Flying_Mom

Hello, I am trying to find some information regarding the Salt Mines in Berchtesgaden.

* Will the Salt Mines be open on December 26 or 27th?

* How long is the train ride from Munich? Does the special train fares (25 euros for 5 people ??) qualify for this route?

* Is this the closest salt mine to Munich?

Thanks for your help!

bc_canuck

Their website says they are closed December 24th & 25th only. You could contact them directly to confirm.
http://www.salzzeitreise.de/
We were staying in Augsburg which is west of Munich and the total travel time from there to Berchtesgaden was 3.5 hours with a transfer at
Freilassing.I would check with DB to see what the Xmas schedules are.
http://www.bahn.de/p/view/index.shtml

The trip underground through the mine is quite unique. This year they have opened another area called Salt Time Journey.

Flying_Mom

Bc,
Thanks for your quick input.

I have checked out the train schedule that I found on Berchtesgaden's website. It shows that a round trip ticket from Munich is over 110 euro.. does that sound correct?

* How far are the Salt Mines from the train station?
* Is there a bus that would take us to the mines?

Now.. we need to decide if this would be a good day trip. It definantly would be a full day. I think that my kids would really enjoy the tour (my husband and I would too).


Thanks for your help.

Zeus

Two Christmasses ago the Obersalzberg salt mine was open for business as usual on 26 December. It was one of the very few things we DID find open that day! All stores were shut, but the salt mine and nearby bobsled run on the Königsee were open.

Larryincolorado

The special train fare to which you refer is the Bayern-Ticket (www.bayern-takt.de, click on English is necessary). It costs €27 for up to five people and gives you unlimited use of regional trains in Bavaria from 9 AM weekday (midnight weekends and holidays) until 3 AM the following day. You can go from Munich to Berchtesgaden via regional trains in about 3 hrs, not much more time than express (2 1/2 hrs) since part of the trip is on regional trains, regardless.

There is also a special offer, one day round trip, Munich to Salzburg, called a Freizeit-Ticket. It's €29 round trip per person and is valid on Intercity and Eurocity trains. You can get off at Freilassing and take a €6,60 local train to Berchtesgaden. On the way back, I'm not sure if you can get on at Freilassing or must go to Salzburg (€8,10) and board there. However, a better possibility might be the Freizeit-Ticket to Salzburg and the Waltmann-Express bus from the station in Salzburg to Berchtesgaden (round trip €8,50 with a Tageskarte - day ticket). That bus stops at the Salzbergwerk on the way into Berchtesgaden.

Larryincolorado

By the way, how old are the kids? Might make a diffence on the fares. On DB, kids under 15 are free with full fare parents, and other authorities, like MVV and RVO have reduced rates under 15.

Larryincolorado

For your information,
MVV is Münchner Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund, the transit authority in Munich (www.mvv-muenchen.de).
RVO is Regional Verkehr Oberbayern, which runs the buses in southern Bavaria, including Berchtesgaden.

Larryincolorado

Oh, RVO is www.rvo-bus.de, but it is entirely in German.

Flying_Mom

Larry,
Thanks for the great information. My kids are 11 and 13.

I'm not sure that I follow all of your directions regarding train/ bus. Can we take the Bayern-Ticket for 25 euro/5 people roundtrip to Berchtesgaden and then a city bus from the train station to the salt mines?

3 hours one way seems like a long way for a day trip. Are the Obersalzberg salt mines closer to Munich? I did not see that salt mine in my travel book.

Thanks for your help!

Larryincolorado

You can use the Bayern-Ticket for the entire train trip to Berchtesgaden if it's by regional train, and you leave Munich after 9 AM. Your children would travel free if you were using standard tickets, but the Bayern-Ticket isn't standard, so they won't be free, but it doesn't matter since the Bayern-Ticket is valid for up to 5 people. The Bayern-Ticket is €27, NOT €25, and that's if you buy it from machine. From the counter it's €29, but the machines are easy to use.

You'll find the buses and their ticket counter about 100' on your right as you exit the Berchtesgaden station. The fare should be €1-2 per adult, less per child. It's less round trip if you can say "Hin- unt Rueckfahrt". Ask for "Zalts berkwerk".

Larryincolorado

If you are using a Bayern-Ticket, you shouldn't need separate bus tickets. The Bayern-Ticket is also valid on regional buses in Bavaria; RVO accepts the Bayern-Ticket. The bus number is 840.

Larryincolorado

I think the Salzbergwerk is the only salt mine in Berchtesgaden. It's the mine shown on the Berchtesgadener-Land website. It is 5 minutes outside of the town in the direction of Obersalzberg. I know of no salt mine in Obersalzberg. To get to Obersalzberg you would still have to go through Berchtesgaden, and Obersalzberg is farther out from town than the Salzbergwerk.

