Train Travel: Vienna to Munich?
September 2, 2023 8:09 AM Subscribe
Will be in Vienna this September. Looking for the best/most affordable way to make the following train journeys.
Vienna to Munich
Munich to Innsbruck
Innsbruck to Vienna.
Is there a pass we can buy that is all-encompassing? Does that pass allow you to make reservations?
Or are we better off making the reservations individually?
Where can we buy a pass online?
Vienna to Munich
Munich to Innsbruck
Innsbruck to Vienna.
Is there a pass we can buy that is all-encompassing? Does that pass allow you to make reservations?
Or are we better off making the reservations individually?
Where can we buy a pass online?
Start with the man in seat61
Look up your journeys on trainline to get an idea of prices.
Then look at the Eurail passes
For Deutsche Bahn trains, you can purchase seat reservations separately if you have a rail pass. Seat reservations are not strictly necessary, except when sometimes 2nd class fills up and people end up sitting in the aisles. The fast trains are called ICE (intercity express). The Eurail pass will give you flexibility and freedom from surge pricing.
Things I have learned about taking trains in Germany:
* Announcements are given very fast in German. Always be looking at the departures board.
* Train platforms are assigned only ~15 minutes before departure, and can change again rapidly.
* Sometimes two halves of the train unlink mid-journey and go to different destination, so you have to get on the correct part of the train.
* If you have a seat reservation, look for the sign that shows "train composition" to know where to stand, although it can be reversed last minute.
* There can be several-hour delays and cancellations.
* There aren't staff around to answer questions. If you need help, best bet is often another tourist.
Apparently, to start kindergarten in Germany the child has to be able to walk or take the bus to school all by themselves, without parental supervision. I believe this explains the look of sour disdain when tourists ask them for help at train stations. If there was a cartoon speech bubble it would probably say "Are you a freaking toddler?"
posted by dum spiro spero at 8:28 AM on September 2, 2023 [3 favorites]
Look up your journeys on trainline to get an idea of prices.
Then look at the Eurail passes
For Deutsche Bahn trains, you can purchase seat reservations separately if you have a rail pass. Seat reservations are not strictly necessary, except when sometimes 2nd class fills up and people end up sitting in the aisles. The fast trains are called ICE (intercity express). The Eurail pass will give you flexibility and freedom from surge pricing.
Things I have learned about taking trains in Germany:
* Announcements are given very fast in German. Always be looking at the departures board.
* Train platforms are assigned only ~15 minutes before departure, and can change again rapidly.
* Sometimes two halves of the train unlink mid-journey and go to different destination, so you have to get on the correct part of the train.
* If you have a seat reservation, look for the sign that shows "train composition" to know where to stand, although it can be reversed last minute.
* There can be several-hour delays and cancellations.
* There aren't staff around to answer questions. If you need help, best bet is often another tourist.
Apparently, to start kindergarten in Germany the child has to be able to walk or take the bus to school all by themselves, without parental supervision. I believe this explains the look of sour disdain when tourists ask them for help at train stations. If there was a cartoon speech bubble it would probably say "Are you a freaking toddler?"
posted by dum spiro spero at 8:28 AM on September 2, 2023 [3 favorites]
Rick Steves' guidance on train travel and rail passes is good - you might find Should I Get a Rail Pass? particularly useful.
If you can book in advance (i.e. you know your dates) and you have some flexibility about what time you want to travel, it's usually but not always cheaper to buy individual tickets. As dum spiro spero notes, you can look up prices for individual tickets and passes online.
Note that Eurail passes are only available for non-EU residents.
posted by mskyle at 8:40 AM on September 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
If you can book in advance (i.e. you know your dates) and you have some flexibility about what time you want to travel, it's usually but not always cheaper to buy individual tickets. As dum spiro spero notes, you can look up prices for individual tickets and passes online.
