Schongau is about 60 kilometres southwest of Munich by road, a journey of around an hour by car via the A95 and then local roads. By public transport, the town is served by regional trains on the Augsburg–Schongau line; from Munich, a change at Augsburg makes the journey around 90 minutes. The station is at the bottom of the hill below the Altstadt, a 10-minute walk up to the town centre.
From Füssen (the nearest town to Neuschwanstein), Schongau is about 25 kilometres by road. The Romantic Road coach service stops in Schongau in summer, connecting it to the broader route between Würzburg and Füssen.