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Amsterdam to München / Munich by train
Travel by day by changing trains or travel overnight on a direct train
There are multiple options available for taking a train journey between Amsterdam and Muenchen*/Munich (*Dutch spelling of Munich).
Simplest of all is to take the direct overnight trains, which have been newly re-introduced to this route.
Or if you'll be happy to travel overnight in a seat rather than a bed or bunk, you can travel through the night on a combination of ICE trains
Connections between swish ICE trains are always required when making a daytime journey.
But because you need to change trains, when you look up the journey on the ticket agents, you will see a multitude of options.
However, take care as many of the combinations of journeys, will have connecting times between trains of less than 20 minutes.
And those tightly timed connections can't be guaranteed in Germany.
Though if you miss a booked connection, any tickets/reservations can be transferred to a later train at a Reisezentrum travel desk, but this is a hassle that can be avoided.
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Routes
Option 1: by day connecting in Koln or Dusseldorf
Journey Summary
7hr 30min - 8hr 5min (approx)
Daily
Travel Information
A plus of this route is that connecting time between trains at Koln isn't usually particularly tightly timed.
*However, when you look up this journey on the DB (the official German railways) ticket booking website, it will often suggest making connections in other stations along this route such as Dusseldorf or Seigburg/Bonn.
Because the tickets will be train specific, you'll need to make the connections at these other stations, but it doesn't particularly matter at which station you change trains; though if you will be travelling with heavy luggage etc, a connection at Seigburg/Bonn usually involves waiting on the same platform/track for the onward connection
What you're looking out for is a connecting time between trains of more than 30 mins; because if you take those options, you'll have a greater chance of having a stress-free journey.
Also look out for connections which involve arriving at Koln-Messe/Duez station and departing from Koln hbf and avoid them if possible, as these are two very separate stations, with a comparatively awkward connection between them.
Travelling with a Eurail or InterRail Pass:
If you will be travelling with a rail pass our advice is to ignore all the above and change trains in Dusseldorf.
There are more ICE trains between Dusseldorf Hbf and Munchen, than there are between Koln Hbf and Munchen.
And as you don't need to reserve on the ICEs, you can hop on the next train to depart from Dusseldorf.
Mon - Sat = 5 x connections per day
Sunday = 4 x connections per day
*Change trains in: Koln/Cologne* or Dusseldorf
Tickets
Book online and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date (usually)
DB Bahn is recommended for booking tickets for THIS routing because of the facility it offers to increase the connecting time between trains to at least 30 mins when making a booking.
Therefore it gives the easiest access to this combination of 2 x ICE trains that involve connecting between trains somwhere other than Frankfurt (Main).
Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so you may need to look through the day's departures to find the cheapest fares.
Reservations:
Seat reservations are included when booking 1st class tickets.
However, if you book 2nd class tickets, or will be travelling with a 1st or 2nd class rail pass, reservations are optional.
The advice is too pay the reservation fee, you'll be quite fortunate to find a spare seat available on what are normally, comparatively busy trains.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| DB Bahn | from €39 (approx) |
Train 1
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
Note that Koeln is the Dutch spelling of Cologne, so this name for the city will be used on the train information screens at Amsterdam Centraal.
Final Destination: Frankfurt (Main) or Basel SBB
All trains also call at: Utrecht; Arnhem; Dusseldorf
This is nearly always a stress-free journey, which showcases the best aspects of European international train travel.
The stations at both ends of the route have ideal city centre locations and the ICE 3 trains definitely have a wow factor!
This is nearly always a stress-free journey, which showcases the best aspects of European international train travel.
The stations at both ends of the route have ideal city centre locations and the ICE 3 trains definitely have a wow factor!
Though what's a tad odd about this journey is that you'll be on board a train that's in the Top 5 on a 'fastest trains in Europe' list, but there's no high speed railway line between Amsterdam and Cologne.
