I would like to avoid the 1 1/2 hour ride to the top of Zugspitze. Is it faster to take a taxi to Grainau or Eibsee and catch a ride to the top there? (I will be arriving in garmisch by train from Munich)

Also, what would a taxi cost from Garmisch to Oberammergau? Looking to save time all around.

I can't tell you exactly what a taxi to Oberammergau costs. But it is about 20km one way.

Now a more general obersavtion, and you probably will hate me for this. But, if your scheedule is so tight that you can't afford the short time the Zugspitzbahn takes from Garmisch to Grainau or Eibsee, you are wasting your money. Part of the charme of European travel is actually seeing and experiencing things, in a relaxed way.

I absolutely agree with treplow. Are you on vacaton or in a race?

Fastest way to the top of Zugspitze:
Take taxi to Eibsee and catch the cable car (NOT the cogwheel train!) there. Trip with cable car is appr. 10 minutes.

Compromise: Take the special round-trip offer: cogwheel train from Garmisch uphill, glacier cable car from Zugspitze terminus to top of Zugspitze, cable car downhill to Eibsee, cogwheel train from Eibsee station back to Garmisch.

http://www.zugspitze.de/zugspitze/index_en.php

To Treplow and Altamiro: Thanks for the comments. I enjoy the beauty of Europe as much as the next guy. That's why I will be doing a 7 day bike trip thru the romantic road. I just have read a lot of comments about the slow cogwheel train at the low levels. Would rather spend the time on the cable car and at the top. Its all about maximizing the quality of the experience and avoiding the drudge. Taxi the Eibee avoids the cogwheel.

Cowboy,

How long does the "compromise" take, do you think?

Train Garmisch - Zugspitze: 60 min
glacier cable car Zugspitze: appr 5 min
Eibsee cable car down to Eibsee: appr 10min
Train Eibsee - Garmisch: 25 min

Cannot estimate how much delay may be caused by larger crowds on holidays, or how well connections from Eibsee cable car to the train back to Garmisch work.

If you want to go all the way to the top, you have to take the train plus glacier cable car, while the Eibsee cable car takes you all the way to the top in one ride.

So you have many options to make the trip either a very quick one:
appr 15 min taxi ride from Garmisch to Eibsee, round trip Eibsee cable car, taxi back to Garmisch: appr 1hr total
Or you prefer to spend more time and take the train and glacier cable car back and forth: appr 3 hrs.

>Taxi the Eibee avoids the cogwheel.

From Garmisch to Eibsee the train goes without cogwheels. It takes maybe 5 to 10 min less by taxi than by train. I don't know if this is worth to you taking the taxi.

Take your time at Eibsee - the lake doesn't deserve to be overlooked.

According to Michelin, it is 20km from the train station in Garmisch-Partenkirchen to Oberammergau. I'm sure a taxi would be expensive.

The price table for the RVO (Regional Verkehr Oberbayern) bus says the one-way fare for 19 km is €3,70; RT is €6,50. The bus takes 40 minutes and from 7:50 to 16:03, just over 8 hours, there are 11 buses from the GaP Bahnhof to Oberammergau.

Actually, Michelin says it is 19 km from the GaP Bahnhof to the center of Oberammergau. I forgot to change both entries after I looked it up. However, the bus fare for 19 or 20km is the same, €3,70.

I did the Zugspitze trip twenty years ago. I doubt that they have moved much. As I remember, the trip from the Zahnrad Bahnhof in Garmisch was mostly by regular train and not that slow. We got off a few km before the cable car and transferred to the Zahnradbahn. There was only a short wait for the cog train. The Zahnradbahn stops at the cable car base station. I got off there and was able to board a cable car to the top almost immediately. I came back down the cable car. Catching the train back to Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a little problematic because there are a lot of cable car trips and only maybe one train per hour. Fortunately the train was at the base station when I got down, and I was able to run for the train.

Ok I'm back from bavaria. Rented a car and went to Eibsee, took the cable car to the zugspitz. 10 minute wait for the cable car, 10 minute breathtaking ride to the top. As much time as you need at the top. 10 minute ride back down and off to Oberammergau. No wasted time on the trains. Fee is still 40++ euro. Great trip!