Private Car Passau to MUC airport?

No personal experience, but have seen favorable comments about this service ( https://booking.suntransfers.com/booking?step=1&iata=MUC&hash=8e14704a-4713-11ec-b2ad-022eb58b5000 ) by others on this forum

My recommendation would be to simply take the train, a 2 hour trip with one change. And if you avoid rush hour the trip will be covered by a Bayern ticket (€25 +€8 for each additional passenger).

Joe - Thanks for the recommendation. I'll check it out.
Badger - unfortunately our connection timing, and elderly parents accompanying us will make doing the train too hard. I appreciate the suggestion.

I'm not sure I understand how the trip by train can be too hard. The best travel time for a car from Passau to the Munich airport, according to Via Michelin, is 1H57min, compared to the train's 2H6min to 2H13min schedule. There is literally one connection to the airport every hour. The one change is at Landshut, and every connection I can find on the Bahn website is on the same side of the same platform, 6, not even cross platform. The RE from Landshut now comes into the train station in the middle of the airport, the station formerly only used for S-Bahn from Munich Hbf.

The only thing remotely difficult could be getting from the Viking dock to the Passau Hbf, but according to the Taxi-Zentrale-Passau website, that shouldn't be a problem. There is a taxi stand right in front of the Passau Hbf and there is vehicle parking all along the tour ship wharf in Passau. I'm sure getting easily from the dock to the Bahnhof has long ago been solved. Didn't Viking provide you with information about taxis to the Hbf in Passau?

I agree with Lee, I can't see how a train trip would be too hard. It is not a complicated trip, one change at the same platform. And elderly people travel by train all over Europe. It takes roughly the same time and the train will save you a bit of money.

You don't mention how many you are, but assuming there are four of you a Bayern ticket will cost you €49. When I did a dummy booking using the link provided above, a car from Passau to Munich airport for up to four passengers would cost €340.

When I did a dummy booking using the link provided above, a car from Passau to Munich airport for up to four passengers would cost €340.

Prices at other providers (e.g. this one, but there are many competitors) start at €269 for a minivan (a normal sedan cannot carry more than 3 passengers, under corona restrictions even only 2). That's is still a huge difference compared to a Bayernticket plus cab ride from the dock to Passau train station. The train stations in Passau and Landshut are barrier-free. Anyone who is physically able to board a cruise ship should also be able to board a train there.

Sorry, no experience with such companies.

"Elderly" is sometimes a euphemism for "disabled" and perhaps that's how you are is using it??

If they are disabled in any way, the train might still be an option... it is possible, with an advance-notice phone call, to get assistance from station personnel at each of the Passau, the Landshut, and the MUC airport stations. Any station with a boxed wheelchair symbol (irrespective of the box color) on the following map of the Bavarian rail system offers this service.

Link to station accessibility map

If it's truly just "elderly" and mobile, then I think they will likely be OK with the train as long as they are open to the idea.

The actual regional train that serves the Passau >Landshut route does not look particularly difficult. Believe it or not, people make videos of their journeys... you can pause this 2019 video at some point during the first 30 seconds... as the train pulls into Passau station you'll see the wheelchair symbols on the outside of the cars. I suspect that access will be relatively easy for anyone who can walk:

Passau > Landshut train

That all being said... I am sure you know these individuals best! Sometimes it's not about ability/disability at all. There are plenty of mobile elderly folks who simply cannot wrap their heads around traveling in some different way than they've done before... sometimes, even in a way they HAVE done before. My own mom, a total "free spirit" traveler who used to hitchhike and rode Greyhound all around the country - and still ambulatory well into her 70's - became somewhat paranoid about any travel option that didn't include either her motorhome or a cruise boat. No way could I have gotten her comfortable with rail travel abroad.

Thanks y'all for sharing these incredibly detailed suggestions. Russ kind of hit the nail on the head, my folks are mobile, in their mid-80s and while they are adventuresome they are quite nervous about the tight timeframe we will have. Recognizing that there could be highway blocks, etc., and nothing is a guarantee, they still feel most at ease considering a car. - Kimberly

How tight is your timeframe? I don't know how experienced travellers you are, but I think you are making a train trip sound a lot more complicated than it is. Trains can be delayed, that certainly happens. German trains are not perfect. On the other hand, Stau is hardly an unknown word in German either.

But in the end it is your trip (and your money) and you should choose the option you prefer.

How much time do you have between the boat's scheduled arrival in Passau and your flight out of MUC? Are you worried about getting to the Passau station by taxi in time?

What about the boat getting to Passau in time? Or the private car meeting you in Passau in time.

My biggest concern would be the boat's arrival time in Passau. Have you scheduled you flight from Munich too early to allow for any delays?

Thanks again everybody. This community is so supportive. Lee - the boat arrives the night before so we'll be fine on that count.
Kimberly