Berchtesgaden is just a long ways from Munich - almost in Austria. The fastest Express train connection makes it to Berchtesgaden in 2:19, but it would cost over €90, total, for the four of you if you bought two €33 express ticket for the adult going there (kids free) and a Bayern-Ticket for the bus and the way back. Doing that, you could leave Munich at 7:26 and get to Berchtesgaden at 9:45.

Larryincolorado

So, your best price deal is to use the Bayern-Ticket entirely. For €27, all four of you can travel from Munich to Berchtesgaden to the Salzbergwerk and back. Only restriction is you can't leave Munich until 9:42 (after 9 AM) and you'll get to Berchtesgaden at 12:51 and to the mine at 13:20. But that's the price of economy. You'll still have the afternoon.

If you want to leave Munich an hour earlier (8:48) and get to the mine at 12:20, you can buy a Bayern-Ticket and MVV single trip tickets (2@6,60 and 2@1,10) to Grafing. You arrive at Grafing at 9:11; the Bayern-Ticket is valid from there. Total price €15,40 plus €27, €42,40. That's still pretty inexpensive, €10,10 per person.

Or, you can do the same thing with the 7:42 train (arrive at mine at 11:20) and €16,10 per adult Bahn ticket to Bernau a Chiesee. Children are free to Bernau when accompanied by full-fare-paying parents. Total €32,20 + €27 = €59,20.

Or as I mentioned before, use the 7:26 IC (arr. mine 10:20) with two full fare adults to Berchtesgaden @ €33 each and buy a Bayern-Ticket to cover the bus and the trip back.

Flying_Mom

Larry, You are awesome. Thank you for all of the math and logistics you did on our trip to Berchtesgaden. Our plans are to use the Bayern Ticket for 27 euro for our family travel to and from. I really think that my kids will enjoy the salt mines. The website looks like it is a lot of fun and very interesting.

Do you know if they accept reservations? Just want to be sure that we can take the tour after our long journey getting there.

Thank you, Thank you!

Larryincolorado

I don't know is you have found this by yourself already, but go to www.salzzeitreise.de. Click on the British flag (unless you want to practice your German). There is lots of info, including opening hours in the winter, until 3 PM (15:00). If you leave Munich after 9, you should get there at 13:20. Looks like you have just enough time.

Larryincolorado

Although the bus ticket counter is off to the right as you leave the station, with a Bayern-Ticket you should be able to just get on without tickets. According to the Berchtesgaden station map (www.tiny.cc/Berchtesgaden), bus 840 loads just outside the front door of the station.

Flying_Mom

Larry,
I had not seen their website. It is a really nice description of the mine. I enjoyed it. Thanks for sending the link!

Thanks also for looking up the train and bus times and numbers for me. That info will be helpful and has really saved me some time.

Will the Banyan tickets that we buy each day for our family of 4 will cover (Train and bus) our routes to:
* Mines
* Salzburg
* Fussen to tour the castles
* Dachua

If so, that is a really inexpensive way to travel around the Munich area.

Larryincolorado

The Bayern-Ticket will be valid not only to the mine, as discussed, but also from Munich to Salzburg Hbf on regional trains. The Bayern-Ticket, however, is only valid to the Hauptbahnhof, not for anything in Salzburg. If you go from Munich directly to Füssen, that trip is by regional train and is also covered. So is the bus from Füssen Bahnhof to the town of Hohenschwangau, site of the castles. You catch the bus on the far side of the parking lot in front of the station.

However, if you are staying in downtown Munich, you do not need a Bayern-Ticket to Dachau (S-bahn and train). A Munich XXL Partner Tageskarte is valid for up to 5 people for all travel for the day within the inner two zones in Munich, which includes Dachau. It costs only €11,80.

Yes, the Bayern-Ticket is a great way to save on travel in Bavaria; I've used it many times. Of course, you can't travel before 9AM on weekdays, but then I never get started before then anyways.

Larryincolorado

By the way, next to the salt mine in Berchtesgaden is the Watzmann Therme (Spa). In case you are tempted to go there, understand that there is a family side, which is kind of like a water park, but the good stuff (saunas, etc) are in the saunaland. If it's like so many other German spas, it's coed and the dress code is what they call "textilefrei". I don't think clothing is just optional; I don't think it is allowed.

Larryincolorado

Sounds like you will be based in Munich. A useful website might be www.mvv-muenchen.de. That's the Munich transit authority. I think there's a way on the page to change it to English, but I'm not sure how since I don't need it.