Landing at Munich Airport (MUC)
Munich is the gateway to Garmisch-Partenkirchen for most arrivals — 126 km, about an hour and a half by road, and £268 for a private car. It is not the nearest airport, and it is not the cheapest transfer. It is the one with year-round flights and, on hoppa's own booking search, twice as many priced vehicles on this route as Innsbruck returned.
Two terminals, and arrivals split into modules
Munich has Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, and Terminal 1's arrivals are divided into separate modules rather than pooled into one hall. Which one you walk out into depends on your carrier, and it changes where your driver waits. Your e-ticket names the meeting point — read it before you land rather than in the baggage hall.
Meeting your hoppa driver
Your driver waits in the arrivals area named on your e-ticket, holding a name board with your surname. Twenty-four hours before pickup hoppa sends a final SMS or WhatsApp with the exact spot and your driver's contact details.
- Airport arrivals carry 60 minutes of free waiting after your scheduled landing, plus a 30 minute buffer on international flights
- Your driver tracks the inbound flight, so a delay moves the pickup rather than losing it
- If you cannot see them, stay where you are and call the number on your e-ticket — hoppa answers in an average of 11 seconds, and it is a person, not a chatbot
Tip: save the emergency number from your e-ticket to your phone before you leave the terminal. If you are held up at the oversized baggage belt or at passport control, one call lets the driver know you are still inside.
Baggage & ski gear
Skis and boards are checked in as special baggage and come off a designated oversized belt rather than the standard carousel. Follow the signed oversized baggage area and allow extra time for it — on a transfer this short, that belt is often the slowest part of your day.
Tell hoppa how many ski, board and boot bags you are carrying when you book, so the vehicle sent has the space. The standard allowance is one bag per person up to 24 inches, and anything longer counts as two pieces.
Landing at Innsbruck or Memmingen instead
Garmisch-Partenkirchen is served by three airports in two countries and they are not interchangeable. Book the transfer for the airport you are actually landing at:
- Munich (MUC) — 126 km, about 1 hr 30 min, from £268. Year-round flights and the deepest choice of vehicles.
- Innsbruck (INN) — 59 km, about 1 hr, from £189. The closest airport and the cheapest transfer, in Austria; the flights are seasonal.
- Memmingen (FMM) — 135 km, about 1 hr 45 min, from £378. The longest drive and the highest fare — worth it only when Memmingen has the flight you need.
The road down the Loisach valley
From Munich Airport the route runs west and then south around the city on the A99, picks up the A95 towards Garmisch, and leaves the autobahn where it ends at Eschenlohe. From there it is the B2 up the Loisach valley through Oberau and Farchant into the town. Motorway for two thirds, one valley road for the rest.
This is also why the distance surprises people. The two town centres are roughly 90 km apart, and that is the number usually quoted — but the airport is north-east of Munich and the resort is south of it, so the transfer drives 126 km.
Coming from Innsbruck
The Innsbruck run is shorter and, for a first-timer, more interesting: west out of the airport, then the climb up the Zirler Berg onto the Seefeld plateau, over the border into Germany at Scharnitz, and north through Mittenwald and Krün on the B2. Both countries are inside the Schengen area, so there is no routine stop — but it is an international border, and photo ID belongs in your pocket rather than in the boot.
Worth knowing: the Memmingen route comes in from the west and passes Oberammergau and Ettal Abbey before it joins the B2 at Oberau. If you are hiring a car anyway, that is the prettiest of the three approaches.
Where you are dropped
Garmisch-Partenkirchen is two towns that were merged for the 1936 Winter Olympics, and the halves still feel different:
- Garmisch — the Zugspitzbahn terminus beside the main station, the Hausberg and Kreuzeck lift bases, and most of the larger hotels
- Partenkirchen — the painted facades of the Ludwigstraße, the Olympic ski stadium and the ski jump, and a quieter, older feel
- Grainau and the Eibsee — out towards the Zugspitze cable car, for chalets that want the mountain rather than the town
- Farchant, Krün and Mittenwald — down and up the valley, cheaper beds and a short drive in
Give the property name when you book and your driver goes to the door. Local buses link the two halves and the lift stations, but they are designed for skiers with skis, not families with four board bags and a week's luggage.
Two mountains, one pass
Garmisch-Partenkirchen skis in two separate areas rather than one linked circuit, and knowing which is which before your first morning saves you a wasted hour.
Getting onto the mountain
- Garmisch-Classic — the Hausberg, Kreuzeck and Alpspitze sectors, reached by gondola from bases on the Garmisch side of town. This is where the Kandahar World Cup downhill runs
- Alpspitzbahn — the cable car up to the Osterfelder terrace, the best first-morning view and the gateway to the higher Classic runs
- Zugspitzplatt — the glacier area under the 2,962 m summit, reached by the cog railway from beside the main station, or by cable car from the Eibsee
- Beginners — the gentler slopes sit low on the Hausberg side, which is convenient and the first ground to suffer in a warm week
Timing your arrival
A morning flight into Munich has you in the town before lunch — this is one of the few Alpine transfers short enough to ski the day you land, and the cog railway runs late enough to make an afternoon on the glacier worth it. An evening flight means a night arrival and a full first day. Transfers run through the night; a nighttime surcharge applies between 22:00 and 08:00 local time and is already in the price you agreed.
Tip: buy the two-area pass rather than a single-mountain ticket if you are here for more than a couple of days. The whole point of this resort is that the glacier covers you when the valley snow does not, and that only works if your ticket goes up there.
Getting around once you are there
Local buses link the two town centres, the lift bases and the Zugspitzbahn through the season, so you will not need a car. That is worth weighing against hiring one at the airport: parking at the Hausberg base fills early on a powder day, and both halves of the town are walkable.
Practical essentials
Your transfer, in numbers
- Free waiting on airport arrivals: 60 minutes after your scheduled landing, plus a 30 minute buffer on international flights
- Free waiting on departures and point-to-point: 15 minutes after the scheduled pickup time
- Cancellation: 24 hours before travel on 7 seats and under, 48 hours on 8 to 14 seats, 14 days on 16 seats and above — all for a full refund
- Child seats: the first one is free. Request it at booking
- Luggage: one bag per person up to 24 inches. Over 24 inches counts as two pieces
- Nighttime surcharge: 22:00 to 08:00 local time, already included in the price you agree
- Booking inside 24 hours: possible, with an expedited booking fee
- Pets and service animals: permitted, counting toward the vehicle's passenger allowance
Money, ID and paperwork
Germany and Austria both use the euro, so an Innsbruck arrival costs you nothing extra at the cashpoint — but it is still an international border at Scharnitz, so carry your passport or ID card in your pocket. Your transfer is paid once, upfront, in the currency you booked it in, so there is nothing to settle with the driver.
Winter driving rules
German law requires winter tyres in wintry conditions, and every vetted operator on this route fits them as standard. If you hire a car instead, confirm what is on it before you leave the airport — it is your responsibility, not the rental desk's default — and remember that driving on Austrian motorways needs a vignette.
If something goes wrong
hoppa's support team answers in an average of 11 seconds, 24/7, across chat, email and phone, with a 99.7% call answer rate. Any complaint must reach customer service within 30 days of the date of service.
Before you leave home: screenshot your e-ticket. The meeting point and the emergency number are the two things you want on the screen rather than in the cloud when you are stood in the wrong arrivals module.
