Zugspitze

There are regional trains leaving every hour from the Starnberger Flügelbahnhof (the "wing" station attached to the north side of the Munich Hbf), tracks 27 through 36 to Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

There are S-Bahn frrom the Marienplatz station to the Hauptbahnhof every few minutes.

When you get to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, look for the Zugspitze Bahnhof, which is near the Garmisch-Partenkirchen Hbf. Purchase your ticket to the Zugspitze at the Zugspitze Bahnhof. A regular train takes you to Grainau, where you switch to the Zahnradzug (cog rail or gear train). The Zahnradzug takes you to the Eibsee station, from which you can transfer to the cable car to the top of the Zugspitze or stay on for a ride through the mountain to the station on the back side of the mountain, from which there is a short cable car to the top.

I have heard of a discount on the Zugspitze if you show your train ticket, anyone know of this and what discount is? Thank you.

There used to be a discount on a lot of attractions if you showed a Bayern-Ticket, but I can no longer find the list of attractions.

The Zugspitze website price page does not say anything about a discount. It shows winter prices, until May 4. I think this page gives the summer prices.

This page (I can only find it in German), under Bahn Vorteil (Bahn advantage), says you do get a 10% discount with a Bayern-Ticket valid for that day.

You might as well use the Bayern-Ticket for your travel from Marienplatz to Garmisch-Partenkirchen since it costs less than full fare tickets, but you can't travel on the Bayern-Ticket until after 9 AM workdays.

Double check the weather report before heading out. We cancelled our trip up the Zig because we couldn't see a thing. Hard to skip the opportunity, but we saved a lot of money.

I'm gonna be trying the same thing next month, Munich-GaP-Zug. I'm wondering if it's worth taking a taxi from the station in GaP to Eibsee, and then jump on the cable car to the top. I do think it could save some time but I'm not sure about the cost. Anyone have any input on this?

You might save a little time, but not much. Maybe 5-10 minutes, max.

Not sure what the taxi would cost, but I think I'd need to be saving more than 5-10 minutes to justify it. I'm just looking for ways to save a little time, hoping to spend as much time as I can in town after going up to the peak. Thanks for the response.

The train from Munich arrives at the GaP Bhf at 6 min before each hour. The train to Eibsee departs 21 min later - enough time to go to the Zugspitzbahn Bahnhof and purchase tickets. The train arrives at Eibsee at 45 min past the same hour - 51 min after the train from Munich arrived at GaP Bhf. According to Google maps the time by car from in front of the Bahnhof to the Eibsee cable car building is 17 min. So if you jumped into a taxi right after arriving, you could save as much as 30 min, but I don't know if there are always taxis waiting. Last October I caught the bus in front of the station, next to the taxi stand. I didn't notice taxis, but I wasn't looking.

The Eibsee cable car runs at least every half hour, so, by taking a taxi you might catch an earlier car, but you might get there earlier and end up waiting for the same car anyway. And, you will have to take time to buy tickets for the cable car once you get to the Eibsee station, whereas the ticket you purchase at the Zugspitzbahn station includes the cable car option.

If I just did rail the whole way, couldn't I buy a ticket in Munich that would get me all the way to Eibsee (to take the cable car up) with that short transfer you described in GaP? Just thinking this would keep me from having to purchase another ticket in Garmisch for that last leg to the mountain. And if it were a Bayern ticket, I could spend the afternoon in Garmisch once we got back down and just jump on any train I wanted for the trip back to Munich that evening? Thanks for all the help and input....extremely helpful and insightful.

But you would still have to buy a ticket at Eibsee for the top of the Zugspitze, either via the cog train or the cable car. I don't think there is any difference in the ticket price for the Zugspitze from Garmisch-Partenkirchen or from Eibsee.

I think I follow you....the ticket to get up the mountain to the peak from Eibsee is independent of the train travel up to that point, and therefore must be purchased separately. But you do think those tickets for either cable car or cog wheel can be purchased in either Garmisch or Eibsee? Could I buy at the station in Munich too, when I purchased the rail ticket to get to Eibsee? Thanks again for your input.

When I went up, I purchased the ticket at the Zugspitzbahn station in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which is adjacent to the main station. That covered all transportation to the top of the mountain - the regular train to Grainau and the cog rail train that goes past the Eibsee station, then through the mountain to the back side and the short cable car from there to the top or the cable car that goes up the front side of the Zugspitze from Eibsee. However, there is a parking lot at the Eibsee cable car station, and some people drive to there and just take the cable car up, so I think they sell tickets at that station. I think there is one price to the top, no matter how you get there. The Bayern ticket does not cover the train beyond Eibsee, or the Eibsee cable car, but you can use it to get to Eibsee, but I don't think the fare is any less from Eibsee than from Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

You're making this much harder than it needs to be. Just do what everyone else does. Buy your ticket for the Zugspitzbahn at the station in GaP, which as Lee has mentioned, is right next to the Deutsche Bahn station. Ride the Zugspitzbahn to Eibsee. Change either to the cogwheel train or the cable car, both of which coordinate with the arrival of the train from Garmisch. Easy.

Thanks Lee, you are quite the valuable resource....I appreciate all your input and help...and patience.

One more question for you Lee....can you explain the difference between the Werdenfels ticket and Bayern ticket? I've got a feeling you can explain it a little better than their website does......thanks.

Werdenfels-Ticket is similar to the Bayern-Ticket (2nd class, after 9 workdays) but it is only valid in an area directly south of Munich. And it's a little less expensive. There use to be a good map of the valid routes for the Werdenfels-Ticket, but I can no longer find the map online. Here is a written description of the valid routes (train and bus). It is also valid for the stretch from Garmisch-Partenkirchen Bahnhof to Eibsee. I don't think (at least I can't find it) that it gives a discount for the Zubspitzbahn.

I downloaded the map of the Werdenfels area to my computer in 2007, while it was available online. If you PM me with your email address, I can send it to you.

" I have heard of a discount on the Zugspitze if you show your train ticket, anyone know of this and what discount is? Thank you."

Jill,
I just purchased a German Rail Pass, and one of the 'Bonus Discounts' is a 10% reduction on roundtrip tickets @ Bayerische Zugspitzbahn. Perhaps this is the discount you have heard about.
Julie