Train from a Munich to Salzburg

Sue - there is no direct train from Munich airport to Salzburg. You need to take the S1 commutter train from airport to Munich city center, then transfer to any regional train from a Munich HBF station to Salzburg. No need to do advance purchasing of ticket. You can purchase ticket same day you arrived.

https://reiseauskunft.bahn.de//bin/query.exe/en?

It's not worth booking in advance if you're coming off a flight, as the cheap advance fares limit you to a specific train. If you're booking immediately before you travel, you can get a cheaper regional fare that will be valid on "Meridian" regional trains but not on the longer-distance "Railjet", "InterCity", or "Eurocity" trains. But on that line the regional trains aren't much slower than the long-distance ones.

Trains from Munich airport to the city centre take around 45 minutes, but add at least an hour or ninety minutes from when your plane lands until you get to the airport railway station. There is a slight complication as there are two different routes alternately, which enter Munich city centre from opposite directions. Both call at the Hauptbahnhof (main station) and the Ostbahnhof (East station) but one route arrives at the Hauptbahnhof first and the other the Ostbahnhof first. The Meridian trains stop at both so get off at whichever comes first to change. You can get a single ticket to take you all the way from the airport to Salzburg.

The website is Deutsche Bahn:

https://www.bahn.com/i/view/index.shtml

Note that the exact schedules and fares for August probably aren't up yet, but there likely won't be a huge change between then and now.

Expounding on the above, the main advantage in pre-booking is that by committing to taking a specific train, you can get a substantial price discount. However, as the others have noted, if your flight is delayed or if you time things wrong, your discounted ticket is then useless, and you would need to purchase another one at walk-up price. So, in this case, you may as well simply buy the ticket at the station. I don't remember if the airport station has a staffed ticket counter, but if not, the electronic kiosks are easy to use, and have an English option. You just plug in your destination, and the kiosk will show you the next several itineraries that will get you to Salzburg.

Phillip I am a little confused ..are you saying that it takes 45 minutes from the train station in Munich airport to city center station in “Munich” ? This is where we would need to change trains to Salzburg?
About how long is the trip once we step on the first train at airport in Munich..to arrive in Salzburg?
We had a terrible time going from Frankfurt to Trier back in 2014.. there was a mudslide and everyone had to exit the rain.. we were so confused ..our own fault for not understanding the language...we laugh now but it so wasnot funny back then..
thank you everyone...

You need to take the S1 commutter train from airport to Munich city center

It would save time and stress to take rather the S8 to Munich East (München Ostbahnhof) and then to transfer to the Meridian local train to Salzburg. You can do the entire trip on a "Bayern Ticket" (€34/2, children up to 15 yo free), available from vending machines in the Airport Center (area Z, opposite to the escalator down to the S-Bahn station) or from the DB ticket window (+€2 service charge).

Yes, the train from Munich Airport to the city centre is about 45 minutes. The train from Munich to Salzburg is about one hour 40 minutes.

Phillip .. Thank you... ...

If you're confused because you don't speak the language then just ask somebody for help. Every time I've ever asked for help because of a language barrier I have always been helped kindly be fellow travelers sitting or standing nearby.

My vote would be to take the local train to Hauptbahnhof where the Meridian train starts -- better chance to get on early to snag seats for the 2 hour trip to Salzburg.

Tim, Thanks.. it was a very confusing and difficult first train ride. First as you probably know we were on a overnight flight. Arrived Frankfurt and with the help of RS staff found our train no problem. I thought wow easy peasy.. after a 20 minute ride or so the train suddenly stopped and everyone but us got off.. we thought it was strange that “ everyone” got off... little did we know the announcement said there had been a terrible rain storm and mudslide and the train would return to Frankfurt.. we sat on the empty train for maybe 15 minutes then it reversed and headed back.. we knew then there was a BIG problem. Stupidly we got off at the first stop... which we had no idea where we were and it was in the middle of no where.. the tiny station was closed. Not a house or building in sight.. we stood on the side of the railroad tracks for maybe an hour or more and finally a train came by and we got on. My husband was so tired and disappointed he said if this train is headed for Frankfurt “I am going home”... I didnot give up.. I thought we are going to some how get to Trier and go on this tour...we did finally arrive several hours later but little did we know that the train adventure was the easy part of our journey to the hotel.. in the end it all turned out ok and and we are happy to say this summer we will do our 4th RS tour.. iwill forever be a lasting memory...but made me a stronger traveler.

We were also on a train that stopped suddenly, made an announcement, then everyone got up to leave, I just asked the people around us and they translated nicely for us.

I’m sure tat was scary for you, but just remember that even in a foreign country people are just people. Chances are they’re friendly and willing to help if asked, but they may be just as intimidated by you (a foreigner) as you are of them.

Tim, it all happened too fast.. there were many Americans trying to tell us to get off.. we were too determined to get to Trier to listen at the time. Lol ... next time we will listen and and be grateful..

Okay I will ask the obvious question …..Why not fly from AMS to Salzburg. (There are several reasons I can think of why you are going via Munich) But it might be less stressful.

By the way Alpine My Way is a great tour.

When I made that trip I used a day pass. I can't recall if it was a Bayern pass or a Schoenes Wochende pass. The pass is good to Salzburg (considered the last German station for the pass). I haven't followed the yearly changes to their daily passes since I was there but it's worth looking into. It was both the cheapest and easiest option when I went.

Since the pass covers multiple rail trips, it may include your trip downtown too.

Robert, I knew there was a good reason we were not flying into Salzburg...$$$$ and time. After you asked the question I had to go back and research it again..It takes longer to fly...and very expensive.... I am sure the train will be easy...we now used the trains on several trips.. the first train ride just had many unexpected hiccups. I am looking forward to the train.. I think it might be relaxing..
anyone know if it makes many stops...

At www.bahn.com you can click on "Show intermediate stops" and see for yourself. Yes. the S-Bahn makes lots of stops because it is a suburban commuter train. The Meridian train, which you must take to Salzburg from Munich if you are using the low cost Bayern Ticket, makes a fair number of stops as well. You could take an express train from Munich, but you'd be paying through the nose spur of the moment. A Flexpreis ticket is 39.60 EUR per person vs 34 EUR for 2 with the Bayern Ticket, and it really does not get you there any faster when all is said and done.

On at least two occasions, I've gone to Ostbahnhof to catch the Meridian train to Salzburg, and I've never encountered a problem with finding a seat on the train (it's a big train). Maybe if you were traveling on a high traffic day, but not normally. And, if you go to the Hbf, you stand the risk of having to catch an hour later train to Salzburg. I would take the S8 to Ostbahnhof.

BTW, the fastest way to the Bahn schedule webpage is the one CJean referenced,
https://reiseauskunft.bahn.de//bin/query.exe/en. That's the page that will show intermediate stops. Any other link will get you eventually to that page, which is where you want to be; why not go there directly?

Hi, Sue. Lots of good info here. I just want to add that there is a nice people-staffed ticket counter for the trains at the Munich airport. It is easy to locate: just follow the train signs. While I get to Munich occasionally, my jet-lagged brain could not deal with the ticket machines, despite there being an attendant circling around to assist. The ticket counter was an easier default for me.

My Way Alpine is one of my favorite tours. Have a very good time.