Our family of six is planning to travel by train from Munich to the Berner Oberlander area in Switzerland in June. What is the most scenic route? I've read that the best routes would pass through Innsbruck, but does it then go to Zurich and then south? Would love to know as much specifics as possible, as well as the best way to book the trip. Thanks.
-- D. Scott
That's a LONG and expensive trip. I've taken it and don't recall any great scenery. If there was, the Berner Oberland would beat it.
If I had to do it again, I'd probably save a lot of time by taking the Flixbus from there to Zurich (Google it), which is much faster and about 10X cheaper.
Munich to Switzerland is an "Unimproved" rail route. That is it is slow, and buses are faster. The line is being upgraded, but not completed this year.
It is pretty countryside, but not spectacularly scenic, and no mountains, until you get past Zürich.
You could go south to Innsbruck, and then east to Switzerland. That is scenic once you cross into Austria, it is a longer route.
As for specifics, how to buy tickets etc., see here: https://www.seat61.com/international-trains/trains-from-Munich.htm#Munich-Zurich
I seem to remember that we travelled all the way from Munich to the Swiss border with the Bayern Ticket...except for one small sliver of Austria which required a separate ticket. Yes, it’s a long trek
The DB web site defaults to showing you the fastest connections, unless your request a specific detour. From Munich to Interlaken, for instance, the fastest are typically 6 - 7.5 hours with 2 or 3 transfers. And then you have another leg to reach Lauterbrunnen or whichever village you want to make your home base.
To search routes via Innsbruck, you can enter the sections separately, or you can click on "Stopover: Add intermediate stops" to request a route via Innsbruck. (Actual suggested transfer point may be at Kufstein, rather than Innsbruck.) Those take an extra transfer and approximately an extra hour or travel time.
Looking Up Train Schedules and Routes Online gives you the Deutsche Bahn train schedule link and tips for using it.
First question: do you want the trip done in just one day? If so, it is best to take the fastest train to Zürich then route your trip Zürich - Interlaken - (whatever Berner Oberland village) through Luzern and Brünig (a very scenic route).
The whole trip would then take around 8h, give or take depending on the exact connection, with 4 or 5 changes. Checking prices for next Tuesday, I found tickets as cheap as 35 Euro (all-train, no bus) on www.bahn.com . The German railways can sell through-tickets in almost all Swiss lines now, including the meter-gauge railway between Luzern and Interlaken (the scenic sector), often at ultra-cheap German prices, for trips that start in Germany.
If you have two days, you can then travel via Innsbruck to Zürich, and follow Zürich-Interlaken via Brünig (as above) the following day. You should, in this case, buy tickets on the Austrain railway website (www.oebb.at) for Zürich and scoop a Saver-Day Pass for the other sector (you can combine that with a 4-5h walk around in Luzern).
