How to Travel Economically when Visiting Munich Germany

Are you planning a trip to Munich, Germany from the United States? Are you looking to save as much money as possible? This article will explore how to travel on a budget to Munich, Germany. You will learn the best time to visit, how to find inexpensive flights and hotels, and how to save money once you arrive in Munich.

Instructions

How to Decide When to Visit

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Understand that the time of year you visit Munich, Germany will have a great effect on the prices you pay for almost everything about your trip. If you visit during a time when tourism is peaking, plan to pay more for your flight, hotel and even train tickets for travel within Germany. The first step in traveling economically to Munich is to pick a time which is not popular for other travelers.

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Learn about the most opportune times to go to Germany. When is Munich, Germany most visited? The end of September and beginning of October. Why? Oktoberfest. Munich and the surrounding areas in Germany will be overtaken by about six million guests during this 17-day event that covers three weekends and two weeks. You might have thought Oktoberfest happened during October, but this is not the case. Oktoberfest actually is mostly in September. If you want to travel economically to Munich, avoid going during Oktoberfest.

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Prices will generally also be higher in Munich during the summer. This is when tourism is at its peak, because kids have off school so can take vacations, and the weather is warm and beautiful just like in the United States. There are more daylight hours for tourists to enjoy. The best prices are not to be found in the summer.

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Overall, pick a time to visit when there are no major events going on in Munich, and the off-season for tourists. You can visit the Munich Tourist website, listed in the resources, to find out what events are taking place during the year and could cause prices to go up for hotels and flights. When you go to book a flight or hotel for a time period you are thinking of for your visit, if you see that most of the flights are already almost sold out of the lower price bookings, there is probably some event going on, especially if you are checking way in advance of your specific dates.

How to Find Inexpensive Flights to Munich

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Once you decide on your dates for your trip to Munich, Germany you will need a flight to get you there. There are many ways to save money on international flights from the United States to Munich.

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To find the least expensive flights for your travel to Munich, Germany, you can use a great new website called Yahoo! Farechase, site listed in the resources. Simply go to the website, and plug in the information such as dates, times and locations. The Farechase then pulls up the best prices for flights from various internet sites, such as United Airlines, British Airways and Travelocity. When you choose a certain flight, it takes you to the actual website, like British Airlines, to book directly.

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There are many tips for using Yahoo! Farechase to find the best prices for flights to Munich. The first tip is to figure out which airport to fly into. You might think that flying into Munich would give you the best fares. However, it might be that flying into Nuremberg, Germany's airport costs less. If you are planning to purchase a rail pass for your getting around Munich and Germany once you arrive, you could just take a train from Nuremberg to Munich. Try out putting in Munich and Nuremberg airports as a destination for your travel dates, and see which pulls up the lowest fares.

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The next tip is selecting days of the week to travel. For domestic travel in the United States, you will usually find the best fares on Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday and worst fares on Friday and Sunday. However, when traveling internationally, and to certain locations, there will be new rules to follow for days of the week. Try out different days of the week and see which ones pull up the lowest fares.

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Time of day matters a great deal when traveling to Europe. Remember that most of Europe is six hours ahead of the United States, so it is 6:00 p.m. in Germany when it is noon on the East Coast of the United States (and 9:00 a.m. in California.) The most expensive flights are usually ones that originate in the United States from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Any time after that will usually save you hundreds of dollars on a flight, especially overnight flights.

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The amount of stops you choose may also play a role. British Airways may have the lowest fare to Munich from Washington, D.C., for example, but you'll may have a stopover in England on your way to Munich, Germany. Direct flights are generally the best for anyone, but if you have a tight budget, being willing to stopover one or even two places could greatly decrease the price of your airline ticket.

How to Find Somewhere Inexpensive to Stay in Munich, Germany

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If you wish to stay in a hotel, you can use Yahoo! Farechase to do hotel searches as well. Simply enter your dates of stay and the location of Munich to pull up the best prices for hotels during that time.

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You might be able to find better prices by staying somewhere right outside of Munich instead of directly in the city. For instance, the Best Western Hotel Holledau, located near Munich, costs about $150 per night in May, but you won't find a hotel for less than $200 per night right in Munich.

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Once you use Yahoo Farechase to find a hotel, you can choose a hotel and be directed to the hotel's website, or a site like Hotels for booking. It is best to book directly with the hotel to save money. When you book with the hotel, you normally won't have to pay for the hotel until you arrive in Germany. Your credit card information is taken, but it won't be charged at the time of booking. If you use hotels.com, for instance, you must pay up front.

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If you book with the hotel directly, you can find about special offers and promotions and find out other ways to save. For example, you could call the hotel and ask if they offer a discount for Triple A or AARP. Some hotels might offer other discounts such as an airline travel club like United Airlines' frequent flyer program.

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You could stay somewhere other than a hotel to save even more money. A youth hostel is a good example. You can use the site listed in the resources to find all the youth hostels in and around Munich. Many of them are only about $30 per night.

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Finally, you could stay with a host family in Munich instead of renting a hotel room or a hostel. One way to do this is through a home exchange program, where you allow a family from Munich to use your home to visit the United States and then they let you use their home for a week during your travels to Munich. Look at the Transitions Abroad website listed in the resources, which shows an article on home exchange followed by links to different home exchange programs on the Internet.

How to Save Money Once You Arrive in Munich

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If you are flying directly into Munich and staying in the heart of the city, with plans only to travel right in town, you could just take taxis and buses to get around in Munich. Otherwise, if you plan to visit other cities in Germany, you may wish to purchase a German Rail pass, which can be bought on the Rail Europe website, listed in the Resources section.

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Walking as many places as possible will help save you money, and will also allow you to explore more of the area without just driving by. You will also save money if you walk around and see sites instead of paying admission to pricey events.

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You can save money on events by checking with your hotel for discounts. Many hotels can offer discount prices for admission into museums and other places of interest.

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Find events that don't cost much money. You can look on the German tourist website listed in the resource section, and/or you can ask the hotel for information on such events once you arrive. There might be a museum that is free for admission, whereas another museum might cost $20. Doing research ahead of time can save you money once you arrive.

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When dining, choose restaurants that are less expensive. You can find out the general price of many restaurants in Munich by checking online, or even emailing the restaurants to get a menu with prices. The hotel could also provide such information.