Munich airport area hotel/ train station/logistics

You should take the S-Bahn to Munich Hbf and stay in one of many nearby hotels. In the evening, take an S-Bahn to the nearby Viktualienmarkt area. Lots of restaurants in the area. Heck, you can always hit the Hofbrauhaus for German food and oompah bands.

There are trains from Munich Hbf to Trier every hour with a single connection in Mannheim. Takes 6 hours. You can buy tickets now for as low as 23.90 EUR pp. Walkup price is 117.30 EUR pp. The cheap tickets are nonrefundable, train specific, like airline tickets.

You're coming into the Munich Airport so early, and it'd be a waste to stay out there when the center city is so scenic--and lively.

You might want to catch the train to the main Munich train station. There are dozens of hotels within a short walking distance of there. You can see them on:

https://www.google.com/maps/search/Hotels/@48.1394123,11.5546482,16z

Or go to Bookinig.com and put in Munich Hofbahnhof and pick a place to stay.

Or go to Bookinig.com and put in Munich Hofbahnhof and pick a place to stay.

Lets not get the HAUPTBAHNHOF (abbreviated Hbf), the Munich Main Train Station, mixed up with HOFBRAEUHAUS, a touristy beer hall.

Are you sure you really want to fly into Munich if you are going to Trier? Frankfurt (FRA) would be a lot closer.

If you really are flying into MUC, you certainly can't go wrong by going into Munich for the night, since you almost have to leave from there the next morning.

However, twice, when I had an early morning flight out of MUC, I chose to stay Freising, which is a twenty minute bus ride from MUC. It was short walk from where I stayed up to the Biergarten at Weihenstephan Brewery, the oldest still operating brewery in the world, where I enjoyed a delightful German meal and good bier for my last night.

The place where I stayed might be a little bit difficult for someone who doesn't speak German, but I've often thought of staying here, at Hotel Bayerischerhof, instead some time. And there are several IN-TER-CON-TIN- ENT-AL hotels in Freising as well.

There is a station in Freising with an S-Bahn every 20 minutes plus some regional trains going directly to downtown and the Hbf.

Thank you so much, Sam, David and Lee!

I went ahead and booked a hotel in Munich near the train station. I really appreciate the link, David! I used that to find it.

Thank you for the tip about the cost of booking the train now, Sam. I had no idea. Should I book on bahn.com?

Lee - I know it seems weird to land in Munich. I really needed to avoid LAX for my sanity. Haha! I got a direct flight to Munich from San Diego and figured a 7 hour train ride through Germany was better than a 3 +/- hour drive to LAX and all the chaos in and around that airport with construction just to get a direct flight to Frankfurt.

Sam - I found the DB website and the cheapest for the day I am traveling is Euro 137.80 - where do I need to look for the 23.90 tickets?
Thanks!

What day are you traveling?
117.30 EUR is the Flexpreis, meaning anytime. Are you looking for 2 tickets? Normally, DB prices discount tickets like XX.90 EUR, so something like XX.80 seems to be total for 2 people. Also, I am looking at 2nd class, which is perfectly fine. If you want seat reservations (might be a good idea), that is 4.50 EUR extra per person.

As Sam asks, on what day to you plan to travel.? That can make a big difference. The fares Sam talked about are for advance purchase, non-refundable "Savings Fare" tickets. They are sold at that price when they are first offered month in advance. The tickets are tiered in price, so as the least expensive tickets sell out, the price goes up. Sometimes, you can find a much cheaper ticket still available because there is low demand for that day, when tickets for the next day are more expensive. And the time of day can make a big difference, too.

Most of the connections I see from Munich Hbf to Trier make use of an ICE from Munich to Mannheim, with regional trains from there to Trier. Until the end of August, the Bahn is offering a great deal, 9€ per person for a pass for all regional trains in Germany for the entire calendar month, so if you are traveling before the end of August, the only other connection, besides Munich to Mannheim, that you need pay for on a Saving Fare ticket is Munich to Mannheim. Check those prices and get back to us.

For example, for Aug 9 (the first date I checked), I see a number of ICE connections in the morning from Munich Hbf to Mannheim for less than 60€ for 2P. From Mannheim there are regional connections, some direct, to Trier, and for 18€ more for two of you, you could be on one of those regional trains.

