Munich Airport to Vienna by Rail

I’ve done it the other way, Vienna to Munich airport. It was fairly painless but did require a change in Munich. It was at the end of an early December trip so few crowds and no jet lag.

You can find trains from MUC to Vienna here: www.bahn.de

It is an easy trip, but will always involve a change.

Back when I used to come to the EU for work or fun, and I had both cities on my itinerary, I'd fly into one and out of the other, and do my traveling in steps to visit what's between them. It's only a one hour flight between them.

Why not just book a flight to Vienna?

Picking a random date it looks like a YVR-MUC-VIE ticket is about $100 (USD) more than the YVR-MUC ticket. Add the cost of the train ( ~$70 USD) and the extra hours it takes, are you really saving anything by taking the train vs flying?

In total, the journey will be 5-6 hours from the airport to the main train station in Vienna. Then you have to get to your accommodation in Vienna.

Pain-free? Yes, you just sit there, but you will need to navigate a change.

Why not just fly? The fares are very cheap on this route and the flight takes about 30 minutes.

I looked at the DB site and there are some direct trains. No changes. They take 4:13. But they dont run that often and you could end up waiting 3 hours for the next one. And this is a DB long haul train (I presume that is correct) so about a 50/50 chance of the ride taking longer than 4:13.

If you are worried about your fight being late and want to buy the ticket when you get to the station the ticke will cost maybe 130 euro with the seat assignment. If you buy it in advance maybe 65 euro with the seat assignment. Flying to Vienna or Budapest might be better advice.

Once I wanted to see my favorite Austrian band play in a small town about 45 minutes southwest of Vienna by car. Got a great price on a Delta flight from my town to MUC. Investigated air vs train to Vienna. Went with air.

I looked at the DB site and there are some direct trains. No changes.

I'd be really curious if you could point that out to me. I can't see it. Mostly it is all S-Bahns into Munich, with a few direct regional trains to Regensburg. Otherwise, you take the S-Bahn to Munich Hbf and change to a direct RJX train to Vienna. It is 5 hours.

I do admit my mind works differently. I don’t think of the transfer from the airport to the station with the DB long haul trains. Same as when someone asks about getting from their hotel in Munich to Vienna. So, I will give you, yes, one change. Then after that 35-to-45-minute transfer to the train station you settle in for a nice 4 to 4.5 hour ride.

Given all the variables I would buy my ticket at the station when I arrive. My guess is 100 to 138 euro depending on the train and ticket sales that day. How close to departure can you buy a seat? No idea, but that’s another 5.50 euro I believe. The direct train runs every two hours so that’s the longest you will be sitting in the Munich train station. So, sort of worst case You plane lands and you get off and through immigration, pick up luggage and find your way to the S1 or S8 and that takes what? No more than 90 minutes. Then worst case is the 2 hour delay for timing the next train, then a 5 hour total journey time with the transfer. No more than 6 to 8 hours of your day. Throw in another 45 minutes to your hotel in Vienna.

It is certainly an option.

The direct train runs every two hours

Let’s not forget the 5 additional Westbahn trains per day. They offer three advantages: (1) They stop at Munich East, which shortens the total travel time by about 30 minutes. (2) Seat reservations are free. (3) You can change your selected train and reserved seat for free up to 3 hours before departure. Of course, you’ll need internet access on the plane to take full advantage of this.

Plus, they're much more comfortable in second class than the cramped ÖBB Railjets.