Europe > Germany > Munich > Getting Around Munich
Munich Transportation Tips:
Germany has been a World leader in public transportation and Munich has some of the best options to help you get around. Easy trains, subways, and trams connect you around the city, help you get to the Airport and provide access to amazing day trips.
Getting To Munich From The Airport:
Munich’s main airport MUC, called Flughafen München in German, sits 22 miles North of town in the German countryside. It is very easy to reach central Munich by metro.
Getting To Munich By Train:
Munich has a huge central train station which is cheap and easy to get to as Germany has Europe’s best train system. Munchen Hofbahnhof is the main train station located on the West side of central tourist area and Ost Train Station is on the East side of the main tourist area. For train info and schedules visit the German Train website HERE. Regional rail pass options are listed below.
Munich Local Metro Passes:
•1 Day Metro Pass: If you pre-pay for tickets online you will need to bring the credit card you secured the ticket(s) with and a printed copy of the tickets themselves. If your ticket was for multiple people but you only get one ticket to refer to the line “ERK:” and the number after it is the number of passengers. Cost: 6.70€ for a Single Adult or 12.80€ for Partner which covers up to 5 adults
•3 Day Metro Pass: Same befits as the 1 Day Pass but for 3 Days. Cost: 15€ for a Single Adult or 25.90€ for Partner which covers up to 5 adults traveling together. Kids 6-14 are considered half an Adult on a Partner Pass.
•Airport-City Day Pass: Covers travel from/to the Airport plus 1 full day of City Center (Zone 1) Buses, Trams, and Subway lines. Is valid until 6am the day after purchase. Lines S1 & S8 go right to the Airport. Cost: 13.00€ for a Single adult or 24.30€ for Partner which covers up to 5 adults traveling together. This is a great deal as the standard train price for from the airport route is 7€ per person without the metro pass.
•Munich XXL Pass (Dachau Ticket): Covers 1 full day of metro, bus, and tram travel in Zones 1 & 2 and well as round trip transport to the Dachau Concentration Camp located North of the city. Cost: 8.90€ for a Single Adult Ticket or 16.10€ for Partner Ticket which is good for up to 5 adults traveling together
Regional German Train Passes:
Regional passes in German can help save you a ton of money. Below are the most popular ones you should know about while visiting Munich. For all regional passes throughout German click HERE.
•Bayern One Day Ticket (Bavaria + Salzburg): This Deutsche Bahn Pass is can be used throughout Bavaria. Centering the map on Munich, this pass is valid as far East as Ulm Germany, North to Sonneberg Germany, East to Salzburg Austria, and South to Kufstein Austria.
When You Can Use It: Monday to Friday from 9am until 3am the following day. On Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays it can be used right at 12am until 3am the next morning. Each pass is only valid for one day.
Trains It’s Valid On: Valid on RE, RB and IRE trains and most rural bus routes but is NOT valid on IC, ICE or EC trains. If you’re not sure if your train will work limit your route search do your search HERE on the Bahn website and under Connections select ‘Only Local Transport’ (Nur Nahverkehr). The pass also covers the metro systems (S-Bahn, U-Bahn, tram and city-bus routes) inside Munich, Nürnberg, and Augsburg among others.
Important Salzburg Tip: If using this pass to go to or from Salzburg like we often do it is usually only valid on the Blue & Yellow trains so if you buy it in the morning without being stuck on a certain train time you can usually hop on any Blue & Yellow train headed for Salzburg.
Cost: 26€ for 1 Adult in 2nd class, add up to 4 more people for 8€ a person. For 1st class seating, 1 adult is 38.50€ and you can add up to 4 more people for 20.50€ a person. Children 5 years old and under are free. More Info: HERE.
•Bayern-Böhmen One Day Ticket (Bavaria + Bohemia): This Deutsche Bahn Pass is can be used throughout Bavaria and Bohemia. For people going to Prague this pass only gets you as far as Plzeň, that’s fine though as it’s as we recommend taking the Express Bus from Nürnberg to Prague to save a couple hours compared to taking the regional trains covered by this pass.
