Munich Airport to Salzburg: Train, Coach or Car

By The Travel Fieldbook October 4, 2026 October 7, 2026

The S-Bahn station at Munich Airport, served by lines S1 and S8 into Munich. (JIP · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Edited)

From Munich Airport Terminal 2 arrivals, reaching Salzburg means choosing not just the main journey but also where you arrive. Trains bring you to Salzburg main station, while the direct FlixBus coach stops at Salzburg South, away from the centre. A pre-arranged car avoids those luggage transfers. Use Mirabellplatz as the central destination when comparing the options, then allow for the journey to your accommodation.

Train, coach or car?

Criterion	Train	Airport coach	Private transfer	Hire car
Journey time to Mirabellplatz	—	Minimum 2 h 35 min scheduled coach + about 22 minutes city connection; excludes departure wait	about 2 hours driving; excludes meeting and traffic delays	about 2 hours driving; excludes collection, parking and traffic delays
Vehicle changes	1 at Munich East	1 to city bus	None	None
Cost and unit	Bayern-Ticket €34/44/54/64/74 per party of 1/2/3/4/5; or €15.10 airport + WESTbahn from €19.90 (€32.90 flexible) per adult	From €12.48/person + €3/person city bus from driver	Estimated €250–€450/vehicle one way; standard car, more for larger vehicles or late pickups	Estimated €50–€120/vehicle/day + €25–€40 fuel one way; extras and cross-border/drop-off fees additional
Service frequency	S8 every 20 min daytime; RE 5 approximately hourly	1 daily; time varies by date	By arrangement	Subject to collection hours
Limiting listed departure	Munich East NJ 237: 23:49 in listed timetable	Airport: 15:25 advertised, date-variable	By arrangement	—

Choose regional rail for departure flexibility, particularly solo or in a small group. The coach suits a flight that leaves ample time before its departure. With heavy luggage or a late arrival, a pre-arranged transfer reduces boarding steps. Hire a car chiefly for onward travel beyond Salzburg. These comparisons start at Terminal 2 arrivals and end at Mirabellplatz. Baggage reclaim and service waits add elapsed time. Separately bought onward tickets do not inherently protect you after a delayed flight. If a late landing leaves no reachable onward departure, you may need to stay overnight in Munich.

Train via Munich East

Regional rail lets you choose a later departure within your ticket’s validity, while a train-specific fare can tie you to one service. Choose your ticket for the Salzburg-bound train as well as the airport leg.

Airport station and the train change

Munich Airport’s station is beneath the Munich Airport Center (MAC), between Terminals 1 and 2, linked to both by covered walkways. From Terminal 2 arrivals, the walk is about 550 metres and about 7 minutes. Follow the rail signs and board the S8 for Munich East (München Ost). DB Regio’s S-Bahn München runs both airport lines, but the S8 reaches Munich East directly, without an intermediate change.

Name: Flughafen München
Location: Oberding Maps

At Munich East, change to Bayerische Regiobahn’s RE 5 regional train, WESTbahn or an ÖBB long-distance service towards Salzburg. There is no through train from Munich Airport to Salzburg. Allow room for finding the onward platform with your bags rather than treating the change as an immediate departure.

Platforms at Munich East station with S-Bahn trains and the station building — Platforms and S-Bahn trains at Munich East station (München Ostbahnhof).
*User:Mattes · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Edited*

Airport single ticket: €15.10 per adult one way, with transfers allowed but no return journey, while children aged 6–14 pay €2.
WESTbahn onward ticket: WESTspecials start at €19.90 per person with limited availability, while WESTflexpreis is €32.90. These are separate from the airport ticket.
Bayern-Ticket, Bavaria’s regional day ticket: €34 for one traveller, €44 for two, €54 for three, €64 for four or €74 for five in second class. These prices apply online and at DB machines, while staffed DB sales points add €2.

The Bayern-Ticket covers the airport S-Bahn and regional trains to Salzburg main station, but not Salzburg city buses. It accommodates up to five travellers and is not tied to one departure. Use the RE 5 rather than a long-distance train: the ticket is for local and regional services, not ICE or IC trains. A DB saver fare marked train-specific requires the booked train.

The Bayern-Ticket is valid Monday to Friday from 09:00 until 03:00 the following day. At weekends, on public holidays and on 24 and 31 December, validity starts at midnight and ends at 03:00 the following day. An early weekday arrival therefore changes which airport ticket you need.

