Munich airport to Nuremberg transportation

In this case a bus might be best as for the train you either have:

• head 40 mins to get to central Munich and transfer to a direct train to Nuremberg
• or take a bus to Freising and transfer to a train via Regensberg
• or take the direct train to Regensberg and transfer to train to Nuremberg

Ouibus has direct buses (several a day) from MUC to Nuremberg that is faster than any of the train options and cheaper. No need to book early just buy tickets on the next bus when you arrive: https://www.ouibus.com/booking?origin=MUC&destination=NUR&outboundDate=2019-10-28&inboundDate=&passengers%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=A

DJ

Immigration in MUC shouldn't take more than 10-15 min; for customs just walk through the green door.
I'd not drive after having spent a night in a plane. The A9 between Munich and Nürnberg is always crowded and the driving style of the locals might be stressful for you.

For the train / bus there are several options:

1. Gambling, i.e. booking a train specific saver fare for the long distance train (ICE; ca. €35). The ticket will be invalid if you miss the train.

2. Taking a combination of regional trains using a Bayern Ticket (€25) either via Munich main station or via Regensburg. Fully flexible on regional trains (no ICE / IC / EC) but takes quite long (3:30 and more).

3. Biting the bullet and buying a flexible long distance ticket (ca. €65). No need of pre booking, valid for any ICE.

4. Waiting for a BlablaBus connection (formerly Ouibus). Cheap but a only handful connections per day and not famous for punctuality.

Biting the bullet and buying a flexible long distance ticket (ca. €65). No need of pre booking, valid for any ICE.

Or get the same flexibility using a Rail&Fly ticket, assuming you can still get this from the airline (around 40 Euros if the airline is Lufthansa).

Or get the same flexibility using a Rail&Fly ticket, assuming you can still get this from the airline (around 40 Euros if the airline is Lufthansa).

Correct. If the OP arrives by LH 411 from JFK s/he could always book a R&F ticket at the LH web site. Other airlines usually are a bit more reluctant (some even before booking the air ticket. A couple of years ago, it was quite an effort to persuade UA, which was officially participating in the R&F program, to issue that ticket).

If the airline will add Rail&Fly tickets to the flight ticket, that would be the way to go. Almost the least expensive option at about €33 and it allows them to use any rail conveyances that day (and the next). S/he can get on the next S-Bahn to leave for the Hbf and board the next ICE for Nürnberg. No concern about loosing the rail ticket because of a late flight or delays at the airport.

If they can't get the R&F then the best two options are full fare or a Bayern ticket. Neither has a specific train requirement so there is no concern over losing your ticket due to a late arrival.

1. Fully flexible, standard fare tickets for about €63. This would provide the same flexiblility as R&F, but for a higher cost.
2. A Bayern-Ticket for €25. This is the lowest cost option but would add an hour or more to the travel time, is valid only for regional trains, and cannot be used on Tuesday before 9 AM.

I would not recommend a Saver Fare ticket in this case. If you allow a time buffer against a late flight, and the flight arrives on time, you could be as late getting to your destination as you would be with regional trains, and you would still have the possibility of losing your ticket with an even later arrival, no matter how much buffer you allow.

Hello and thank you to everyone who has offered advice. I have already booked my airline tickets through United, and there doesn't seem to be an easy way to use the Rail & Fly option with them, so I think that option is out. And because I am eager to get to Nuremberg, I don't really want to spend the extra hour that the Bayern ticket takes, despite the lower cost, so I will probably book the flexible ticket. Even at the higher cost, it is still much more economical than booking a private car would be. I am grateful for all of the help! Thank you!