A direct flight to Salzburg is the simplest choice if it leaves from a convenient UK airport. Munich offers another gateway, while connecting trains, coaches and driving let you travel without flying. The choice changes with the season and how far you must travel to your departure airport.
London St Pancras International and Mirabellplatz, beside Salzburg’s Mirabell Palace, are the reference points for the journeys below. If you live elsewhere in the UK, weigh the journey to a local airport against the extra connections after landing.
Flights, trains, coaches and driving
| Criterion | Direct Salzburg flight | Munich flight + rail | Connecting trains | Connecting coach | Car via LeShuttle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel time between reference points | — | — | — | — | About 13½ hours; excludes terminal procedures, waits and breaks |
| Connections | Train → flight → bus | Tube → Express → flight → S1 → train | Paris station change; Stuttgart; Munich | Connecting itinerary | Vehicle shuttle |
| One-way ticket components | Adult: flight roughly £50–£200; UK train —; bus €2.50 | Adult: flight roughly £70–£250; Tube £3–£3.10; Express from £10; S-Bahn —; Westbahn from €8.99 | Adult: Eurostar from £39 with return purchase; Metro €2.55; Paris–Stuttgart from €54; Stuttgart–Munich from €14.99; Westbahn from €8.99 | Separate routes per passenger: London–Munich from US$79.98; Munich–Salzburg from €8.98; Tube + local bus extra | Vehicle: Standard from £124; Flexiplus from £284; up to 9 passengers included |
| Departure pattern | Seasonal UK network | Heathrow: 18–20/weekday; 16/weekend day, 3 October–3 November 2026 | — | London–Munich: about 8/day | Up to 4/hour |
| Last departure | — | Heathrow: Lufthansa LH2481, 20:25 daily | — | London–Munich: 23:59 listed; varies by day | 24-hour operation, every day |
Choose a nearby direct departure before travelling across the UK for one. Munich may suit a nearer airport, while trains suit avoiding flights. With children or heavy bags, fewer changes can outweigh a lower fare. For a tight budget, compare the complete ticket basket. For late arrivals, include the final transfer.
Driving to Folkestone’s LeShuttle terminal from St Pancras covers about 112 km in about an hour and a half. The crossing takes 35 minutes, platform to platform. From Calais’s terminal to Mirabellplatz, allow about 11 hours for about 1120 km.
Budget roughly £120–£200 per vehicle for fuel across those driving legs, depending on consumption and pump prices. Sharing reduces the per-person cost. Shuttle prices vary with date, vehicle dimensions and accessories. An Austrian motorway approach requiring a vignette adds €9.60 for a car’s one-calendar-day digital vignette.
The central-London Tube legs to Victoria or Paddington cost £3.10 peak or £3.00 off-peak per adult using pay-as-you-go. Add airport processes, boarding, waiting and interchanges to public-transport travel, and proper rest breaks to the drive.
Direct flights from UK airports
- Summer/autumn 2026: Gatwick has BA Euroflyer up to seven times weekly, and Stansted has Ryanair five times weekly. Both are year-round routes.
- Winter 2026/27, Gatwick: British Airways up to six times weekly; easyJet up to seven weekly from 4 December 2026; Jet2 Saturdays from 26 December 2026.
- Heathrow: British Airways Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 4 December 2026, with Fridays not throughout the season; Lufthansa Saturdays from 19 December 2026.
- Luton: easyJet Saturdays and some Sundays. Southend: easyJet Saturdays from 5 December 2026.
- Stansted: year-round Ryanair plus Jet2 Saturdays from 26 December 2026.
- Belfast and Birmingham: Jet2 Saturdays from 19 December 2026.
- Bristol: easyJet Saturdays from 5 December 2026.
- Edinburgh: Jet2 Saturdays from 26 December 2026.
- Leeds: Jet2 Saturdays from 19 December 2026.
- Liverpool: easyJet Saturdays from 19 December 2026.
- Manchester: Ryanair Mondays and Saturdays from 5 December 2026; Jet2 Saturdays from 12 December 2026.