The S8 runs every 20 minutes during the day and every 40 minutes roughly between 01:00 and 04:00.
The listed daily airport S8 timetable gives 04:04 as its first departure and 01:11 as its last. For a late arrival, the onward Salzburg train determines whether you can continue that night.
RE 5 runs approximately hourly on weekdays and weekends, while WESTbahn departures vary by timetable and day.
WESTbahn’s first listed Munich East departure towards Salzburg is 07:41. Plan WESTbahn travel around that operator’s departures.

Stamp paper tickets marked “validate here” before travelling, at the platform or entrance validator, not on board. Airport-City-Day Tickets from airport S-Bahn or DB machines are normally already validated unless bought unvalidated, while those from MVG stationary machines need stamping. Online tickets need no validation.

Main station to Mirabellplatz

From Salzburg main station, leave towards Südtiroler Platz and follow Rainerstraße to Mirabellplatz. The walk is about 950 metres and about 13 minutes, on essentially flat city streets and pavements. A wheeled suitcase is manageable here, but a large or heavy case may make a bus preferable.

Mirabellplatz puts you beside Mirabell Palace on the city-centre side of the station. It is the endpoint of this comparison, not a substitute for your accommodation address. If you are staying elsewhere, choose the final journey for that address rather than assuming this walk reaches your door.

Airport coach and the city connection

FlixBus runs a direct coach from Munich Airport to Salzburg South, without a coach change. Board at long-distance bus stops 21 and 22 in Terminal 2’s northern arrivals area, on the arrivals level. The minimum scheduled airport-to-Salzburg journey is 2 hours 35 minutes. One-way tickets start at €12.48 per person, and the price rises with travel date and availability.

FlixBus lists one departure daily, with timing varying by travel date. Its advertised first-departure bound is 10:25, but the day’s single departure can be later. One hand-luggage item and one checked bag are included. Keep the smaller bag with you under the seat or in the overhead compartment, while larger bags travel in the luggage hold. Extra or special luggage can cost more.

At Salzburg South, on Hellbrunner Landesstraße, you are still outside the centre. Walk to Alpensiedlung P+R and take Salzburg’s line 3 towards Landstraße, alighting at Mirabellplatz. Including the walking approaches, this final connection covers about 5.6 km and takes about 22 minutes. Keep your luggage accessible for the change from the coach to the city bus.

Name: Salzburg Bus Station
Location: Hellbrunner Landesstraße 5020 Salzburg Maps

From the driver: a full-fare single-ride ticket costs €3 per person.
Advance single-ride tickets: sold in packs of five for €12.50, equivalent to €2.50 each. The pack is less useful if you only need one ride.
For the separate one-hour product, buy at the stop’s machine or online before boarding, because it is not sold on the bus.
Using Salzburg Verkehr’s 2GO app, check in at the stop before departure to activate travel, then check out when the journey ends.

Private transfer and hire-car journey

A pre-arranged private transfer suits heavy luggage, a group travelling together or a late arrival. Cross-border transfers from Munich Airport to Salzburg are available through providers including GoOpti and RIED.TAXI. A car avoids the Munich East interchange or Salzburg South bus connection, and a booked transfer can take you to your accommodation rather than the central reference point.

From Terminal 2 arrivals to Mirabellplatz, both a transfer and a hire car cover about 184 km, with about 2 hours of driving via the A8 towards Salzburg. Allow additional time to meet the driver or collect the vehicle, and for congestion. A hire car also needs somewhere to park at the destination.

For a standard private car, budget roughly €250–€450 per vehicle one way, with larger vehicles or late pickups potentially costing more. Agree the meeting point, flight-delay waiting allowance and cancellation terms with the booked service. Do not assume a late flight is covered by unlimited waiting.

Hire-car planning costs are roughly €50–€120 per vehicle per day, plus €25–€40 in fuel for this one-way drive. Season, vehicle size, insurance, cross-border charges and a different return location can change the bill. Make sure the hire agreement permits travel into Austria. A car is most useful if you continue beyond Salzburg.

For vehicles up to and including 3.5 tonnes, Austria’s A1 is vignette-free between the Walserberg border and Salzburg Nord junction. The exemption applies only to that stretch: continuing onto other Austrian motorways may require a vignette.

Sources & fact-checking

Checks against the sources below cover: services, key figures, and fares and charges.