How to travel from München/Munich to Zagreb by train

What had been the direct daytime train between München / Munich and Zagreb has been suspended until further notice.
An EC train still leaves München / Munich in the early afternoon, at around 12:15pm, but it no longer has coaches which travel on to Zagreb, a change of train is required in Villach

The earlier Railjet train heading to Villach, which typically departs München at around 08:15, also still has a 10 minute connection in Villach with a train on to Zagreb.
So ShowMeTheJourney is assuming that these connections will be guaranteed, as it will be fairly pointless for the trains on to Zagreb to depart on time, if the trains from München / Munich are running late.
The connection in Villach should be arranged, so that it's a simple as can be cross platform transfer between trains.

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date

Book 1st class ticket journey tickets on DB Bahn and your seat reservation is included, but they're optional when booking 2nd class tickets.

Rail Pass Users:

The reservation rules are different when using a rail pass to travel to Croatia by these trains.

Rail pass users must make reservations prior to boarding, irrespective if you will be using a 1st or 2nd class pass.

Travelling from Munchen Ost station:

When making a booking online on DB Bahn, it uses ‘Munich (München)’ as a default for looking up journeys from the city in the ‘From’ box.
But it is possible to select München Ost as the ‘From’ station (you need to use the German spelling with the character (the umlaut) over the ‘u’).
You won’t save any money by booking from München Ost, but the departure time of your train from Munchen Ost will be on your ticket.

Booking agents, when looking up Munchen to Zagreb journeys, will see that the fastest journey from Munchen is from Munchen Ost - so can assume that this is where you want to join the train.
If you're using an agent confirm whether your ticket has been booked from Munchen Hbf or Munchen Ost - particularly if you DO want to join the train at Munchen Hbf.

This train, which is named the 'Lisinki' is scheduled to depart from Munchen Ost and not from the city's main station at 23:54 and it schedule to arrive in Zagreb Glavni Kolod. station at 08:36.
It now commences its journey in Stuttgart Hbf at 20:59 and also calls in Ulm and Augsburg.

If you wake early there are some wonderful views of The Sava River valley gorge, as the train heads towards Croatia.

Though as the landscape this train will be travelling through is spectacular for pretty much the entire journey, we highly recommend travelling this route on the daytime train.

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 3 months ahead of the travel date

This train is provided by Croatian Railways (HZ) and is named 'Lizinski'.

It comprises:

- Compartment Seats 
- Couchettes; 4 berths AND 6 berths
- Standard sleeping cars with 3 bed, 2 bed and 1 cabins

Click the train button above for more info including the rail pass reservation fees:

Using rail passes:

Rail pass users must reserve before boarding this train.

If you want to reserve seats, berths in couchettes or beds in the sleeping cabins before you arrive in Germany, the best option is to pay a booking fee and use the Eurail or InterRail reservation services.

Or you can avoid the booking fees by arranging the reservations when you arrive in Germany, by purchasing them at a Reisezentrum travel desk, which you will find in any hauptbahnhof.

Though it's best to do this at the first hauptbahnhof (city centre station) that you will arrive at, the later you leave booking your accommodation, the more likely it is that your preferences will be sold out.