My husband and I will be going from Zurich airport to Munich in November for a football game. Should I use the sbb site? And if so any advice on best strategies. Our flight lands at 1030 am. Thinking the 1135 train would be fine. Thoughts?
Posted by
Green Bay
23532 posts
Booking long distance train tickets in advance for day of arrival from an intercontinental flight is extremely risky. How do you know your plane will land on time? How do you know there will not be a foul-up with the new EES process? I would just buy tickets once you clear passport control and have your luggage, You will need to take one of the very frequent trains from the airport to Zurich HB, where the direct EC trains to Munich depart from every 2 hours.
An 11:35 train would be extremely optimistic. I take it this is for the Detroit-N.E game in Munch November 15. I hope you are not arriving on Nov 15.
Posted by
NorthCarolina
1278 posts
always book on the official site.
Depending on where you are flying from, you'll have to go thru passport control/customs - that can take 30min to over 2 hours. We just spent almost 3 hrs getting thru it in Brussels. We'd need more details to help you with times. Also - seat61.com has great info on trains and how to book tickets.
If you are 'checking' luggage - -it can also take a while to get your bags.
Posted by
Green Bay
23532 posts
I see that the hourly EC train to Munich now stops at the airport on the way to Munich, which is convenient. I see direct EC trains at 11:43, 13:43, 15:43, 17:43, 19:43. They all take 3 hours and 22 minutes to get to Munich Hbf.
Posted by
OP
57 posts
Arriving on November 13 for the lions game. Our entry into Europe will be in Amsterdam.
Posted by
Nashville, TN
1391 posts
The train from Zurich to Munich is a German train, so use the German site - bahn.de -- that way you can pick your seats.
An hour is risky. It's a 15 minute walk to the train station in the airport + time getting luggage, etc.
Make sure your ticket is from Zurich Flughafen - that's the airport station.
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
8300 posts
There is no way I'd book a train that is an hour after landing. Yes, the plane could be early, but also, the plane could be late, really late or even cancelled. I'd book when the wheels touch down. Or, MAYBE in Amsterdam when you are sure your plane is leaving on time.
Posted by
Green Bay
23532 posts
Curious why you are not flying into Munich, but a quick look at prices shows that Delta has decided to gouge Lions fans for the game, to the tune of about $400 pp vs flying to Zurich.
From what I can see, buying Super Sparpreis nonrefundable tickets only saves you about 50 EUR pp, so buying when you arrive is not that big a savings to justify the risk. If the stars align, you might make the 11:43, but the 13:43 sounds more reasonable. You could buy seat reservations for 11 EUR (for 2) for a couple of trains to make sure you had seats.
Many European flights at Zurich do not come to a jetway, but park on the tarmac and put you on a bus to the terminal, so that takes more time. If you have checked luggage, that will take some time as well.
See you in January.