Holiday Apartment in Bavaria: Regions, Lakes, When to Go and Booking Tips

By Daniel Schulz, residir GmbH · Last updated: 14 October 2026

You can find a holiday apartment in Bavaria in almost every region; the choice mainly depends on whether you are after lakes and mountains, forests, vineyards or cities. Upper Bavaria (Oberbayern) and the Allgäu are the most popular destinations and book up early in summer, while Franconia, the Bavarian Forest and Lower Bavaria are quieter and often cheaper. In spa and health resorts a visitor’s tax (Kurbeitrag) is added per night; in Munich it is not.

We are currently fitting out a building with 54 apartments in Lehel, and many enquiries come from guests who want to combine Munich with a few days in the countryside. This guide looks at the regions from a guest’s point of view, explains what a holiday apartment in Bavaria typically offers and what to look out for when booking. Information as of October 2026.

In this article:

• The regions at a glance
• Holiday apartments by a lake
• Upper Bavaria and the Allgäu
• Franconia, the Bavarian Forest and Lower Bavaria
• Farm stays, pools and luxury
• When to go
• What to look out for when booking
• Getting there by train or car
• Combining city and countryside
• Conclusion
• Frequently asked questions

Region	Known for	Train journey from Munich (guide)
Upper Bavaria with its lakes	Chiemsee, Tegernsee, Walchensee, Königssee, mountains	approx. 1 to 2.5 hours
Allgäu	Farms, Neuschwanstein, hiking, skiing	approx. 2 to 2.5 hours
Franconia	Nuremberg, Bamberg, Würzburg, wine, Franconian Switzerland	approx. 1 to 2 hours
Bavarian Forest	National park, hiking, quiet villages	approx. 2.5 to 3 hours
Lower Bavaria	Passau, thermal spas in the Bäderdreieck, cycle paths along the Danube and Inn	approx. 2 to 2.5 hours
Munich	Museums, beer gardens, festivals, base for day trips	Starting point

Holiday apartment in Bavaria: the regions at a glance

Bavaria is Germany’s largest federal state, and the regions differ enormously. In the south, mountains and lakes shape the landscape; in the north, vineyards, half-timbered towns and low mountain ranges; in the east, the Bavarian Forest. If you are looking for a holiday rental in Bavaria, decide on the region first and only then on the accommodation.

Most holiday apartments are in classic holiday resorts with a tourist information office, hiking trails and a guest card. In the cities, by contrast, they are mainly apartments in residential buildings, often with a shorter minimum stay. Holiday apartments are popular for a Bavarian holiday because families and couples can cook for themselves and have more space than in a hotel room.

Holiday apartment in Bavaria by a lake: Chiemsee, Tegernsee, Walchensee and Königssee

A holiday apartment by a lake in Bavaria is the classic choice, and accordingly the apartments for July and August are taken early. Most lakes are in Upper Bavaria, between Munich and the Austrian border. If you are looking for a lakeside holiday apartment, Bavaria offers everything from a simple apartment in the village centre to a house with its own jetty.

Chiemsee and Tegernsee

The Chiemsee is Bavaria’s largest lake, and you can reach Prien by regional train from Munich in around an hour. From there, boats sail to Herreninsel with Herrenchiemsee Palace and to Fraueninsel. The Tegernsee is smaller, closer to the mountains and also around an hour away on the Bayerische Regiobahn; holiday apartments there are among the more expensive in Upper Bavaria.

Walchensee, Eibsee and Königssee

If you book a holiday apartment at the Walchensee in Bavaria, you will stay somewhere quieter but will usually need a car or the bus from Kochel, as there is no railway line. The Eibsee lies near Grainau below the Zugspitze; you will find holiday apartments near the Eibsee mainly in Grainau and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, as there are hardly any right on the shore.

In the far south-east lies the Königssee in the Berchtesgadener Land. A holiday apartment at the Königssee is particularly sought after for its views of the Watzmann and the national park, and the train journey from Munich takes around two and a half to three hours. That makes the Königssee a long way for a day trip from Munich; it is worth spending a few nights there.

