We arrive in Zurich at 7:55 a.m. on a Sunday (March 31). A train to Munich leaves at 1:16 p.m. Would this be enough time to get from the Zurich airport to the train station?

Trains from the airport take about 10 minutes and leave every 10min, so yes, 5hr20min is enough time to do this.

But that's not what you'll want to take as you're backtracking and there are several earlier options.

The 9:16 from Zurich stops at the airport on the way TO Munich. It leaves the Zurich airport at 9:28, with no change required to Munich.

You can search Swiss trains at: http://fahrplan.sbb.ch/bin/query.exe/en?

As J62 said, you do NOT need to leave the airport to take a train to Munich.

Trains to Munich leave the airport train station at 9:28 and 13:28. These two departures require no changes between the airport and Munich main station.

I think you have a very good chance of making the 9:28 departure if your flight is on time. If it is, head for the train station, buy your ticket, and go to the platform.

The Zurich airport station is not large but is is a very busy place.


There are other connections to Munich that leave before 13:28, but they take longer and require changes of trains. So it becomes a question of where do you want to wait. I personally would wait in the airport rather than hoist my luggage from one train to the other.

For example, there is one possible connection that involves 3 changes of train. It would enable you to get to Munich a little earlier than if you left at 13:28, but for me it would not be worth the bother and the risk that I might miss one of the connections.

I have arrived internationally at the Zürich airport several times and never had any major delay getting through passport control. Customs agents did not delay us either.

The main delay will be in walking from your flight to the train station.

The trains are located in the basement of the airport itself. You can buy tickets and everything right there. There are elevators to take you and your luggage down.

The train is usually right on time. The stop is very brief and you must be ready to get on board immediately. Scramble on and then find a place to sit and to put your luggage.

I usually leave my big cases at the end of the coach or slide one between the seats. My carry-on bag goes on the overhead rack.

So in conclusion: I would think positively and aim for the morning train. If the flight is late, then you have the 13:28 train as a fallback position.

Thank you so much for taking the post all this information. It was so helpful!

When I tried to look this up, it didn't show these options. I'm sure I'm just entering something wrong, but I can't figure it out.

So do you think it's okay to just buy the tickets when we get there? I guess we'd just straight to the train station (and I'm assuming there are signs at the airport explaining how to get down to the basement?)And do you have any idea how much these tickets would be?

Thanks very much.

Well, I figured out how to get the timetable to show up, but it still doesn't show the price.

For international trips, you have to look at the 2 domestic portions separately to get a rough price

Zurich airport to St. Margrethen on Swiss rail, (roughly 31 Francs)

Then Bregenz to Munich on DeutcheBahn (36.2 Euro)

Zürich Flughafen 9:28
Winterthur 9:42
St. Gallen 10:19
St. Margrethen 10:42
Bregenz 10:55
Lindau Hbf 11:12
Memmingen 12:14
Buchloe 12:43
München Hbf 13:28

OK..I know this is nitpicky but for the sake of veracity... after you leave St. Margrethen you actually pass into Austria for the stop at Bregenz. Once you get to Lindau you have crossed into Germany. So, you actually have THREE railroads involved in this trip.

But that is a minor point since buying the ticket at the airport ticket office in Zurich will bring a ticket good all the way through. However, don't be surprised if you have to produce it for inspection during the Austrian segment and again after you enter Germany.

Thank you both so much! I will print out this information.