 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi, there are 2 of us trying to get from Munich airport to Saalbach next Friday night for a 5 day ski holiday. We originally planned to get a transfer but this is working out very expensive (€250+ in total one way). Our only other viable option is to rent a car, we have no issues driving in Europe our concern is around driving to Saalbach late at night - we will be leaving Munich at about 8 / 8:30pm and all going well landing into Saalbach at 11pm. We are not familiar with the roads but is it safe to drive to Saalbach late at night considering the freezing temperatures?
Any information regarding this (traffic / tolls / safety etc etc) would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance....
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Hey, we are in the same boat as you guys but we're simply taking a traing from Munich to Zell am See for 18€ for every person with one stop at Salzburg and then the 680 bus from Zell to Saalbach. No idea how much the bus is but shouldn't be more than 5€ for every person.
As for cars, no idea but good luck!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@pmky101, depends what you mean by safe. There may well be snow on the roads, so you need winter tyres and should have snow chains as a last resort as well. If you have that then you shouldn't have any serious problems ( storms permitting ).
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@pmky101, Welcome to Snowheads.
The drive from Munich to Saalbach is very easy. There are a few different routes, but the most direct is probably A99 ring road to the A8, then A8 towards Salzburg.
About an hour along the A8 there is junction 112 for Siegsdorf. Take this, then follow the signs for Inzell and Lofer. From Lofer, signs for Saalfelden and Zell am See. 10km after Saalfelden there is the turn-off at Maishofen for Saalbach. If the weather is stormy or snowy, as the Siegsdorf-Lofer route is quite hilly and narrow, instead of this route continue on the A8 until Bad Reichenhal, then turn off there and follow signs for Lofer and Saalfelden.
Traffic should not be too heavy late on a Friday evening, but in an unfamiliar car on unfamiliar roads, your journey may take closer to 4 hours rather than the less than 3 that you suggest. Both of the above routes are important links, so are regularly cleared for snow and kept in good condition. Neither route requires an Austrian road-toll Vignette. Your hire car needs to have winter tyres, which are compulsory in Austria. If the weather is so bad that you need to be thinking about chains, then cancel the car and take the train or shuttle instead. BUT the last train from Munich Airport (20.04) that will get you to Zell am See will not get you there until 01.15, so probably not an option. The last Postbus from Zell am See station to Saalbach leaves at 19.20, so after then it's a taxi to Saalbach. There are often others going to Saalbach so it is often possible to share a minibus taxi.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Saalbach is all main roads and low lying, the roads are wide and excellent. You will need a "Vignette" for Austrian motorways. These Tolls are brought at service stations and must be stuck to the window of the car. I think about 11 euro for 9 days. Hire cars will have winter tyres by law. Transit by public transport is about 4-5 hours from Munich. You should be able to get to Salzburg late on Friday but I think you would have to do the second leg in the morning.Check the OBB travel portal for time tables. German transport generally runs to the minute, although my train did break down returning last week! I always hire cars at Munich at about 18 euro a day, I am not sure if you would get a good price this late. XS protection can be brought 3rd party very cheaply (protect your bubble). Probably going to cost 30 quid in petrol. the change at Munich is a pain if you have lots of luggage at it is a bit of walk. OBB tells you all the transfer walks.
Very jealous had a great two week their over New Year
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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no need for an austrian vignette if you follow the route above.
it would be €8.70 for 10 days anyway, if you went the long way round.
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Thanks for all the information, looks like we'll be renting a car! I appreciate all the responses!
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If your hiring at Munich Airport some companies charge a surcharge for going into Austria ie Enterprise. Herz & Eurocar don't seem to charge extra Car Del Mar is a good broker.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@peezip, where on earth did you hear that bit of tittle tattle? Or were you taken for a ride yourself so to speak?
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Enterprise was one of the few with restrictions within EU last time I checked. But their rules look like they were written before the 10 Eastern European nations joined EU.
Renting in Germany and driving to Austria is permitted by every rental car co. I looked at. And that includes some German ones that Brits will never have heard of.
