You Need to Visit Lake Königssee in Germany

I’ve never seen a more beautiful place than Lake Königssee in Berchtesgaden National Park in Germany. Sure, maybe I say that a lot, but this time I promise, I mean it.

And there is a really special thing you need to do when you visit that will make the experience unforgettable. I hope I’ll convince you to visit Lake Königssee while you’re in the German or Austrian Alps.

boat on Lake Konigssee in Berchtesgaden Germany with fall colors.

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We explored Berchtesgaden National Park with Colton’s parents when they met up with us in Austria during our 6 month trip to 18 countries.

It was their first time in Europe and Colton’s mom REALLY wanted to go to Austria because her favorite movie is The Sound of Music.

So, we spent a few days in Vienna marveling at the beautiful capital’s history. Then, a day in Salzburg tracking down filming locations from The Sound of Music.

We then hopped over the border into Germany to visit a lake that I had seen on YouTube and had added to our bucket list before we ever left for our trip.

We ended up having such an amazing day, and Berchtesgaden became one of our favorite ‘hidden gems’ from the trip! Lake Königssee in particular really wowed us!

When my husband and I left for our 6 month trip to 18 countries, we knew that airfare would be one of the single largest individual costs of our trip. So, after a little bit of research, we found a way to get affordable flights all over the world: travel credit cards.

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The first note here that I need to make is that almost no flight is truly free, you do have to pay the taxes and fees. But, what if I told you I just bought a $6 flight from North Carolina, USA to Athens, Greece this week. Or that I’ve spent only $11 for me and Colton to fly from NC to Turkey?

Would you believe those numbers?

I never in a million years thought I could fly abroad for less than a few hundred dollars, and that’s if I somehow found an amazing deal!

It wasn’t until I came across travel credit cards and the world of points and miles that I understood how these serial travelers I was seeing everywhere were affording their flights.

The trick was, they were barely paying for them.

So, after tons of research, applying for credit cards, hitting bonuses, and of course getting everything in order to leave home for 6 months to travel, I bought our one way flights out of the country for $11.

How did we do it?

The world of points and miles, of course!

Let me tell you how we did it and give you the information you need to start earning free flights with your credit card!

Let me preface this with one statement: the world of points and miles is BIG and there is a lot that you honestly don’t need to know to just get started.

So, I’m going to give you the most necessary information to get you started and cut out all the fluff. Let’s go!

I promise you this is not a scam, because maybe that’s the first place your mind is headed when I say “free” flights.

In fact, paying with points and miles to purchase flights at insanely low prices is entirely legal, I promise!

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What Are Points and Miles

Table of Contents

Points and miles are the reward currency of airlines and hotels: aka loyalty points.

I’m not talking about the points you earn by flying with an airline repeatedly, that you only rack up over several years.

I’m talking about points and miles you earn just from having the credit card you already use!

Each bank or airline that offers credit cards with points and miles use them as an alternative currency for purchasing flights.

Many of the banks that offer travel credit cards have both airline and non-airline branded credit cards: a.k.a the airline the bank has partnered with offers airline miles as the sign up bonus, not credit card points. Those miles can only be used with that airline.

If you apply for a bank branded card with no airline association, you’ll earn points with that bank that can then be transferred to their airline or hotel partners.

How To Get Points And Miles With Travel Credit Cards?

The fastest way, and most likely reason why you’re wanting a travel credit card, is to earn points with a sign up bonus.

Most banks offer a sign up bonus of varying amounts after a certain amount of qualifying purchases on the card in the first few months.

It might sound something like this: “earn 60k bonus points when you spend $3,000 dollars on purchases in the first 4 months.” Yadah yadah.

But, you will also earn points while using your card on your everyday purchases! Some cards offer bonus categories, like 3x on grocery purchases, or 2x at restaurants, etc. So, when you spend money on your card, you’ll earn points in return that can be redeemed for various things, like flights or hotel stays.

Generally, if you’re wanting to redeem miles for flights or hotels, you’re going to need a good chunk of miles to do so.

You can purchase some domestic flights with as little as 8,500k points one way, but if you’re flying international, it will likely cost you 15k one way, at the very least.

Of course, the cost of award flights in points can greatly vary and is not always directly tied to the cash ticket price.

Other ways to earn points with travel credit cards include anniversary bonuses, giveaways, and transfer bonuses. These come and go and aren’t something I would rely on.

For the purposes of this post, which is all about a beginner’s guide to free flights with points and miles, sign up bonuses are your very best friend.

How Much Are Points and Miles Worth?

Not all points are created equal.

Some points are more valuable than others simply because you can transfer and redeem them in more ways.

Points and miles also get their value depending on the deal you get when redeeming them.

Let me give you an example scenario to explain…

For example, let’s say you have 75k Capital One miles and you want to fly from Atlanta, Georgia to Athens, Greece for an amazing holiday eating delicious Mediterranean food and swimming in crystal clear waters for 8 days.

