Travelling Bavaria In Germany In A Week

This 1 week Bavaria Germany itinerary talks about my backpacking trip there. In this blog, I will talk about how I explored The Romantic Road and the most popular highlight in Bavaria: the town of Munich.

But before I start the itinerary, I want to share a few useful resources I have written in Germany. If you do not know, I have been to Germany thrice on three different media trips. The most recent was a one-week Romantic Road Trip that happened in 2019. Before that, I have been to other places like Kühlungsborn (on the Baltic) and Ruegen, Germany. The Baltic is certainly a very offbeat place to visit, especially if you are travelling to Berlin. 

Now let’s start with our Bavaria travel itinerary.

Bavaria is unlike any other part of Germany. It has all the good things (that a tourist would want), unlike other German regions. It’s cleaner, more laid back, amazingly diverse, has enough small towns to wander around and yes, more beer than you can imagine.

From towns like Munich which are popular as the beer capital of the world to others like Rothenburg which has always remained an inspiration to artists, Bavaria has something for everyone.

During my recent visit, I got a chance to spend some time in Bavaria and Bavaria alone, thanks to Germany Tourism invited me for a 1 week Bavaria itinerary. It all happened when they asked if I would be interested to tour Germany in one week. Since I had been to other regions in the country during my previous two visits, Bavaria turned out to be a natural preference.

So out of my trip and learnings, this is my suggested 1 week Bavaria Germany itinerary.

1 week Bavaria Germany Itinerary

If you want to understand Bavaria inside and out, you need at least a month to travel. That’s because Bavaria is huge and diverse. The Romantic Road itself can take about a week to cover. Other than the 10 towns on The Romantic Road (including Würzburg, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Dinkelsbühl, Nördlingen, Donauwörth, Augsburg, Landsberg, Schongau, Pfaffenwinkel and Schwangau) you have towns like Munich and Nuremberg.

So yea, you need a lot of time to see all of Bavaria.

But for those who are short on time and still want to get hold of the region here’s my 1-week itinerary for Bavaria Germany (6-night and 7-day):

Day1: Munich to Rothenburg

Since Munich is the hub of all international connections in Bavaria, it’s only natural you will land in Munich.

But rather than exploring Munich first (as I ended up doing), I advise you to leave Munich for the last few days in the country. And this is for a few reasons:

• So that you don’t risk missing your flight as I did. I almost missed my afternoon flight from Munich to New Delhi because I travelled from Lindau to Munich on the same day. Despite leaving Lindau (about just 200km southwest of Munich) at 6 in the morning, I barely reached on time and missed my flight.
• Munich airport is a little far from the city: So rather than spending 30 min journey to get to Munich city, why not add 2 more hours on the journey and reach Rothenburg.
• This way you save 12 EUR that you may otherwise spend in getting to Munich city and then later paying for the onward journey to Rothenburg, the next day.

Now be careful with the fact that Rothenburg ob der Tauber is not the only Rothenburg in Germany! Avoid arriving in the wrong Rothenburg by double confirming your train/bus to Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

You can find a second-class (with no reservation) train ticket from Munich to Rothenburg for 30 EUR.

Speaking of Rothenburg, for those who didn’t know, Rothenburg is one of the original sources of inspiration for Pinocchio. Walt Disney designed the houses in the cartoon based on Rothenburg’s picturesque medieval time buildings.

The town became so popular among (wealthy) Americans before the second world war that it was spared from imminent devastating bombardment because the American general in command remembered Rothenburg from his parents´ postcards and decided that such a marvellous city must not be destroyed.

Having said that, Rothenburg is a highlight and you should not miss it during your 1 week Bavaria itinerary. A one-day trip to Rothenburg is enough to explore the entire town.

What To See & Do In Rothenburg

• Eating a Schneeball
• Exploring Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas Store
• Visiting Medieval Crime Museum
• Completing The Tower Trail of The Old Town Wall

And here’s a detailed Travel Guide On Rothenburg for those looking for more tips.

Here’s another interesting travel blog on Germany that talks about the 10 best places and guess what, the author has listed Rothenburg as number 1. So yea, you read any Germany guide online and you will read mentions of Rothenburg.

Practical Tip: I use GoEuro to book my train and bus journeys in Europe and suggest you do so too. Consider it the Skyscanner for land and air transport in Europe. The GoEuro mobile app moreover gives a unique Barcode for every booking that can be used as your ticket. No need to print them out and waste more EURs. 

Day2: Rothenburg To Lindau

Rothenburg to Lindau can be a long journey but certainly not tiring, for the picturesque landscapes it has to offer. So if nothing else, the journey itself will be a memory.

For budget travellers, there are, unfortunately, no buses between the two destinations, leaving it to only one option: taking a Deutsche Bahn which can cost around 30 EUR for a 6-hour single journey.

