Munich airport to Mayrhofen

A snowHead

I'm heading out to Mayrhofen in a couple of weeks, flying in to Munich airport.

I'm planning to get the train from the Airport to the resort, and as I understand the itinerary would look a bit like this:

Train 1:Munich airport - Munich main station
Train 2: Munich main station - Jenbach
Train 3: Jenbach - Mayrhofen
(Please feel free to correct me if any of this is wrong)

Now, for what I've called "train 2", do I need to book a ticket in advance? Is it likely to be cheaper this way? My main concern is that if I buy a specific train ticket in advance and then miss the train due to flight delays, then I'd have to buy another ticket. Which brings me along to my next point...are German train tickets flexible or specific to a particular service?

If anyone has any knowledge about any of these points please let me know! Cheers

A snowHead

We have travelled a fair bit on German/Austrian trains and have travelled the route you have in mind.

We've never booked tickets in advance and have always bought on arrival at Munich airport. Train ticket staff have always been very helpful and train tickets have always been reasonably priced (ie much cheaper than the UK).

You should have no problems if you just turn up and buy your ticket.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

also change at munich ostbahnhof, not the main station

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

You can get some discounts if you book way in advance, however I would assume they have sold all of the cheaper tickets by now. The online price will be the same as buying it on the day. They are really helpful at the counter and will print you a ticket with all of the platforms you need.

The other alternative is to look at https://www.tirol-taxi.at/ which will work out a bit more than the train, however they take you straight to where you are staying.

You'll need to Register first of course.

@piperfraz, you can now book and pay for your ticket online and print it out taking all the strain out of the problem. And there are also smart phone applications/readers so you can carry your ticket on your phone for the German trains but I'm not so sure about the Austrian ones. I would advise printing it out as well though in case you have problems of any kind with your phone.

Go to http://www.bahn.com/i/view/GBR/en/index.shtml and enter what you need in terms of trains times and dates. You need to enter "Munich Airport T" in the From box and "Mayrhofen im Zillertal" in the To one.

The Bayern ticket does as jafa says, get you to Kufstein, where you need to switch to an Austrian railways ticket. A Bayern Ticket currently costs 23 Euro with another 4 euro added for each additional passenger, up to a total of 5 (so total amount for 5 is 39 Euro). However this is a DAY Return only, so you would need to book another one for your return journey. You must also include the names of all the people travelling on the Bayern ticket on the reverse side in order for it to be valid, and be prepared for a bad-tempered guard to ask people to identify themselves (passports as proof of ID).

As andy advises, switch to the Austria bound train at Ostbahnhof, don't go all the way to the Hauptbahnhof. You need the S8 to make the quickest transfer to the mainline stations. The S1 also goes to the Hauptbahnhof and Ostbahnhof but takes a much longer and circuitous route with the train splitting at times as well. That is a complication you don't want, especially if you are heading for a specific train to make the connection to the Zillertal narrow-gauge railway at Jenbach.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@Samerberg Sue, The S1 from the airport to the Hauptbahnhof doesn't split. Only on the way out are you liable to end up in Freising instead of the airport... The travel times for the S1 from airport to Hauptbahnhof is 46 minutes vs 41 minutes by S8, so not much difference really. I would just jump on the first train that happens to be there.
Possibly it's easier to take the s8 to Ostbahnhof, although you still have to change platforms so probably not a big difference either.

After all it is free

@Steilhang, It splits of the way out to the airport though, at Neufahren. I ended up on the platform at Freising instead of the airport once when I fell asleep in the wrong part of the train! Embarassed

And the S1 is frequently held up. The S8 is way more straightforward to get, even if you may have to wait a few minutes for one to come in. I have to say that there has always been one there when I needed it. That 5 minutes can be the difference between a smooth change at all the points and a lot of waiting around! wink

@Samerberg Sue, friend of mine got on the wrong end of the train with a bunch of luggage, realised his mistake in Neufahrn and moved the first part of luggage onto the other train only to turn round and see the rest of his luggage departing in the direction of Freising... Shit happens.

