NEUSCHWANSTEIN CASTLE DAY TOUR

Visitors to Munich usually have one day trip on their mind – Neuschwanstein Castle. With 11,000 visitors per day (up from 10,000 per day in 2012), the best way to visit the castle is with a pre-arranged group day tour departing from Munich. There are a range of tour operators offering day tours to the castle, however when making the decision of who to travel with, Bus Bavaria stood out for a number of reasons.

Bus Bavaria have been running tours to Neuschwanstein Castle for the past thirteen years and have set themselves apart by offering a unique day trip combining a visit to the castle with a tour of the surrounding area.

We departed Munich at 9:00am for the two-hour bus ride to the foothills of the Bavarian alps. Once there, we embarked on a bike ride around the quaint and charming town of Hohenschwangau and visited the beautiful Swan Lake for a short rest to swim and soak up the summer sun. Afterwards we continued our bike ride around the lake and returned to the foot of the mountains for an authentic German lunch – complete with beer and apple strudel of course!

Following lunch there was free time to enjoy the surrounding activities such as the alpine slide or for the more adventurous even tandem paragliding. This was followed by a quick magic show by our South African guide, Brad, who has been running the day tours since the beginning. Brad also offers an extensive background of the history of the castle and King Ludwig II on the bus ride to Bavaria, and covers much more ground than the short 30-minute tour inside the castle.

The final activity of the day is of course to visit the castle itself – with the option of taking a steep 30-minute hike to the castle or catching a bus for a small fee. We of course chose to take the hike, which wasn’t as strenuous as anticipated and highly rewarding for the spectacular views and surrounding scenery. Once at the castle we took a short 30-minute tour of the inside of the castle and learned a brief history of King Ludwig’s personal style and his life.

On the bus ride back to Munich it was impossible not to consider how enjoyable the entire day trip was. Biking around the charming area below the castle was indeed a highlight, as well as hiking through the Bavarian Alps to reach Neuschwanstein itself. This unique day tour, which combines outdoor activity with a classic castle tour, is only available through Bus Bavaria and is commonly sold out throughout the season, so be sure to book in advance!