Has anyone taken the train from Munich to Prague with a stop in Nurnberg? There's a connection in Nurnberg with four minutes in between trains...sounds too tight but wanted to check on others'experiences.

I haven't done this connection, but others with a tight connection.

If you are ready to hop of the train with all your luggage as soon as it stops you can make the connection.

However, sometines the trains are late (Spater?). The ICE trains in first class will provide a pamphlet about connections. Even if your German is limited, you shouldn't have too much trouble figuring it out.

If there is a later train, why not look at Nurnberg for an hour or two and not worry about the connection.

Unfortunately, waiting for a later train in Nurnberg may mean a wait of four hours (it could be in much worse places, I assure you). Anyway, GermanRail will tell you that they feel 4 minutes is an acceptable transfer time and often it actually is as the arriving and departing trains will purposely be routed into the station onto adjoining platforms (if you look up the train connections Munich-Prague on www.bahn.de and select those trips with only one connection you'll see this is what they have done). However, this does assume that both trains will be on time. If it is of any consolation, the IC's (#s 151 and 153) from Nurberg to Prague originate in Nurnberg so unless the train is held for the arriving Munich or other connecting passengers there is almost no doubt that it will leave Nurnberg on time.
The alternative is to take a routing with more connections.
My advice: go for it; be prepared to have to wait in Nurnberg..if that happens, store your luggage in the luggage room and do some quick sightseeing and then continue on a later train. OR..fly!!! Good luck.

I too am interested in travelling from Munich to Prague. However, I am curious if I should purchase my train ticket here in the States or if I should wait until I arrive in Munich to do so. They seem awfully high on the internet, $424 for two second class couchettes on the red eye train. Is this too expensive? What is a good route to travel b/c I want to travel at night so I could just sleep on the train. Any suggestions?

Well there are hourly Munich-Nurnberg trains so instead of a 4-minute connection why not make it a 64-minute connection?

I got a lot of very useful responces to a similar question very recently. Just click on my name and you will find a thread titled something like "help picking a train munich to prague".

To pchicago91: The fare from Munich to Prague on the night train is 64.60 EUR per person and a second-class couchette is an additional 13.40 EUR. If you are able to get a SparNacht price by early booking, it is even less. The $424 you found is way too high.

I took an overnight train to Prague from Munich a few years ago. $425 is WAY too much (and I had a sleeper car). What I did was purchase my ticket for travel at the station the day I arrived in Munich.

If you don't care about money (as most of the american posters in this forum do ;-) don't worry, just buy your ticket in Munich or the U.S. it is not THAT much anyway. (only a few $100) If you would like to safe a few bucks, think about the "international traveller" regulation. It is not such a good idea to take the night train anyway, not only is it more expensive, you will also miss the best part of your journey.

I wouldn't be comfortable with 4 minutes, either. We went Prague to Munich by train last June. I think we had about 9 minutes to make the connection in Nurnberg, and we made it without problem. We did ensure we were all packed up, had our bags organized and at the door, ready to go when the train stopped.

For purchasing tickets in advance, I used Euraide.com, whose main office is in Munich. They are very knowledgeable and helpful. You can call their 800 number and discuss options with someone who will know them all very well. Or try budgeteuropetravel.com, too, for another alternative. Personally, I always feel better about having tickets in hand before we leave home. That way I know everyone in our family has a reserved seat, we are together, and I know the departure and arrival times. It just lessens the stress of travelling for me.

I've done this trip in reverse several times. Each time the connecting train was on the adjacent platform so the short connection time was easy.

My only advice is to be aware of subsequnt connection possibilities in case you do miss the train. Service out of Nurnberg to Munich is fairly frequent as I recall. There are worse train stations to be "stuck" in I can assure you.

I am looking at going from Munich to Prague in September and am confused from the previous links. My tentative train route does not show a stop in Nurnberg. Is there a specific name for the Nurnberg station? Also, do I need to get two tickets, one for the Eurail portion and one for the Czech portion of the trip? Also, where in the States can I buy the tickets?

All trips from Munich to Prague do not include a change of trains in Neurnberg. From looking at the schedule it actually seems to me that most don't. I am also planning to travel on this route, and I won't be going via Neurnburg either.

You can buy one ticket for the entire trip in Munich, but from what I understand, it is cheaper to buy two separate tickets, purchasing the Czech portion of the trip in the Czech republic. It is most definitely cheaper to buy your ticket in Europe, than from the US.

Will you have a rail pass that is valid in Germany? Is that what you meant by mentioning Eurail? If so, you can use your pass to the border and just pay for the segment inside the Czech republic.

> Is there a specific name for the Nurnberg station?

Yes, the specific name is Nürnberg HBF(not Nurnberg). The bahn database can obvoisly correct many typos, but "u" is 4 buttons left of "ü" on a german keyboard, so its unlikly nany people would make this eror. Why dont you use the english name "Nuremberg" instead?

have fun!

Thanks for the info. Do you have any recommendations on Prague hotels? Also, we have a 7:45 AM flight out of Prague. Does anyone recommend staying at a hotel near the airport the night before or is public transportation reliable enough to get from the city center to the airport in time?