Passau Travel Answers

You could already buy your train ticket at the airport. Otherwise you can buy on at any staffed station from the ticket office, of from a ticket vending machine. Trains in Germany are mass transit. So buying a ticket at the last moment is the norm. In Germany you don't need to validate a ticket before boarding a train. In fact, as is common in Europe there are no formalities whatsoever before boarding. Just find your train. Find a door. Enter it. Find a seat. Relax. Luggage you store in overhead racks or at the end of the carriage. You mention a "print out" you have, which mentions "Freising". That seems to imply that you have a routing from the airport directly to Passau, not going via München Main Station. Looking this up myself I notice that the fastest trip often involves a bus to Freising, and train from there. What I would suggest you do is simply go to the DB ticket counter at the airport train station, tell the ticket clerk that you need to get to Passau, and ask for directions. Oh, and 9 minutes is usually enough to change trains in a small station.

veerzaara - Not sure that I can help vey much. I don't know where you come from ( that is where a completeed Profile helps!) but as you obviously know English and know how to find your way around the internet I really don't think you should have too much of a problem. I grew up with trains but on my first flight, travelling alone 40 years ago, transatlantic to USA I had no idea what to expect. The worst part was arriving in New York an "English speaking" country and having difficulty undertanding the signs amd announcements. I did not understand and nobody seemed to understand me. When I asked where I could get a trolley for my luggage I was directed outside the airport to the Shuttle bay.. Don't worry, try to remain relaxed, ask and ask again - have a few phrases ready, watch what other people do. And keep asking until you are on the train.

1) Take public transport to München Hauptbahnhof (Hbf is short for Hauptbahnhof - main train station) 2) Get yourself a Bayern-Ticket at a ticket vending machine (they have an English menu as well) or at a ticket office of Deutsche Bahn (watch out for the red DB logo and "Reisezentrum"); since Bayern-Ticket is a discounted ticket the latter option cost you 2 EUR more. 3) In case you buy a Bayern-Ticket, not a normal ticket, please make sure a) you fill in your name in the form b) you do not leave earlier than 9 am should it be a working day (does not apply on holidays and weekends, since there won't be a rush hour) c) you chose a regional train. Train numbers of regional trains start with RB or RE 4) Head to the platform which should be #25 in your case, but better check for last minute changes at the displays 5) before you board the train, check destination and departure time. I never check the train number, but of course you could 6) find a seat in the 2nd class - reservation is possible but not necessary --- The Bayern-Ticket (22 EUR) is a day-pass and valid for every means of public transport within Bavaria with the exception of high-speed trains (ICE or IC). This means that you can hop on any bus, tram, subway or whatever in Munich, Passau or Nuremberg or wherever in Bavaria and travel between those cities using regional trains. The day on which the ticket is valid is printed on the ticket, so you won't have to validate it.

Have a play on the German Rail website, put Munich flughafen as departure and Passau hbf as destination. as other replies have noted, there is no need to go into the cities, main strain station as you would be travelling back out again. Depending which departure suits, there is a bus to Freising from the airport then train to Passau or train to Munich Ost then change trains to Passau. If you know a date and time we can look at this info for you if you are still puzzled. If you buy the Bavaria card, it is a day pass for regional trains and buses after 9a.m. on weekdays, all day weekends. you can use this for any regional train and bus cobination. When you are in the train station in Fresing or Munich Ost there are signs lit up which tell you where each train is going, don,t be afraid to ask someone. Just don,t board the fast Intercity trains, the Pass isn,t valid and travel on these is a lot more expensive. The fast trains have IC, ICE or EC in front of their number.

You've already got excellent tips above so I just add a bit more: The doors of the regional trains don't always open automatically, sometimes you have to push a button or you have to push the handle down. You won't be the only one on the platform, just stand behind someone else if you're not sure how to do it. It's the same when getting off. The stops are announced but when there are a lot of people in the train talking this can be hard to hear. Print out the stops from the bahn.de website and check them. Once you have passed the stop before your destination, gather your bags and move to the door. Don't wait until you've reached the station. I've seen people miss their stop because they reached the door too late and the train was going again.

If you want to travel from Munich Airport (MUC) to Passau it makes no sense to travel via Munich main train station. Is in the opposite direction from Passau and this detour will cost you nearly 1,5 hours travel time. DB timetable reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/qu... Start: MUC Destination: Passau Hbf and select as means of transport "only local transport". Bus #635 connects both terminals at Munich Airport directly with Freising train station. Runs every 20 minutes. Freising train station is much smaller than Munich main train station and will make it easier for you. If you check out the details (click on the > symbol) the DB timetable will tell you the platform numbers the trains will stop. Buy a Bayern Ticket at teh airport. EUR 22 if bought from a ticket machine, EUR 24 if bought at a counter. Covers the buses to Freising, the regional trains to Passau. And also the city buses in Passau. Bayern Ticket is a day ticket valid Mo-Fr: from 9am till 3am next day Sa,Su: from midnight till 3am next day > How do I get it validated? (I am told that I must do this before getting on the train.) Not needed. Only for local public transport inside some cities. Bayern Ticket is valid for the date shown on the ticket. > Do I locate the train by its number or by the direction it is heading or both? Most prominently is to look for the final destination of the trains. Which is Passau with the direct RE trains from Freising. On the departure displays also the most important stops en route and the train number are shown. > Where do I put my luggage once on the train? ( I have one suitcase, which isn't heavy.) Where you find place for it. Normally on overhead racks. > Are seats on the train numbered, or do I sit wherever? On regional trains seats are not numbered. Seat reservations are not possible. You can sit wherever as long the seat is free. And take care that you don't sit into 1st class with a 2nd class ticket 2 photos of trains typically used on the RE service to Passau vizinalbahn.de/galerie/tour/... vizinalbahn.de/galerie/tour/... The class is written in big letters 1 or 2 outside. 1st class has also a yellow stripe above the windows instead of a white one.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to reply to my questions! The information was very helpful; in fact, I have printed off all replies to take with me--I leave on Friday!