Berchtesgaden Transportation

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Jennerbahn is the cablecar that will take you from Schoenau am Koenigssee - just 4 km from Berchtesgaden - into the mountains high above Koenigsee and Berchtesgaden, into a hight of 1802 meters above sea-level. From Jenner you certainly will have the best and the closest panorama-view of Koenigssee and its surrounding mountains.
Jenner-Bahn starts just about 200 meters above the large parking-area for Koenigsee.
Small cabins seating just 2 persons will take you uphill.
Jennerbahn is also for skiing, prices vary a bit between summer and winter and you may as well get tickets for 5 days or a week, Jenner is also quite a popular place to start for paragliders.
There is a combination-ticket for
Jenner(up and down) + the ships on Koenigssee:
26,50 Euro to St. Bartholomae and return
(+3 euros extra for the ship to Salet)
both have to be done at the same day !
ordinary price would be 30,10 euros (+3,- for Salet)

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Getting Around: Getting around Berchtesgaden is very easy.
The town and surrounding area is serviced by a very good bus service (RVO). Get a local bus timetable from the Kurdirektion (Tourist Office) or print one from the website (http://www.rvo-bus.de/site/rvo__bus/de/start.html) in advance if you know which buses you will be using.
The time each bus is at a stop is indicated at every stop. Be there on time. Do not expect buses to be late.
There was a 6 day Urlabs Ticket from the Tourist Office for 18 Euro that gave you unlimited travel on all local buses (RVO) for any 6 days during your stay
This is now discontinued
Now you get a Kurkarte from your hotel, guest house or apartment house immediately upon arrival. There is no charge for your Kurkarte
This will give you unlimited travel free travel on all local buses (RVO) for the duration of your stay (indicated on your kurkarte).
The exception is Salzburg (9540). As the bus travels through Austria you must pay 3e per person each way.
I am not sure but I expect it will not cover the toll on the Rossfeld Ring Road or the Obersalzberg to Kehlstein bus (only in Summer).
You just show your Kurkarte to the bus driver and give him you destination and he will give you a ticket.
Now that's what I call looking after tourists
In recent years services have been improved and there are now extra timings and the integration at the Haupbahnhof / Busbahnhof (beside each other) seems better.

Getting There: To get to Berchtesgaden fly to Munich and then by train. Trains are frequent (about every hour). Check frequency and type of train beforehand on the Deutsche Bahn
web site.
http://bahn.hafas.de/bin/query.exe/en
On certain trains you can get a Sparpreis 25 which gets a second person at half price or if your travel on or include a weekend, a Sparpreis 50 which in effect means you get two persons for the same as one at normal fare. Expect to change train at Freilassing (about 1 1/4 hours from Munich) as very few trains go to direct to Berchtesgaden.
Or even better fly to Salzburg and then get a (German) Taxi. (Austrian Taxis are dearer).
The journey is about 40 minuets and the driver will meet you at the baggage reclaim exit.
You can order your taxi on line in advance at
http://taxizentrale-berchtesgaden.de/
There is a fixed price of 40 Euro
For 2 persons, public transport will cost about 4 Euro to the Hbf, 16.20 to Berchtesgaden and finally a taxi to your hotel for about 10 Euro. Thats a total of 30 Euro. The time involved depends on how lucky you are with connections but it will be at least 2 hours.

The buses which transport you up the Kehlstein mountain road are not your average tour bus but this is not your average road either. The road which climbs up 6.5 km.was opened to bus traffic in 1952 After your coach arrives at the Hintereck parking lot you then join the many tourists for the journey up the mountain road. The Regional traffic in Upper Bavaria (RVO) company use powerful Mercedes Benz buses which they run for only five years - these are re-deployed on other routes and new buses purchased all in the interest of safety. At the height of the summer season - when we were here, six buses leave in convoy from the bottom at the same time as six leave from the top - an exact worked out system which operates like clockwork. I was impressed with their system - ha ha - so typically efficient. The buses run from mid May through to October but you can walk up this will take around two hours of your time and a lot of breath.

