My husband & I will be going on a bus tour of Switzerland, Austria, Italy, & Germany Sept. 9-Sept. 23. It is a tour of the Alps, starting in Munich, Germany & ending in Zurich, Switzerland. We're looking for the best (on time, & best value) way to get from Zurich to Munich, and ensure we don't miss our flight back to the U.S. that leaves around noon.
We're looking for recommendations.
Thanks!
Posted by
Chicago
8164 posts
Either way, taking the train or flying you should go to Munich the day before the noon flight.
There are direct trains from Zurich to Munich. These take 5 hours. Search and buy tickets at
https://www.bahn.com/en/view/index.shtml
There are 10 direct flights from Zurich to Munich also. These take 55 minutes in the air.
Search Lufthansa.com or Swiss.com for flights.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
It would be a lot less expensive to spend your last night in Freising, 20 minutes by bus from MUC, than to spend it in Zurich, and there are IC bus/S-Bahn connections around middle of the day before that would get you to Freising around dinner time.
If you book a flight from Zurich, make sure it is linked to your next flight so if the Zurich flight is late you won't lose your flight home. Also, you'd probably be getting up pretty early in the morning in Zurich to get to ZRH in time for a 9 o'clock (or earlier) flight to Munich so you'll get to MUC 2 hours before your flight home.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
I should mention that the last night of our tour includes lodging in Zurich on Sunday, 9-22-19, so we cannot arrive in Munich, nor can we stay elsewhere the day before our flight back to the U.S. on 9-23.
Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated!
Posted by
Chicago
8164 posts
Take the 7:30 or 9:20 am flight to Munich on September 23rd. This is a little bit risky.
Those are your best options to making a noon flight if can't arrive in Munich the night before.
What airline are you flying from Munich? You could change your ticket to just leave from Zurich.
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
You depart Munich airport at ~12:00 on the 23rd, but you do say you must stay in Zürich (is this the city centre?) on the 22nd. This sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. This would not be a official connection, you would have to pick up your bags in Munich, and then check-in again for your second flight.
No way you can do this by train, a train takes you to Munich city centre, and you need to be at the airport. For a 12:00 transatlantic departure you would need to be at Munich airport check-in ~09:00. I see a 07:15 departure (Swiss/Lufthansa) arriving 08:15. Allowing for disembarking, collecting luggage you could get to check-in at 09:00, assuming your first flight is on time.
07:15 ex Zürich implies 06:15 at check-in absolute latest (05:45 better), leave hotel ~05:00.
In my opinion, no way, much too risky. If your first flight is late, you have no come-back, you loose your flight from Munich.
Either get a flight from Zürich direct, or put off departure from Munich for 1 day.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
the last night of our tour includes lodging in Zurich on Sunday
Who says you can't leave the tour a little early?
I assume you booked your plane reservations after you booked the tour. You should have determined how you would get to Munich before booking the flight. I'm not trying to criticize you, but this should be a warning to other people looking at a flight home from an airport not in the same city as the last night. Figure out how you make the connection before booking the flight. I've seen this often, like when people book a very early flight out of Rome with no idea where they can stay the last night with transportation to the airport.