Yes, you can fly direct from the UK to Salzburg, but the wider choice is in winter. Additional regional departures can spare you a long journey to London. Their concentrated weekend patterns matter if you want a short break rather than a week away.
For the Gatwick example, take Thameslink directly from London St Pancras International to Gatwick Airport, taking about three quarters of an hour. Keep your rail ticket separate from your airline ticket, and allow time between reaching the airport and boarding, particularly with checked luggage.
The airfare range in the comparison suits an early-booked economy single rather than a guaranteed price. Ski-season weekends, school holidays and late purchases can push it higher. Hold luggage and sports equipment can also change which departure is cheapest, so compare the fare with the bags you actually intend to take.
Flights to Munich and onward trains
Fly to Munich if its UK departure airport is more convenient, then continue by rail to Salzburg. Birmingham, Edinburgh, Gatwick and Manchester have direct Munich routes. From Heathrow, British Airways, Lufthansa and Lufthansa City operate nonstop services. Lufthansa’s usual scheduled flight time is 1 hour 55 minutes, with one service taking 2 hours.
From St Pancras, take the Underground to Paddington and Heathrow Express to the airport, taking about 38 minutes. Express singles allow any train on the chosen travel day.
- Heathrow Express Standard: £26 single.
- Advance Discounted Single: from £10 when bought at least 30 days ahead online or in the app; non-refundable and non-amendable.
- Premier+: £32 single.
After landing, take S1 from Munich Airport station to Munich Hauptbahnhof, taking about three quarters of an hour. Allow additional time to leave the terminal and reach the platforms. Your flight, airport train and Salzburg train are separate ticket purchases, so choose the onward departure with room for a delayed flight, not just an on-time landing.
- Westbahn Munich–Salzburg: WestSuperpreis from €8.99 per adult one way, limited quota, online-only and tied to a train.
- For 12 October 2026, Deutsche Bahn’s Munich–Salzburg starting fares are €17.98 on direct RJX, €19.98 on direct EC and €32 on direct BRB trains.
From 3 October to 3 November 2026, direct Heathrow–Munich flights run about 18–20 times per weekday and 16 times per weekend day. The last departure is Lufthansa LH2481 at 20:25 daily. The economy airfare range in the comparison rises with late booking, busy dates and checked bags. A late Heathrow departure may mean spending the night in Munich before continuing to Salzburg.
Eurostar route and tickets
Eurostar does not run directly to Salzburg. Start at London St Pancras International with Eurostar to Paris Gare du Nord, usually 2 hours 16 minutes, with some trains taking up to 2 hours 37 minutes. Continue from Gare de l’Est through Stuttgart and Munich to Salzburg Hauptbahnhof.
- Eurostar adult fares per direction, when buying a return: Standard from £39, Plus from £70 and fully flexible Premier from £245, subject to availability.
- Paris Metro-Train-RER Ticket: €2.55 full price; metro connections within two hours are allowed without leaving the network.
- SNCF Connect Paris–Stuttgart: from €54 one way in second class on selected trains and dates.
- Deutsche Bahn Stuttgart–Munich ICE: from €14.99 one way, depending on date and availability.
In Paris, take Metro Line 4 from Gare du Nord to Gare de l’Est, about 3 minutes between stations. Leave extra time to find the Metro, use the gates and reach your onward platform.
From Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof, the ICE 915 journey to Munich Hauptbahnhof takes about 2 hours. Continue with one of the Salzburg train choices above, then walk from Salzburg’s station to Mirabellplatz.
Plan all connections together before buying separate tickets. London to Munich by train develops the first part of the journey, including the choice between Paris and Brussels connections. Give yourself room within stations as well as between them, especially with luggage, because a cheap train-specific fare is less forgiving if you miss its departure.
Coaches from London
FlixBus lists London–Salzburg travel between Victoria Coach Station and Salzburg South. It also serves London–Munich and Munich–Salzburg, but choose the actual connected itinerary rather than assuming those two services join conveniently.