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Sorry if I am hijacking this tread, but what would a good plan be for travelling from Munich Airport into St Anton Am Arlberg train station. I understand its airport to Munich Ost, munich ost to innisbrook and then innisbrook to st anton. There is some cheap saving fare available now (19 euro. wow) vs 68 euro normal. I have a potentially tight connection (schedule to land at 09:55) and and an airport departure at 11:00 (maybe too tight?) or a 13:00 airport departure. Should I book the earlier one and hope I make it and if not, they will allow me on the later one? Or take the later one and if possible change to the earlier on if they let me (although I cannot imagine I can navigate the change desk in this case and still make that train). Or the cheap fare does not allow changes?, and just book the later one, and get a good coffee and eat a few too many berliners?

Oh, a few more things, its during 1/2 term (although we are one day early one both ends, arrive Europe on Friday, and depart st anton on Friday) and is 1st vs 2nd class a big deal for this trip.

One last thing, it seems I cannot book the return until after Nov 21st. is that saver fare generally available, or does it make sense to book the outbound as the cheap fare exists and then book the inbound back when that schedule becomes available. We americans are not as versed with train travel.

Thanks for any and all help. I hope this does not need to be a new tread.

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Usually landing at 9.55 id say youd catch the 11 o clock with ease, but its up to you.

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@jafa, coming from states? immigration + collect all of our luggage (including skis, boots etc)? would love to make the 11.

Why ask the question then if you've made your mind up!!

FWIW I still think youd make it, but Id rather book the 1 and not worry. Immigration, this is you entering Europe, not us having to endure entering the good old US of A?

You know it makes sense.

@jafa. I have not made up my mind. I did not specify I needed to go through immigration, nor did I specify that I have to pick up ski's/ . Its a mess coming into the US and leaving an hour for immigration and getting baggage would not be enough time. If an hour is enough time, I am certainly inclined to make the 11 if at all possible, especially if there is little risk that if I miss it, they will let me on the 1PM.

Sorry if you feel I am wasting your time.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@Redwine, unless it specifically states it, the tickets are not usually confined to one specific train over here. Check what the restrictions are ,if any and then make your choice. Usually there are no offers during rush hour times so deals are restricted, preventing you from catching trains in the morning rush hour for example. Other than that a deal is usually good for any time on the day it is booked.

There can be delays at Munich for incoming passengers at immigration. It may not be a delay as a result of your arrival but maybe a backlog due to several planes landing within close proximity of each other. This is common for example in the mornings for transcontinental flights. As an EU citizen I was delayed coming in from South Africa on my last flight back from Johannesburg due to us arriving around the same time as flights from the Far East and USA. Also Terror alerts can cause more stringent checks on incoming passengers as well as departing ones.

A snowHead

Thanks everyone for all the responses, that's made it a lot simpler - travelling alone so it's good to have an idea and not have to worry

@Redwine, I've flown into Munich a few times and then caught trains afterwards (although not to Mayrhofen hence why I created this thread). I have found the time from landing to being on the train can vary quite a bit. For example, quite often I've had to wait for busses to take us to the terminal from the plane, then queue at passport control/baggage reclaim etc... But other times I've made it through in very short periods of time. Basically if it was me I'd rather have a bit more time to be on the safe side! Very Happy

A snowHead

Last year 6 of us landed at munich at 13.40, collected board bags bought tickets to Soll and were on the 14.00 S8 to munchen ost!!

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Two years ago I landed at Munich, got through passport control in record time then waited over an hour for our luggage to appear. Judging by the number of grumpy people in the luggage hall we were not alone. It was the Saturday before Christmas and I think they were struggling a bit.

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My effort was on a Wednesday right enough.
The train system is effortless and the sales desk in th terminal are really helpful.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

thanks everyone. We all ski, so I guess we are all a wee bit of risk takers. 11 it is, with the hope that Lufthansa is better than american airlines, where we would have no chance of landing on time, let alone making a rail connection.

You'll need to Register first of course.

As I said do able, but with the usual caveats.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

It has just occurred to me...what are German/Austrian trains like in terms of luggage space? I'll be travelling with a ~2m long ski bag so hoping it's not going to be a hassle?

After all it is free

not a problem.
even managed to get my skis on an overhead rack before, and bags in front (helped by being first on the train).
depends on the train really.

get the DB app you can buy tickets on your phone right there at the platform as long as you have a card registered which only takes 2 mins, need the card with you also.
Luggage space is a gamble, you could probably book a compartment or 2

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There are long luggage rack above the corridor of train (yes, old style compartments) so you can put ski bags there. Watch out when you lift them down, i lifted mine by handles and it rotated over my wrists and gave me a near concussion.

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Help!!

Munich airport to Mayrhofen

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