How to take the rail journey from Innsbruck to München/Munich

Final Destination: Munchen Hbf

The destination of these trains can be shown by ticket agents as 'München Hbf Gleis 5-10'
This is because Gleis 5-10 are in a separate part of the station, which is a 2 - 3 min walk away from the main concourse.

These trains also calls at: Munchen-Ost

Arriving in Munich/Munchen:

If the end point of your journey is in central Munchen/Munich, around Marienplatz then the quickest option is to leave a train at Munchen Ost station and connect there into an S-Bahn (local train) to the city centre.
In Munchen/Munich the S-Bahn trains are similar to Metro trains as they cross the city centre in a tunnel.

Isator station, which is within a 10 min walk of the Deutsches Museum is one station hop from Munchen Ost by S-Bahn trains

Trains on Line S8, travelling in the opposite direction, also connect at Munchen Ost to the airport; look for the trains terminating at 'Flughafen/Munchen'.
This connection at Munchen Ost can save around 30 mins when travelling to Munich airport from Innsbruck by train, compared to making the connection at Munchen Hbf.

An alternative more scenic route:

However, if you will be travelling with a rail pass valid in both Austria and Germany and time is on your side, then 3 x per day there are direct Regio trains from Innsbruck to Munchen.
They're slower then these EC trains (and 2nd class only), but the scenery is more spectacular; particularly if you sit on the left and seat reservations won't be necessary.

Online bookings open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date
This booking period tends to be shorter when looking up journeys between mid August and mid October.

It can be worth comparing prices on the different ticket agents, the cheapest 'Europa Spezial' tickets can still be available on DB, the German railways website, when the most heavily discounted 'Sparschiene' tickets are sold out on OBB, the Austrian railways website.
And the reverse can be true, cheaper Sparschiene tickets can still be available on OBB, meaning that DB can be more expensive.

A choice of tickets on the DB website

Three types of tickets are always available: Sparpreis and Super Sparpreis and Flexpreis.

A key difference between these types of tickets is refunds:

• Super Sparpreis tickets are cheapest, but they can't be refunded at all.
• Sparpreis tickets can be refunded for a fee, but the refund will be in the form of travel vouchers to be used for alternative / future journeys.
• Flexpreis tickets can be refunded at no additional charge.

The other key difference is that both types of Sparpreis tickets are only valid on the specific departures selected when booking, but the Flexpreis tickets live up to their name, as they can be used on any departure on your travel date.

Note that none of the tickets can be exchanged to a different departure.
There's no need for this to be available for Flexpreis tickets, as they aren't train departure specific.
If you book a Sparpreis ticket and want to travel by a different departure you can refund it and then use the travel voucher towards the cost of the new booking.
Super Sparpreis tickets can't be exchanged or refunded.

When travelling to and from the major cities, the Sparpreis and Flexpreis tickets also include 'City tickets', which can be used on public transport on from Munchen Hbf.

Seat reservations

Seat reservations are optional on the trains on this route - rail pass reservation fees don't apply on these EC trains when travelling between Germany and Austria (they're only mandatory on journeys from Italy).
They cost €4.90 when travelling in 2nd Class and €5.90 when travelling in 1st class.
They are included within the cost of booking 1st class Flexpreis ticketsl

When booking Super Sparpreis, Sparpreis and 2nd class Flexpreis tickets, you have the option of purchasing seat reservations later.
It can be worth re-looking up a journey a week or two ahead of travel, because the DB website will indicate how busy a departure will be.

Booking on the DB website

To see all the combinations of trains and journey options, some of which may be cheaper, take off the 'fastest connections' default.

Booking on the OBB website

The discounted tickets are the 'Sparscheine' tickets and they can be booked online up until the day of departure, but they CAN'T be booked at stations, so booking last minute at the station is always more expensive.

Though you'll usually need to book the 'Sparscheine' tickets at least a couple of days ahead to obtain them at the cheapest possible price.

Book a Sparschiene ticket and it will be specific to the departure you selected when making a booking and it can't be refunded at all if you subsequently change your travel plans and it also can't be exchanged to an alternative, later departure.

Trains departing at different times can also 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
It can pay off to take a look at the guide to Austrian train tickets - it should help you save time and money and confusion.

Seat reservations are optional.