Quick trip to Dachau- realistic?

There are coin lockers in the Munich Hbf, off the end of track 26, as well as a check room behind it.

However, MVV suggests the fastest way (1:17) from the airport to the KZ-Gedenkstaette in Dachau is to take the S1 to Laim where you take an S2, direction Petershausen, to Dachau Sta. The station layout for Laim does not show lockers, but there are lockers at Dachau.

Bethany, as I recall, the trip from the airport to the central station is about 30-45 minutes. Both the S1 and S8 go to the airport, but I'd suggest using the S8.

I don't have any information on luggage storage options at the Munich station, as I've never had any reason to use that sort of thing.

Regarding the tour of Dachau, you might consider taking a guided tour, as I've found it makes the visit so much more interesting. I used Radius Tours and they took care of all the transportation details. Their office is in the Munich station. Check the web site to see current details and prices for the tours (they also offer walking tours of Munich, if you're interested).

When you arrive in the town of Dachau, you'll have to take a Bus from the station to the Camp (fairly short journey).

If your train to Salzburg is in the early evening sometime, you should have time for the Dachau tour and a quick look around Marienplatz, etc.

Good luck and happy travels!

FYI: Its closed on Mondays.

David, "Its closed on Mondays". Good point but she never mentioned Monday.

Anyway, you can find out all about the Dachau memorial, opening times, admission fees, tour times, on their website.

If you do go directly to Dachau from the airport (S1) with a change at Laim, and leave your luggage at Dachau station, when you come into town afterwards go all the way to Ost Bahnhof and leave your luggage there in another locker, then return to Marienplatz. When you're ready to go to Salzburg, go back to Ost Bahnhof and get your luggage. Most of the trains, both regional and express, to Salzburg stop at Ost Bahnhof, so you can go from there instead of backtracking to the Hauptbahnhof.

If you buy a Bayern-Ticket (€27, €19 single) at the airport, it will cover all your transportation for the day, S-Bahn from the airport to Dachau, RT bus to the memorial, S-Bahn from Dachau to Marienplatz via Ost Bahnhof, back to Ost, and from there to Salzburg.

BTW, there are a ton of great things to see in Munich. Dachau would not be high on my list.

Dachau was a lump-in-throat, somber experience. Be careful that you aren't sandwiching it in tightly between ice cream cones, beer halls, and the Sound of Music Tour, or you'll probably regret it.

You can do it. A fast paced walk through Dachau can be done in 2 hours.

To reach Dachau from Munich you can use use the S-Bahn at the main train station (Hauptbahnhof). Take the S2 direction Dachau/Petershausen; it's about a 20 minute ride to the Dachau station. The S2 leaves every hour on the 9th, 29th and 49th minute (8:09, 8:29, 8:49, 9:09, 9:29, 9:49, etc). Once at the Dachau station go down the stairs and follow the cobblestone path to the right to the bus stop. Bus 726 takes you to the memorial (bus stop - KZ Gedenkstätte). Train tickets can be bought at the main train station from any of the ticket machines. The Munich XXL Tages Karte costs 6.50 Euro for a one day ticket; up to five people can travel with the Munich XXL Partner Tages Karte (one day ticket), which costs 11.50 Euro . These tickets are valid for both the train and bus to Dachau and will get you there and back.

Hope this helps.

Bethany, a couple posts mention Dachau is not worth their time. Dachau should be worth anyone's time. What happened at Dachau and all the other camps should be on everyone lists. German students are required to visit these camps as part of their education. That was a very evil part of history and you will be troubled and sad during the visit, but later you will be more enlightened and glad you spent the time to see it. I saw many of the camps in the late 50's and early 60's and they were even more realistic than they are now. I still make it a point to try to see a different one on each trip. Make the time, it is well worth it and I think you will be glad you did.

Don't worry Russ- neither ice cream cones, beer halls, nor the Sound of Music Tour are on my schedule. :) (Well, I may eventually give in to soem ice cream...) I plan to give Dachau (or any other concentration camp I may make it to) due reverence. I teach my 8th grade students every year The Diary of Anne Frank, and we linger n the Holocaust for about 3 weeks (sadly, they don't get it in History class until high school). I'd like to have a closer experience with the Holocaust so I can teach it better.

Lee, are you saying that this 19 Euro ticket will get me my transportation around the Munich area AND my train to Salzburg that evening? Wow! And I do like oyur idea of leavig the luggage in Dachau- I hadn't thought of that.

We are planning a trip there in Dec. I am really looking forward to it. It is part of our history. Think we will use Radius Tours

Bethany, the Bayern-Ticket costs €19 for a single person, €27 for 2-5 people. It is valid for unlimited travel on all the regional trains in Bavaria from 9 AM on a weekday, or midnight (morning) on a weekend day, until 3 AM the following day. It is also valid for unlimited travel on the conveyances of Munich metro (S-/U-Bahn, streetcars, buses), as well on the short rail line from Freilassing, Germany, into Salzburg, Austria. You can buy one from an automat at the S-Bahn station at the airport (I believe there is a ticket automat on the platform). You can also buy one at a ticket counter, but it will cost €2 more for human service.

Go here for a map of the station at Dachau. You can see where the bus stops are in front of the station. Also note the word, "Schließfächer" (lockers) in the description above the station plan, and the locker symbol (box with a suitcase in it) against the station wall opposite track 1.

As I mentioned above, the Bayern-Ticket is only valid after 9 AM on weekdays, so depending on when you arrive in Munich and subsequently get to the airport S-Bahn station, you might have to wait for a while to start you trip. No real worry, the trip using the S1 to Laim and changing there to the S2, direction Petershausen, then the bus from Dachau station to the memorial takes 1h 20m, so you should be there by 10:30. The Memorial opens at 9:00, but the guided tour (€3,00) doesn't start until after Noon. You can, however, rent an audio guide for €3,00 and tour earlier.

If you do want to get there much earlier, an MVV adult 4 zone single trip ticket from the airport to the memorial is €9,20. Then, after seeing the memorial, you can purchase the Bayern-Ticket at Dachau station and use it into and around Munich and on to Salzburg.

Char, why take an organized tour when, with a little research, you can do it yourself for a lot less $$$. They give 2½ hour tours at the site for €3,00, and the trip out, with a Partner XXL Tageskarte, is only €5,90 each for two people. So, you can do it yourself for less than €9 rather than more than twice that for someone to lead you out on the train and bus.

We did a similar thing last year. We arrived early morning on the overnight train from Paris, stored our luggage at the central station lockers before heading to Dachau on our own. The only downside was the extremely crowded bus getting back from the camp to the S-Bahn. We were back at the staion in Munich and had an early dinner at the Hoffbrau House after checking in. Around the central train station I really do not remember much being readily close walking distance but everything is close by subway and our family of 6 found it easy to get around. We spent a few hours at Dachau and felt it was definitely worth it. I probably wouldn't personally recommend doing the tour just to allow some flexibility to the schedule. Do not want to stress are you going to make it on time besides the $$ savings. Having said that we did use Mike's tours for Neuschwanstein and would highly recommend them.