These are the flights you’re looking at. They’ll take you to Greece during the best time to visit, late summer when it isn’t too crowded and not too hot.

You have a few options for how you can book these flights with points

Option 1: Redeem Points with a Travel Portal

Option 1 is to redeem your points through Capital One Travel and their online portal. When you do this, you’re going to get a fixed redemption rate of 1¢ per mile.

So your 75k miles would be worth $750 for travel. You could use those 75k miles to buy a flight worth up to $750 through the Capital One Travel portal. That’s over half of what this ticket is worth. So you would still have to pay about $390+ on top of your 75k miles for this ticket.

We can definitely do better than that!

Option 2: Transfer to a Partner

Option 2 would be to transfer your Capital One miles to one of their airline transfer partners, then book the flight on their website using your points.

If you did this, those 75k miles could become 75k FlyingBlue points (Air France & KLM’s loyalty program and one of Capital One’s transfer partners).

The same exact flight booked on Air France with cash would cost you $1,142.

But, you can transfer your points from Capital One and over to FlyingBlue, so now you have up to 75k FlyingBlue miles! Let’s use them!

If you use FlyingBlue to book the exact same flight, you would only need 30,000 miles and $208 in taxes & fees. Way better than using all 75k and only covering half of the cost!

And, instead of paying $1,142 out of pocket for a round trip ticket to Europe, you’re only paying $208 plus 30,000 points.

*you want to transfer only the amount of points you need. In this scenario, thats only 30k of the 75k.

In this scenario, you would be redeeming your Capital One points, through FlyingBlue, for 3.1cents per mile. Now that’s more like it!

This is why points can be so valuable and why transfer partners can be the best way to go when redeeming points.

I know that was a lot, so let me summarize if for you:

Out of pocket price for ticket Atlanta to Athens: $1142 on Air France/KLM
Price of same ticket booked through Capital One Travel: 75k miles + $392
Price of same ticket booked through FlyingBlue after transferring Capital One miles: 30,000 miles + $208 in taxes and fees.

You would come out of this deal with around 45k Capital One miles left in the bank. That’s enough to buy you another roundtrip flight to Europe.

Now THAT’S how we use points and miles to our advantage 🙂

RESOURCE: Free List of Transfer Partners & Airline Alliances + How to Use Them

*be sure to only transfer the points you need and no more so you can keep the extra points with your bank and transfer them elsewhere in the future*

How Do You Redeem Points And Miles For Flights?

The way that we typically redeem our points and miles is by using them to purchase flights. We do this by transferring our credit card points to transfer partners.

The scenario above is a great example of how we would use our points and miles to get amazing deals on flights.

Here is that chart again that I made to show you where you can transfer points based on what program you’ve accumulated points with.

The process of transferring points can be a bit complicated, but I’m going to help you out here.

Here is the basic rundown of how to redeem your points for flights:

Accumulate points on your credit card
Research credit card airlines transfer partners
Search Google Flights or Skyscanner to find flight routes
Search for award flights on airline transfer partners
Find desired flights and see how many points/money required to book them
Create a frequent flier account with airline if you don’t already have one
Transfer points on your bank’s website to transfer partner of choice
Book those flights!!

To use the example from above, I would find the flights I want and make sure I have enough points to pay for them. Then, I would log into Capital One and go to the Capital One Travel portal to transfer my points to FlyingBlue. Once my points were transferred, I would buy my flights!

The real trick is finding award flight availability and the deals that are out there waiting to be had! It takes a little bit of time and practice but you’ll get the gist!

What Travel Credit Cards Are Best?

For me to answer this question, you’ll need to ask yourself a question first: what are your goals?

Are you looking to cover some international long haul flights? Maybe you’re an avid domestic traveler and would like to cover a few legs of travel for your upcoming trips. Would you like to stay in nice hotels for just the cost of fees?

It’s good to look at the options and decide what you think will work best for your goals!

If you want to cover some flights, I would find a card that has great travel benefits and flexible rewards. If you’re more interested in hotel stays, get a hotel branded card!

You can find my favorite travel credit cards and all the information about them on my
Travel Credit Cards Recommendations page.

Want my help choosing a travel credit card?
Fill out my Free Credit Card Consultation Form & I’ll email you personalized recommendations!

“Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.”

Where is Lake Königssee & Berchtesgaden National Park?

Berchtesgaden National Park was established in 1978 as a protected natural area located in the German Bavarian Alps.

The park covers an area of approximately 210 square kilometers. It is home to a diverse range of flora and fauna, including alpine meadows, forests, and a number of endangered species.

It’s an incredibly beautiful natural gem in Germany, and one we only happened upon when I saw Lake Königssee on a YouTube video. Königssee in German means King’s Lake.