Actually, if you were willing to spend 9 hours on the trains and make numerous changes, you could go all of the way from Munich to Trier for 18€ for two (until end of August).

Hi Sam and Lee,

Thank you for getting back to me.

It is for two tickets - my husband and I, mid-September during the week. We will also be needing transportation from Vienna to Munich, a little over 2 weeks later, so I need to figure out if some kind of rail pass would be more cost effective.

Assuming you are the Best of Germany, Austria, Switzerland tour, and traveling on a Friday. The 7:28 am departure is a little bit cheaper, but 137.80 is not a bad price for 2. Spend the extra 9 EUR and get seat reservations so you know you can sit together. I like at a table sitting across from each other.

For the Vienna-Munich leg, I see train tickets bought now for around 120 EUR for 2 if you book now and take an early train. Looks like you will be coming into Munich during Oktoberfest, so trains could be filling up. A railpass is not going to help you, and will probably cost you extra.

You are just the best! Thanks, Sam!

Check with your airline and see if they are offering the Rail&Fly ticket. Lufthansa does; some other airlines do, too. I'm not sure if you can only book it when you book you flight or if they will allow you to add it. If you can get it, it's an open ticket at about 40€/P. It allows you to take any trains (not train specific), including ICEs, from anywhere (or at least any airport) to any other station in Germany all day long on the day of arrival and the next day.

If not, I see some Munich Hbf to Mannheim Hbf tickets online for mid-September for ~72 € for two. Once you get to Mannheim, you can use a Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket for any regional trains all day between Mannheim and Trier for 31€ for 2P. There are direct regional trains from Mannheim to Trier via Koblenz in under 3 hours every hour or two.

We stayed in Notzing, just south of the airport, the night before an early flight. There was nothing in Notzing but we drove to Erding for a meal. Erding seemed like a nice town on the S-Bahn.

Thank you Lee - I didn't see an option for Rail&Fly, and I've already booked the plane ticket.

Mike - that is so funny!

So, my husband and I are very inexperienced train travelers. I am getting ready to book on DB, and they are only giving us 10 minutes to switch trains. Since we are unfamiliar with train travel, and have never been to the train station in Mannheim, and will be trying to figure out exactly where we are, (platforms, etc.) should I book a later connection? Or do you think a couple of newbies can find their way? If we go ahead and try, and miss our connection, do we have to pay for another ticket?

Thank you all again for your guidance! We really appreciate it!

I am getting ready to book on DB, and they are only giving us 10 minutes to switch trains.

19 minutes in Mannheim is usually more than enough. But if you have concerns, you could choose a connection via Nuremberg. There are many trains between Munich and Nuremberg, so the transfer time can be easily adjusted. Example: Munich dep. 10:16 (ICE 720), normal transfer time to ICE 228 to Koblenz (where you will transfer to the RE to Trier), dep. 11:30, is 10 minutes. Alternatively: Munich dep. 9:55 (ICE 800), transfer time to ICE 228 in Nuremberg is now 27 minutes. If you want to do this, we can give you a step by step guide.

We stayed at Ibis Muenchen City. Short walk to main train station. Modern hotel, decent price

10 minutes is tight, especially as Germans have been complaining lately that DB punctuality is not what is used to be. It looks like you would be arriving on Track 3 and transferring to Track 9. That means you would have to go down a stairway or escalator to the underpassage and walk about 100 ft to your new platform and then up to the track level.

If you were to miss it, the next RE 1 to Trier is 2 hours later. Fortunately, Mannheim is a big station with lots of services. You can scroll down on the following website and download a pdf of the station layout. Any place that says "Gastronomie" is some kind of food service establishment, either a take out or sit-down.

Since the connecting train to Trier is a Regional Express, you don't have to rebook it, just board when it gets spotted on the platform.

The first thing to know about changing trains in Germany is that a train is NOT an aircraft. You do not have to stay seated until the vehicle has come to a complete stop. In fact, you shouldn't.

Keep your eye on the time and the schedule. When you know you are nearing the station, get up, collect you things, and move to the door (usually at the end of the coach). That way you can get off the train as soon as it comes to a stop. If you stay in your seat, new passengers will come into the coach, looking for seats, and you will be like a salmon, swimming upstream, trying to get out.

