Helsie

My husband and I ( late 60s ) will be travelling from Salzburg, Austria to Mittenwald, Germany in May this year. We intended to travel by train but have also seen bus travel mentioned. Would appreciate your advice on how best to manage this trip. Many thanks.

Cowboy1968

I don't know of any intercity bus connections, but the cheapest way is to go by regional trains with one transfer in Munich central station.

The ticket to choose would be the Bavaria Ticket (or Bayern Ticket in German) for €25 for 1 person plus €6 for each additional person. It's good for all rail travel in the State of Bavaria (excluding long-distance trains, like RailJet, EuroCity, IC or ICE) after 9am on weekdays. Also before 9am on weekends or holidays.
The regional trains going Salzburg - Munich and Munich - Mittenwald are covered (designated by M or RE/RB, respectively, in timetables).
You can also break up your journey in Munich, leave your bags in the lockers, and explore the city for a few hours if you want.
The Bavaria Ticket would also be valid on Munich's public transport system.

Other connections via Innsbruck shave off 30 minutes or so from the 4hrs+ it takes to go via Munich - but will be more costly, usually.

Helsie

Many thanks Cowboy. If we do as you say and travel via Munich is it advisable / possible to buy tickets early and book seats or do we just roll up on the day and hope foe seats?

bigtyke

Buy on day of travel. No reserved seats

Adelaidean

Much nicer train ride via Innsbruck, I think we got a reasonable price buying ahead, but these saver tickets aren't flexible.

neckervd

For a really scenic journey, you may travel by train via Holzkirchen to Lenggries and then by bus via Bad Toelz to Mittenwald. All covered by Bayern ticket.

PalenQ

Much nicer train ride via Innsbruck, I think we got a reasonable price buying ahead, but these saver tickets aren't flexible.>

Yes much much more scenic as it goes thru awesome Alpine valleys and if you get discounted tickets not all that much more than the slower route via Munich where you are restricted to regional trains that just are not as comfy as spiffy Austrian Rail Jet trains -the much better -really scenic scenery is worth it plus a bit quicker and more comfy ride.

For lots on trains check www.seat61.com -great info on discounted tickets; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

PalenQ

Oops- major lapse of memory - the scenic route Salzburg to Innsbruck is a longer one than direct Salzburg to Innsbruck trains that go thru mainly Germany -so-called Corridor Trains - Austrian trains going via Kufstein, Germany - no much scenic.

But the really pretty inland all thru Austria route that takes longer than the Corridor Trains Salzburg to Innsbruck is IMO well worth the longer trip and you can get discounted tickets on it too - it goes via Zell-am-See.

sla019

>trains that go thru mainly Germany -so-called Corridor Trains - Austrian trains going via Kufstein, Germany - no much scenic.

I'd not subscribe to that. True, the route via Zell am See is more impressive, but it's quite time consuming. The route Salzburg - Bavarian corridor - Kufstein - Innsbruck - Mittelwald offers almost always nice pre-alpine scenery, and the Innsbruck - Mittelwald leg is a true mountain railway.

PalenQ

sla019- thanks for correcting my memory - I usually take the inland route because it is more impressive so may not have remembered how nice the direct Corridor Route is - anyway both much more scenic than going via Munich (which as cowboy says has its pluses - especially if you want a quick look at Munich)

The inland route goes first to Innsbruck then takes the same true mountain railway to Mittenwald as does the Corridor Zug I believe.

And westbahn.com - the competitor to Austrian Railways can offer tickets as cheap as 19 euros p.p. I believe as can Austrian Railways -not much more than the Bavarian Card.

PalenQ

It costs 29 euros p.p. on Austrian railways if you book far enough in advance x 2= 58 euros vs 30 euros on regional trains on cowboy's route so you can save some money via taking the longer less scenic route. the more travelers the more saving via Munich.

Cowboy1968

Not sure why you mention Westbahn. That company serves only the main line from Vienna to Salzburg. But does not go further West (or anywhere else in Austria, at least not by rail).

