Use of Public Transportation - An Overview

Use of public transport

Tickets can be purchased from vending machines in the train stations, or from the drivers of buses. A single trip ticket is valid for three hours and only one-way. Tickets are validated by inserting them into the blue stamp machines in train stations, buses and trams. Many kinds of ticket are available, but these are our suggestions (the same ticket is valid for trains, buses and trams):

Streifenkarte (stripe ticket): a convenient and cheap way is to buy a Streifenkarte (10 stripes, 11 Euro) instead of a single trip ticket, and to cancel the appropriate number of stripes depending on the route. For up to two U- or S-Bahn stations you should cancel one stripe (for example from Garching to Garching-Forschungszentrum). The public transportation area is divided in four main rings around the Munich city center. Every two stripes allow a one-way trip inside one main ring.

Tageskarte (day ticket): valid for the whole day. This ticket comes in four flavours: "Innenraum", 5.60 Euro (central zone covering most of Munich city); "München XXL", 7.50 Euro (Munich city plus the first external ring zone - includes Garching and the research centre, but not the airport); "Aussenraum", 5.60 Euro (the 3 outer ring zones, including Garching, the research centre, and the airport, but not the central Munich city zone); and "Gesamtnetz", 11 Euro (the entire network including the airport and Munich city).

Partnerstageskarte (daily ticket for a group of up to 5 people): With the same 4 flavors as the daily ticket ("Tageskarte"), but with the possibility to have up to 5 people traveling together, it is already worth taking Partnerstageskarte if there are 2 or more people traveling together. Prices: "Innenraum", 10.20 Euro; "XXL", 13.10 Euro; "Aussenraum", 10.20 Euro; "Gesamtnetz", 20 Euro.

http://www.mvv-muenchen.de/en/tickets-fares/tariff-structure/index.html

Important Connections in Munch - Garching area

From-To
Distance
Means of transport
Approximate cost
Munich Airport - Garching - Munich Airport 17 km S-Bahn S1 + Bus 690 with change in Neufahrn (40-60 min)
S-Bahn S8 + Bus 230 with change in Ismaning (40-60 min)

7.50 EUR
Taxi ~ 35-45 EUR

Munich Airport - Ismaning - Munich Airport

 13 km S-Bahn S8 (15 min)

7.50 EUR
Taxi ~ 25-30 EUR
Munich Airport - Munich City - Munich Airport 40 km S-Bahn S8 or S1, airport bus (30 min)

10 EUR
Taxi ~ 55-60 EUR

Garching - Munich City - Garching

 23 km U-Bahn U6 (25 min)

5 EUR
Taxi ~ 35-45 EUR
Ismaning - Garching - Ismaning 7 km Bus 230 (10-15 min)

2.50 EUR
Taxi ~ 20-25 EUR
Garching - ESO - Garching 2 km U-Bahn U6 to Garching Forschungszentrum (3 min) plus then a 5 min walk to ESO

1.20 EUR
Taxi ~15 EUR

- Airport to Garching via Neufahrn with S1 and bus 690:  Note that the 690 bus goes from Neufahrn directly to the campus and terminates at U-Bahn station Garching-Forschungszentrum, without passing through Garching. If you wish to go directly to your hotel, you would then have to take the U-Bahn for one stop, from Forschungszentrum to Garching. Or - better - go via Ismaning with S8 and bus 230 which does pass through Garching.

- Bus 230: no service on Sat/Sun*.  Bus 690: limited service on Sat., no service on Sun.
  (* The MVV provides a taxi service on the 230 route evenings and weekends, but one has to phone in advance to request it, and speak in German.)