while still staying regional. Salzburg is a small city and very walk-able. If you are up for it, you can walk and see all the sights in a half-day to a day.

Morning

Start your morning off by taking a scenic walk to see the ruins around Monchsberg. During the walk, you have amazing views of the town while the rest of the pathway is lightly forested. Not many other tourists are on the trail which makes it all the more breathtaking. You get great views of the city and the Salzach River. While it does climb up pretty high, I wouldn’t call it a strenuous walk. After the walk, make your way back to town to see Mirabell Palace and gardens. You can walk by Mozart residence and do a tour for 11 Euros or 18 Euros to see his residence and birthplace. I must have passed his house while walking around and didn’t make the effort to go back and find it once I realized the mistake.

Lunch

Walk to Motzartplatz Square for lunch where you will find an abundance of street vendors and people. I happened to be there during a big fest (they must align with Oktoberfest) and there was carnival rides, beer stands, and food stands. It was a lot of fun to see! Get a stein, a brat, and a pretzel. You will not be disappointed!

Afternoon

After lunch, make your way to the most famous site in Salzburg, the Hohensalzburg Fortress. The entrance fee of the fortress is 13.20 Euros and was my favorite part of Salzburg. The fortress itself reminded me much of other castles I’ve seen around Europe; it really didn’t stand out to me in any way. What I loved specifically about this fortress is the views. You get simply stunning views of the Alps. While I haven’t seen the Sound of Music, the promotional pictures looked just like the views you get at the fortress. Rolling green grass nestled in front of blue mountains. The view was so good in fact, I stopped to have a beer at one of the restaurants to soak it in longer after my self-guided tour of the castle.

After the fortress, make your way down back to the city, with a stop along the cathedral on your way. After that, check out the historic center of the city where you have the most iconic streets for photography. Walk Judengasse street, Getreidegasse street, and find Motzart’s birthplace. Stop for a beer at Sternbräu biergarten.

Evening

Walk to Barenwirt for dinner. They may ask you if you have a reservation and say that they are full, but they do in fact have open seating upstairs. It ended up being one other couple at huge community table so I am glad we didn’t let the lack of reservations stop us. Try the apple strudel!!!!! AMAZING. I literally got apple strudel everywhere I went in Bavaria after this because of how good it was here. Finally, you can end your night a Murphy’s Law Irish Pub.

Day 3: Bertesgaden

Bertesgaden was my favorite day. If you have time, it is well worth making two day’s of it so you are less rushed. Especially if you take public transportation, it makes for a packed day.

Morning

Take a bus ride to Bertesgaden for the day. I highly highly highly suggest taking the first bus of the day to Lake Königssee. It is a beautiful emerald lake set in a quaint alpine village. The village is like one you’d see in a small mountain town, but it just feels so authentic. No one spoke English and there were few tourists here. Going first thing in the morning, you get to ensure that you have the pristine views to yourself – and you don’t have to wait in line for the ferry. There are small ferry boats that take you to two different stops. Go straight to the second stop and get off here.

From this stop, you can hike for a few minutes to another lake called Obersee Lake. This lake is so reflective, you can hardly even tell it is a lake in pictures. It is SO beautiful. You can do a 45min hike around the lake through forest, getting more views of the lake as you go. The forest opens up to grass and there is a quaint dairy farm at the end of it with cows grazing along the hills. Stop and get a fresh milk and enjoy the view for some time before hiking back. If you have extra time, you can continue on to a waterfall, but it takes another 30mins+.

Lunch

For the afternoon, you will head to Hitler’s Eagles Nest. So depending on the time, you may want to skip the other stop at the lake so you have plenty of time to grab lunch and make your way over. It takes a while on the bus system to get there. Once you get off the ferry, walk around and find a lunch spot that you fancy. There is an outdoor biergarten if it is a nice day.

Afternoon

After lunch, head back to the bus stop. Ideally, you will have an eye on the time and know which bus you are taking back into Bertesgaden so you can time it well. From Bertesgaden, you will take another bus to the Documentation Center where you will buy your tickets for Eagles Nest. For me, this was the most frustrating part of the taking public transportation. We mistimed the bus from the lake back to Bertesgaden and had to wait a half hour. Once we got back to town, the next bus to the Documentation Center was another half hour. When we got to the Documentation Center the next bus up to Eagles Nest was another half hour….if you are seeing a pattern here…

The Documentation Center is actually just where you buy tickets for Hitler’s Eagles Nest. They have special buses that you must take to the top of the mansion which is built into the ticket price. Eagles Nest is Hitler’s mansion that sits atop the mountains. The Eagle’s Nest was designed as a 50th birthday present for Adolf Hitler.  Hitler loved Bertesgaden (can’t believe we have the same taste – but boy is it beautiful), but he actually only visited the mansion a mere 14 times. Ironically, he didn’t like heights.

The bus takes you up, up, and up to essentially where the clouds are in the sky you are so high. You take an elevator up to the mansion when you get to the top. From there, you can explore the house and the grounds. On a clear day, the views must be spectacular. I didn’t come on a clear day but it was still cool to see and step foot on the same grounds as one of the most evil men that ever lived. Do a tour if you can, although for me it was already booked by the time I looked at it. I would have loved to hear the history of it!