I actually had no idea at the time that the lake was located in a larger national park area. I’m so glad that we also decided to do a bit of hiking and explore more of the park than just the lake. Though if that is all you end up seeing it is more than worth it).

Entrance Fees & Parking Fees

There is no entrance fee to Berchtesgaden National Park. However there are parking and activity fees, for example for the Lake Königssee boat ride or the JennerBahn Cable Car.

mountains behind Lake Konigssee in Berchtesgaden National park in Germany.

How to Visit Lake Königssee

If you are planning to visit Lake Königssee, you can get here a few ways.

We rented a car in Vienna to do a little road trip with Colton’s parents. So, we drove into the park from the Austrian side, crossing over into Germany.

From Salzburg, take the 305 into Germany and all the way to the town of Berchtesgaden, take the B20 all the way to the parking lot for the lake.

You may also come to Berchtesgaden from Munich or another part of Germany. From Munich, which is about a 2 hour drive from the park, you can take the A8 motorway and then exit at Bad Reichenhall. From there, follow the signs to Berchtesgaden. Take the B20 all the way into the park and to the parking lot for the lake.

What to Do in Berchtesgaden

Berchtesgaden National Park is a beautiful natural area located in the Bavarian Alps in southern Germany. There are many things to see and do in the park, but the most popular (other than Lake Königssee) is the amazing hiking.

The park has a network of trails that take you through forests, meadows, and along mountain streams. We hiked some random little trail (it was actually just a gravel road) we found and got this awesome view.

It turns out that where we ended up is Halsalm. However, because it was off season, the restaurant up here was closed. Come in the summer and get amazing alpine views with German dairy cows!

view of mountains from Halsalm in Berchtesgaden National Park in Germany — View from Halsalm

For my history buffs, you’ll be amazed at this: The park is also home to the famous Kehlsteinhaus. It was a luxurious mountain retreat built for Adolf Hitler that is now open to the public. Isn’t that wild??

We sadly didn’t get to go check it out because we ran out of time. But, what a fascinating piece of history in such a beautiful park!

Where to Stay Near Berchtesgaden

Luxury: Kempinski Hotel Berchtesgaden

Mid-Range: Hotel AlpinaRos Demming

Budget: Gästehaus Alpina

Doing the Boat Tour on Lake Königssee

Cost: €22 for adult round trip ticket. Tickets can be purchased in the park.

Duration: approx. 45 min.

When To Go: the boat tours are operated year round, with exceptions for weather. Summer and Fall are great times to visit.

The boat ride on Lake Königssee is such a bucket list type experience! The boats, the views, and the towering mountains are wonderfully grand.

I also love that I feel environmentally responsible because the boats used on Lake Königssee are all electric.

Only electric boats are allowed on Lake Königssee. This preserves the crystal clear waters and protects the natural wildlife that calls the lake home.

It’s an incredible way that the park has created a sustainable tourism practice. This girl with a tourism degree is geeking out!

You will buy one ticket for the boat ride there and back. However, you don’t have a specific return time, rather there is a line for the return boat, so you’ll just get on whichever one works for you! You can also buy a one way ticket if necessary.

Boat on Lake Konigssee in Germany with fall colors and mountains behind.

What to Expect on the Boat Tour of Lake Königssee

We arrived at the park in the late morning and caught the 12pm boat tour.

The boats are beautiful wooden crafted boats with bench seating throughout the middle and on the sides. Seats are first come first serve, so being in the front of the line to board the boat is a bit helpful. However, every seat has great views.

The boat ride itself takes about 20-25 minutes each way, during which time your guide will tell you all about the lake and the park (in German). They’ll also demonstrating the echo in the valley with a horn! It’s a very fun tour and the guide we had was incredibly nice.

We don’t speak German, but we just smiled and laughed along with everyone else to look like we fit in! It isn’t the first time this has happened to us, actually.

We participated in a fully German tour of Trostburg Castle in Italy, and it’s one of our fondest memories: 1) it was hilarious and 2) there was a really nice German couple that translated for us which led to a great interaction with some fellow travelers.

The boat tour actually has a destination, it isn’t just a loop around the lake. It stops at St. Bartholomew’s Church. Its quite literally one of the most striking buildings I’ve ever seen, especially against the mountain backdrop.

St. Bartholomew's Church in Berchtesgaden National Park in Germany with mountains behind

Now, there isn’t a ton to do once the boat drops you off. Also, you do have to make sure you catch a boat back!

There is a small seafood restaurant called Fischerei St. Bartholomä if you’re visiting around lunch time and don’t have snacks.

While you can go inside the church, we ended up not and just hanging out for a little while taking in the views. We also wanted to have enough light to go hiking so we couldn’t stay too long!

The boat ride back is similar to the ride there, and drops off right where the start of the journey began.

Be sure to visit Lake Königssee and Berchtesgaden National Park when you travel to the German Alps!

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