Munich to Prague by train from €15 at www.cd.cz...

Comfortable trains link Munich & Prague in 5h34 every 2 hours, centre to centre.  You can use these trains to go from Nuremburg to Prague too, with one easy change at Schwandorf.  Booked in advance, fares starts at just €15 - or go 1st class from €35.  Trains give you room to move and you're free to bring your own picnic, beer or bottle of wine as the lovely Czech countryside rolls by.  The train service was increased from 4 to 7 trains each way per day in 2017 and all trains are now air-conditioned with refreshment trolley, power sockets at all seats & free WiFi.

  Train times

  How much does it cost?

  How to buy tickets

  Route map

  What's the journey like?

  Travel tips:  Luggage, bikes, choosing your seat...

  Watch the video:  Prague to Munich by train

  Trains from Munich to other European cities

  Trains from Prague to other European cities

  Trains between other European cities

  Suggested hotels in Prague

Train times 2023

How much does it cost?

• First Minute fares from €15 in 2nd class or €35 in 1st class.

  These are cheap advance-purchase tickets, only good for the specific train you book, no refunds, no changes to travel plans.  The price varies, with limited availability at each price level.  First Minute fares are all one-way, a round trip is simply two one-ways.

• Prague Special fare, €42 one-way or €74 return in 2nd class.  No 1st class equivalent.

  With a Prague Special fare you can take any train on the date for which it is bought.  Round trip tickets are good for outward travel on day 1, returning any day you like within 15 days.  Prague Specials are fixed-price, unlimited availability, cannot sell out.  There's no 1st class version, but there's so little difference between classes on these particular trains, stick with 2nd.

• Full-price fare €60 each way in 2nd class, €94 in 1st class, fully-flexible, good for any train any day.

• Children under 5 go free, no ticket needed, just bring them along.

• Children under 15 pay the adult First Minute fare, there's no reduction.  However, Up to 3 children under 15 travel free when accompanied by an adult using a Prague Special fare, but only if you buy at www.laenderbahn.com/alex (which can only sell one-way or round trip Prague Special tickets starting in Germany), as bahn.de doesn't offer this perk.  Children under 15 travel free accompanied by an adult paying full-price.

How to buy tickets

• How to buy First Minute tickets:  The only place you can buy these cheap advance-purchase fares is at the Czech Railways website www.cd.cz.  You can buy one-way or round trip in either direction, whatever your country of residence.  Booking usually opens 90 days ahead, but you'll often find First Minute fares available even a day or two before travel.  You print your own ticket, or can show it on your phone.  Easy!

  Tip:  In the search results, look for journeys marked No transfers with the train number starting either Ex for Express or ALX for ALEX.  It works well in English, but it may help to know that Munich is München in German, Prague is Praha in Czech.

  Tip:  Fares are shown in CZK, converted from euros.  €15 is about 386 CZK, €35 is about 970 CZK.

  Tip:  Only one name & ID is needed to support one print-at-home ticket, even if that ticket covers several people.  They don't need to know the names of all your friends or family, this is a train not a plane, it's a tie-breaker in case 5 copies of this ticket showed up on the same train.

  Note that the German Railways website www.bahn.de cannot sell these cheap advance-purchase tickets, only Prague Special fares & expensive full-price fares.  Nor can Raileurope.com or Thetrainline.com.  You can only buy them at www.cd.cz.

• How to buy Prague Special tickets:  Buy at the German Railways website www.bahn.de.  You can buy one-way or round trip in either direction.  You print your own ticket or can show it on your laptop or phone.

  Alternatively, you can buy the ticket on board the train:  Simply board any direct Munich-Prague train, sit in any empty seat and buy a Prague Special from the conductor when he comes round.  Prague Specials can also be bought from DB ticket machines at Munich Hbf.

• How to buy full-price tickets (only necessary if you want to travel before 09:00 on weekdays and cannot book ahead):  Buy at Czech Railways www.cd.cz which calls full-price tickets International ticket.  You print your own ticket or can show it on your phone.

  Tip: German Railways www.bahn.de also sells full-price tickets for this route, but they charge around €74 versus Czech Railways' €58, so even if you were standing in front of the ticket office at Munich Hbf, it'd be cheaper to get out your phone & buy from www.cd.cz!

• Seat reservation is optional.  By default, all tickets come without a reserved seat, you just sit anywhere you like. However, you can add a reserved seat for around €3, see travel tips for advice on when it's a good idea.  Incidentally, the Choose a seat on the seating map feature works fine for journeys starting in Prague, allowing you to choose an exact seat.  For journeys starting in Munich it always shows all seats as booked out, but you will get a reserved seat if you ignore this feature and let the system allocate your seats.  Seat reservations can only be made within 30 days before travel, if booking before then, simply buy the ticket to lock in the cheap price and come back to make a seat reservation later.

Save a few more € by split-ticketing

• It's possible to pay just €33 even buying on the day with unlimited availability, assuming you don't want to leave before 09:00 on weekdays.  Here's how...

