Over the summer, we visited London, Berlin and Munich. In previous posts, I wrote about our experiences using the London Underground and Berlin Metro. Munich is very similar to Berlin.
Commonalities with Berlin
The most notable thing Munich has in common with Berlin is the no-gate trust-based system. You purchase your ticket, validate it and go. Nothing physical stops you from boarding a train without a ticket. However, if you are caught by the ticket checkers with an invalid ticket or no ticket, you can be hit with a €60 fine. The same transit options are available in Munich (S- and U-Bahn, bus and tram) and your ticket is valid on all.
One somewhat annoying difference – in some stations, the machine that validates tickets is NOT next to the ticket kiosk. I have no idea why. Make sure you look for them because you must validate your ticket or it’s as if you don’t have a ticket if you’re checked. We almost got on a train because we could not find the machine. In one station, we purchased our ticket in the lobby/atrium, searched around the kiosk to no avail, walked to the escalator to get to the platform, and finally saw a machine on the platform itself.
Ticket options
In Munich you can purchase a single ticket, a day ticket (for one or three days), a group day ticket (for one or three days), a City Tour card, the München Card or use the MVV app. Each option is explained briefly below. There may be long-term ticket options for commuters or other discount plans available (http://www.mvv-muenchen.de/en/).
Please note – there are reports that the pricing changes in late 2019 will remove the option for the three-day day/group day tickets. See this article for more on the pricing changes.
- The single ticket is valid for one person traveling for up to three hours in one direction. You would need another ticket to return to your starting location.
- The single day ticket is valid for one person for all rides during one day or three days (from time of ticket purchase until 6am the following morning or the morning after your third day).
- The group day ticket covers up to five adults for all rides during one day or three days. Two children between the ages of 6-14 count as one adult, so you could travel with two adults and six kids (or three adults and four kids) using this ticket. The group must travel together to take advantage of this ticket.
- The City Tour card offers unlimited transportation for the amount of time you purchase plus discounts for local sites.
- The München card is another city pass card with unlimited transportation and discounts to local sites.
- The MVV app provides journey planning information, departure times and network maps, along with the ability to buy tickets through the app. Read reviews carefully.
Pricing
In Munich there are four travel zones. Most of the tourist spots are located in the Inner Zone. If you will be traveling to/from the airport, you will need an Entire Network Ticket (sometimes called the Airport City Day Ticket).
Inner Network:
Single Ticket: €2,90 adult, €1,40 child
Single Day Ticket: €6,70 adult, €3,20 child
3-day Ticket: €16,80 adult
Group Day Ticket: €12,80
Group 3-day Ticket: €29,60
Entire Network:
Airport City Day Single Ticket: €13
Airport City Day Group Ticket: €24,30
City Tour Card:
Inner district group 6 days: €57,90
Entire network group 6 days: €109,90
What we chose
After doing the math, we found that a six-day City Tour card for €57,90 was the best deal for our daily sightseeing. Since we returned our rental car to a location just a few blocks from our apartment, the only other ticket we needed during our week in Munich was the Airport City Day Group Ticket for our flight home. All in all, our cost over seven days was less than €3 per day per person.
Perceptions
Similar to the Berlin network, trains in Munich were sometimes late. We would arrive at the platform and see that we had to wait several minutes. The time would pass and the electronic board would either stay frozen with no time shown or update to show a new arrival time. It was anyone’s guess when the trains would arrive if they were late.
However, the system was clean, the maps were easy to use, we never got lost. And while it’s a trust-based system, we never saw any ticket checkers.
Kids in bathing suits
One of the more interesting sites on the Munich tram was seeing kids in bathing suits. At one end of the Englischer Garten is the Eisbachwelle. It’s an artificial wave about 3 feet high – and yes, people surf on this wave. However, the river has a strong current and carries bathers quickly downstream for about a mile. People jump in all along this man-made river to cool off in the summer. Instead of walking back, groups of kids pile on the tram and ride back to their starting points. I was very jealous sweating in 95° (35°C) weather while they looked happy and cool.
Munich Map photo by Camilla Bundgaard
Other photos by Marley