A tip from many conversations with guests: a direct lakeside location costs noticeably more than an apartment ten minutes’ walk above the shore. So when looking for a holiday apartment by a lake in Bavaria, also compare villages slightly further back, for example in the hinterland of the Chiemsee and Tegernsee.

Holiday apartments in Upper Bavaria and the Allgäu: mountains, alpine pastures and lakes

A holiday apartment in Upper Bavaria offers lakes, mountains and easy access to Munich in a single holiday. Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Mittenwald, the Tölzer Land and the Berchtesgadener Land are the best-known destinations; in summer people hike and swim, in winter they ski. If you want a holiday apartment in Bavaria for the mountains, this area and the Allgäu are the places to go.

The Bavarian Alps stretch from Lindau on Lake Constance to Berchtesgaden. A holiday apartment in the Alps on the Bavarian side is usually in a valley with a railway or bus connection, and you then reach the alpine pastures (Almen) and summits on foot or by cable car. If you book a holiday apartment in Bavaria with an Alpine panorama, ask which way the balcony faces, as not every apartment in the village has a mountain view. You will find regions outside Bavaria, travel seasons and booking tips in our guide to the holiday apartment in the Alps.

Allgäu

The Allgäu in the south-west largely belongs to the administrative district of Swabia. Around Füssen you will find Neuschwanstein Castle and several lakes, and further west Oberstdorf and Oberstaufen. A holiday apartment in the Bavarian Allgäu is often part of a farm or a house with just a few units, and many hosts hand out a guest card with discounts.

Franconia, the Bavarian Forest and Lower Bavaria

For many, Franconia in the north is Bavaria’s region for cities and wine. You can reach Nuremberg by ICE from Munich in just over an hour, and Bamberg and Würzburg in around two hours. There are holiday apartments in the old towns, in wine villages along the Main and in Franconian Switzerland with its rocks, caves and castles.

In the east lies the Bavarian Forest with Germany’s oldest national park, founded in 1970. Holiday apartments there are usually quieter and cheaper than in Upper Bavaria, but the journey is longer. In many municipalities the guest card doubles as a ticket for buses and trains in the region; it is best to check with the tourist information office which places take part.

Lower Bavaria combines river landscapes and thermal spas. Passau lies at the confluence of the Danube, Inn and Ilz, and many guests travel to the Bäderdreieck (spa triangle) of Bad Füssing, Bad Griesbach and Bad Birnbach for thermal baths and relaxation. As these are spa towns, a visitor’s tax is standard there.

Holidays in an apartment: farm stays, pools and luxury in Bavaria

What a holiday apartment in Bavaria typically offers is fairly consistent: a kitchen or kitchenette, one to three bedrooms, bed linen and towels included or for a surcharge depending on the host, plus a parking space. Many apartments in holiday resorts have a balcony, in Upper Bavaria often with a wooden railing and flower boxes. Ask in advance about Wi-Fi, a washing machine and a cot, as these are not standard everywhere.

Holiday apartments on a farm

A farm-stay holiday apartment in Bavaria is especially popular with families, above all in the Allgäu, the Chiemgau and the Bavarian Forest. Children can feed the animals, and sometimes there is fresh milk or eggs from the farm. Check whether it is a working farm with animals or just a former farmhouse.

Pool, hot tub and sauna

A holiday apartment with a pool is rarer in Bavaria than in southern countries because the swimming season is short. If you are looking for a holiday apartment in Bavaria with a pool, you are more likely to find one in larger holiday complexes or buildings with an indoor pool. A holiday apartment with a swimming pool in Bavaria therefore often means a shared indoor pool in the building rather than a private one.

It is similar with wellness facilities: holiday apartments with a hot tub in Bavaria are mainly found in the upmarket segment, often as an outdoor tub on the terrace. A holiday apartment with sauna is also common in Bavaria’s mountain regions, usually as a shared sauna for all guests in the building.

You can recognise a luxury holiday apartment in Bavaria less by its label than by concrete details: size in square metres, a high-quality kitchen, a private wellness area, location and view. Ask to see photos of every room and clarify which services are included in the price.