Evening

If you have followed my itinerary to this point, you will be in a bit of rush to fit anything in. You most likely won’t have time to see any of the bunkers and you will have to go back to the bus to catch the last one of the day around at 6:15pm. It is a really long day on your feet and getting around. You won’t have time for dinner until you get back to Salzburg. I suggest the Augustiner Braustubl! This was a really fun place to come after a long day. I came mid-week and it was packed with locals getting a beer after work. It was very relaxed with people playing card games and enjoying their time together. Food was cheap, you just buy it from a stand outside the hall. As any beer hall, just find an open seat.

For this day on the itinerary, I highly suggest breaking it out into two days if you have the time. Driving a car would also save time. This itinerary really is for the budget conscious and those trying to squeeze in as much as possible to the trip. You can sleep when you are home!

Day 4: Munich

Time to head into Munich! Get ready to be blown away by the architecture and culture of this city. The excitement for Oktoberfest should be starting to build at this point in time!!

Morning

Spend the morning getting to Munich. Start by grabbing a quick meal at a cafe on the way to the train station. The cheapest way to get to Munich is by doing the Bayern pass, which allows for unlimited travel and is great for two people or small groups. The Bayern pass is 25 Euro for one person, 32 Euro for two, 39 Euro for three, 46 Euro for four, and 53 Euro for five people. As you can see, it is a great deal. Compare this to paying more than that for each person and you can find some real savings. Unfortunately, if your travel to Munich falls on a weekday, this pass only works after 9am. So you won’t be able to get a super early start to Munich, but you will still have plenty of time to see the city. Once you get into Munich, check in to your hotel or Airbnb. Start Munich off right by going straight to Marienplatz and watching the 12pm glockenspiel. Think of a coo-coo clock but on the side of a building.

Lunch

After spending a little bit of time walking around the square, you will see a lot of food stands around the square. Get a good ole fashioned German meal from one of these stands. They all have long lines – I think a good indicator of how delicious the food is! You can also buy beer from the biergarten.

Afternoon

Sightsee around downtown including St Peter’s Church and Frauenkirche Church. St Peter’s Church is particularly cool because you can climb to the top and get an awesome panorama of Munich. You can see all the matching rooftops from here and you get a great view of the other church.

After getting your fix in downtown, make your way to Olympic Park which is where they held the Olympics in 1972. It is cool to walk around and see the rolling grass hills located here. If you are short on time though, I would skip this. When I was here, all you could do was walk around. Nothing was open. Luckily, the park is located right next to the BMW Museum. So I’m not into cars, but this was the coolest museum I have been to! Did you know that BMW stands for Bavarian Motor Works! I didn’t know that! I have a new appreciation for BMW’s after visiting this museum. Such cool cars from race cars to old cars to modern day!

The museum takes about an hour to an hour and a half (if you tour museums like myself). After the museum, head to Nymphenburg Palace and botanical gardens. The palace is a typical palace with stately rooms and beautiful grounds. My favorite parts of palaces are always the outside grounds with fountains and beautiful gardens. At this point of the day, you will probably be tired of walking and ready to sit down for a beer at Koniglicher Hirscharten for a beer. Make your way back into the city center after a long day on your feet. Use buses, trams, or the metro to get around. DB has an app that will tell you the best route if you type in where you are going.

Evening

Tonight, make your way to the world famous Hofbräuhaus. And let me tell you, this place lives up to the hype!! Typical Bavarian fashion, all of the tables are community style and seat yourself. May take a little work, but eventually you will be seated. You have a server for beer and food. There is a band going and people get pretty lively as the night goes on! End the night at Kilians Irish Pub! This place was a lotttt of fun! They had a couple of 70 year old men come up on stage and live perform a bunch of well known American songs! It was such a blast as people got up to dance.

Day 5: Oktoberfest

IT IS THE DAY YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR!!!!! I hope you have been practicing your beer drinking abilities because today will be a marathon!

Morning

Start your day out by doing a Mike’s Bike Tour for Munich. I personally love bike riding and Munich is a super bike friendly city. On a bike, you are able to hit a lot of the sites faster than you would be able to otherwise. I planned the itinerary specifically with this tour in mind so you don’t duplicate places with the itinerary of the previous day. My favorite stop was the English Gardens. It is really beautiful and a great spot for lunch. They have a man-made surf spot which was cool to see! Wear your Oktoberfest gear to get a lot of cute pictures!

Rest of Day

After the bike tour, you can head straight to Oktoberfest. You will get there just after lunch time and have the full day to check out the tents. In between drinking beer, check out the carnival rides, they are SO much fun. It is a good break from drinking, helping pace yourself. They also have some pretty cool rides! One suggestion, order your food before 6/6:30pm. Right around 6:30pm, people start standing on the tables and it makes it a lot harder to eat! And I mean everyone starts standing up, young, old, foreign, German, it doesn’t matter!

Check out my full guide to Oktoberfest here.

