What is the best way to get to Munich?

There are direct trains from Prague to Munich taking 5:43.

I would go with the train. Because driving will take 4-4.5 hours anyway and cost a lot more than two trains fares starting at $21 when you buy your train tix online at www.cd.cz/en. The fares start at $15 for those more than 65 years old.
That is the website of the Czech national train company.

The train looks longer, but when you add on a fuel stop and at least one meal/snack/bathroom stop, and possible traffic slow downs, the diffrrence evaporates. Plus you can get up and walk around on a train, and with a little foresight, bring a meal and beverages on board with you. Not to mention that a hired car will be many times more expensive than the train.

On the cheap and spend 6 hours in a tin can and see nothing along the way is the train. 7 to 7.5 hours door to door maybe. I'm making a wild guess, 2 tickets $100.

Faster, more expensive, fly, nonstop in about an hour, so 4 to 4.5 hours door to door maybe. Starting at about $300 for 2 tickets.

Slowest, but because you make a few stops is a driver service like Daytrip.com. Figure $450 for two people. I think its the best value if you have the time and the $$$. 7.5 to 8 5 hours depending on the stops.

All the door to door times are guesses. Depends on where your doors are. Where i live the best zone for a hotel is 30 min from the train station or 40 min to the airport. Every place will be different so generalizations are no good, just gave you a place to start thinking from. Oh then there is your pre departure tolerance. I have no problem in my home town being at the train station station 15 min before departure, cause I know the station ... Prague would be 30 min early. Same things with airports. Best of luck.

Train tix start at $15 for seniors; $21 for adults.

DB wants anywhere from 52 to 156 euro. Kenko, I see that you have added the Czech rail site. Excellent. I should have gone there. Good catch. DB is always more expensive. DB doesnt even show that train.

I looked on Google Flights before i posted. Flights started at $120 in November. Who knows on the OPs travel dates. Then there is the issue of class. You could pay $150 or $500 depending. Then there is one thing I did overlook. Add (another wild guess) $100 for additioal taxi fare to the airport.

The Daytrip.com I also looked up before I posted. I use them from time to time so have them on my desktop.

If it were me and I had the full day to kill, I would do someone like daytrip. Just too many good things to see between Prague and Munich to not make an attempt. For me it would come down to if I had the time or not because the cost, even at $450 is pretty reasonable for a day when I am getting to see more of the world. You cant do wrong with any of the 3 ideas.

My best guess is using Old Town hotels in both the flight "could" save me 2.5 hours over a train; but at a pretty high cost because Munich isnt served by any of the discount airlines. Add to that, the Munich airport is a zoo and it would take a lot of incentive to fly.

I did the reverse trip this past spring....Munich to Prague.

I flew. Lufthansa.

You don't get to see scenery up in the air but I had been all over the area in past years by train so flying, for me, was easiest.

As Kenko was just pointed out, the Czech rail is faster and about 30% cheaper and not everyone flies the cheap tickets that I do. Good catch. Maybe he and I make a good team.

Train or plane, they both work, but DayTrip.com would be hard to say no to on a first trip across the region, even on my budget. Base is 345€ then the stops are:

• Karlstejn Castle. Really worth the time. I would go back. 90-minutes, 41€
• Regensburg. Maybe a late lunch stop at Brauereigaststätte Kneitinger. 1 hour, 28€
• The Ruckl Family Glassworks. What do you buy in Prague, crystal. Of course that was when you could still have it shipped home. But my ex-has a very nice set of Czech wine glasses and water goblets from a trip some years back. Anyway, 75-minutes, 34€
• Zbiroh. Maybe, don’t know. 45-minutes, 23€
• Pilsen. Yes, for the underground. 90-minutes, 33€
• Dachau. If you haven’t, you might want to. 90-minutes, 41€

I have used them before and they are pretty okay. You can negotiate longer or shorter stops and stops not on their standard list. But with my two favorite stops above (bold) it comes out to 414€ for a 4.5-hour transfer plus 2.5 hours of time in two great locations.

Thank you all for the great information! We will consider...

Bruett, if it helps, I’ve taken the train from Regensburg to Prague (the reverse of your trip), and this is a scenic stretch of geography. No matter your choice, the view outside a train window or car window will be lovely. That said, if it’s rainy, I’d rather be on a train. Also, the ability to stand and walk around is always appealing to me. In any event, I hope you have a great time on your travels!

Thank you Rachel and all who so helpfully responded. Now just to decide.