Cheap Travel by Bus or Train from Munich to Prague

The cheapest way to travel between Munich and Prague is often on Flixbus coaches. Alex trains link München and Praha by rail.

Eurolines business class buses
Eurolines Buses at Munich ZOB © Eurolines

Intercity long-distance buses are usually the cheapest and fastest transportation between München in Bavaria and Praha in the Czech Republic. Flixbus has the highest number of buses on the Munich to Prague route but coaches by RegioJet, Eurolines and BlaBlaBus also compete on this route. Direct Alex trains are convenient but slightly slower than the bus and usually more expensive (but good return deals are often available). Currently, not direct German Railways trains or IC Buses run on the Munich to Prag route. The cheapest one-way fare discount bus tickets from Munich to Prague can be as cheap as €5 on Flixbus and paying less than €20 is quite common if reserving a few days in advance. Check train and bus timetables and buy tickets at Omio – the best deals are usually by bus.

Direct Bus and Trains between Munich and Prague

München and Praha, two historic cities very popular with international travelers, are generally not linked by the most modern and fastest railways or roads. Public transportation options between the two cities have improved in recent years but long-distance buses often provide the fastest, most comfortable and above all cheapest way to travel between Munich and Prague.

Direct railways are now running between München and Praha but direct intercity buses usually provide the fastest travel between these two cities. Traveling times between Munich and Prague range from 4:40 to just over six hours. Special savings deals can be as cheap as €9 one-way during the off-season.

Several direct options are now available for travel between Munich and Prague:

  • Flixbus coaches (including Eurolines) have the highest number of direct buses.
  • RegioJet often have good overnight deals.
  • IC Bus (Deutsche Bahn / German Railways) no longer covers this route.
  • ALEX regional trains – often slower than the bus but train travel remains very comfortable
  • Blablacar – shared private car service.
  • Lufthansa – flying is possible but usually expensive and rarely very time efficient. Sometimes Lufthansa has good deals though.

One-way bus prices from Munich to Prague can be as cheap as €5 for special deals or around €70 for full fare. Tickets are generally around €15 – €25 if booking a few days in advance and not traveling during a busy holiday period.

Omio searches include train, bus and flight options – buses are usually the best choice on the Munich to Prague route. Avoid suggestions that require more than a single change and direct buses are so frequent transfers are rarely a necessity.

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Flixbus from Munich to Prague

Flixbus, Germany’s largest long-distance coach company, operates up to six daily buses between München and Praha. Some buses stop en route at Munich Airport, Regensburg or Pilsen with traveling times ranging from 4h45 to 5h15 with a few night buses taking near 6 hours.

Flixbus often have very good discount deals available but even normal bargain fares available to all if booking a few days in advance can be as low as €15 one-way. Discounts are not given to children, pensioners or students but group fares are available for groups as small as three traveling together and booking in at least a day in advance.

Flixbus uses the following bus stops (not all stops are used on every journey):

  • Flixbus buses depart from Munich’s bus station (ZOB), which is 700-m walk from the München Hauptbahnhof (central station). If on an S-Bahn train, continue one stop to the west of the central station – S-Bahn station München-Hackerbrücke ZOB is directly next to the long-distance bus station.
  • Some buses, especially late night depart from München Fröttmaning, which is to the north of Munich but easily reached on U-Bahn train line 6.
  • In Prague, Flixbus buses use 11 different stops. Common stops for buses to Munich include at the main train station at bus stop 4 in Wilsonova street and / or at the central bus station (UAN) near the Florenc metro station, one stop to the north of the central station. However, a few buses stop in the outskirts of the city – try to avoid those if traveling to the city center.

Flixbus in recent years incorporated the routes of many companies including MeinFernBus, PostBus, Eurolines and Megabus.

Omio includes competing bus services (and flights) in searches as well.

ALEX Trains from Munich to Prague

Arriva183

Direct trains from Munich to Prague are operated by a private company Alex but German Railways tickets and discounts are valid. Alex trains (ALX in Germany and EX from Prague) follow the Munich – Regensburg – Würth im Wald – Pilsen routing to Prague. As the express buses usually do not stop en route to Prague, travelers from other parts of Bavaria usually would do best by taking the Alex train from Regensburg to the Czech Republic, or from Nuremberg if traveling from Franken or northern Bavaria.

The journey time is around 5h45. Alex trains are slow compared to the ICE trains that connect German cities and many other neighboring countries.

Alex trains currently run up to seven times daily in each direction between Munich and Prague.

The Bayern Ticket and usually even better the Bayern-Böhmen Ticket may be used on the Munich to Prague route as far as Pilsen – the onward ticket to Prague can be bought in advance or onboard ALX trains. Other Deutsche Bahn discounts are also applicable.

Tickets may be bought from Deutsche Bahn outlets or from Trainline or Omio. The best deals are often only on the Alex website – look for the “Prag Spezial”. Tickets may also be bought on the ALX train but a small surcharge is payable and the cheaper tickets are not offered BUT don’t try that on other German Railways trains where a hefty surcharge or fine will be added.

Trains and Buses from Munich to Prague via Nuremberg

Many more options for travel between München and Praha require transfers in Nürnberg. The basic routing is ICE trains from Munich to Nuremberg and then a change to IC buses, which are much faster on this routing than trains.

Buses from Nuremberg to Prague take around 3h30. The total journey time is from 5 to 5.30 making travel from Munich via Nuremberg a bit more cumbersome but hardly slower – and often faster – than the direct route. However, the fares may be higher than on the direct routing too.

Trains on the Nuremberg to Prague route requires a transfer at Schwandorf – the buses are faster and cheaper.

See Travel by Bus or Train from Nuremberg to Prague for more details.

Buses from Leipzig are also the better option when traveling to Prague while the trains are the easier option when traveling from Dresden or Berlin (but buses may still be cheaper, if slower).

Private shared car services such as Blablacar often offer cheap deals and conveniently fast journeys but these are often only advertised a few days before traveling. 

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About the author:

Henk Bekker

Henk Bekker is a freelance travel writer with over 20 years of experience writing online. He is particularly interested in history, art, and culture. He has lived most of his adult life in Germany, Switzerland, and Denmark. In addition to European-Traveler.com, he also owns a travel website on the Lake Geneva region of Switzerland and maintains statistical websites on car sales and classic car auction prices. Henk holds an MBA from Edinburgh Business School and an MSc in Development Finance from the University of London.