Munich to Prague ... Train or rent-a-car? Night train?

The fastest way from Munich to Prague is by regional trains. They take 6 hours and leave Munich at 8:44, 12:44 and 16:44. I think the 12:44 has 1 simple change (transfer) near the Czech border; the other two do not. RE (regional express), R (regional train in Czech Rep), and ALX (Allgäu Express, operated by Swiss Rail) are all regional trains. You really don't need a night train.

€55 is full fare, but you can purchase in Munich from German Rail a ticket for Furth im Wald to Prague for €20,60 per person and use a Bayern-Ticket (€19 Single, 27 up to 5 P) from Munich to Furth, so it would be about €40 if you are alone, less if with someone.

That works on weekends and for the 12:44 and 16:44 train on weekdays. One weekdays the Bayern-Ticket can only be used after 9 AM. The 8:44 train gets to Freising by 9, so a 3 zone MVV (Munich metro) ticket to Freising for €6,90 would be needed to cover you to 9.

According to ViaMichelin, fuel alone for a compact car would be €48,65, so going by car would obviously cost more.

thanks Lee, I was hoping you'd be the one to respond.

Can I get this tickets ahead of time, and reserve my seat as well...to be safe.

I will be traveling with one other.

EDIT : Doesn't your way mean transferring trains at least once? the 55Euro means no transfers?

The 8:44 and 16:44 trains are direct (no change); the 12:44 has a 10 min, 1 platform change in Schwandorf.

€55 (€54,10) is the price of a full fare ticket for the same train I am suggesting.

The Bayern-Ticket is always available; no need (or advantage) to purchase in advance. If you buy the Furth-Prague ticket in Munich , then, two people would be about €34 each. Incidently, the Bayern-Ticket is €27 from an automat; it's €2 more (€29) from a ticket counter for "personal service".

Regional trains do not require or have reservations. Just find a seat. I have only once in Germany not been able to find a seat on a regional train. The Munich-Prague trains originate in Munich, so you could get there early and find a seat.

could you explain how that 40$ Euro or less ticket works out? basically travel to forth, get a ticket in forth to prague...and that is it? how long is the change?

What makes it cheaper having two people?

It's cheaper for two people because you can split the €27 Bayern-Ticket (€13,50 each). A Bayern-Ticket-Single is €19.

The €34 ticket (for 2) work out as €20,60 for the ticket from Furth im Wald to Prague, purchased from DB in Munich, plus €13,50 pP for the Bayern-Ticket. I am also told that you could purchase the ticket from the border to Prague on the train from Czech Rail for about €10 pP, but I haven't had this confirmed.

You don't have to get off the train in Furth. You show the German conductor your Bayern-Ticket in Germany and then show the Czech conductor the Furth-Prague ticket after you cross the border.

so I cannot purchase these online, ahead of time?

how does that ticket work out for two people, never heard of that...haha.

What is DB?

DB is Deutsche Bahn, German Rail.

You can purchase both tickets online (separately). They will mail them to you. It will cost €3,50 for postage for the Furth-Prague tickets; I don't know if there is postage for the Bayern-Ticket. But I really wouldn't bother. It takes just seconds to buy the Bayern-Ticket from an automat. If you are worried about lines for the Furth-Prague tickets, buy them the night before.

You can read more about the Bayern-Ticket here, or on www.bahn.de under Länder tickets.

That actually saves a great deal of money then...

munich to Furth im Wald, Furth im Wald to prague.

where can I purchase that Bayern-Takt? I was reading over that site and I do not see a place to purchase. I have my ISIC card, and could purchase from statravel if that makes it that much cheap!

Does the Bayern-Takt work going from Frankfurt to Munich?

Bayern is the name for the German state that Americans call Bavaria. The Bayern-Ticket is an all-day pass valid for regional trains only in Bavaria. Frankfurt is not in Bavaria, it is in Hesse. However, Bavaria comes close to Frankfurt.

If you take one of many hourly regional trains out of Frankfurt Hbf for Würzburg, one of the first stops is at Kahl am Main, which is in Bavaria, and you can use the Bayern-Ticket from there (Kahl) to Würzburg, and on regional trains from there on to Munich. The fare from Frankfurt to Kahl on the regional train that goes to Würzburg is €6,75/person.