So this route isn't particularly fast and it isn't going to wow scenery fans, but there's still lots to see as the train passes through numerous towns and cities.
And if you sit on the left, you'll see a typical Dutch canal between Amsterdam and Utrecht; so you can sit back and watch the boats go by.
Train 2
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
Final Destination: Munchen Hbf
All trains also call at: Stuttgart, Ulm, Augsburg
Most trains also call at: Munchen-Passing
Journey description:
This is a journey of five distinct phases:
- Until Siegburg/Bonn the first part of the journey is on a conventional railway.
- On departure from Siegburg/Bonn comes the part of the journey with a wow factor, when the train spends around 40 minutes racing along the rollercoaster that is the high speed line to Frankfurt Flughafen, at more than 280 km/h.
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Option 2: by day connecting in Frankfurt
Journey Summary
7hr 27min (via Frankfurt)
Daily
Travel Information
The fastest end-2-end daytime journey from Amsterdam to Muenchen (Dutch spelling of Munich) is available on this route via Frankfurt (Main).
However, on this routing via Frankfurt (Main) the connecting time between trains at Frankfurt is usually around 24mins.
So ideal IF the ICE from Amsterdam arrives on time; and the other big plus of this routing is that Frankfurt (Main) hbf is also an exceptionally easy station in which to change trains.
Though if the train is running late, the best option is to move towards the front of the train, as the easiest route to the train on to Munchen will be via the main concourse.
But this connection between trains is not guaranteed.
Though if the train from Amsterdam arrives too late to make the connection, tickets/reservations can be transferred on to the next ICE to Munchen at the Reisezentrum travel desk in Frankfurt (Main) Hbf
On balance this route via Frankfurt would be our choice for a daytime train journey from Amsterdam to Munchen/Munich; and SMTJ put the chances of making the connection, or not, to the back of our mind.
Three reasons:
(1) The chances of making the connection will be more than 80%.
(2) Frankfurt (Main) is an easy station in which to change trains
(3) There'll be plenty of other options for travelling on to Munchen in the event of a delay
There is a minimum of 1 x ICE train per hour from Frankfurt (Main) to Munchen.
**4 -5 x connections per day
Change trains in: Frankfurt (Main)
Tickets
Book early and save: YES
Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date (usually)
When looking uo this journey, you will see multiple options for making the journey from Amsterdam to Munchen/Meunchen/Munich by train.
To find THIS combination of trains you're looking for 'ICE' on DB Bahn or 'ICE > ICE' on NS International AND only one connection.
On DB Bahn don't extend the connecting time between trains.
Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so you may need to look through the day's departures to find the cheapest fares.
The most heavilly discounted tickets can be particularly tricky to track down on this routing via Frankfurt;, taking the route via Koln or Dusseldorf often be cheaper.
Reservations:
Seat reservations are included when booking 1st class tickets.
However, if you book 2nd class tickets, or will be travelling with a 1st or 2nd class rail pass, reservations are optional.
The advice is too pay the reservation fee, you'll be quite fortunate to find a spare seat available for these entire journeys.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| DB Bahn | from €39 (approx) | |
| NS Intl | from €39 (approx) |
Train 1
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
Final Destination: Frankfurt (Main) Hbf
All trains also call at: Koln/Cologne; Frankfurt Flughafen/Airport
There are few scenic highlights on this trip, though you'll be travelling beside a canal between Amsterdam and Utrecht; it can be seen on the left when travelling in this direction.
But what makes this journey fascinating is the multiple towns that the train will pass through, there is an interest contrast between the Dutch and German cityscapes
What gives the journey the wow factor is when the train travels on Germany's fastest high speed line
between Seigburg/Bonn and Frankfurt Flughafen.
Though the train will only be travelling at more than 280 km/h for around 50 mins of this journey; between Amsterdam and Seigburg/Bonn the train won't be travelling exceptionally fast.