Helsie

Wonderful! Thank you all so much.
The trip to Mittenwald via Innsbruck sounds good and we would love to go via Zell am See too as seeing the mountains is why we have come to Austria. We will have already spent 5 nights in Munich at the beginning of the holiday so no need to visit again.

So...

1. Can I / Do I book these tickets in advance?

2. Do I book through OBB ? If so, how do I ensure that I go through Zell and not on the other Corridor route ? Do we just buy a through ticket from Salzburg to Innsbruck on the OBB site and it will go through Zell am See ? How long will this trip take?
3. Do we then change in Innsbruck for Mittenwald and should we pre-purchase this also? ( from OBB or German railways ?)

Many thanks all for the wealth of information you willingly share

PS. Adelaidean, Is this the route you were talking about? I think it is your recommendation that has us staying in Mittenwald.

Adelaidean

Helsie, my one photo I took on that route

https://flic.kr/p/vJWtrY

I remember booking it on the Austrian rail website and got quite a good deal. It was more than the Munich route, but coming all the way from Australia I wasn't looking for the cheapest, but the most scenic. I don't recall the exact routing though.

Hope you love Mittenwald like I do. My other photos can be found in the albums on my Flickr account which you can access when you view the above photo, the 2013, 2014 and 2016 albums all include Mittenwald.

We bought tickets to Mittenwald in Innsbruck from the ticket machine, but there is a very helpful ticket office at the Innsbruck station. I checked the timetable on Deutschebahn site, so knew how long I had. It's all super efficient and cheap, not quite what we're used to here

neckervd

There are no direct trains via Zell am See. Change at Zell am See, Woergl, Innsbruck and sometimes Seefeld.
Reservation compulsory for the Woergl - Innsbruck leg.

Connections with only 2 train changes:
Salzburg dp .....7.08, 09.08, 11.08, 13.08, 15.08,
Woergl ar ......10.08, 12.08, 14.08, 16.08, 18.08,
Woergl dp ......11.29, 13.29, 15.29, 17.29, 19.29
Innsbruck ar . 12.25, 14.25, 16.25, 18.25, 20.25
Innsbruck dp . 12.38, 14.38, 16.38, 18.38, 20.38
Mittenwald ar 13.35, 15.35, 17.35, 19.35, 21.35

neckervd

BTW: the above mentioned trains don't need any reservation

PalenQ

thanks cowboy and neckervd about the correctos!

It appears the somewhat more scenic inland route via Zell to Innsbruck and Mitenwald takes about 1.5-2 hrs longer than the fastest route via the Corridor Trains.

sla019

>2. Do I book through OBB ? If so, how do I ensure that I go through Zell and not on the other Corridor route ? Do we just buy a through ticket from Salzburg to Innsbruck on the OBB site and it will go through Zell am See ? How long will this trip take?
3. Do we then change in Innsbruck for Mittenwald and should we pre-purchase this also? ( from OBB or German railways ?)

You can book a through ticket at the OeBB website:
http://fahrplan.oebb.at/bin/query.exe/en?
To bring up connections via Zell am See click on the arrow symbol right of the "to:" field and type in "Zell am See".
Travel time is between 5:23 and 6:27

Or book via the DB site, which in that special case (demanding a detour) might be a bit easier to handle:
https://www.bahn.com/en/view/index.shtml
To bring up connections via Zell am See click on "stopover" and request "Zell am See" as an intermediate stop.

Travel time is between 5:23 and 6:27

Prices are identical on both web sites.

sla019

>You can book a through ticket

A through ticket Salzburg - Mittenwald, of course. No need to split up tickets.

PalenQ

Zell would be a great place to break your journey for the night if you have time - we did and walked around the lovely lake Zell sits on - there are boats too in season.

And Zell could be a good base for a few days - take the Krimml Bahn (actual name Pinzgauer Bahn or something close) railway to the famous Krimml Falls:

https://www.google.com/search?q=krim...HZbZB0YQsAQIKA