Between Munich and Salzburg

München / Munich to Wien / Vienna by train

How to travel from München/Munich to Wien/Vienna by train

Despite the distance it's super easy to travel from München/Munich to Wien/Vienna by train.
The daytime trains are smart and comfortable, the stations at both ends of the trip are very passenger friendly and the journey is easy on the eye.

Or if you need to be in Wien/Vienna before breakfast there is an overnight train, but note that it isn't a Nightjet train.

Share

Routes

Option 1: travelling by Railjet

Travel Information

Final Destination: Budapest or Wien

These trains also call at: Linz, St Polten, Wien-Meidling*

*Check the location of your final destination in Wien/Vienna.

If you're heading to the south west corner of the city, or the area on the ring road around the Opera House - then it's likely that you'll have a faster and more convenient journey if you leave the train at Wien-Meidling station.

Wien Meidling is connected to line U6 of the Vienna Metro, which serves the western side of the city centre.

7 x trains per day

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date

It can be particularly worthwhile comparing prices on the national ticket agents for this journey, becasue when the cheapest tickets have sold out on the DB (German railways website), they can still be available on the OBB (Austrian railways wesite) and vice versa.

The OBB website also tends to offer additional, generally cheaper options, which involve changing 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.

On the DB booking site look for journeys that have:

  • 0 in the Chg. column
  • RJ  (and only RJ) in the Products column.

Use the earlier/later buttons to search for the cheapest ticket prices.

Book 1st class ticket journey tickets on DB Bahn and your seat reservation is included - but they're optional when booking 2nd class tickets, or if you will be travelling with a 1st or 2nd class rail pass.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
DB from €18.90

DB Guide

DB is the national railway operator in Germany, so its website can be used for booking journeys by German express trains; the ICE and IC trains and it doesn't charge booking fees.
It also sells tickets for journeys by direct trains on all international routes from Germany regardless of whether DB is operating the train service.

It also sells an extensive range of end-to-end journeys which involve making connections both within Germany and in neighboring countries, but journeys between Germany and Britain cannot be booked on DB.

A key feature of DB website worth keeping mind is that it offers 1st class ticket purchasers complimentary seat reservations on journeys both within and to/from Germany.
Seat reservations for daytime in both 1st and 2nd class can also be booked separately from tickets.

Two types of ticket have recently been made available;

  1. Cheaper 'Young' tickets which can only be booked by those aged 15-26 on the travel date.
  2. Flexi Plus tickets, which are now the most expensive type of ticket, but they're the only type of 2nd class tickets which DO include a seat reservation.
OBB from €19

OBB Guide

OBB is the national rail operator and its booking service offers journeys by express trains within Austria, as well as international journeys which don't involve making a connection outside of Austria.

It pays off to book online, as the discounted 'Sparscheine' tickets are only ever made available on the website, and when making international journeys to and from Austria, these Sparscheine tickets tend to be cheaper.
OBB can offer particularly good value for money when travelling with children on international rail journeys, but something to watch out for when travelling between Austria and Germany on daytime trains, is that reservations are an optional extra; but if you book 1st class tickets with the Germany railways website DB, the reservations are complimentary.

OBB often takes a unique approach to its booking path, but a key thing to keep in mind is that the first price you will see for any journey is that of a Second Class seat.
The costs of upgrading to first class, a reservation, or a sleeping cabin etc, is then added to this price.

Omio from €18.90

Omio Guide

Omio is an online ticket agency which offers tickets for rail journeys in France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain.

The three key advantages of using Omio are

  • it offers prices in multiple currencies
  • it usually offers price comparison with other modes of travel including flights and buses
  • when visiting Europe, you can book journeys in multiple countries in one transaction.

The disadvantage of booking with Omio is that it often adds a booking fee to the final price; therefore when it does so without offering a price advantage, SMTJ doesn't tend to offer Omio as a booking option.

Save A Train from €18.90

Save A Train Guide

Trainline from €18.90

Trainline Guide

Happy rail from €18.90

Happy rail Guide

Happy Rail is a Netherlands rail ticket agency which sells tickets for both national and international journeys within a range of countries including Belgium France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland.

HappyRail doesn't charge booking fees in the conventional sense, but if you're not Dutch you can expect to pay additional transaction fees, which will be added to the total cost.
That's because the most common form of online payment used in The Netherlands is 'iDEAL' and HappyRail doesn't charge a transaction fee for 'iDEAL' payments, but only Dutch residents can sign up to 'iDEAL'.
Other forms of payment include Visa debit cards will incur a fee.

On this journey

Journey Features

Not High SpeedScenic - Yes

Good to Know

Note that these trains do not call at Munchen Ost station.

The final direct daytime train of the day departs from Munchen Hbf at around 17:30.

Between Munich and Salzburg Between Munich and Salzburg

We may have been a tad generous with the scenic rating for this journey as this is a pleasant, rather than spectacular train ride, the views of the mountains will be distant ones.

The prettiest part of the journey by train from Munich to Vienna is between Salzburg and Linz, though we lack the images to prove it, as on the most recent two occasions we came this way, it was pouring with rain!

So this is a route when taking the alternative overnight train means you won't lose out on seeing spectacular views!

Please support ShowMeTheJourney

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 go here to say thank you.

