Where to stay one night between Zurich and Munich

Zurich - Lindau takes about 2-2.5 hours. Lindau - Munich takes 2.5-3.0 hours. Train schedules vary by day of the week. Sample mid-morning arrival in Munich: Depart Lindau 7:07, arrive in Munich 9:41.

Lindau is an attractive island town in Lake Constance on the border between Switzerland and Germany (train station is on the island.)

Aerial photo of Lindau

What are your interests? That is truly the deciding factor of which way to go from Zurich to Munich.

Lindau is certainly an option, but so is using Rail Jet and ending up in Innsbruck, Austria if you like mountains.

One vote for Lindau. It is on the rail route from Zürich to Munich, so no detour.

Another vote for Lindau. Lovely island city. A little pricey, maybe, if you stay on the island, but right on the way.

The Bahn shows a connection leaving Interlaken Ost at 8:30, making multiple changes in Switzerland, arriving at Lindau Hbf at 12:57. You can stay overnight in Lindau and take the 9:12 EC direct to Munich, arriving at 11:28. With advance purchase, I see an Europa-Spezial fare of 39€/person for a single ticket in early August on the Bahn website. Put in Interlaken Ost to Munich. Use the stopover function; specify 20 hours in Lindau.

Thanks so much! Just reserved a hotel in Lindau - and it looks wonderful!
Rail Question: If I have a Swiss Rail Pass -how do I pay for the section in Germany? realize I need a separate ticket from Lindau to Munich. Would like to use my rail pass from Zurich
Thanks so much!

Diane, If you have a Swiss rail pass it is valid up to the last station in Switzerland, St. Margrethen in this case.
When you look up train times at www.sbb.ch (Swiss Railways) or www.bahn.de (German Railways), and you click on the train number, it shows all the intermediate stops.

Just go to the ticket counter at Zürich station (or wherever you are), show them your pass and explain what you are doing. They will sell you tickets St. Margrethen to Lindau and Lindau to Munich.
Or, if you haven't left home yet, you can book those two tickets ahead of time at www.bahn.de and hopefully get a discount. Make sure you opt for "print at home" tickets.

Edit: P.S., between St. Margrethen and Lindau the train stops at Bregenz, which is in Austria! But a ticket from St. Margrethen to Lindau will work in all 3 countries.

"...how do I pay for the section in Germany?"
Use a "Regio-Ticket Allgäu" when you leave Lindau. Buy it in Lindau from a ticket machine for €20 - there's no reason to buy it in advance. It's good on the direct ALX trains (regional trains) or on any combination of connecting trains (ALX, RE, RB, IRE) but not on high-speed trains. To find eligible trains click on "only local transport" under "means of transport" at this DB itinerary page. Use this ticket at any hour on Sat or Sun, on weekdays after 9 am.

If instead you were to buy regular tickets at the station (normal price,) you'd have to pay between €35 and €60 for the same route (depending on which trains you use.)

"how do I pay for the section in Germany?"

Or, as I said above, use the Stopover function on the Bahn website to write a single Europa-Spezial ticket with an overnight stay in Lindau.

If you use the Swiss pass to St. Margarethen and any regional ticket from Lindau to Munich, you will also need a Swiss ticket from St. Margarethen to Lindau for about 7 CHF ($7.50)/person, depending on where you buy it.