• In the Munich to Prague direction...

  Step 1, buy a €29 Bayern-Böhmen-Ticket (= Bavaria+Bohemia Regional Day Ticket) online with unlimited availability at www.bahn.de/gaeubodenbahn/view/ tickets/bayern_boehmen_ticket.shtml and print it out.  If you can't get to a printer, buy from the self-service ticket machines at Munich station on the day, click the UK flag on the touch-screen for English.  This ticket is valid from Munich as far as Plzen on any train that day leaving after 09:00 on weekdays, or at any time at weekends.  Up to 4 more passengers can travel with you for just €6.60 each when added to the same ticket.

  Step 2, once you're over the border simply stay on the train and buy a ticket from Plzen to Prague from the Czech conductor when he comes round for around 105 Koruna (€4) per person - have some Czech koruna with you to do this.  Easy!  Or you can buy the Plzen-Prague ticket online at www.cd.cz and print it out or simply show it on your phone.

• in the Prague to Munich direction...

  Step 1, buy a €29 Bayern-Böhmen-Ticket (= Bavaria+Bohemia Regional Day Ticket) online with unlimited availability at www.bahn.de/gaeubodenbahn/view/ tickets/bayern_boehmen_ticket.shtml and print it out.  Up to 4 more passengers can travel with you for just €6.60 each, added to the same ticket.  If you can't get to a printer, buy it from the Regiojet (Student Agency) ticket office inside Prague Hlavni station - they add a €2 fee.  You can't buy it from the normal Czech Railways ticket office.  A Bayern-Böhmen-Ticket covers Plzen to Munich on any direct train except trains leaving Plzen before 09:00 on weekdays.

  Step 2, then buy a regular Prague to Plzen ticket at the station in Prague for around 105 Koruna (€4) per person, or you can buy it online at www.cd.cz and simply print it out or show it on your phone.

• Cheaper 1st class journeys in either direction...

  There are no 1st class Prague Special fares, but you can still travel in 1st class at a money-saving rate like this...

  Step 1, buy a 1st class Bayern-ticket (Bavaria Regional Day Ticket) for €39.50 (or €60.50 for two people).

  This covers you between Munich and the Czech border at Furth-im-Wald on any of these four trains in either direction on that date, as long as you start your journey after 09:00 if it's a weekday - it's valid any time at weekends.  You can buy a 1st class Bayern ticket at any German station on the day of travel with unlimited availability or buy online at www.bahn.com//en/offers/regional/regional-day-ticket-for-bavaria and print it out.

  Step 2, now use www.cd.cz to buy a 1st class full-price ticket between Furth-im-Wald & Prague for 699 CZK (€28) for the date you want.

  A full-price ticket is valid on any train between Prague and Furth-im-Wald on the date & direction you buy it for.  You can print it out or show it on your phone.

  This makes a total of €66.50 for the whole Munich-Prague journey, significantly cheaper than the 1st class full-flex fare.

  If you need to travel before 09:00 on weekdays, a full-price full-flex 1st class ticket costs €94 one-way bought online from www.cd.cz.  Print it out or show it on your phone.

Nuremberg-Prague

• Nuremberg to Prague from €12?   You'll find cheap tickets at www.cd.cz from 304 CZK (€12) with one easy cross-platform change at Cheb if you put Cheb in the via box.  This is a faster route than via Schwandorf, see the Germany-Prague via Cheb page for details. 

• To go via Schwandorf as shown in the timetable above, you can buy a Nuremberg-Prague Prague Special ticket for €34 at the German Railways www.bahn.de, or you can save money by first booking a cheap advance-purchase ticket from Schwandorf to Prague at www.cd.cz, then add a local ticket from Nuremberg to Schwandorf from www.bahn.de.

Route map

What's the journey like?

• The Munich-Prague trains are run jointly by Czech Railways (www.cd.cz) & the Länderbahn (www.alex.info), a privatised railway running Bavarian regional trains.  Länderbahn express services are branded Alex (ALX), originally from their Munich-Lindau Allgäu Express.  There are now 7 trains a day each way.

• Each train normally consists of two Länderbahn compartment cars and several Czech Railways (CD) open-plan cars, all normally air-conditioned with power sockets at all seats & free WiFi.  The usual formation is like this:

  - One air-conditioned Länderbahn 1st class car with side corridor & 6-seat compartments.  Two toilets, power sockets at all seats, free WiFi.  One compartment has been converted into a minibar where the trolley sits, serving tea, coffee, beer, snacks & soft drinks.

  - One air-conditioned Länderbahn 2nd class car with side corridor & 6-seat compartments.  Two toilets, power sockets at all seats, free WiFi.

  - Two or more air-conditioned Czech Railways (CD) 2nd class cars with open-plan (saloon) seating with seats arranged 2+2 across the car width, some airline-style and some in bays of four around a table.  At least two of these Czech Railways cars should normally have free WiFi which works whilst in the Czech Republic, they will have the WiFi symbol near the entrance doors.

