Danielle811

How much time should I plan on giving myself between landing in Munich and catching a train out of the central station?

We land at 7:30 AM from the US (on a Sunday, if that makes a difference ?) and are planning on traveling by train to Berlin that day. This was a pivot from our initial plans, so our flights were already locked in.

Thanks in advance!

J62

s-bahn takes about 45min.

Rough guess on total:
arrival, immigration, baggage claim, walk to s-bahn. 45min to 1 hr. Maybe more, maybe less
s-bahn. buy tix, wait for next train, + transit. 1hr
transfer to Hbf departures level - short walk - maybe 10min.

That's a total of 2hrs. Maybe less, maybe more..

ICE trains depart hourly. I'd plan on taking something around 10am....

J62

Or add on a flight to Berlin....Train is more eco friendly. Plane will be faster.
The distance from Munich to Berlin is about the same distance as Boston to DC......

mjs

Flight is about an hour. Train about 4 1/2 hours. Cost about same. Wonder why you did not just fly to Berlin on same ticket?

swandav2000

Hi Danielle811,

When do you arrive?

Currently there is work on the Sbahn around Munich, and both S1 & S8 are affected. Neither reaches the airport, and you will have to take replacement busses for a portion of the trip. The authorities say it will add an additional 40 minutes to the normal 45- minute route. You can also take the airport express bus between the airport and the city, but there won't be additional busses added, so it may be mobbed (if you've ever stood in a ski lift line in Germany, you'll know to try to avoid this -- it is chaos). Because the busses are vulnerable to the traffic jams around the city, it could also take more than 1h.

This work is scheduled to end on/about 4 November, so if you're arriving after that, you can expect the the normal 45-minute transit time.

Have fun as you plan!

s

Danielle811

We arrive Sunday, Nov 19. It looks like there is work planned for the S8 line that day, so we'll be a bit more limited with that particular line.

Danielle811

We decided to include Berlin after award flights were booked. I did look into changing our itinerary to fly into Berlin, but it just doesn't work for the days we're traveling.

You're right that individual flights cost about the same as the train; however, we're traveling with our 3 children, and 5 train tickets with their youth fares are considerably cheaper than 5 additional plane tickets (plus baggage fees).
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Danielle811

Thank you, this is very helpful!

lolfn

Pay attention to how "on time" your flight is. We flew to Munich from DC in September and the flight was often at least 1 hour late most days. United ended up canceling our flight day of but we flew on Lufthansa, which was an hour late. So you might want to add in some buffer time for that possibility.

We moved through immigration quickly and the SBahn ride to the center was easy. When we flew home, the immigration line for arriving flights was massive. So I guess you never know what other flights will be arriving when you do.

J62

there are 2 sbahn lines that run from the airport to Munich Hbf. S1 and S8. One loops to the east, the other to the west. Normal travel time is the same on either

So if the S1 has no construction delays, then take that line.

Danielle811

We're flying United, so this is good to keep in mind, thanks!
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dreamon

There is a German monthly travel pass for 49euro. I don't know full details but it doesn't cover ICE trains. But may still be of value to you in travelling in Germany.

swandav2000

Hi again,

A note about the 49€ travel pass -- it is a subscription, and it renews automatically. So if you decide to use it, you need to know when it will renew, and cancel it before that date. Also, yes, it is only valid for regional trains, so I really wouldn't want to use it for the trip between Munich & Berlin. And everyone will need to have one, unlike other regional tickets where additional passengers are a few Euro over the base price.

Have fun!

s