Bayern Ticket Bought On-Line

I've never done this with a Bayern-Ticket, but I have done it a few times with Saving Fare tickets. You don't present it before getting on the train; there probably won't be anyone to present it to. It's not like boarding an aircraft. When the conductor comes around checking tickets, show him the printed ticket. He will scan the bar code on the ticket, and you show him the credit card that you used for the purchase.

Thanks Lee

I should have written that our journey starts at the Marienplatz where we will take the S-Bahn (subway) to the Munich HBF. Same advice?

BTW - Lakewood, CO was home for me for several years!

If you're only riding regional trains, you may not have your ticket checked at all. Ticket checks are universal on ICEs, but hit or miss on the Regiobahn trains. However, nearly every Sbahn I've ever ridden for more than a few stops has involved a check to make sure my ticket is validated. I'm not sure how you would validate a Bayern pass, as it probably won't fit in the machines that stamp the tickets.

I didn't even know you COULD purchase a Bayern Ticket online...

You don't validate Bayern Tickets as they are time stamped for the day they are valid for. You are supposed to write your name in block letters on the back of the ticket though.

Yes, you can buy all of the Länder tickets online. The only thing with them though is once you buy them you can't return them.

You can purchase a Bayern-Ticket online, but they come with the validity date printed on them and they are non-returnable, so you can only use them on that date. But you can always buy them at train stations just before travel, so the only reason I can see for advance purchase online would be if you were coming into Germany from another country and wanted to start using it before you would have a chance to get it from a station. For instance, if you were coming from Prague on the direct train to Munich that crosses the border just before Furth im Wald, you could purchase the Bayern-Ticket online, then buy a ticket to Furth from Czech Rail in Prague (about 11€). You would use the Czech ticket to the border and the Bayern-Ticket from there to Munich or wherever in Bavaria you were going.

I have ridden the S-Bahn in Munich many, many times, and only once did I see a ticket inspector. And many times I've ridden regional trains without having to show my ticket. Only once did I not have my ticket checked on an ICE (Bad Schandau to Dresden, 28 minutes, a short distance). I don't think you will have your ticket checked between Marienplatz and the Hbf. I assume you are going to Marienplatz to catch a train to somewhere else using the Bayern-Ticket. You could have purchase the Bayern-Ticket in the station at Marienplatz.

And, although the tickets printed at an S-Bahn station are too wide for the cancelling machines and have the date already printed on them, tickets purchased in U-Bahn stations are narrow, not dated, and have to be cancelled. In all cases, look at your ticket. If it has arrows (triangles) on the end and says "Hier entwerten", it has to be cancelled.

According to this MVV webpage, if you buy a ticket from an automat in an S-Bahn station, you will be given the choice between already validated tickets and ones that have to be validate (this being so you can buy tickets ahead). It doesn't say if this applies to Bayern-Tickets, but you should be aware. If you can, and you do buy an un-validated ticket, you will need to stamp it.

To buy a Bayern-Ticket online on the Bahn website, put in any regional route long enough to show the Bayern-Ticket as a savings ticket. It doesn't have to be the route you want to use; once you buy it, the Bayern-Ticket can be used anywhere in Bavaria. Note, this doesn't work with the Bayern-Böhmen ticket, which can only be purchased online from the Bahn store (in German).

The S-Bahn station might have a turnstile at the entry, but also a way around them, meant for wheelchairs or people with big luggage, that you can use if your ticket doesn't work in the turnstile. Show your ticket to staff if any are present at the entry.

I don't think I have ever seen an S-Bahn station with turnstiles in Munich. In some big stations in town (eg, Marienplatz) I think the ticket automats are on a level above the track level, and as you go to the escalators, there is a partitioned off lane with the ticket cancelling machine at the entrance, so you need to cancel your ticket before going to the platform. However, on smaller stations, like in the suburbs, it's just an open station, and the automat is on the platform, as is the cancelling machine.

Thanks for the comments everyone. I confess - - when our plans are pretty firm (at least the date) I like to do what I can in advance but I can certainly understand the comments about waiting till you get there to purchase tickets. I'll post back afterwards and let you know my experience!

Curious as to which city has turn-stiles? Have never seen one, but I also have not been in every city here.

Usually in Germany it works more on the honor system. Validation is required in some cities, and other cities not. Have usually found the machines for validation either at the stop or inside the train or tram.

I use the Regional trains an awful lot and I do get my ticket checked almost every time. Seldom is the train so crowded that this doesn't happen. In the city, that is another story. I can go days, sometimes weeks without getting checked, then have it happen 2-3 times in one day.

I've never seen turnstyles on any form of public transportation in Germany, including all the cities that I know have a Ubahn system. As Jo noted, it's usually works on the honor system. You validate your own ticket, and sometimes they check, sometimes they don't.