Timing train Salzburg to Munich Airport

[Anonymous]

I posted earlier this summer about traveling to Salzburg, and I greatly appreciated all the input I received. We are going to take the train from Salzburg to Munich airport for a flight to another EU destination. The airline said to arrive two hours in advance, but this will be a Sunday evening (which I’m assuming means movement of a lot of people). Likewise, we want to optimize time we have in Salzburg. Given all that, would anyone suggest what is the latest time you would leave Salzburg (by train) to make a 6:30pm flight? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Salzburg is quite boring. Even for a Mozart fan like myself.

[Anonymous]

Having lived in Germany for several years and dealt with the constant train cancellations and delays, I would be very hesitant to rely on day of train travel and would probably plan to arrive in Munich the evening prior. At minimum you should look at the train schedule and ensure that whatever the next train after the one you are planning to take will still get you to the airport in sufficient time in case your original train has issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Having lived in Germany for several years and dealt with the constant train cancellations and delays, I would be very hesitant to rely on day of train travel and would probably plan to arrive in Munich the evening prior. At minimum you should look at the train schedule and ensure that whatever the next train after the one you are planning to take will still get you to the airport in sufficient time in case your original train has issues.

Any idea if OBB is more timely than DB?

[Anonymous]

I was in Germany this summer, though not these cities. I had this idea that German trains were great--efficient, easy to use, ran on time, etc. They were not. I don't know if it's decaying infrastructure or I was just delusional, but some of our trains ran late and it was not easy or efficient to get around. (FWIW I have had good recent train experiences in other European countries). I would not rely on the train right before departure unless missing the flight is not a big deal.

Also, I found security lines long and inefficient at some of the airports I flew through. Again, not Munich. But I wouldn't count on breezing through. It actually made me appreciate TSA in the US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having lived in Germany for several years and dealt with the constant train cancellations and delays, I would be very hesitant to rely on day of train travel and would probably plan to arrive in Munich the evening prior. At minimum you should look at the train schedule and ensure that whatever the next train after the one you are planning to take will still get you to the airport in sufficient time in case your original train has issues.

Any idea if OBB is more timely than DB?

Overall it definitely is, but beyond the older trains and labor problems, a significant portion of the issues on the German side are also due to track maintenance issues and closures, which equally affect the non German trains. (To the point that the Swiss train service stopped all operations within Germany because it was harming their ratings and other services have considered similar measures)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was in Germany this summer, though not these cities. I had this idea that German trains were great--efficient, easy to use, ran on time, etc. They were not. I don't know if it's decaying infrastructure or I was just delusional, but some of our trains ran late and it was not easy or efficient to get around. (FWIW I have had good recent train experiences in other European countries). I would not rely on the train right before departure unless missing the flight is not a big deal.

Also, I found security lines long and inefficient at some of the airports I flew through. Again, not Munich. But I wouldn't count on breezing through. It actually made me appreciate TSA in the US.

Pp here and I was under this impression too, but after moving to Germany learned that the reputation is woefully outdated. (Locals would laugh at me when I mentioned having expected the train service to be good). DB now ranks among the worst across all of Europe
- even Italy now has better on time performance.

[Anonymous]

I just moved back to NOVA from Germany, and would not rely on the train to get to an international flight on time. FlixBus (or another city to city bus service) is a much more reliable option.

Security at the Munich airport is pretty easy, they have new/fancy X-ray machines and therefore don’t require you to take liquids, electronics, etc out of your carry on.

[Anonymous]

German trains are riding on an efficiency reputation from 30 years ago--but still run a thousand times better than Amtrak.

That said,. I'd go to Munich the day before. Have a fun day at the (many!) Munich Biergartens. Wander the English Garden. Go to one of the fabulous museums. Security at the airport is a breeze.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Salzburg is quite boring. Even for a Mozart fan like myself.

Salzburg is magical! Love it.

[Anonymous]

OP here -we have to be in Salzburg the night before for an event, so we can’t spend the night in Munich. The flight (within the EU) leaves at 6:30pm, with the airline saying we should arrive by 4:30pm.

For those who have most recently dealt with DB and OBB how long are delays? How common are cancellations?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here -we have to be in Salzburg the night before for an event, so we can’t spend the night in Munich. The flight (within the EU) leaves at 6:30pm, with the airline saying we should arrive by 4:30pm.

For those who have most recently dealt with DB and OBB how long are delays? How common are cancellations?

It’s hard to predict but I would build in extra time and look up alternatives like bus routes just in case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here -we have to be in Salzburg the night before for an event, so we can’t spend the night in Munich. The flight (within the EU) leaves at 6:30pm, with the airline saying we should arrive by 4:30pm.

For those who have most recently dealt with DB and OBB how long are delays? How common are cancellations?

I would leave that morning like at 10 and plan to spend time in Munich that day so you have a lot of buffer time before the flight

[Anonymous]

Just travelled from Kiel to Basel bei DB, delay was three hours, quite normal nowadays, unfortunately.

[Anonymous]

We had a similar situation going from Lyon to CDG last year. If there are multiple trains per day that could get you there in ample time, I'd take the earliest one that you can and then you have back-ups if that gets cancelled.

If everything goes smoothly and you're getting near the airport really early, plan some things to do near MUC or in the city center. DD and I ended up with lots of extra time prior to getting to CDG so we made a quick trip to Disneyland Paris for the rest of the day.