Note that Eurail passes are only available for non-EU residents.
posted by mskyle at 8:40 AM on September 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
I would suggest OBB for looking at prices and times as all the journeys either begin or end in Austria. Picking the first Monday of October as a travel day for each journey, the cheapest ticket currently available for your 3 journeys gives a total lowest price of about €155. Much depends on the time of day you want to travel, if you can nail down a day for each journey you can see the prices for the different trains serving that journey and see the relative prices on OBB easily and then you should be able to book the tickets also. I think you can get an app on your phone that will act as the place to store etickets. Have a quick look based on your likely travel days and see how it compares with say the 4 day Eurail ticket. Prices for individual tickets are unlikely to drop in the future. The Eurail will give you more flex if you want to leave dates open but possibly at a cost.
posted by biffa at 9:13 AM on September 2, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by biffa at 9:13 AM on September 2, 2023 [3 favorites]
For trains in Germany, having the Deutsche Bahn app: DB Navigator was essential to us being able to navigate delays. Highly recommended.
posted by skunk pig at 10:49 AM on September 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by skunk pig at 10:49 AM on September 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
While ÖBB directly is the surest way to get tickets, they are not cheap. Deutsche Bahn is ok too, but given that most of your travel is in Austria, I would recommend going with ÖBB. If it is only three trips, I would suggest getting them separately. Package/rail pass deals are a hit/miss. Sometimes you get really reduced prices 2nd class, sometimes 1st class is not that much more. Always make sure to also get a seat reservation. None of these journeys are > 5 hrs, but it is nice to have a seat for yourself that you don't have to change.
I use trainline.com to get the cheapest x time/connection tickets. This allows you to optimize time of travel, duration, and price.
Vienna to Munich is served by ÖBB and Westbahn (private company). Munich to Innsbruck is served by Deutsche Bahn, and is the weakest link in your planning (no shade to DB but their trains haven't been running on time, or at all, lately). Innsbruck to Vienna is best served by ÖBB.
posted by ssri at 11:47 AM on September 2, 2023
I use trainline.com to get the cheapest x time/connection tickets. This allows you to optimize time of travel, duration, and price.
Vienna to Munich is served by ÖBB and Westbahn (private company). Munich to Innsbruck is served by Deutsche Bahn, and is the weakest link in your planning (no shade to DB but their trains haven't been running on time, or at all, lately). Innsbruck to Vienna is best served by ÖBB.
posted by ssri at 11:47 AM on September 2, 2023
Came in to recommend seat61. I live in Vienna and think his info is very helpful.
I personally use the OEBB App and find it clumsy to use but useful once i got the hang of it.
The only part i disagree with seat61, do make a reservation. It is more than nice to have. Since several months OEBB (Austrian railways cooperation) will remove passengers without reservations from trains if they judge the train as full. Not necessarily when boarding but at the next stop! I have both experienced this myself and observed it. In June one woman next to me was removed from the train despite having a valid ticket from Vienna to Munich. She had no seat reservations and the entire double length train (a RailJet) was full of reserved seats, no unreserved left, she sat in a reserved seat of a no show. She had to leave the train at the next stop and it all was very upsetting obviously especially as the ticket she had was train specific. I have also observed several times that people were stopped from boarding.
Typically this happens on Rail Jets and ICE (eg international trains). The 3 Euro reservation fee is worth it because you have a secure seat.
It used to be tolerated that people stand in corridors, sit on the floor etc. but this is no longer a thing you can count on. Execution of the policy is arbitrary.
posted by 15L06 at 12:16 PM on September 2, 2023
I personally use the OEBB App and find it clumsy to use but useful once i got the hang of it.
The only part i disagree with seat61, do make a reservation. It is more than nice to have. Since several months OEBB (Austrian railways cooperation) will remove passengers without reservations from trains if they judge the train as full. Not necessarily when boarding but at the next stop! I have both experienced this myself and observed it. In June one woman next to me was removed from the train despite having a valid ticket from Vienna to Munich. She had no seat reservations and the entire double length train (a RailJet) was full of reserved seats, no unreserved left, she sat in a reserved seat of a no show. She had to leave the train at the next stop and it all was very upsetting obviously especially as the ticket she had was train specific. I have also observed several times that people were stopped from boarding.
Typically this happens on Rail Jets and ICE (eg international trains). The 3 Euro reservation fee is worth it because you have a secure seat.