Given the size of Berchtesgaden it's very easy to navigate. Walking from one end of the town is basically the option you have, and at the same time it gives you the chance to see all of Berchtesgaden. There are streets dividing the town but you should only worry about those if you are driving out.

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The very best way to explore the almost unspoilt nature around Berchtesgaden is certainly the ship from Schoenau am Koenigssee. These ships are driven by electric, so you even won't hear any noises of trafic and you may enjoy the ECHO of Koenigssee, when one of the boat-people is playing the trumpet and the echo returns several times.
The ship is the only way to see the banks of Koenigsee, St. Bartholomae and Obersee, except maybe a few tiny, dangerous and steep mountain-paths through the woods. Along the way over the lake you may see only a few places, where something like a beach exists, in some cases with a small hut, but even those places are almost un-accesible except by boat (AND you may land there only upon prior appointment).
All of the ships will first go to St.Bartholomae and continue to Obersee, and will finally get back to St.Bartholomae again before they return to Schoenau.
All of these ships are powered by electric engines, you almost will not hear any noises at all.
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ships are running all year EXCEPT Dec. 24th !!!
returntickets to St.Bartolomae are 11 euros
children (6-14) are 5,50 euros, dogs 2,50 !
"Kaffeerunde" (after 02.00p.m.) is 13,80 euros and
it includes the ship and a coffee and cake in St. Bartholomae
returntickets to SALET are 14 euros
for children : 7,00 , for dogs 2,50
"Kaffeerunde" (after 02.00p.m.)is 15,50 euros and
it includes the ship + coffee and a cake in Salet
NO toilets onboard !!!

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Berchtesgaden has its own train-station and the trainline ends there, trains are arriving via Bad Reichenhall. From Salzburg to Berchtesgaden it is about 1 hour by train and you may as well take the bus from Salzburg :
Take the bus #840 from Salzburg Rathaus and in case that you like to go to Koenigssee as well, change there to Bus #839 or #843 , the total ride will be a bit more than 1 hour and there is mostly 1 bus-connection each hour.

check the timetable here, and search for Berchtesgaden or for Koenigssee !
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In Schoenau am Koenigssee you may rent this small buggy with 2 seats for 50 Euros per day. You will not be able to make a lot of noise around Koenigsee,because you will not find any roads there, it is rather ment for the roads around Berchtesgaden and it might be funny to explore the scenic roads that way, when you came by public transportation to Koenigsee.
This Buggy is rented by Restaurant Schiffmeister , you will find this place, when walking from the ship-station to Seeklause - see their web-page below !
NO helmet needed, because there is a strong top and you have your seat-belts as well, Driving-licence is the one of a car !!

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There is NO public road from Obersalzberg to Kehlsteinhaus, BUT only the historical, scenic road called Kehlsteinstrasse, that is used nowadays for the buses taking you up the mountain.
You will have to leave your car at the large car-parking in Obersalzberg, have to pay a parking-fee there of 2,50 euros a day (1,50 with a Kurkarte) and get a ticket for the bus to Kehlsteinhaus. That bus-ticket has a time printed on it and is valid ONLY at that time !!
As soon as you have reached the upper parking you will have to register for the bus you would like to take back, and you will get a stamp on your ticket, indicating that time.
In case that you would like to get down again prior to that time, and they still have empty spaces, they are glad for everyone going down prior than the last buses.
1 hour at Kehlsteinhaus is enough, in case that you don't plan to spend some time in the restaurant or want to start any of the hikings (that would also require experienced climbers & equipment !!)
The ride is 14,50 euros both ways and 12,50 euros one way and just 13,- / 11,- Euros for holders of a Kurkarte (you get it when you stay in a hotel in the area) and it includes the fee for the lift inside the mountain, that takes you from the upper parking directely to Kehlsteinhaus !
Buses are leaving the lower parking at :
09.20 + 09.24 + 10.10 + 10.35 + 11.00 + 11.25 + 11.50a.m. + 12.15 + 12.40 + 01.05 + 01.30 + 01.55 + 02.20 + 02.45 + 03.10 + 03.35 + 04.00p.m.
The last bus is leaving the upper parking at 04.50 pm !!