London–Munich takes a minimum scheduled 21 hours 45 minutes, with tickets advertised from US$79.98 one way. Munich central bus station–Salzburg South starts at €8.98. Compare the fare for your complete connected journey with flights and trains before choosing it for cost alone.
London–Munich has about eight departures per day. Its last listed departure is 23:59, though departure times vary by day and route.
From St Pancras, take the Victoria line from King’s Cross St Pancras to Victoria, then walk to the coach entrance on Buckingham Palace Road. The access journey takes about 22 minutes. Continue past the railway station to the coach departure entrance rather than stopping at the rail concourse.
- Name
- Victoria Coach Station
- Location
- Victoria Coach Station 164 Buckingham Palace Rd, London SW1W 9TP Maps
- Essential fact
- The coach departure station in central London, separate from Victoria railway station.
An overnight coach avoids changing trains with bags, but means a long period seated and luggage handling at any coach change. Keep documents and overnight essentials in your hand luggage, and leave room after arrival for the local journey from Salzburg South.
Airport and station arrivals
From Salzburg Airport, take Bus 2 towards Obergnigl and get off at Mirabellplatz. The airport-to-square transit journey takes about 26 minutes. A full-price single costs €2.50. Buses run every 15–20 minutes, with a 20-minute interval on Sundays and public holidays.
- Name
- Salzburg Airport bus stop
- Location
- 5020 Salzburg Maps
- Essential fact
- The public bus boarding point at Salzburg Airport.
Eweht · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Edited
Arriving by train from Munich or the UK rail route, leave Salzburg Hauptbahnhof for Mirabellplatz on foot: about 950 metres, taking about 13 minutes. With heavy bags, allow more time for the walk.
From Salzburg South, walk to Alpensiedlung P+R and take Bus 3 towards Landstraße, alighting at Mirabellplatz. The approach and bus journey take about 22 minutes. A driver-sold full-fare single costs €3 for one journey in one direction, allowing transfers but no stopovers.
- Name
- Salzburg South coach stop
- Location
- Hellbrunner Landesstraße 5020 Salzburg Maps
- Essential fact
- The Salzburg South intercity coach stop on Hellbrunner Landesstraße.
For an inconvenient coach arrival or heavy luggage, a taxi from Salzburg South to Mirabellplatz is an alternative. Allow roughly €20–€30, with traffic and extras affecting the metered fare.
Sources & fact-checking
Checks against the sources below cover: services and fares and charges.
- LeShuttle: 35 minutes to destination
- LeShuttle — fares and charges
- Coach calendar and fares
- Eurotunnel LeShuttle — service
- ASFINAG — fares and charges
- Transport for London — fares and charges
- Eurostar route map
- London to Paris train | Eurostar
- Eurostar — fares and charges
- Train timetable info London St Pancras Int’l to Paris Gare du Nord
- SNCF Connect; DB SNCF Voyageurs in cooperation — fares and charges
- Île-de-France Mobilités — fares and charges
- Deutsche Bahn — fares and charges
- London to Salzburg Coach Travel | Cheap bus tickets
- Bus from London to Munich – Affordable bus tickets
- London to Munich Coach Travel | Cheap bus tickets
- FlixBus — fares and charges
- Public Transportation
- Tickets und Tarife: Obus & Albus
- Salzburger Verkehrsverbund GmbH; commissioning authority: City of Salzburg; operator: Salzburg Linien Verkehrsbetriebe GmbH — service
- Single Ride Tickets — Salzburger Verkehrsverbund
- Salzburger Flughafen GmbH — service
- Salzburg Airport W. A. Mozart — service
- Salzburg Airport: Financial Year 2025 and a Look Back at 100 Years of Salzburg Airport
- Flughafen München GmbH — service
- Heathrow Airport — service
- Lufthansa — service
- Munich Airport — service
- Heathrow Express — fares and charges
- Münchner Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund (MVV) GmbH — fares and charges
- Deutsche Bahn; Westbahn Management GmbH — fares and charges