Option 2: travelling by Westbahn

Journey Summary

Travel Time
4hr 3min
Frequency
3 - 6 x trains per day (see the note below)
Travel Information

Final Destination: Wien-Westbanhof

Note that these trains arrive at a different station in Wien/Vienna to that used by the Railjets.

These trains also call at Wien Hutteldorf which has an interchange with line U4 of the Vienna Metro, which makes multiple stops on the southern side of the city centre, including at Karlsplatz.

Departing from Munchen/Munich:

These trains also call at: Munchen Ost

The alternative Railjet services do not call at Munchen Ost, but if your starting point is located by Marienplatz or Isator stations in Munchen/Munich city centre, you will save around 20 mins by making a connection from these local cross-city trains at Munchen Ost instead of at Munchen Hbf

Until Aug 1st:
Mon - Saturday = 4 x trains per day
Sunday = 3 x trains

From Aug 2nd:
Mon - Saturday = 6 x trains per day
Sunday = 5 x trains

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

The daytime train service between Wien/Vienna and München/Munich is now split between Railjet trains operated by OBB and these trains operated by Westbahn.

The two train services have similar journey times;, the difference is generally less than 10 mins compared to OBB's fastest services), but the Westbahn trains depart from a different station in Wien/Vienna

Tickets for the trains operated by Westbahn are not available on the OBB ticket booking site and vice versa, tickets for the trains operated by OBB are not available on the Westbahn site, but both services can be looked up and booked on Trainline.

Though on this route when travelling on Monday to Thursday limited numbers of WESTsuperpreis tickets will be available for €23.99, they must be booked in advance and are only valid when travelling on the selected departure.

Last minute tickets booked at the station are more expensive than booking in Advance.

Differences in ticketing terms to travelling by Railjet:

  • For these cross-border journeys Westbahn offers complimentary seat reservations when booking online
  • Tickets can be cancelled/refunded up to one day before the travel date
  • Book any ticket and you can take up to four children who are family members and aged 14 and under for €1 per child.
Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
Westbahn from €23.99
Trainline Österreich *

Trainline Österreich Guide

On this journey

Journey Features

Scenic - NoNot High Speed

Good to Know

The only metro interchange available at Wien Hbf, which is where the Railjets arrive, is with line U1.

However, Wien-Westbahnhof has a connection with line U3 and line U6 of the Vienna U-Bahn/Metro.

These two lines don't call* at Wien Hbf so if the end point of your journey in the city is located along them it's likely that you'll have a faster and easier end-to-end trip, if you target these Westbahn trains.
*=Though the Railjet trains also call at Wien-Meidling which has connection with line U6.

Option 3: travelling by EuroNight

Travel Information

Final Destination: Budapest

This train also calls at: Munchen Ost

1 x train per night

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open:
6 months ahead of the travel date on OBB
3 months ahead of the travel date on DB Bahn

'Kalaman Imre' is the name given to this train that is provided by Hungarian Railways (MAV) - the train will is heading to Budapest.

It comprises
- Compartment Seats
- Couchettes ; 4 berths AND 6 berths
- Sleeping cars with 3 bed, 2 bed and 1 cabins (there are no deluxe sleeping cars with showers in the cabins available on this route).

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.

However, these rail pass reservations can NO longer be booked online the DB website.

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.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
OBB *

OBB Guide

OBB is the national rail operator and its booking service offers journeys by express trains within Austria, as well as international journeys which don't involve making a connection outside of Austria.

It pays off to book online, as the discounted 'Sparscheine' tickets are only ever made available on the website, and when making international journeys to and from Austria, these Sparscheine tickets tend to be cheaper.
OBB can offer particularly good value for money when travelling with children on international rail journeys, but something to watch out for when travelling between Austria and Germany on daytime trains, is that reservations are an optional extra; but if you book 1st class tickets with the Germany railways website DB, the reservations are complimentary.

OBB often takes a unique approach to its booking path, but a key thing to keep in mind is that the first price you will see for any journey is that of a Second Class seat.
The costs of upgrading to first class, a reservation, or a sleeping cabin etc, is then added to this price.

DB Bahn *

DB Bahn Guide

DB is the national railway operator in Germany, so its website can be used for booking journeys by German express trains; the ICE and IC trains and it doesn't charge booking fees.
It also sells tickets for journeys by direct trains on all international routes from Germany regardless of whether DB is operating the train service.

It also sells an extensive range of end-to-end journeys which involve making connections both within Germany and in neighboring countries, but journeys between Germany and Britain cannot be booked on DB.

A key feature of DB website worth keeping mind is that it offers 1st class ticket purchasers complimentary seat reservations on journeys both within and to/from Germany.

Seat reservations for daytime in both 1st and 2nd class can also be booked separately from tickets.

On this journey

Journey Features

Night

Good to Know

This train is usually scheduled to depart from Munchen Hbf at 23:35 and arrive in Wien Hbf at 06:34 - note the exceptionally early arrival time.

*At Munchen Hbf the coaches heading to Wien/Vienna, and on to Budapest, will be joined to other coaches heading to Zagreb and Venezia/Venedig.
The train will be separated during its journey.

Also OBB Nightjet trains are not used on this route.

Take the stress out of your journey Everything planned to your specification, so sit back and relax… Try Concierge
hand-money

Please support ShowMeTheJourney

Help keep us advertising and paywall free!

Donate

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.
Leaving From
Going To
ShowMeTheJourney

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.