Train 2
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
Final Destination: Munchen
All trains also call at: Nurnberg
This is a journey of seven distinct phases:
- Between Frankfurt (Main) and Aschaffenburg the railway passes through a string of commuter towns.
- Then east of Aschaffenburg, is the most scenic and slowest part of the trip as the railway follows a series of valleys.
- As the River Main comes into view on the right, the train will speed up before bridging the river and entering a tunnel which will link it to the high speed line.
- The train will spend around 10-15 mins on the high speed line as it nears Wurzburg, just before the station look out on the right for a brief panorama over the river and city.
- On to Nurnberg the train will be on conventional railway tracks.
- Between Nurnberg and Ingolstadt comes the fastest part of the trip when the train should spend around 30 minutes travelling at more than 270 km/h on the high speed line.
Option 3: travelling through the night on a direct train
Journey Summary
11hr 41min
Nightly
Travel Information
Final Destination: Innsbruck
This train also calls at: Augsburg ( typically arrives 06:23)
This train is typically scheduled to depart from Amsterdam-Centraal at 19:30; it also typically departs from Utrecht at 20:03 (connect from Den Haag and Rotterdam) and from Arnhem at 20:37 (connect from Nijmegen).
It is usually scheduled to arrive in München/Munich at 07:11; though due to the length of this journey it can be prone to having the timings altered due to works on the railway line.
If the train arrives on time, the following connections will be typically available at München hbf:
- 07:34 to Bolzano - Trento - Verona - Bologna
- 08:17 to Bad Gastein - Villach (connect for Ljubljana and Zagreb) - Klagenfurt
1 x train per night
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
This train is usually scheduled to depart from Amsterdam at 19:30, so target that time when looking up this journey.
Online bookings open:
6 months ahead of the travel date on OBB (OBB is the operator of this train)
3 months ahead of the travel date on DB Bahn
The choice of accommodation - summary:
- Compartment Seats (Sitzwagen)
- Couchettes (Liegewagen); 4 berths AND 6 berths
- Standard sleeping cars (Schlafwagen) with 3 bed, 2 bed and 1 cabins
- Deluxe sleeping cars (Schlafwagen) with 3 bed, 2 bed and 1 cabins
Click the train details button for more info including the rail pass reservation fees:
The first price you will see on the OBB ticketing site will be for the compartment seats.
Travelling with a rail pass:
Rail pass users must reserve before boarding this train.
However, these rail pass reservations can NO longer be booked online the DB website, but you can now book rail pass reservations without paying booking fees on the OBB website (OBB operates these trains_
Though the process for doing so isn't particularly obvious, hence this step-by-step guide.
If you arrange the reservations at a Dutch station you will also have to pay a booking fee.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| OBB | * | |
| NS Intl | * |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
On departure from Amsterdam this train heading to Innsbruck via Munchen will be attached to another train heading to Wien, the two trains will be separated on arrival at Nurnberg.
Your reservations will be in the part of the train heading to Munchen and the train conductor will greet all passengers who will be travelling in the sleeping cabins and couchettes.
Though if you can only see info for a train heading to Wien on the departure screens at Centraal station, the info will be what you need to follow.
As the train will be continuing to Innsbruck, you will not be able to remain in the sleeping cabins on arrival at Munchen hbf - the sleeping cabin attendant can be asked to wake you so that you're up in time.
This second version of ShowMeTheJourney is exciting and new, so we are genuinely thrilled that you are here and reading this, but we also need your help.
We’re striving not to let anything get in the way of providing the most useful service possible, hence a facility has been set up with DonorBox which can be used to support the running costs and make improvements.
Instead of advertising or paywalls, your financial support will make a positive difference to delivering an enhanced service, as there’s a lot of ideas which we want to make happen.
So if you have found the info provided here to be useful, please consider saying thank you.
See if there’s a unique journey guide for your trip, featuring info on the trains, tickets & stations.
This is one of more than 100 train travel guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.
