Berlin to Salzburg by train

How to travel from Berlin to Salzburg by train

There are no direct trains from Berlin to beautiful Salzburg, but it's a straightforward journey.
The connection can be made in Munchen hbf, which is a particularly easy station in which to change trains and there will be typically two trains per hour from there on to Salzburg

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Routes

From Berlin Hbf to Salzburg Hbf

Travel Information

Final Destination: Munchen

Departing from Berlin:

These trains usually depart from the lower level (tief) in Berlin Hbf.

These trains also call at Berlin Sudkreuz - which is to the south of the city centre

Connections are available at Berlin Sudkreuz from S-Bahn trains from the eastern and western edges of the city centre, as well as S-Bahn (local) trains from Brandenburger Tor and Postdamer Platz and Anhalter stations.

Check your connections in Berlin on this [public transport map](https://fahrinfo.bvg.de/Fahrinfo/bin/query.bin/en?

Mon - Fri = 7 x connections per day
Sat/Sun = 6 x connections per day

Change trains in: Munchen/Munich

There are no direct trains between Berlin and Salzburg, but it's a straightforward journey.
Target the journey options with only 1 x change of train as there is no need to change trains more than once when travelling between these cities.

The connecting time at Munchen Hbf station between the arrival of the ICE train from Berlin and the EC or Railjet train on to Salzburg will be around 28 mins.

So it should be a straightforward transfer, but if need be tickets will be valid on any subsequent train and there are 2 x trains per hour on to Salzburg from Munchen.

If you have reservations on the train between Munchen and Salzburg and the train from Berlin does arrive too late in Munchen to make a booked connection; then these can be transferred free of charge to subsequent departures at the Reisezentrum desk in Munchen Hbf station.

Tickets

Online bookings usually open: 6 months ahead of the travel date

On DB look for the journeys which have '1' in the chg. column and 'ICE, EC' or 'ICE, RJ' in the Products column.

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

Connections 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.

Book 1st class ticket journey tickets 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 Bahn from €27.90

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.

Trainline from €27.90

Trainline Guide

Omio from €27.90

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.

Journey Features

Scenic - NoHigh Speed (partial)

Good to Know

This is a scenically uninteresting journey, so what gives this journey its wow factor is its speed.

After departure from Halle the train will move on to the high speed line.
It will then spend around 80 minutes travelling at speeds of up to 290 km/h until it switches back to the conventional railway just to the north of Bamberg.

It will use a second stretch of high speed line for the 40 minute journey between Nurnberg and Ingolstadt.

Journey Features

Scenic - NoNot High Speed

Good to Know

Final Destination:

Budapest or Wien (the Railjets)
Klagenfurt or Zagreb or Graz or other destinations (the EC trains)

These express trains share the Munich to Salzburg route with hourly Regio trains, operated by Meridian.

So during the day there are 2 x trains per hour from Munchen/Munich to Salzburg and those 'Meridian' trains are only six minutes slower than the EC trains.

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