How Much We Spent Traveling in Munich

This spring I visited Munich twice. The first time was by myself and just for two nights. About a month later, Andy and I both went to Munich, and we spent four nights there. I didn’t really track my spending during the first visit, but I did track it while Andy and I were there together. Munich is not a cheap city, but it’s well worth a visit if you’re coming to Germany. Here’s how much we spent traveling in Munich

Total Munich travel costs

Amounts are listed in euros and US dollars.

433.80€ / $589.97 – accommodation
64.20€ / $87.31 – transportation
264.22€ / $359.34 – food and alcohol
4€ / $5.44 – activities
766.22€ / $1,042.06 – total

We also spent 58€ ($78.88) on our two round trip bus tickets from Freiburg to Munich.

Munich hotel costs – $589.97

At over half of our spending, this was by far the most expensive part of our trip to Munich. Hotels remotely close to the center of the city are not cheap. There are some cheaper hostels and low end hotels, but after staying in a cheap hotel during my first visit and not being able to sleep due to paper-thin walls, we opted for something a little nicer this time.

We stayed at this hotel, and it was still a bit farther from the center than I would’ve liked, but only about 10 minutes walking from the nearest U-bahn station. We averaged $147.49 per night, or $73.75 per person per night on accommodation in Munich.

Munich transport cost – $87.31

We bought three one-day passes for Munich’s public transportation system. They have partner passes, so Andy and I saved even more by being on one ticket together. And don’t be fooled by the name “partner” because they can actually be used for a group of up to five adults. (See here for more info.) It costs 11.20€ for a single day. They also have three-day passes, which must be used for three consecutive days. Since we went to Neuschwanstein Castle one day, we didn’t have three consecutive days.

We purchased a Bayern (Bavaira) ticket for that day, which is valid on all local transport within Bavaria including the slower trains (not the IC or ICE trains) and works for groups of up to five adults. The train system in Germany is pretty good, and you can get similar tickets in other states throughout the country. This cost us 27€ for the two of us, so if you have more than two people the price will increase by a few euros per person. We also had to buy bus tickets for 1.80€ per person to get up the hill to the castle because that was not a public bus. We averaged $21.83 per day, or $10.91 per person per day, on transportation in and around Munich, not including our bus tickets from Freiburg.

Munich food and alcohol costs – $359.34

We spent a lot on food and alcohol during our time in Munich. Our hotel included a good buffet breakfast, but we ate out for the rest of our meals since we didn’t have a kitchen. No one meal was super expensive, but we did go out for drinks one night and we had beers a few times. Plus eating out for every lunch and dinner and getting snacks along the way really adds up quickly. We averaged $89.84 per day, or $44.92 per person per day, on food and alcohol.

Cost of activities in Munich – $5.44

This was for the entrance fee for the two of us to climb to the top of St. Peter’s Church. Since we didn’t go inside of Neuschwanstein Castle or Hohenschwangau Castle, our expenses that day were for food and transport. If you’re interested in going inside either or both of the castles, a tour from Munich might be the easiest way to arrange everything. Otherwise, if you want to do it on your own, see here for ticket prices and information.

There certainly are other activities you could spend money on in Munich, like tours and museums. You could save money by finding cheaper accommodation, but be aware that it just is an expensive city. You could also spend less than us on food if you eat at cheaper places and cut back on the alcohol. But it’s Munich, you kind of have to try the beer, right? And really, beer in Germany is cheap. If you choose beer instead of liquor, you’ll pay about the same as you would for a soda or bottled water at a restaurant. Overall I’m fine with what we spent. Again, not including our tickets from Freiburg, we averaged $260.52 per day, or $130.26 per person per day, traveling in Munich for four days.

You might also enjoy:

• How Much We Spent Traveling in Nuremberg and Bamberg
• How Much We Spent Traveling in Hamburg
• A Week of Things to do in Munich: An Itinerary
• Or check out more real travel budgets