Flying to Munich

Flying into Munich. (Photo © FMG, courtesy of Flughafen München GMBH)

How to get between Munich and its airports

Munich has two airports.

Well, it really only has one airport—Munich International—but a handful of no-frills airlines instead use Memmingen, 71 miles west of the city.

Munich International Airport

Most flights land at Munich International Airport (tel. +49-(0)89-97-500; www.munich-airport.de) 18 miles northeast of the city.

How to get to downtown Munich from Munich airport

In brief: If you just need to get to a public transport stop downtown, take the train. If you want door-to-door service to a hotel, a private transfer will only cost about twice as much.

• Tip
  If you're going to take the S-Bahn from the airport, do not just buy a single ride ticket for €10. For just €0.80 more you can get a Day Ticket good for unlimited rides on the public transport system across Greater Munich for the rest of the day.
  
  Even better (for 2 or more people): the Partner Day Ticket costs €19.60 and covers up to five people.By train (33–53 min.; €10): The S1 and the S8 S-Bahn (light rail trains) connect the Munich airport with downtown every 20 minutes. The S8—which is marginally faster (by about 5–10 minutes)—hits downtown at Ostbahnhof, continuing through the central Marienplatz to Westbahnhof (the main train station). The S1 hits Westbahnhof first, then Marienplatz and Ostbahnhof.
• By bus (40 min.; €10.50): The Lufthansa Airport Bus (www.airportbus-muenchen.de) departs every 20 minutes and connects the Munich Airport with Schwabing North (25 min.) and a stop on Arnulfstrasse along the north side of Hauptbahhof, the Munich central train station (40 min.). You can also book this via our partners (arrival or departure) at Viator.com.
• Private car (60 min.; €21): You can arrange a Munich Airport private transfer (arrival or departure) at a discount via our partners at Viator.com.
• Taxi (40–60 min.; €51): Yes, a taxi cab is an option—but an astoundingly expensive one. I would not bother, especially since a private car service (above) does the same job yet costs less than half as much.

Allgäu Airport—Memmingen

Some low-cost carriers and no-frills airlines—including Ryanair, Wizz Air, and some AirBerlin flights—land at Allgäu Airport (tel. +49-8331-984-2000, www.allgaeu-airport.de), also known as Memmingen (the name of the town it's near).

This airport is also sometimes (laughably) called "Munich-West"—mostly by those self-same low-cost airlines in an attempt to make you believe the airport is near the city when it is, in fact, in a small Bavarian town 115 km (71 miles) west of Munich.

How to get to Munich from Memmingen airport

• Express bus (95 min.; €20, or €17 if you book ahead online): The Allgäu Airport Express bus (www.aaexpress.de) meets all incoming Rynair and Wizz Air flights (that's four to six times daily) and travels to downtown Munich.
  
• City bus/train (90–110 min.; €25–€28): If you can't link up with the Express Bus, hop a Memmingen city bus (nos. 810, 811, or 2) into downtown Memmingen (10 min; €3) and transfer to a train to Munich (75–95 min; €21.80–€25).
• Private transfer (70–90 min.; ~ €190): The Express Bus company above (and local taxis) will drive you to Munich in a minivan—but it'll cost you. Only worthwhile for multiple passengers.