Getting from Munich Train Station to Airport and Overnight Stay

to go to the airport from the Munich Hauptbahnhof (Hbf) take either of the two S-Bahn (commuter) train lines which go to the airport at the end of the line.. No reservations possible. The fare does not change. The trains are red. Get on with your luggage and sit in an available seat. The train will stop several times on the way. Use the MVV app or DB or a machine.

Are you going to do anything in Munich other than change trains, because those same trains are available at several other stations.

The most efficient way to get to MUC from the Munich Hbh is simply to take the next Sbahn (1 or8) . It's basically a commuter train. No advance booking required. A taxi would take longer, and cost a LOT more.
There is a Hilton actually at the airport. However, unless your flight is very early in the morning, I'd suggest staying in Munich the night before and enjoying a nice meal at one of the biergartens

Thank you both!

Nigel, we are basically just passing through Munich in order to fly to REK/Iceland the next day. Maybe another time we will have more time to explore! But it sounds like the S-bahn is the way to go. Do you happen to know how long it takes?

CJ - Where would you stay in Munich that would be easy to get to the airport from? I'm just concerned that we absolutely can get to MUC and make our flight but it doesn't leave until around 2 PM so I suppose we could spend the night in the city if you think it is worth it! Is MUC a huge airport and if we stay at the Hilton will be close to our terminal? I guess an airport hotel much have transportation to the right terminals available. Maybe I'm getting too worried about little things!

Peggy
You should have no trouble getting from the Munich main station to the airport (Flughafen). When you get off the Bolzano train, look for the S-Bahn signs. They are green with a white “S.” Follow the signs to the S-Bahn platforms and look for the S1 or S8 line to the Flughafen. The ride is only a half hour or so. You’ll need to buy a ticket from a ticket machine. I always just buy my tickets online using the free MVV app. So I don’t bother with the machines. That is the app for Munich’s public transport system. Download the app before heading to Europe. You can use the app to give you step-by-step instructions (literally if you want!) for going anywhere in Munich, including the airport.
You don’t need reservations for using the S-Bahn.
S-Bahn trains to the airport are frequent. My daughter took the taxi to the airport once and regretted the high price. It saves little, if any time.
I’ve stayed at the Munich Airport Hilton-ultra convenient with an amazing breakfast buffet but a pricey place to stay. For my trip this summer I’ll stay in Freising at the Bayerischer Hof hotel the night before flying out of Munich. I’ve never stayed there, but it is frequently praised on this forum.

Daniel,
Perfect! Will check out the hotel website and nearby restaurants, etc. I assume we can get from there to the airport easily as well - train or Uber or taxi? When you say Fughafen is that the same airport as MUC? (Sorry - we don't travel much.)

Flughafen is just the German word for airport.

Ahhh, haha. Thank you!

If you have not bought your rail ticket yet, just buy it as Bolzano to Munich Airport T. You can get off the train at Munich Ost station and change to the S-Bahn to the airport. The transfer is cross platform at Munich Ost.

Thank you Sam. Duh.... this is great and I didn't k now you could do it all at once!

Peggy
MUC is an easy Bus or taxi ride from any centrally located hotel in Freising, such as Hotel Bayerischer Hof. The airport is actually located in Freising, not Munich proper.

I have done exactly what you are planning. Last summer we spent several days in Dolomites before taking train from Bolzano to Munich and flying home from MUC. Your train from Bolzano will stop at Munich Ost station before getting to the main train station. As others have suggested, get off at Munich Ost for easy transfer to S-Bahn line 1 or 8 to airport. We stayed at the airport Hilton which is very convenient but somewhat pricey. Send me a private message if you have questions.

Or, if you want to stay in Freising, just buy your ticket Bolzano to Freising. You will connect at Munich Hbf to a regional train to Freising.

Dan, Sam and Simpgolf - THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! Simpgolf - what a coincidence! Really helps to know it all worked out for you and that others have done it this way.

The Hilton at the airport is virtually on the runway, it's ultra convenient and quite nice. And the airport felt more like a train station with many shopping and eating options before you have to deal with security.

Two oddities - if you have club type privileges, instead of going UP you go DOWN to the club. And because you're at an airport, the hotel couldn't build UP so they had to build LONG so it has the longest hallways I've ever seen.

To be honest, if you arrive in Munich the day before your flight, then do not fly out until 2 PM the next day, I would not waste your money staying at the Airport Hilton, I would stay in Munich itself, enjoying an evening there, and some time in the morning. The trip to the airport from the main station is only a half hour, so you could leave Munich at 10:30 and be plenty safe to make your flight.

The airport is actually located in Freising, not Munich proper.

The address of the airport might be "Freising", but in actuality the airport is 10 miles from the train station in Freising, and the S8 from Ost goes only to the airport. From there you have to take a train or a bus (about 20 minutes) to get to Freising Bhf. If you are coming from Bolzano and want to stay in Freising, you should go all the way to the Hbf and then take the S1 to Freising.

Hint: the S1 splits at Neufahrn, with half going to Freising and half going to the airport.) I believe it is the front half the goes to Freising because it leaves Neufahrn a minute or two before the half that goes to the airport. Take that into consideration when you board the S1 at the Hbf. The cars of the S1 should be labelled as to their final destination.

Another hint: There is a single platform in the S-Bahn station at the Hbf, with trains on one side going in the direction (Richtung) of Pasing, the other side going in the direction of Ost. Take the S1 on the Pasing side (it will probably also say "Freising" or "Flughafen" on the front of the train). If it says "Leuchtenbergring" it's not the right direction.

Many thanks to you all. I am literally printing all of this to take with me!

Thank you Sam. Duh.... this is great and I didn't k now you could do
it all at once!

For your reference: That is how train travel works in central Europe. Train tickets are for a route. When I was young we bought tickets to travel all across Europe without even knowing the train schedules in advance as there was no internet.

So you buy a ticket Bolzano - Munich Airport, and you can just use trains on the route this ticket covers. Nowadays it is often the case that you get a discount if you commit to taking a particular train, but this train binding only applies to the long distance part, not any urban, suburban or regional trains before or after.

I am planning on a similar trip. However, I am flying into MUC, Munich Airport, and would like to get to Bayerischer Hof hotel in Freising. What is the best way to do that? (Note: I stayed at the Bayerischer Hof hotel in Freising once before and loved it, but took a cab back and forth to the airport. I want to go back to that hotel, but would like a cheaper way to do that.) Thanks.

To get to the Munich airport from the main station (Munich Hbf) take the S-Bahn.

The Hbf S-Bahn station is underground in the north side of the main station. Look for a sign with a white S in a green circle. It will be off the end of the connecting platform at the end of the tracks, to the far left as you come down the platform from your train.

You come first into a large lobby above the tracks where you can purchase you S-Bahn ticket is it's not included in you train ticket. Then you go down escalators to the tracks.

There is a central platform in the station, with trains on one side going in the direction of the Ostbahnhof and on the other side in the direction of Pasing. You can take either the S1 going in the direction of Pasing or the S8 going in the direction of Ostbahnhof. The next one to arrive in the station, regardless of direction, will get you to the airport soonest. The destination, Flughafen (or maybe Freising for the S1), will be shown on the front of the S-Bahn or on the arrival board.

If you take the S1, you need to be at the back of the train (as I remember). The S1 splits in Neufahrn, near the airport, with one end going to Freising and the other end (the back?) going to the airport. I believe the cars will be individually labeled as to their final destination.