When to go: the best time for a holiday apartment in Bavaria

High season at the lakes and in the mountains coincides with the Bavarian summer school holidays, which usually start in late July or early August and last until mid-September. You will find exact dates, public holidays and long weekends in our overview of the Bavaria school holidays 2027. During these weeks prices rise, and many hosts only let by the week.

Period	What to expect
May and June	Valley hikes, lakes still cool, mountain huts gradually opening
July and August	Swimming season, busy villages, highest prices
September and October	Settled hiking weather, Almabtrieb (cattle drive), quieter lakes
November to March	Ski resorts, Advent in the cities, thermal spas

For hiking, June and September are often the most pleasant months: the days are long, the huts are open and the trails are less crowded. In winter, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the Allgäu and the Bavarian Forest are considered the main areas for skiing and cross-country skiing. During Advent, Nuremberg, Regensburg and Munich are worth a visit for their Christmas markets.

What to look out for when booking: visitor’s tax, prices and providers

The most important cost that many people forget is the visitor’s tax. Under Article 7 of the Bavarian Municipal Levies Act (Kommunalabgabengesetz), recognised spa and health resorts may charge overnight guests a Kurbeitrag, colloquially known as Kurtaxe. It is charged per person per night, collected by the host and passed on to the municipality; each municipality sets its own rate. In return, you usually get a guest card with discounts or free local public transport.

Munich is not a spa town and, as of October 2026, charges neither a visitor’s tax nor an accommodation tax, as Bavaria banned accommodation taxes by law in 2023. If you combine city and countryside, you only pay the visitor’s tax for the nights in the countryside.

Other points to check before booking

• Minimum stay: often three to seven nights in high season, in holiday regions frequently with a fixed arrival day.
• Additional costs: compare final cleaning, bed linen, visitor’s tax and, where applicable, a pet fee in the total price.
• Cancellation terms: read the deadlines and fees before booking, especially for bookings made well in advance.
• Location: check the distance to the station, bus stop and shops on the map, not just the place name in the listing.
• Travelling with a pet: dogs are not allowed in every apartment; ask about rules and fees in advance.

Booking a holiday apartment in Bavaria privately, i.e. directly with the host, can be cheaper because there is no platform fee, and questions can be cleared up over the phone. Platforms and tourist information offices offer a wider choice and make comparisons easier. Either way, get the price, services and cancellation terms confirmed in writing.

If you are looking for a cheap holiday apartment in Bavaria, travel outside the school holidays, book midweek rather than Saturday to Saturday and look at regions such as the Bavarian Forest, the Upper Palatinate (Oberpfalz) or parts of Franconia. Last-minute deals are more common in the off-season than in August.

If you are travelling with a dog, you will usually have more choice in the countryside than in the city; for your days in the state capital, we have a separate page on dog-friendly apartments in Munich.

Getting there by train or car

By train, you can reach most holiday resorts in Upper Bavaria and many cities without changing from Munich Central Station. The Deutschlandticket is valid on all regional trains, and for groups without one, the Bayern-Ticket is an option that lets up to five people use regional trains and many buses in Bavaria for a day. Prices and conditions change, so check the latest information with Deutsche Bahn.

By car, the A8 leads towards the Chiemsee and Salzburg, the A95 towards Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the A96 into the Allgäu and the A9 to Franconia. On Friday afternoons and holiday weekends these routes are regularly congested. For farms and remote valleys, though, a car is often the easier option, as buses run infrequently there.

Many guests combine a business trip with a few days’ holiday, for example after a trade fair in Riem. For the trade fair days themselves, see our information on accommodation for Messe Munich; for the weekend afterwards, the Chiemsee and Tegernsee are just an hour away by train.

Combining city and countryside: the state capital as your base

Not everyone wants to spend a whole week in the countryside. Using one of our holiday apartments in Munich as a base has the advantage that museums, beer gardens and restaurants are on your doorstep in the evening, while during the day you can take the regional train to the lakes or the mountains. In Lehel, Lehel U-Bahn station (U4/U5) and Isartor S-Bahn station are a few minutes’ walk away, and Central Station is just a few stops away by S-Bahn.