In preparation for this change, you should know the number of the train you are changing to and the arrival and departure platforms. Since you say there is a 10 minute change in Mannheim, I am assuming it from 12:29 to 12:39 from ICE 690 to RE 1 (4121). According to the trip details on the Bahn website, the blue boxes to the right of the time of change, you will arrive on platform 2 and depart on platform 1. Mannheim is a typical Bahn straight through station, where platform 1 is next to the station building, tracks 1 and 2 are next to each other in the gap, and platforms 2 & 3 are on the next platform. To get from platform 2 to platform 1, you will have to go down stairs into the cross tunnel, find the sign for 1, and go back up the stairs to your platform. If you keep moving and walk normally, it shouldn't take 10 minutes.

When you get off the train, you might see signs with white and yellow sheets behind glass. These are the schedules of trains in and out of that station. The white schedules are for trains arriving. Forget that, you're already there. The yellow sheets are for departures. The sheet is organized by hours and destinations.

Find the time of departure and the destination (or the train number). The sheet will show you the platform and the time. These sheets are printed months in advance and don't change. Make sure the platform number agrees with what you already think it should be. Then proceed to that platform.

When you get to the platform, there will be an overhead lighted sign with the train number and the time of arrival of the next train. If you are very early, the train shown might be the next train, not yours.

I was just getting ready to book our tickets from Munich to Trier changing in Mannheim. (Thank you all again for such valuable information!) When I clicked on "show details", this message came up:

Please note
runs Mo - Fr, not 1. Aug, 5. until 13. Sep 2022, 3. Oct
Further information about station facilities and their status is available here www.bahnhof.de

I am having trouble deciphering "runs Mo - Fr, not 1. Aug, 5. until 13. Sep 2022, 3. Oct"

When I click on the website, it brings me to the main page, and I have no idea what I am looking for...

runs Mo - Fr, not 1. Aug, 5. until 13. Sep 2022, 3. Oct

I am having trouble deciphering "runs Mo - Fr, not 1. Aug, 5. until 13. Sep 2022, 3. Oct"

That train runs monday through friday only, and not non 1th of august, not from 5th through 13th of september and not on 3d of october (the national holiday).
Guess you were looking up the time table for ICE 690. You can ignore that message. If the train didn't run on your desired travel date it would'nt show up at all.

Awesome! Thank you everyone for your help! Train tickets purchased! I'm doing a little happy dance. :)

since you're new at this, read up on German rail travel from the Man in Seat 61. And if you need some help, he has some recommended travel agents and third parties.

Not sure which travel agency could provide better info about train tickets in Germany than the DB app or would be willing to do so at all. DB is paying a meager commission of 2% on train tickets (none at all after 12/31/2022) and only on full fare tickets. So the enthusiasm of travel agents to solve your ticketing problem will be rather limited. Better familiarize yourself with the DB app and be your own travel agent. Things change, of course, if you want to travel from Berlin to Wladiwostok.

Stacy,
did the periods in the notice confuse you?
1, 2, and 3, respectively are one, two, and three. I think we call them "cardinal" numbers.

1., 2., and 3., in German, are what we call "ordinal" numbers (ie, in order). They are first, second, and third, respectively. Ordinal numbers are used for the days of the month.

So when you see that notice,

runs Mo - Fr, not 1. Aug, 5. until 13. Sep 2022, 3. Oct

the periods are not the end of sentences, they are just indicating that the number before the period is a day of the month.

The third of October, 3. Oct, is the Day of German Unity, when East Germany rejoined the Federal Republic after the fall of the Berlin wall. The first Sunday in Oct is traditionally the last day of Oktoberfest, but if the Sunday falls on the 1st or 2nd of October, Oktoberfest is extended until the 3rd. Oktoberfest always includes the Day of German Unity.

Thanks, Fred, sla019, and Lee.

I'm not sure what was throwing me off, Lee, I guess I just wanted to make sure I was reading it correctly and that it wouldn't affect our travel. Thanks for letting me know about Oct. 3rd!

:)

We just spent three days at Hotel St. Paul - https://www.hotel-stpaul.de/. It's one U-Bahn stop south of the main strain station (the front door is literally 20 feet from the station exit. We could get anywhere we wanted in central Munich in 15 minutes.