Why Munich – and what it means for the transfer
Munich Airport has by far the most flights of any airport near Tyrol, which is why so many guests from the UK, Scandinavia, the USA and the Middle East land there rather than in Innsbruck. The price is distance: every Tyrolean resort is at least 160 km away, and the popular ones on the far side of the Inn valley – Ötztal, Paznaun, Arlberg – are around 300 km, or three hours of driving. Innsbruck Airport is 60 to 120 minutes closer to almost all of them, but has only a fraction of the connections.
The road is straightforward: A92 and A99 around Munich, A8 to the Inntal triangle, A93 to Kufstein and into Austria. Kitzbühel and the Zillertal turn off shortly after the border; Seefeld is reached via Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the Zirler Berg; Ötztal, Ischgl and the Arlberg follow the A12 Inntal motorway past Innsbruck. On Saturdays in high season the border at Kufstein is the bottleneck – allow 30 to 60 minutes more in both directions.
Option 1: private transfer with AlpTaxi
Your driver waits in the arrivals hall of your terminal with a name sign, helps with skis and suitcases and drives you straight to the hotel. We track your flight number, so a delay simply moves the pick-up. The price is fixed when you book and is the final price per vehicle: for up to three passengers in the Mercedes E-Class, up to seven in the V-Class, eight in the Vito and sixteen in two Vitos – ski luggage and child seats included, free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure.
Per person the maths works out like this: Kitzbühel costs € 370 for the E-Class, that is € 123 each with three passengers, or € 410 in the V-Class – € 59 each with seven. Lech is € 490 per car, € 163 each with three or € 76 each with seven in the V-Class (€ 530). All fixed prices from Munich Airport are listed in the table below; the route pages show the four vehicle classes for each resort.
Option 2: S-Bahn, Railjet and local train or bus
Every train journey from Munich Airport starts the same way: S-Bahn line S1 or S8 from the station under the terminals to München Hauptbahnhof, about 40–45 minutes, with a train every 10 minutes between the two lines. From the main station, Railjet and EuroCity trains run roughly every hour towards Austria; the fastest reach Innsbruck in 1 h 45 min (most take around 2 hours) with stops in Rosenheim, Kufstein, Wörgl and Jenbach. Tickets cost from about € 15 as an advance “Sparpreis” to around € 45 at the standard fare.
Where you change depends on the resort. For Kitzbühel leave the Railjet at Wörgl and take the regional train (Hahnenkamm station is right at the lifts). For Mayrhofen change at Jenbach to the narrow-gauge Zillertalbahn. For Seefeld the pleasant alternative is the regional train from Munich via Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Mittenwald, without touching Innsbruck at all. For Sölden, Ischgl, Serfaus and the Arlberg you go through Innsbruck and add a third leg: a regional train to Ötztal Bahnhof or Landeck-Zams and a valley bus, or the Railjet onward to St. Anton. That is where the train option becomes a four-to-five-hour day with luggage carried three or four times.
Ski buses and shuttle coaches from Munich Airport exist for individual resorts, mainly on winter weekends; they are cheaper than a private car for one or two people, but tied to fixed departure times. Check the resort’s own arrival page for the current season before you decide.
Which option is right for you?
A rule of thumb from the transfers we actually drive from Munich:
- Kitzbühel, Zillertal or Seefeld, one or two people, daytime flight: the train is fast enough and cheap – 3 hours, one or two changes.
- Ötztal, Paznaun, Serfaus or the Arlberg: the train day is four to five hours with three changes; from two people the private transfer is worth the difference, from four it is cheaper per head than most shared shuttles.
- Families with small children, late or early flights, lots of ski luggage, Saturday arrival in peak season: book the transfer – door to door, no platform changes with skis, no last-bus worries.
- Groups of 5 to 16: a V-Class or two Vitos beats any other option on price per person, and you travel together.
Good to know before you travel
Munich has two terminals: Terminal 1 for most airlines, Terminal 2 for Lufthansa and its partners. Tell us your flight number and your driver will be at the right arrivals exit; if you land early or late, the pick-up moves with the flight. Austrian motorways need a vignette and some resort roads need winter equipment – both are the driver’s job, not yours.
For the return, plan to leave the resort three hours before a European departure from Munich in winter, four hours from the Arlberg or Ötztal on a Saturday. The same fixed prices apply from Munich Airport to every resort in the Tyrol and beyond – the table below lists the most popular ones, the route pages the rest.