When You Can Use It: Monday to Friday from 9am until 3am the following day. On Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays it can be used from 12am until 3am the next morning. Each pass is only valid for one day.
Trains It’s Valid On: Valid on RE, RB and IRE trains and most rural bus routes but not valid on IC, ICE or EC trains. If you’re not sure if your train will work limit your route search to ‘Nur Nahverkehr’ (Only Local Transport) on the Bahn Website. The pass also covers the metro systems (S-Bahn, U-Bahn, tram and city-bus routes) inside Munich, Nürnberg, and Augsburg among others.
Cost: 26€ for a Single Adult with each additional traveler for 4.50€.
•Einfach Raus One Day Ticket (Austria Only): If you plan on going further into Austria than Salzburg during your trip, you may want to consider the Einfach Raus Ticket. It’s basically the Austrian equivalent to the Bayern Ticket.
Trains It’s Valid On: Valid on RE, RB and IRE trains and most rural bus routes but not valid on IC, ICE, RailJet or ÖEC trains. If you’re not sure if your train will work do your search HERE on the Austrian Train website, click “More” on the bottom left corner for all the options then select “Einfach-Raus-Ticket” to filter the trains.
When You Can Use It: On regional trains after 9am Monday-Friday or all day on Weekends and Bank Holidays.
Cost: €36. More Info: On Austria’s train site HERE.
German National Train Passes:
If you are doing long travel across Germany or a long day trip from Munich outside of Bavaria, a German National Train pass is the way to go. You’ll pay just one price and go wherever you want.
•Quer-durchs-Land Ticket (All Germany Weekday Pass): This Deutsche Bahn Pass covers all regional trains (RE, IRE, RB, S-Bahn) throughout Germany in second class. It does not cover the high-speed lines (ICE, IC, EC, City Night Line, and other international high-speed trains).
When You Can Use It: Monday to Friday from 9am until 3am the following day. Each pass is only valid for one day.
Trains It’s Valid On: Valid on RE, RB, and IRE trains and most rural bus routes but not valid on IC, ICE, or EC trains. If you’re not sure if your train will work limit your route search to ‘Nur Nahverkehr’ (Only Local Transport) on the Bahn Website. The pass also covers the metro systems (S-Bahn, U-Bahn, tram, and city-bus routes) inside Munich, Nürnberg, and Augsburg among others.
Cost: 44€ for 1 Adult, may add up to 4 more people for 8€ each, but all people must travel together.
More Info: More info on the pass HERE.
•Schönes Wochenende Ticket (All Germany Weekend Day Pass): This Deutsche Bahn Pass covers all regional trains (RE, IRE, RB, S-Bahn) throughout Germany in second class. It does not cover the high-speed lines (ICE, IC, EC, City Night Line, and other international high-speed trains).
When You Can Use It: On Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays it can be used from 12am until 3am the next morning. Each pass is only valid for one day.
Types of Trains It’s Valid On: Valid on RE, RB, and IRE trains and most rural bus routes but not valid on IC, ICE, or EC trains. If you’re not sure if your train will work limit your route search to ‘Nur Nahverkehr’ (Only Local Transport) on the Bahn Website. The pass also covers the metro systems (S-Bahn, U-Bahn, tram, and city-bus routes) inside Munich, Nürnberg, and Augsburg among others.
Cost: 34€ for groups of up to 5 people, a single-person ticket for only 24€ (All people must travel together) Parents or grandparents can take a ticket all their children or grandchildren under 15 years even if exceeds the 5 people for no extra fee.
More Info: More info on the pass in English.
•German 3-10 Day Rail Passes (All Germany + Salzburg & Basel): This Deutsche Bahn Pass is can be used throughout all of Germany. It also includes travel to/from Salzburg (Austria) and Basel (Switzerland).
When You Can Use It: Your pass is valid for up to 4 weeks from when you first use it and is valid for 3-10 days of train travel depending on the ticket you buy.
Types of Trains It’s Valid On: Valid on RE, RB, and IRE trains and most rural bus routes as well as IC, ICE or EC trains.
Cost: As little as 175€ for up to 3 days of 2nd class travel within 4 weeks for 2 adults traveling together.
More Info: More on this pass HERE.