It used to be tolerated that people stand in corridors, sit on the floor etc. but this is no longer a thing you can count on. Execution of the policy is arbitrary.
posted by 15L06 at 12:16 PM on September 2, 2023
When we did the math for a three stage journey across Germany, we found that it was cheaper to buy separately than to get a Eurail pass, which is meant for a longer and more extensive adventure.
For reservations, the rule of thumb is you always need them more when you don't get them. Whenever we bought reservations, the trains were half-empty; but when we skimped on them, they were jam packed.
posted by ovvl at 12:40 PM on September 2, 2023
For reservations, the rule of thumb is you always need them more when you don't get them. Whenever we bought reservations, the trains were half-empty; but when we skimped on them, they were jam packed.
posted by ovvl at 12:40 PM on September 2, 2023
I live in Vienna.
When it comes to westward trips, I will always choose Westbahn before ÖBB.
Anecdotally, the ÖBB experience always ends up clunkier, more error prone and less easy than Westbahn. It's often slightly more expensive, too.
Yes, aways reserve a seat.
And get ready for the adventure of navigating the plattforms. The thing is, the real time departure board on your plattform often won't give you the final station, like Munich (except when it does. When? Why? I don't know.). Instead, they'll announce the names of, like, three different stops en route, whose importance, with all due respect to Mistelbach and Attnang-Puchheim, is highly questionable. (You could read the paper departure boards to find out if the named stops are en route to your destination. This will count as circumstantial evidence when you later relitigate the case in your head of how you somehow ended up in Budapest.)
Yes, the tannoy announcements are fast, short and there can be last minute plattform changes.
In short: Before you get on the train, ask someone. Please just ask someone.
posted by Omnomnom at 2:17 PM on September 2, 2023 [3 favorites]
When it comes to westward trips, I will always choose Westbahn before ÖBB.
Anecdotally, the ÖBB experience always ends up clunkier, more error prone and less easy than Westbahn. It's often slightly more expensive, too.
Yes, aways reserve a seat.
And get ready for the adventure of navigating the plattforms. The thing is, the real time departure board on your plattform often won't give you the final station, like Munich (except when it does. When? Why? I don't know.). Instead, they'll announce the names of, like, three different stops en route, whose importance, with all due respect to Mistelbach and Attnang-Puchheim, is highly questionable. (You could read the paper departure boards to find out if the named stops are en route to your destination. This will count as circumstantial evidence when you later relitigate the case in your head of how you somehow ended up in Budapest.)
Yes, the tannoy announcements are fast, short and there can be last minute plattform changes.
In short: Before you get on the train, ask someone. Please just ask someone.
posted by Omnomnom at 2:17 PM on September 2, 2023 [3 favorites]
In short: Before you get on the train, ask someone. Please just ask someone.
Absolutely! Ask the Bahnhofsvorstand, ask the Kassier
ask the man who sells the heisse Würstel!
ask the Fahrdienstleiter, the man with the beer
maybe even ask the Putzfrau with the Bürstel!
And definitely listen to the legendary Helmut Qualtinger's Bundesbahnblues to get in the right frame of mind for travelling with OEBB.
posted by sohalt at 2:34 PM on September 2, 2023 [2 favorites]
Absolutely! Ask the Bahnhofsvorstand, ask the Kassier
ask the man who sells the heisse Würstel!
ask the Fahrdienstleiter, the man with the beer
maybe even ask the Putzfrau with the Bürstel!
And definitely listen to the legendary Helmut Qualtinger's Bundesbahnblues to get in the right frame of mind for travelling with OEBB.
posted by sohalt at 2:34 PM on September 2, 2023 [2 favorites]
I wanted to suggest Westbahn too as it is a far easier buying experience and the trains themselves are often better equipped.
Vienna to Munich is offered 5 times a day. With planning you could take an earlier departure from Vienna and still have time for a quick visit for lunch in either Salzburg or Linz (luggage lockers are easily accessible in both cities).
posted by pipstar at 5:36 AM on September 4, 2023
Vienna to Munich is offered 5 times a day. With planning you could take an earlier departure from Vienna and still have time for a quick visit for lunch in either Salzburg or Linz (luggage lockers are easily accessible in both cities).
posted by pipstar at 5:36 AM on September 4, 2023
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by soelo at 8:28 AM on September 2, 2023 [3 favorites]