Destination	Train journey from Munich Hbf (guide)
Tegernsee	approx. 1 hour
Chiemsee (Prien)	approx. 1 hour
Augsburg	approx. 30 to 45 minutes
Garmisch-Partenkirchen	approx. 1 hour 20 minutes
Nuremberg	approx. 1 hour 10 minutes
Regensburg	approx. 1.5 hours

A good split for a week: three or four nights in Munich, followed by three nights in a holiday apartment in Upper Bavaria. That way you avoid commuting every day to more distant destinations such as the Königssee and still have time for the city.

Palaces and castles

For many guests, the royal palaces are an essential part of a Bavarian holiday. Neuschwanstein near Füssen, Linderhof in the Graswang valley and Herrenchiemsee on the Chiemsee can all be visited as day trips from Munich; book tickets for Neuschwanstein in advance. In the city itself is Nymphenburg Palace with its large park, easily reached by tram.

Festivals

Bavaria celebrates all year round: in March, strong beer season begins in Munich – find out more in our guide to the Starkbierfest in Munich. In summer, folk festivals follow in many towns, such as the Gäubodenvolksfest in Straubing in August, then the Wiesn (Oktoberfest) in autumn and the Christkindlmärkte (Christmas markets) during Advent. Accommodation prices rise during major festivals, so plan early.

Conclusion

For a holiday apartment in Bavaria, decide on the region first, then the time of year and finally the accommodation: lakes and mountains in Upper Bavaria and the Allgäu, cities and wine in Franconia, peace and quiet in the Bavarian Forest – and if you want to combine city and countryside, pair a few nights in Munich without visitor’s tax with a few days in the countryside. If you want to explore Bavaria over several weeks, a boarding house in Munich gives you a base with a kitchen and regular cleaning.

Frequently asked questions about holiday apartments in Bavaria

Which region of Bavaria is best for a holiday apartment?

That depends on what you are after: Upper Bavaria and the Allgäu suit lakes and mountains, the Bavarian Forest suits forest hikes and lower prices, and Franconia suits cities, wine and culture. If you want to combine city and countryside, choose Munich as your base and take the regional train for day trips.

Where can I find a holiday apartment by a lake in Bavaria?

Most lakeside holiday apartments are in Upper Bavaria, for example on the Chiemsee, Tegernsee, Schliersee, Walchensee or Königssee, and in the Allgäu around Füssen. Direct lakeside locations are scarce and book up early in summer; a few minutes’ walk from the shore is often considerably cheaper.

Do I have to pay a visitor’s tax for a holiday apartment in Bavaria?

In recognised spa and health resorts, yes: municipalities there charge a Kurbeitrag per person per night under Article 7 of the Bavarian Municipal Levies Act, which the host collects. In Munich, as of October 2026, there is neither a visitor’s tax nor an accommodation tax.

When is the best time for a holiday apartment in Bavaria?

For lakes and mountain hikes, June and September are often more pleasant than the main holidays in August, as it is quieter and prices are lower. In winter, ski resorts in the Allgäu and around Garmisch-Partenkirchen are worth it, and during Advent the Christmas markets in Nuremberg, Regensburg and Munich.

How do I find a cheap holiday apartment in Bavaria?

Prices are lower outside the Bavarian school holidays, midweek and in regions away from the well-known lakes, such as the Bavarian Forest, the Upper Palatinate or Franconia. Always factor final cleaning, bed linen and visitor’s tax into the total price.

Do I need a car for a holiday in Bavaria?

Not necessarily: you can reach many lakes, mountain villages and cities by regional train and bus, and in several regions the guest card doubles as a local public transport ticket. For farms, alpine pastures and remote valleys, however, a car is usually more convenient.

Can you combine city and countryside on a holiday in Bavaria?

Yes, most easily with two places to stay or with Munich as your base: the Tegernsee, Chiemsee, Augsburg and Garmisch-Partenkirchen are each around an hour away by train. That way you can combine museums, beer gardens and palaces with days by the lake or in the mountains.