rental car drop in Munich

We've always found it pretty easy to get to the car drop off at Munich's Hauptbahnhof (main train station) with GPS. The airport is 45-60 min train ride outside of the city centre. It may be worth looking to see if there is a drop off closer to your hotel and/or public transit that would work for you, too.

You may decide to change your plan when you find out how much extra it will cost you to rent in Austria and return in Germany. Salzburg is very close to the border. You should seriously consider picking your car up in Germany.

As for returning the car in Munich, returning at the main train station is easy.

Andrea, that's a good point. I made the car reservation through AAA, but it's being fulfilled by Europcar. They mention a fee for "one way" rental but I cannot get an answer on how much that is! My husband and I are planning to meet our 3 adult children in Salzburg, then drive together through Bavaria, ending up in Munich and flying out from there. Is there somewhere in Germany easily accessible from Salzburg that we could pick up a car?

Think hundreds of dollars more to return a car in a different country than the one you rented in. I've heard that Freilassing, Germany is a good place to pick up a car. I'm sure others will chime in if they know of a better place. I believe you can take the train from Salzburg to Freilassing.

Have you already arranged your car rental? I use Auto Europe and find their prices are better than AAA. They are based in the U.S. and you can call and ask them any questions you may have.

I'll try auto Europe - it would be helpful to speak with someone. And I'll try the Freilassing angle too. Thanks!

Hi Lisa,

I have to agree with Freilassing, Germany, a short trip from Salzburg. Check a map to see how close it really is to Salzburg. Go to www.viamichelin.com and under "find your map" type in: 83395 Freilassing. Drop off fees can be very costly.

Paul

By all means, pick up the car in Freilassing if you plan to return it in Germany. All the majors have rental locations there.

Rather than renting a car in Freilassing and dropping it in Munich, learn the German Rail system and the extensive bus routes run by their subsidiary, RVO, in Bavaria. You probably don't need a car to get anywhere you want to go, and you'll save lots of money. I've spent months traveling in that area, mostly (85%) in out-of-the-way small towns, and never needed a car to get anywhere I wanted to go. From English Gardens your best connection to the airport is probably the Luftahansa airport bus.

before deciding to drop car in Austria and take the train from Salzburg to Munich, figure out what the train will cost. we just took this route a week ago and I believe I paid $120 or so for 2 of us The day of the trip. its about $25 less if you buy the day before.

if the dropoff fee is the same or near the train fee, I encourage you to drive because its outrageously beautiful with many lovely places to stop for lunch or sightsee.....look at Bad Ischl or Gmunder and any roads south of there. the whole area south of Munich is beautiful for driving....also Berchtasgaden National Park area is stunning and easy to drive around

also after taking the train from Salzburg to Munich we rented a car at train station. very easy, nice and competent people at Eurocar. We then drove back to Salzburg and now thru Germany for a week. just make sure you get your auto tag for Austria!

@Carol, I think your memory is biased. Assuming you bought your tickets from one of the Railroads, the most you could have paid was 72€ ($97) for two on the RailJet, which makes the trip in 1h29m, non-stop. The EC, which makes the trip in 1h41m, would cost 64€ ($86) for two. But regional trains make the trip in less than 2 hours, and you can use the Bayern-Ticket (27€, about $36, for two).

@Lisa, if you get a Bayern-Ticket from the automat at the Salzburg station, it costs 39€ ($52) for five. That pass is good for hop on/off travel on regional trains, which only take about half an hour longer if you go directly to Munich, but it is a day pass and regional trains stop at more stations, so you can get off at a lot of interesting places. The regional trains stop earlier at Munich East (Ost) Bahnhof, which is closer to Englischer Garten, and the Bayern Ticket covers your local transportation from Ost to Englischer Garten.

If you want to go to Berchtesgaden, you can take the Salzburg S-Bahn or any regional train to Freilassing, then take a train to Berchtesgaden. When you get there, the Bayern-Ticket will be valid for the local buses, like out to Königssee or to Obersalzberg, where you take a special bus (not covered by the Bayern-Ticket) up the closed road to the Eagles Nest.

Or, you can take the bus, Watzmann Express, RVO 850, from Salzburg Hbf to Berchtesgaden for about 5€/ adult (it was 4,90€ two years ago). Then use the Bayern-Ticket for the local buses in Berchtesgaden and for your travel to Freilassing and from there to Munich.

Another place to stop would be at Prien a Chiemsee (the RailJet doesn't stop there), from which you go by boat to Lugwig's island palace, Herrenchiemsee.

If you have more than a day, I would go from Berchtesgaden on the train to Bad Reichenhall and from there by bus (change in Inzell) to Reit im Winkl, a really pretty village in the foothills of the Alps, then by bus from Reit to Prien and from there to Munich. From Inzell to Prien, the bus follows the Alpenstrasse.

You'll find the price differences pretty easy to compare at autoeurope.com for different pick-up and drop-off locations. It's been years since I drove into Munich, but I'm sure that navigation to the city center and train station were well signed. If the airport sounds easier to drive to, your hotel could give advice about the closest S-Bahn, U-Bahn, tram, or bus stops.

Once in Munich I had planned to drop the rental car off at a local rental car location near the hotel in Munich. I didn't know that day was a local holiday (St. Somebody's day, not a major holiday)--well, the local rental car office was closed.
You probably want to minimize this kind of unanticipated surprise: major car return locations are probably more likely to be open when local offices may be closed.