family of 4 with kids 20, 18 yrs old will be traveling from Munich to Salzburg on Sunday, June 21 to spend 2 days in Salzburg. We will be staying at the Residence Inn Munich City East and want to get an early start to Salzburg. The Ostbahnhof station seems to be close by from looking at the map so should we travel from this station? Do we purchase 4 Bayern tickets from the counter or machine and head for the platform or should we buy tickets the day before we travel? Do the trains from Ostbahnhof arrive in any specific station in Salzburg or is there just one station there? thank you for any advice
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8162 posts
You've just got the one station in Salzburg. You're thinking the right way with the Bayern tickets, and I think you'll just have to leave on the train after 9:00 a.m.
At 2 hrs. away, Salzburg would be a good day trip.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
On weekends, the Bayern Ticket is good all day (no 9 AM restriction).
You can buy them on the day or in advance, from machines or the counter - your choice. If you buy at the counter, you pay a small extra fee. And if you buy them in advance, be sure to specify which day you need them for (the default is same day; they're only good on the one day they're marked for).
Posted by
Green Bay
20185 posts
First, you are only buying one ticket for 4 people.
Second, since you are going on Sunday, you can leave as early as you want. Only Monday to Friday is there the restriction to travel after 9 am (so you don't compete with commuters for space on the morning trains).
Third, the Bayern Ticket is priced like this, 1st person 23 euro, each extra person is 5 euro, So you are buying one ticket for 38 euro (so its 9.50 per person)
Fourth, they charge 2 euro to use the ticket window, so try to buy from a vending machine.
Fifth, since you are just traveling on Meridian Trains, they have a product called a Guten Tag Ticket. It is similar to The Bayern ticket but is only 21 euro for the first person and 5 pp for the next 3, so now we have 36 euro total on a single ticket for 4 people going from Munich to Salzburg.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19100 posts
The Meridian Guten Tag Ticket is less expensive than the Bayern-Ticket, but it lacks certain features of the Bayern-Ticket, ie, it is only valid for Meridian (and BOB) trains, not on any other trains of the Bahn, buses of the RVO, or transport of the MVV. But, since your hotel is just down the street from Ostbahnhof, you can walk; a Meridian ticket is probably all you need. If you were staying farther from the Ostbahnhof or if you were going to take the Watzmann Express (RVO 840) to Berchtesgaden from Salzburg Hbf, then the Bayern-Ticket would be a better option.
Posted by
OP
Huntersville
65 posts
Wow, what great information, thanks! Does one of these options take longer to travel to Salzburg or make more stops? The price is right so we would like to keep it as simple as possible and go the most direct route.
Posted by
USA
112 posts
We stayed at the Courtyard that is connected to the Residence Inn. Great location. It is an easy walk to the Ostbahnhof. (There is also a tram stop right in front of the hotel that is handy for exploring Munich.) We traveled to Salzburg using the Bayern ticket and purchased it from a machine at the station that morning. My husband unexpectedly had to stand for most of the trip as there were no seats left on the train but I don't know how common that is. We LOVED our time in Bavaria and Salzburg! Have a wonderful trip!
Posted by
TX
980 posts
Does one of these options take longer to travel to Salzburg or make
more stops?
The EC trains are only slightly faster with a handful less stops than Meridan trains (roughly 1h41m vs 1h48m). As mentioned here the trade off is flexibility as the Meridian ticket is more limited but there are trains roughly every hours leaving Ostbahnhof on a Sunday so it is still pretty flexible.
If you are coming back to Munich after your stay in Salzburg you might consider the Bayern Ticket since you can continue to use it on public transportation in Munich once you arrive.
DJ
Posted by
OP
Huntersville
65 posts
Thanks so much for replying but I have another question. I was on the DB bahn site just to look at timetables and I didn't see Munich Ost station in the drop down list of departure stations. Also, when I entered in 4 travelers does it quote you the meridian or Bayern ticket price, or you just have to get these tickets from a counter at the station or from a vending machine?
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
Erin,
That's because it isn't called 'Munich Ost', it is 'München Ost'. www.bahn.de includes English equivalents for the names of main station (München Hbf) and the airport station (München Flughafen) for the benefit English speakers who don't know the real name of the stations, but not for lesser stations like 'München Ost'.
You buy the Bayern ticket from the ticket machine or from the manned ticket counter. It costs more from the manned ticket counter. When you buy it the machine asks you how many people you want it for, (1, 2, 3 or 4), and which day you want it for ('today' or a later date).
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19100 posts
If you enter "Muenchen" in the start or destination field on the Bahn Query page, it will give you a pulldown including "München Ost". "Ost" is east, in German.
I don't think the Bahn automat will suggest the Meridian ticket since it isn't a Bahn offering, but it might.
Your hotel is just a short walk down Oleanstraße to the Ostbahnhof. If you are using a Bayern-Ticket, it includes the streetcar on Oleanstr..