Zugspitze - can tickets be reserved?

I can't answer your question (we were there in September and bouth are tickets when we got there), but one argument against reserving a ticket in advance is the weather. If it's not a clear day, there is no point in going to the top of the Zugspitze because you won't see a thing. It's expensive, so I would think twice about reserving ahead.

Even if it is possible, there is no point whatsoever in reserving a ticket on the Zugspitzebahn. There is no reserved seating and even in the busy ski season, you will never wait in line longer than a few minutes for a ticket.

I just purchased my ticket for the cog-wheel train (and cable car that follows) when I got there, and had no problems. It IS very popular, but the train and cable car seem to be able to handle even large crowds pretty efficiently. Views from up top are amazing! Clouds are a frequent occurance, but they seem to come and go quickly. You'll enjoy spectacular views into the Austrian Tyrol; beautiful stuff, for sure. Garmisch is great; have a fantastic time there.

We've been several times, including in the summer, and never had to wait more than a few minutes. You will LOVE it - it's well worth the expense! We're going to Germany in a few weeks ourselves and the Zugspitze is on our list AGAIN, even though we've done it several times. It's an amazing experience. Have fun!

Zugspitze is an amazing place! As you will be travelling on summer, the place will be less crowded with skiers and more with trekkers. Climb by cable car, it is much more fun than the rack railway (which runs most of the time on a tunnel).

You should be OK not getting tickets in advance. However, I have not been in Garmisch in July. There are two ways to the top from the German side - the cog wheel and a cable car. If for some reason you can't get cog wheel tickets, you could always take the train up the valley and take the cable car. I recommend that you split and use one route up and the other down regardless. They each provide different views. One reminder - there are two cable cars to the top, so make sure you get on the German one if you're going down via the cable car. Good luck.

Thanks to all! Sounds like an amazing time...we shall wait to see how the weather pans out and go from there!