The town of Lindau borders Austria and Switzerland, allowing you to visit two countries together. Just take a 12 EUR ferry from Lindau to Bregenz and you’re in Austria.

The harbour and its promenade are two popular tourist destinations in Lindau. This is where people stroll, sit, bike, roller skate and eat ice cream. At the promenade, you will find many street entertainers performing juggling tricks or playing musical instruments.

The best place to stay in Lindau is on the island. I stayed at Hotel Ratsstuben, located inside the old town, and can suggest you the same place.

What To See & Do In Lindau

• Visiting Lindenhof Park
• Dining At One Of The Lakeside Restaurants
• Exploring Lindau Island On A Bike
• Taking A Boat ride to Bregenz in Austria

A half-day tour of Lindau is enough to quickly explore and skim through its beautiful highlights.

Day 3: Lindau To Füssen

Lindau to Füssen is another beautiful train journey that costs about 12 EUR and nearly one and a half hours. Again, there are no buses between the two destinations, but direct trains are available between Lindau To Füssen.

Full of cafes, restaurants, and tourist shops, Füssen, despite being a popular tourist destination has well retained its original old town charm.

There are two reasons for anyone to visit Füssen: one, it happens to be the southernmost town (a dead end) for the Romantic Road trail. So anyone doing the Romantic Road, ends their journey in Füssen. And two, because of the historic castles in Hohenschwangau.

Füssen to Hohenschwangau is about 10 mins bus ride away.

It was in Hohenschwangau that King Ludwig decided to build a castle the world had never seen before – the castle of Neuschwanstein, though it’s a different thing that the construction of the castle was never completed.

Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle derived its inspiration from Neuschwanstein.

What To See & Do In Füssen

• Exploring the old town of Altstadt for a blend of brightly coloured buildings, many of which are adorned with frescoes.
• Eating some traditional Bavarian food in Altstadt. I can totally recommend a cake at Konditorei Kurcafe.
• Visiting the high castles in Hohenschwangau.

Day 4: Füssen To Munich

Since you’re moving too fast, doing one city in a day, it’s time to slow down and spend the rest of your time in Munich. Munich is moreover massive and needs at least two or three days to explore. I spent 4 days in Munich in total but I suggest you a 3-day itinerary to you. Anything less than 3 days would be totally unfair to the city.

The best and cheapest way to get to Munich from Füssen is by Flixbus which can cost around 15 EUR. It takes about 2 hours from Fussen to Munich.

Day 5, 6: Munich

Now, speaking of Munich, one thing that I liked the most about this city was that beer was considered food in Munich. There are more than 60 beer gardens in the city in total,  and it’s not tough to see why. Everyone’s just really into drinking beer all day. It’s further worth appreciating the fact that in Munich, no one frown upon on you or considers you a drunkard even if found holding a beer in one hand and drinking from the other in a subway or a metro.

In short, Munich is vibrant, fun, laid-back and hip.

Speaking of the activities, there is enough to see and do in Munich. From renting romantic Vespas to walking tours, pub crawls to thrill-seeking activities, exploring old towns to doing nothing but gulping beer all day.

Here’s a detailed 3-day travel guide on Munich that I’ve already covered in another article.

I also suggest visiting Gunzburg and trying tandem skydiving as a day trip from Munich. The town of Augsburg is also worth exploring if you want to add another destination to your Bavaria itinerary.

• Additionally, I advise car hire in Munich or renting a Vespa/scooter perhaps (if you’re short with the budget) to make your travel more fun in Munich. Though public transport is certainly easily available, having your own vehicle will give you more flexibility to wander around the city and see more things in lesser time. And with enough parking spaces and traffic not being much of a problem (beyond the peak hours of course), it is not a headache to have your own vehicle.

1 Week Bavaria Itinerary: Cost

Since Bavaria is the most expensive destination in Germany, having a budget trip is quite impossible, unless you’re stern about saving every penny and not enjoying the holiday.

For a 6-day/7-night itinerary, as I suggested above, consider spending at least 900 EUR. And if you decided to do any day tours, partook in any adventure activity like skydiving or hire a scooter or a car, the cost will likely go much higher up. This is the classification of costs if you’re only backpacking between the destinations and not doing anything fancy:

• Transportation: 200 EUR
• Food: 200 EUR (about EUR 30 per day)
• Drinks: 70 EUR (about EUR 10 per day)
• Accommodation: EUR 450 for a private room in a budget hotel (about 65 per night)  | EUR 250 for a dorm bed (about 35 per night)

In a region often regarded as the highlight of Germany, there are countless things to see and do. One could fill weeks exploring Bavaria’s many towns and still not see it all. Though impossible to condense a great beautiful region into six days, this Bavaria travel guide will help you experience the most Bavaria has to offer in a short period of time!

And if you’ve any other tips/ideas/suggestions, please spill them in the comments below!