You can buy the Bayern-Ticket from a Bahn automat in Frankfurt and the point-point tickets to Kahl from an RMV automat in Frankfurt. You can also buy the Bayern-Ticket for €2 more at a ticket counter.

If you are traveling from Frankfurt to Munich on a weekend day (or a holiday), you can use a Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket (Happy weekend ticket), which is a pass valid for regional trains all over Germany, regardless of state, for the entire trip. It cost €35, so it would be less than the Bayern-Ticket plus local tickets.

You can purchase the Bayern-Ticket for €27 from most automats. You can also purchase it for €29 at a ticket counter. You can purchase it online. I doubt the STA sells it, but if they do, I'm sure they sell it at a profit - for more.

For getting from Munich to Prague here's an alternative to the Bayern ticket I read about on the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree. The poster lives in Germany.

Buy a Bayern-Böhmen Ticket instead of a Bayern Ticket. Covers besides Bavaria also the Bavarian/Bohemian border region. EUR 32.00 for up to 5 persons traveling together. With this ticket you can travel till Plzen/Pilsen. Buy from the Czech conductor (comes on board in Furth im Wald) a ticket from Plzen/Pilsen to Prague. Single ticket is CZK 145 (~ EUR 6). Plus a small service fee (CZK 50?) for buying on board. There is also a group discount.

Keep in mind that the Bayern-Böhmen Ticket is like the Bayern Ticket. Valid Mo-Fr from 9am till 3am next day. Sa,Su from midnight till 3am next day.

For a leaflet (in German) describing this ticket, go here.

Tim, are you actually certain that you can buy a ticket from the Czech conductor on the train? I think in some countries you just get fined for not having a ticket.

I have known about the Böhmen ticket for some time, but I was reluctant to recommend it, just as was I reluctant to recommend having only the Bayern-Ticket and buying the Czech ticket from the border to Prague on the train because I wasn't sure you could do it. I'm sure you can buy the DB ticket from Furth to Prague in Munich.

OTOH, with the Böhmen-Ticket, you would have the time from Furth to Plzen to try to get a ticket, and if you didn't have it by the time you got to Plzen, you could always get off there and get your ticket there. In fact I know of someone who got off in Plzen and took the bus (€3,60) from there to Prague.

Incidently, according to the brochure, you won't see a separate button on the MVV and regional automats in Bavaria, but it will be one of the options (along with Bayern-Ticket, Bayern-Ticket-Single, and Bayern-Ticket-Nacht) when you press the Bayern-Ticket or Länder-Ticket button.

Lee,

No, I'm not absolutely certain about being able to buy a ticket from the Czech conductor on the train. I quoted word for word what the resident of Germany wrote about the process in his post on the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree board. I've read many of his other posts on that board and they are full of details that make him sound like he is extremely knowlegeable about train travel in Germany (or in this case a little beyond the border). The tone of his posts is always courteous and helpful. If he says that the conductor comes on board at Furth im Wald and will sell tickets from Plzen to Prague, I would trust that this is accurate information.

Thanks for translating the information on the brochure!

Tim,

we should mention - I don't think I have previously, although it was stated on the Bayern-Takt webpage - that the Bayern-Ticket is valid only for 2nd class travel, not 1st (and, of course, only on regional trains).

I think the map of the Geltungsbereich (validity area) is a little misleading. The pass is valid in all of Bavaria, just like the Bayern-Ticket, not just the light area shown (the red lines are rail lines where it is valid and they have arrows pointing out to the rest of Bavaria). But it is only valid for the shaded part of the Czech Rep.

That map is a vestige of an earlier offer where the Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket was valid into the Czech Republic and there was a comparable offer (called SONE+) from Czech Rail for all of the CR plus parts of Bavaria and Sachsen.

I see now that there is also a Sachsen-Böhmen-Ticket for all of Sachsen (Saxony) as well as the overlap area in CR.

Finally, if you are starting in the Czech Rep, they still have the SONE+ ticket for regional trains for 130 Kc (about €5) for all of Czech Republic plus the overlap areas in Germany and overlap areas in Austria, Slovakia, and Poland. It is valid Sa and Su for 5 people, of which 2 can be adults. For 390 Kc you can travel on all trains, not just regional. It is also only 2nd class.