  Personally I prefer open-plan seating so with a 2nd class ticket I'd head for the blue CD cars, unless there are 5 or 6 of you when having your own compartment can be fun.  It's not unknown for older non-air-con cars (without WiFi) to substitute for Länderbahn's newest air-con cars.

Smart Czech Railways air-conditioned cars on the train from Munich to Prague, on platform 25 at Munich Hbf.

The trains are clearly marked and easy to find, just look at the departure screens...		Czech Railways 2nd class open-plan car with power sockets & free WiFi.  My own choice of car!  Larger photo.

Länderbahn Alex cars on a train from Munich to Prague, on platform 25 at Munich Hbf.

2nd class compartments in the Landerbahn Alex cars with power sockets & WiFi.  One of the two Alex cars should have first class compartments, which look remarkably similar to 2nd class, but with carpet, a larger table and slightly plusher seats.  On this occasion, both cars were 2nd class.  Click the images for larger photos.

Sit back and watch beautiful Czech countryside roll past...

Above left, the train calls at the magnificent Plzen station - there's time to stretch your legs on the platform while the locomotive is changed.  Plzen gives its name to Pils or Pilsner beer, as in 1842 the world's first blond lager Pilsner Urquell inspired the style of beer that now accounts for over two thirds of the beer made worldwide, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilsner.  The train continues, running through occasional Bohemian forests, above right...

More beautiful Czech countryside.  You'll cross the Danube just before Regensburg.  Beats the bus, any day...

Travel tips

• 1st or 2nd class?  2nd class is absolutely fine for most travellers, there's no need to go 1st class unless you don't mind the extra cost.   1st class simply means more leg and elbow room and usually a quieter environment.  On these trains, the Czech 2nd class cars usually have free WiFi whilst in the Czech Republic, the 1st class cars are German and don't have the free WiFi.

• Luggage:  You can pretty much take anything you like as long as you can carry it or pull it behind you.  Nobody will weigh or measure it!  You take it with you onto the train, there's plenty of luggage space in both classes, the racks above your seat take anything up to backpack-size, the racks at the end of the car in the open saloon cars will take large suitcases, in compartment cars these just go on the floor.  Unlike on a bus, your bags remain accessible throughout the journey.  More information about luggage on European trains.

• Seat reservations:  A seat reservation is optional on the Munich-Prague route.  If you choose not to make one, you can sit in any unreserved seat - a small reservation ticket near each seat shows whether it is reserved or not.  However, a seat reservation is a good idea especially on busy Fridays or around holiday periods.  A reserved seat is a good idea in 1st class as there's only half a car of 1st class seating and it's often busy with Eurail passholders.  You can add a seat reservation when you book for a fee of around €3.  At www.cd.cz for departures from Prague you can choose an exact seat from a numbered plan.

• Boarding your train:  As with virtually all European trains, there's no check-in.  Just stroll into the station, find your train and get on, any time before it leaves.  The doors may be closed a minute before departure.  See Munich Hbf station guide.

  In Prague, the best place to wait for the train (or get a take-away coffee for the journey) is the Fantova Kavárna cafe upstairs in the historic station building off platform 1 instead - located in what was once the historic station's main entrance hall.  See Prague Hlavni station guide.

• Power sockets, WiFi & toilets:  All cars & all classes have power sockets at seats.  The two or three blue Czech Railways cars should have free WiFi whilst the train is in the Czech Republic, the two German cars (grey with yellow band) should also have free WiFi and this should work both in the Czech Republic and Germany.  There's good mobile data reception along most of the route.  Each car has at least one toilet.

• Bicycles:  Bicycles can be taken on these trains for a small fee, ask at the station.

• Changes of direction and a chance to stretch your legs:  Trains between Prague & Munich use a Czech electric locomotive between Prague & Plzen, an Alex diesel between Plzen & Schwandorf where the train changes direction, another Alex diesel between Schwandorf & Regensburg, where the train again changes direction, and an Alex electric locomotive between Regensburg & Munich.  There's time to stretch your legs on the platform at both Plzen and Schwandorf if you like while the locomotive is changed.

• Left luggage lockers & offices in Munich & Prague  

• Map of Prague showing Prague Hlavni station.

• Map of Munich showing Munich Hbf

• Suggested hotels near the station or in the old town in Prague.

• General advice for European train travel.

Munich to Prague by bus or train?  What experienced travellers say...

• "I've taken this train twice from Munich and it is easily the best way to go."

• "I did this train in June - scenic, very comfortable + friendly staff serving decent food at seat."

• "It boggles my mind why DB runs a bus between these cities. The train is the way."

Video:  Prague to Munich by train

The video shows the pre-December 2017 train service, when there was a bistro car on two of the 4 trains per day.  Now there are 7 trains per day and all have more modern cars like the 2nd class ones shown in the video and all have a minibar, but not a separate bistro car.

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