No green card issues either, so long as the rental car has a registration plate of any EU/EEA nation. No surcharges, no nothing, but I usually do mention any countries I wish to drive into when renting.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Buchbinder/Megadrive charged an insurance surcharge when I rented from Salzburg last October, as I was cutting off the corner by driving through Germany on the way to Saalbach. It wasn't much (about €15) but I'd never been charged for it before in 10 years and considering the Deutsche Ecke is only about 20km, it was expensive for just a few kms.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Last Sat in Salzburg, Buchbinder, part of the Magadrive/Enterprise group charged me 10 Euros for the 7 days car hire to take the car into Germany. Same as Quinton, I was only cutting off the corner going to Kirchberg. I argued, but they said I wouldn't be insured! Ironic really, as I got upstairs to pick up our VW Caravelle...... and it was a German plated car. So technically I wasn't insured for Austria if that's the case.
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You know it makes sense.
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Enterprise charged me a surcharge to go to Austria from Munich Airport in 2013. I used Hertz in 2014 with no surcharge and can highly recommend them. I can even recommend the individual person that I dealt with, Markus Schneider...  maschneider@hertz.com
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Actually the last time we hired a car in munich we struggled to get one that didn't add a surcharge for going to Austria, never had that before but several at the airport wanted. We ended up hiring one from near Trudering, so hardly tourist central and still got charged €5 a day. No idea when this became more popular but have hired cars several times a year for the last few years and never had to pay before.
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Poster: A snowHead
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But the same Enterprise desk in Munich DIDNT charge me just before Christmas and they knew I was going to Austria. It seems it just depend who you get served by. Or maybe which search agency you use, ie carrental/argus etc.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I used inter rent through argus car hire from Munich airport and wasn't charged either. They don't have a desk at the airport though have to use a courtesy to the NH hotel.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Just one more comment/advice. With the advent of smart phones, more and more of us are just saving things on the phone. I don't know if it stipulates this, but a poor couple beside us were going frantic, because Buchbinder were insisting in seeing a paper version of their voucher. He could show it on his phone, but they wouldn't accept that. For gods sake they even had his details of his booking, but NO he had to produce his voucher. Whether this was a delaying tactic or not, I don't know. We had to wait nearly an hour for our vehicle.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Couple of quick points :
I'd suggest to anyone hiring a car for skiing to register for the Loyalty scheme of the car hire company you are using. All paperwork is then already complete. You show your driving licence and credit card and you are away. That can save you a very significant amount of time at some airports and will also avoid the nonsense of cross border charges. Sixt is the best in my opinion. I use them on business, not a huge amount but they upgraded me to their Diamond service in no time and you are pretty much guaranteed an upgrade whichever level of car you book.
To the original question the drive will be very easy unless there is very heavy snow. Unless the €8.50 is a big deal I'd also just buy the Vignette. I don't understand people that do many miles more to avoid it, particularly at night in Winter in the mountains.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@downhillalltheway, ask andy, who took 5 hours on Sunday evening to get from the Zillertal to the Allianz Arena, including 2 hours plus between Samerberg and Irschenberg. Luckily he lives in Germany so did not have a plane to catch, others may not have been so lucky. In heavy snow the drive is not easy because of dickheads who think they are better and more important than they are. Hence on the first big transfer day after Christmas guests to one of the flats I look after needed 14 hours to drive from Frankfurt. And last night, a dry but cold evening, andy was parked for 2 hours because the motorway was closed due to an accident and lots of skiers were returning from a day/weekend out.
I drive this route in part or the whole thing on a weekly basis, I have lots of alternatives in my head and I do not have the time pressure of getting to an airport. It is also part of my daily commute to work, I use a wide variety of workarounds to ensure I get into the office in time.
The vignette is now 8.70 Euro, the route to Saalbach using the Tauernautobahn option still requires quite a long section of the B311 before being able to turn up the Saalbach valley road, including getting past Zell am See. It is the longest route both in terms of distance and time. The route via Kufstein involves even more Landstrasse and also a vignette for even less distance!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Unless the €8.50 is a big deal I'd also just buy the Vignette. I don't understand people that do many miles more to avoid it
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But the route over Siegsdorf and Inzell is one of the shortest and most direct routes.
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5 hours and 5 minutes. You can't take a diversion when you're physically parked up on the autobahn.
Why pay €8.70 when you don't need to go on the Austrian autobahn? Always bemused when people say to just get one anyway.
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FAQ
. Cars work for me to reduce transfer times and its so much fun trying to keep up with the locals around the "lanes". Got to admit I'm still having trouble perfecting the advanced Austrian driving art of overtaking the ski bus on the wrong side of the road around a blind bend. Maybe oneday before/when I die. 
