We have a day in Munich this week and would like to visit Dachau. Can someone tell us the best transport mode to do that? And how much time to allocate for it. Thanks for you help.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area
5697 posts
S-bahn then a local bus -- the time it takes depends on how it affects you. I personally didn't want to do anything afterwards, so it took the full day.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32353 posts
For that trip, you can either make the trip on your own using the method described in the first reply OR take a day tour with Radius Tours. The tour uses the same transportation, but the guide travels with the group and takes care of all the arrangements. If you go on your own, there are also guides at Dachau as I recall.
I'd allow 3-4 hours as you'll need time to get there and back, go through the various buildings, walk around the site and possibly take a tour.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
It's very easy to get there by bus. Pros and cons of tours: lots of detail but it's not at your pace. I had to move through it very slowly and just go sit by myself sometimes.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
Admission to the Dachau Memorial is free. The Memorial provides 2½ hour English tours by it's own trained guides daily at 11 AM and 1 PM for 3 euro per person. No one has every been able to show me that outside tour guides are any better trained than the Memorial's guides. The Memorial also rents audio guides for about the same price, so you can go anytime at your own pace. You can also tour on your own; there are signs, but the Memorial's guides give you so much more information, it's worth the 3€.
A day pass for the inner two zones of Munich (München XXL) costs 8,60€ for one person, 15,40€ for a group of up to five, and includes the S-Bahn (S2) to Dachau Station and the bus (#726) from there to the memorial. That's only 2-3€ more than the cost of a day pass for the inner zone.
Posted by
Mahone Bay, Canada
328 posts
Give yourself at least a half day and as much as a full day. Visiting the memorial is a very powerful and moving experience. I wouldn't plan to see any major tourist sights after Dachau, as chances are your mind will still be 'numb' from trying to absorb your visit to Dachau. If you are looking for something to do afterwards, consider a walk in the Englischer Garten or around the grounds at Nymphenburg Palace.
Posted by
OP
Seattle. WA
18 posts
Thank you for all your advice. We did the S-bahn and the local bus from Munich Central. Very convenient. We got the group ticket for the two of us. Was a bit cheaper than getting 2 individual tickets. Did the audio tour on our own. We had budgeted 2.5 hours - but ended up spending almost 5 hours there! Really do not know what more information a tour guide would have provided that we would be able to retain for a reasonable period of time. We read all the info, saw all the videos, heard all the commentaries on the audio guide. Was a deeply touching experience.