Florence to Munich - Train or Drive
 

I am finding that buying RT tickets to Munich versus an open jaw (into Munich, out of Florence) is the way to go for our vacation next year.

What is the best way to get back to Munich from Florence though? Any recommendations? Is the driving bad? I hear it cost and arm and a leg to rent cars in Europe especially going cross country.

We were in Italy last year, but didn't drive.

It takes about 9 hours and 100 Euros by train, going through Verona. By car I'd say 7 hours, all freeway. Probably train is cheaper for 2-3 people, considering gas and toll. I'd definitely go by train myself. Relaxing, good scenery, can take a nap, etc.

The fastest direct EC train takes 8 h 20 min.
By car it will take roughly the same time, depending on whether there is a traffic jam a) outwards of Munich and b) at the Brenner pass, which is where the most heavy truck traffic between the Northern Europe and Italy passes through.
It does not cost an arm and a leg to rent a car if you return it in the same country. If you rent a car in Germany and return it in Italy the drop-off fee will easily triple the rental costs. And don't forget that you still have to pay for gas, and in the mountains your car will use up more of it than in the flat country.

>Is the driving bad?

If you are used to 4 or 6 lanes highways where the outer lanes are chocked with endless queues of 60 t trucks - no, it isn't bad.
Just don't expect some romantic countryside drive when taking the most direct route.

Hi M,

www.kayak.com has NYC/MUC-FLR/NYC for about $610 for 4/15-4/29.

NYC/MUC RT is $540.

Hardly enough savings to warrant taking the train back to Munich.

Have you tried it for your dates and airports?

((I))

Hi Ira, three of us are flying from Indy and two from Orlando. We are getting about $1600 RT now so I think we are still better off going back to Munich.

Just a suggestion, but have you considered flying out of Rome instead of Florence? Florence's airport is small and can make flights expensive. The price would probably drop if you fly out of Rome, and its an easy 1.5 hour train ride from Florence to Rome.

Tracy

I could have sworn I already posted this, but maybe it disappeared...

In any event, if you don't find it worthwhile to price Rome as a gateway city for your open jaw, you should still consider making a day jaunt to Rome, to get to Munich, rter than spending 9 hours riding cross-country. You can fly nonstop on Condor at 20:55, arriving in MUC 95 minutes later, for only 19 euro (42, once you add the 23 euro taxes and fees).

Better way to go, in my opinin.

Best wishes,

Rex

>You can fly nonstop on Condor at 20:55, arriving in MUC 95 minutes later, for only 19 euro (42, once you add the 23 euro taxes and fees).

Plus about 26 Euro for the train to Rome
Plus 10 Euro for the Leonardo Express,
Plus 9 Euro for the S-Bahn in Munich from the airport
->87 Euro.
Not bad, and indeed cheaper than the train... a bit.
The hassle factor is comparable.

I just priced a train ticket from Venice to Innsbruck, Au. and the ticket will be at least 100 euros per person. The train agent could not give me an exact amount as the price is increasing Jan 1st. I would be surprised if a ticket from Florence to Munich is less than 100 euros since it is further distance.

To find the exact upper limit of the train price do the following:
-go to www.trenitalia.it and search for the price from Florence to Brennero/Brenner
-go to www.oebb.at and find the price from Brenner to Kufstein
-go to www.bahn.de and price out the segment Kufstein to Munich
-add the prices.
The actual price will be slightly lower than the sum, but not by much.

As another alternative for an open jaw itinerary consider pricing the trip by flying out of Milan.

I presume you would spend the night in Munich before your departure? If so, there are much better options, IMO, rather than spend all day driving or on a train. I looked at intra-europe flights FROM Florence, Milan and Pisa; TO London, Amsterdam, or Dublin. Your transatlantic flight might even be cheaper returning from those cities. I chose an arbitrary date of March 8th.

At kayak.com there's a British Air flight Pisa to London, 1pm to 2:10pm for $63.

Ryanair Pisa to Dublin is only 38 euros, doesn't operate all days.

Meridian flies Florence-London or Florence-Amsterdam for 85 euros.

There are lots of options out of Milan, but there's a longer train ride to get there for an afternoon flight. You could also check flying into Paris Orly, but my quick search didn't turn up good flight times.

Another consideration: as of May, Delta is adding a Pisa-JFK non-stop route.

Hi M,

>three of us are flying from Indy and two from Orlando. We are getting about $1600 RT....<

That's a very, very high price. Have you looked at www.kayak.com?

((I))

I should have added that I agree with the above poster. Try an open jaw returning to the states from MXP, spending the night in Milan before departure.

BTW, how are you getting from Munich to Florence?

Hi everyone! I booked my tickets last night and no need to go back to Munich.

We are flying back from Venice. Venice was part of our trip, we just put it at the end of the trip.

Indy- Philly - Munich
Venice - Philly - Indy... for $867... we took it!

We are just taking Salzburg out of the schedule now since we are going to be crossing the Italian border farther from Austria now.

Thanks for all the suggestions! Now I need to figure out if I want to use Trenitalia or the German rail equivalent to get to Florence from Munich.

If you guys know, what are the benefits for 1st class cabins? I can find the details on either site. There's five of us traveling. With trenitalia we travel during the day (get the nice scenary of the swiss alps); with the german company we travel at night (save a day for sight seeing). Any insights are welcome!

I beleive it is the same train, regardless whether you buy your tickets from Bahn.de or Trenitalia.

I have taken the Munich-Florence night train, in a first class compartment (with bed), and it was very enjoyable. I'm not sure how that would work out for your party of five, however.

Hi M,

>f you guys know, what are the benefits for 1st class cabins?<

Depends on the train.

Some offer T4 berths in 1cl and T6 in 2cl.
Some offer T2 and T3 in 1 cl.

Neither www.trenitalia.com or www.bahn.de sell tickets between Germany and Italy online.

Try calling Euraide's FL office at
941-480-1555

They are very helpful.

Also, they can sell you your tickets for the same price as getting them in Germany + shipping and handling.

Enjoy your visit.

((I))