Munich to the Partnach Gorge: about ten euros and a train, or about a hundred and forty euros upwards for a day trip

Q: Is a Munich day trip to the gorge worth the money?

It depends what you want from the day. A tour from €139 to €395 buys the travel, a guide and the pairing with the Zugspitze or Eibsee. It does not usually buy the €10 entry, which you pay at the hut either way.

In short: the journey is about 1.5 hours each way by train, then bus 1 or 2 to Skistadion and 2.2 km on foot, with about ten euros an adult, about five euros for a child of 6–17 waiting at the hut at the far end of it. A guided day trip from Munich that comes here runs about a hundred and forty to four hundred euros per person and buys you the travel, a guide and somebody else doing the planning — not access, because on most of them you still pay at the hut. Do it yourself if you are comfortable with a train and a bus; book a tour if you want the day handled or you are pairing the gorge with the Zugspitze.

Munich to Garmischabout 1.5 hrs

Station to gorgebus 1 or 2, 10 min

Then on foot2.2 km, 25 min

At the gateabout ten euros an adult

Day trips fromabout a hundred and forty euros

Longest day trip here10 hours

Doing it yourself

The self-guided version is straightforward, and I say that as somebody who watches people do it every week. Take the train from Munich to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, roughly an hour and a half. Outside the station, local bus line 1 or 2 in the direction of Skistadion gets you to the Olympic ski stadium in about ten minutes. From the stadium car park it is 2.2 km up the valley to the entrance hut, about 25 minutes at an ordinary pace, and there is no road to the door. You pay at the hut: about ten euros an adult, about five euros for a child of 6–17.

Your costs are the rail fare, whatever your ticket type comes to on the day, plus about ten euros a head. I am not going to quote you a train price, because the fare depends on which ticket you buy and I would rather leave a gap than publish a number I cannot stand behind. What I will say is that the walk back out is the same 2.2 km, so budget the day accordingly and note that last entry is 30 minutes before closing.

Taking a tour

Four day trips in this catalogue come to the gorge and are priced per person for a single day, from about a hundred and forty to four hundred euros. The option runs about 7 hours and is the only one that carries you by train and then puts you on the bus up to the gorge, which is the closest thing to the self-guided route with a guide attached. At the other end, a private car for the day costs about four hundred euros per person and adapts its route to you.

The canyon and waterfall day trip — about a hundred and forty euros per person, 7 hours, rated 5.0 from 5 reviews. The return train from Munich, the bus up to the gorge and lunch are all in it. The entry fee: not in the price.
The private Eibsee, gorge and Mittenwald day — about a hundred and ninety euros per person, 8.5 hours, rated 4.8 from 17 reviews. Eibsee, the gorge and Mittenwald with a driver-guide, in a hybrid vehicle. The entry fee: not in the price.
The French-language alpine escape — about two hundred and sixty euros per person, 7 hours, no ratings yet. A French-speaking guide and a group capped at four people. The entry fee: not in the price.
The private car day to the Zugspitze and Eibsee — about four hundred euros per person, 10 hours, rated 5.0 from 15 reviews. A private car and a route the driver adapts to you on the day. The entry fee: not in the price.

Gorge day trip

Two things to hold on to. First, the cheapest Munich day trip on the site is not on that list: at about a hundred and thirty euros per person it goes to the Zugspitze and Garmisch town, has 759 reviews, and does not come to the gorge. Second, all four of these leave the entry fee to you, so add it to whatever you are comparing. The listings are quoted line by line on the entry-fee page.

Which one wins, and when

What works

You are happy on a regional train and a local bus
You want to set your own pace in the gorge, or go twice
You want to walk on up the valley afterwards rather than meet a van
Two of you travelling: the gate fee and two rail tickets is the whole budget

Worth knowing

A guided day is 7 to 10 hours and most of it is not the gorge
A tour pairs the gorge with the Zugspitze or Eibsee, which is hard to do yourself in one day
Winter travel with children, when a driver and a fixed plan earn their keep
You are short on time and want the logistics taken off you

The honest summary: if the gorge is the point of the day, the train and the entry fee are hard to beat. If you want the mountain as well, a tour is doing real work for you, and the Zugspitze page sets out what that costs in hours.

A word from a five-star reviewer

Wes gave one of the long Munich days five stars and still wrote this, which I think is the most useful sentence on any of these listings:

“gorgeous scenery! I don’t feel the trip needs to be 8+ hours. it could be done in 6 in my opinion.”
Wes

That is the trade in one line. A Munich day trip spends about three hours of itself on the road, and the padding is real. More of the same is in the tour reviews.

If you go independently

Take the earliest train you can stand. The gorge is at its quietest before the coaches and the guided groups arrive, the light in the narrow sections is better later in the morning than at opening, and an early start leaves you time to walk on up the valley instead of turning straight round.

Before you commit to the day

The operator warns that short-notice closures for safety are sometimes unavoidable, so check partnachklamm.de on the morning you travel, whether you are coming on a tour or under your own steam. A closure with the train already booked is the one scenario that turns this into a wasted day, and it is the reason I put the operator’s site above my own advice. Is it worth it is my longer answer, and all 16 tours are compared in one place.

Check dates on the Munich day trips

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Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to get from Munich to the Partnach Gorge?

About 1.5 hours by train to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, then roughly 10 minutes on bus 1 or 2 to Skistadion and a 2.2 km walk of about 25 minutes to the entrance. Allow the same again coming back. Getting there has the detail.

Is a Munich day trip to the gorge worth the money?

It depends what you want from the day. A tour from about a hundred and forty to four hundred euros buys the travel, a guide and the pairing with the Zugspitze or Eibsee. It does not usually buy the entry, which you pay at the hut either way.

Can I do the Partnach Gorge and the Zugspitze in one day from Munich?

The tours that try take 8 to 10 hours and one five-star reviewer thinks that is longer than it needs to be. It is possible; it is a long day. See the Zugspitze page before you decide.