Car Rental at Munich rail station

If you are going to be at the station in Munich, you can more easily buy a Bayern-Ticket-Single from an automat for €21 and hop the next train for Füssen. Here's how. According to ViaMichelin, fuel for the smallest car you can rent will cost you €13 - that's just to Hohenschwangau. Round trip will cost you more for fuel than the Bayern-Ticket. The Bayern-Ticket will also cover the bus from Füssen to Hohenschwangau and to any other destination in the area.

Sometimes having a car is not about the money, it's about the freedom to get from place to place on your timetable, not the train schedule. I was in San Francisco on Friday with only public transportation. While it was efficient, and less expensive than having a car there, it did take considerably more time getting into the city, and then from place to place. No big deal since it is not far from where I live, but if I have a very short time somewhere I want to take advantage of what time I have. Sometimes you have to pay to have the time to see more! I would rent a car while still in the U.S. for the best price. I use autoeurope.com. They have a very good cancellation policy. They are a consolidator, so you have multiple choices. The car rental companies are upstairs in the train station. It isn't easy to find if you don't know that.

I am renting the car so I can see a number of places during the day I can't see by train. This is the only day of my 18 day trip that a car allows me to see both of King Lundwigs castles, Oberammergau, the Etal Monestary and one other castle in one day. It also gives me a chance to drive in Germany. My goal is to make a reservation ahead of time and I haven't been very lucky doing that online. Thanks for your responses.

We dropped a car at the Hertz office right across the street from the train station.

"This is the only day of my 18 day trip that a car allows me to see both of King Lundwigs castles, Oberammergau, the Etal Monestary and one other castle in one day." That's quite a lot for one day, you may not be able to fit all of that in, even with a car.

Back in May we used AutoEurope to arrange for a car for pickup at the Munich train station. Give them a call and I'm sure they can give you the quotes and reservations you need. They ended up making the reservation for a car through Sixt, and the car and the process to get it was fine. We checked in to their office which is upstairs in the train station with all the other usual rental car companies. We then had to walk a couple blocks to a parking garage to actually pick up the car. It all worked fine.

Hi Doug, I'd recommend having Andy bestor at www.gemut.com (800-521-6722) give you a quote. We've rented a car through them our last 3 trips (in the last 4 years) in Germany. Excellent rates, service and Andy Bestor is very knowledgable. You are looking to squeeze a lot into 1 day. If you had an overnight to spend, you could do it at a more liesurely pace and perhaps add a sight or two. Paul

A lot of folks here prefer to deal with Autoeurope or gemut.com, and both are good, trustworthy operations. But they are consolidators who specialize in rentals of one week or more. For one or two days, you may be better off dealing directly with the rental agencies, just as in the U.S. Google Hertz, Avis, Europcar, Sixt and any of the other major companies, and do your own price comparisons. It is not that hard.

For a one day rental you might want to try Priceline.com, and use the "name your own price" option.

I second the recommendation for Gemut.com. At least get a quote from them. Also, if you pick the car up at the Munich rail station, you will incur a 19% tax/fee. Auto rental places are scattered throughout the city so you should be able to pick up the car at the firm's location, rather than at the station. Now, having said that, 19% on a one-day rental won't be that much - but I just thought I would point it out.