Train from Interlaken Switzerland to Munich Germany - any advice??
 

Will be traveling next week and need to arrive in Munich sometime in the evening (early flight the next morning). I'm willing to arrive as late as midnight, but didn't know if that would be taking a chance on making all the connections and getting there in time for my 7am flight.

It looks like there are a few "better" train schedules (ie. only 2 or 3 connections, though one of these involves walking 10 minutes to catch the S1 train in Munchen Hbf station, which they said can be a lengthy walk)

Are these tight transfer times hard to make (with a large suitcase)? Should I go on an earlier train to ensure that I'll get there in time, just in case I miss a connection?

If I do miss a connection, will I have to pay an extra charge to take a different train (which hopefully will be available)? I'm only in Interlaken for a couple of days, so want to stay as long as possible without risking missing my flight!

Thanks!!

Also, it looks like a regular ticket is pretty expensive. Any hints for saving money??

Cayenne,

I am not sure what site you are looking at. If you are not, I would go to bahn.com and review the schedules there.

Regardless, I checked this out just now. There is a train that leave Interlaken Ost at noon and, depending on the routing you took, would get you to the airport station around 8PM. Both pass through Munich stations -- I don't know if I have been to either before -- but not the main station. As for leaving late, it looks like you could be on the 3pm train and get in at 11:30 with minimal stops. This does go through Munich HBF, arrives on track 15 and departs to the airport from track 2. 10 minutes is plenty of time. If you missed this, there is another train that departs 15 minutes later. It is hard to imagine that there would be much or a charge for this. But when you purchase the tickets, if you are concerned, you should be able to request a later connection. In my view, you do not need to, but you should travel according to your own comfort level.

I hope you are enjoying Switzerland!

for the 10-min transfer time at Hbf Munchen - the train from Zurich may well stop at an S-Bahn station before the hauptbahnhof - like MunchenpPassig (I think I have that name right - and since the airport S-Bahn I believe also stops at Passig after leaving the Hbf you would have more than a 10-m9nute transfer time in that case.

Swiss trains are pretty much flat fare but German trains do offer sizeable discounts - check out www.bahn.de - the German Railways web site for those - but if not full fare then there are always restrictions like on non-changeable non-refundable in case you miss the connection of the mainline train (not changing to S-Bahns like the 10 mins at Hbf - there will be another S-Bahn to the airport soon after and i would think your Interlaken to Munich Airport train ticket would be valid on any S-bahn train. For loads of great info on German and Swiss trains check out these fab IMo sites - www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com. Only a full fare ticket would be fully flexible I believe on the Zurich to Munich portion - if doing the discounted and restricted ticketing allow a lot of fudge time for transfering as even trains in Switzerland can be and indeed are often late IME.

Do you have an airport hotel or why do you plan to go straight to the airport?

Even with a restricted saver fare ticket (if one should be available) you don't have to worry about catching a certain S-Bahn from Munich main station to the airport. Those run roughly every 10 minutes as 2 lines go to the airport from Munich main station (S1 and S8).

At Munich main station you will have to walk to the underground platforms of the S-Bahn to get to the airport. That can take 10 minutes, but as I said before, no need to hurry to get a specific S-Bahn.

If your long-distance train to Munich calls at Munich Pasing station, you can change there more conviniently to the S8 S-Bahn to the airport. (every 20mins; and only S8, not S1 there)

Fares will not get any cheaper. School vacations have started and the number of people traveling will be high. Get seat reservations for the long distance trains!

Note from Munich's Hbf - main station - there are two different S-Bahn routes to the airport and it don't matter which one you take - I've taken them both and as I recall both are about the same time - one loops to the east around Munich the other to the west and both head north to the airport.

Last month I did the route in reverse. I booked about 3 months in advance and paid 79€ for First Class from Munich all the way to Wengen. The route went from Munich to Karlsruhe (change here) then it was supposed to be direct to Interlaken, but my first train was delayed and I had to change again in Basel. No problem with my ticket to take a different train.

the route via Karlsrhue seems like a major detour over the direct Munich to Zurich routing then Zurich direct to Interlaken. I wonder how much longer it took but if the savings were significant I guess it may be worth it - but if looking for a scenic route that route seems ho-hum in that regard.

No scenery until after Bern, but I chose this route because it had fewer changes. Originally I only had to change at Karlsruhe, Interlaken, and of course Lauterbrunnen. Time-wise, it is about the same.

Does the OP want easy or scenic? If he/she wants the most straightforward route, then go via Karlsruhe as scatcat suggested. AFAIK, most trains from Interlaken Ost to Zurich require a change in Bern - Pal, what time do the direct trains (no changes) from Interlaken to Zurich run? There are trains from Interlaken to Karlsruhe with no changes and direct trains from Karlsruhe to Munich - it's not a "major detour".

If the OP would like a more scenic route, then go from Interlaken to Basel Bad Bahnhof (not Basel SBB) and catch the IRE to Ulm, which goes via Waldshut, Radolfzell, etc, then pick up a train to Munich from Ulm. This route takes about 5.5 hours from Basel Bad, so the OP has to be the type who enjoys a leisurely train ride. We do, others don't.

I'll have to look on a map as I think I am mentally putting Karlsrhue too far north and west I guess. And I currently cannot get bahn.de up to check on if there are any Interlaken to zurich direct trains like the one I took a few years back - but if none or few the change in Bern is a snap.

The route via Karlsruhe should be a faster one as it follows the flat Rhine valley while it's many more kms than the direct Zurich-Munich EuroCity trains take.

The route via Innsbruck is probably the most scenic.
Most connections, though, make you change in Innsbruck to the faster route via Kufstein following the river Inn valley.
If you changed in Innsbruck to the slightly slower regional trains that go to Munich via Mittenwald, you would add more scenery.