Day 6: Oktoberfest

Day 2 of Oktoberfest! Today, dedicate the whole day to Oktoberfest! Grab a hearty breakfast before going over at Schneider Brauhaus. After breakfast, mosey your way over to the fest. It will be another full day of drinking beer, so I suggest sleeping in. Pick some new tents for today and I suggest ending on Hofbräu tent. While touristy, I had the most fun here. If you are wondering how many days to go to Oktoberfest (after all you did travel all the way to Germany for this fest specifically), I think two days is the perfect amount. You really want to spend enough time at the fest so that you truly get a feel for it. More than two days though you will be completely sick of drinking beer, trust me.

Day 7: Neuschwanstein

I would highly highly recommend Mike’s Bike Tour again for the tour of Neuschwanstein. You can do it yourself, and if I went back I probably would; but for your first time I really think this bike tour is unique. One comment, they are very prompt – their leave time means their leave time. They will not wait. Our uber was very slow and we were pretty hungover and almost missed the whole tour and they straight up told me that they wouldn’t wait. We made it right as the bus was about to leave.

The bus ride is around an hour and half. You do a bike ride through the countryside in the foothills of the castle. It is BEAUTIFUL. Best part, there are no tourists! Most tours take you straight to the castle and don’t bother to do a bike ride. They take you to a really cute lake where there are a lot of older locals enjoying their day. Some cows out here just have the best life eating grass and looking at the pretty castle all day.

After the leisurely bike ride, we had lunch. At lunch, we were told that we had the option of a hike up to the castle or a bus. Every single person opted for the hike. It was around 45 minutes and really not too strenuous at all. You pass several waterfalls and by the time you reach the top, you feel like you earned the views.

At the top, do the famous Mary’s bridge and get the iconic photo of the castle. The bridge is super crowded and it is really hard to get a picture because of all the tourists. If you can just push through the crowds and get to the far end of the bridge, it is much less crowded. Probably because the bridge is rickety and moves as you walk across it. It feels and looks like a bunch of old planks that aren’t able to support that many people! Obviously it can but that is why many people rush on and off. Some travel bloggers go across the bridge and go up the hill and get some really cool photos on that side. I was planning on doing this but our tour guides told us to absolutely not do this as tourists have died trying to take photos on this side as there are sheer cliffs with no warning.

Finally, you go do a tour of the inside of the castle before heading back. The inside of the castle is eh compared to the outside aesthetics. What really makes this day for me is the tour guides. They are able to offer up so many interesting stories about the history of the castle that you don’t get anywhere else. They really personalize the story and add their own commentary to the narrative. It is a late day again. If you are leaving from a different city, the tour company will let you store the bags in their shop and you can catch a late train to the city you are flying out of. This is what I did. If not, grab a bite to eat and enjoy the rest of the night before flying back the next day.

Day 8: Fly home

So sad!!! The amazing trip has come to an end. If you are like me, you will welcome the flight home so you can finally sit down and stop walking. I was averaging 13 miles a day! Ouch! Bavaria in all completely awed me with its raw beauty. I really wasn’t expecting this on my trip. The itinerary I put together, I truly enjoyed. I really wouldn’t change a thing I did. Except maybe give myself more money so I could take the shorter trains haha but I’m budget conscious. Germany honestly is a very cheap country though!

Itinerary without Oktoberfest or with more time:

So what if you are going outside of Oktoberfest timing? Or you go for longer than a week and have a few extra days to spare?

Spend an extra day in Salzburg

You could spend an extra day in Salzburg. I personally found that 1 day was enough but if you are big into Sound of Music or want to slow down the pace, you really open yourself up to more options. You can do the Sound of Music tour, visit more of the Mozart sites, or really try to break up the sites above into multiple days. What I did was a lot in one day.

Spend an extra day in Bertesgaden

If you have one extra day and do anything, do an extra day in Bertestgaden. Seriously I would do this out of anything. Do one day around the lake and take your time enjoying the views and getting to stop at both stations. Slow down the hike and don’t worry about being rushed. Since you are staying two days now, you can stay the night in this cute little town. Spend the next day making a full day out of Hitler’s Eagles Nest and you could even combine that with the gondola or local salt mine.

Go to Zugspitze

Zugspitze is the highest peak in Germany. You could spend a day enjoying this area. It is near Neuschwastein so you could tack it before or after that day. You could even spend the night in Fussen or a local town. You will get some pretty spectacular views at Eagles Nest, if you go on a good day, and there is a chance you could have a bad day here too. So I would only add this if you have the time to spare.

Munich

If you take out Oktoberfest, definitely don’t take out a day in Munich. You should still take two full days in Munich to sight see. You could combine the bike tour day with a few things from the first day in Munich to not be so rushed.

Itinerary with less time:

If you are keeping Oktoberfest, just do days 4-7 of the itinerary above for a long weekend at the festival and one fun day out of the city to see the castle. While Bertesgaden was my favorite, if you have a limited amount of time Neuschwastein really is the classic place to visit. If you are cutting Oktoberfest, just take out one day of Oktoberfest and re-purpose the other day to see more of Munich.