FLÜGEL TOURS – A True Alpine Experience
Air Travel Recommendations
Departure Date: Friday, February 27th, 2004 (depending on your trip date)
Arrival City: Zurich, Switzerland or Munich, Germany
Arrival Time: Saturday, February 28th, 2004 (depending on your trip date)
It is best to arrive in the morning of the scheduled trip start dateso you can get to St. Anton in the daylight hours, unpack and get some rest before your first night out. Afternoon flights are also good but will not get you into St. Anton until the evening. Attached please find sample fights (schedules are subject to change).
Arrival:Zurich, Switzerland is the most convenient airport to fly (highly recommended). Zurich is less than 2.5 hours from St. Anton with multiple ground transportation options (train, taxi) leaving several times a day. While it is possible to fly into Innsbruck, Austriathe flight times are not very good and the cost is more than Zurich. The second best option is to fly into Munich, Germany, which is 3.5 hours by train from St. Anton. You need to leave the U.S. on the Friday, before your trip begins due to the 9-hour time change that makes flight take almost 24 hours to complete. Another option is to leave Thursday and arrive at night on Friday, spend the night and go to St. Anton in the morning. I have attached recommended flights below sorted by airline.
Return:Flights should be made for Sunday (recommended) or Saturday evening after your trip has concluded. This will allow you to enjoy Friday night. Furthermore, we don’t have the apartments past 12noon on Saturday and it can be difficult finding additional housing in St. Anton for just one night. As such, it is recommended that you make arrangements to stay at a hotel in Zurich/Munich for the night. Most flights to the USA leave in the morning.
Cost:Flights generally cost ~ $550 from S.F. to Zurich/Munich. There are several ways to potentially lower the fare. First, use your frequent flier miles (especially if they are offering off-season specials) to get there. Frequent Flier (FF) miles are a great value to Europe and also the most flexible as you can change your departure/arrival times and dates but not your routing. The second is to wait until January to buy your ticket. Prices the previous years dipped 3-4 weeks before our departure to as low as $350 as airlines seem to have extra capacity this time of year. If you are nervous about this, reserve a frequent flier ticket now and cancel it and buy a ticket if the price drops to a lower level. It is also good to pair up with someone, as there are good deals on companion tickets (using FF miles or buy one get one free) that can cut the cost per ticket in half.
Ground: St. Anton is a 3-hour train ride from Zurich and a 4-hour train ride from Munich (with one transfer). The easiest way to get to St. Anton is to take the train (See Ground time schedule for details). We will meet you either at the at the train station. Cost will be approximately $35-$40 each way depending if you leave from Zurich or Munich. Please forward your flight schedule and planned train departure so we can coordinate arrival times in St. Anton.
Money:Exchange a small amount of money for Euros (€) before leaving the United States. The exchange rate is still very favorable for Americans. The European Union officially moved to the Euro (€) on February 28, 2002. This money will help with paying for transportation to St. Anton and not make it necessary to hit the ATM right after you get to there. If possible, avoid exchanging money in Switzerland unless you plan to stay there. You will be changed for two exchange transactions costs to turn Swiss Francs into € Euros (use a credit card instead).
Misc.You may want to consider buying travel insurance (Travel Guard is a good option) if you do not have renters insurance for your possessions and/or you are concerned about medical coverage for emergencies (e.g., air evacuation). Past clients have purchased it and it them helped tremendously with medical bills in Europe and at home after an injury. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you want a recommendation.
Train Schedule
To/From:ZUERICH HB - ST ANTON AM ARLBERG
Average travel time 2 hours, 30 minutes
Distance 204 km / 127 miles
Departure City / DEP. / ARR. / Train # / Destination City / FrequencyZURICH HB, CH / 09:33 / 12:03 / 163-EC / ST ANTON AM ARLBERG / Daily
ZURICH HB, CH / 13:33 / 16:03 / 161-EC / ST ANTON AM ARLBERG / Daily
ZURICH HB, CH / 17:33 / 20:03 / 165-EC / ST ANTON AM ARLBERG / Daily
ZURICH HB, CH / 21:33 / 00:16* / 465-EN / ST ANTON AM ARLBERG / Daily
ST ANTON AM ARLBERG / 05:37 / 08:27 / 464-EN / ZURICH HB, CH / Daily
ST ANTON AM ARLBERG / 09:57 / 12:27 / 164-EC / ZURICH HB, CH / Daily
ST ANTON AM ARLBERG / 13:57 / 16:27 / 160-EC / ZURICH HB, CH / Daily
ST ANTON AM ARLBERG / 15:57 / 18:27 / 162-EC / ZURICH HB, CH / Daily
Note: In Zurich, you need to take a train to/from the airport (leaves every 15 minutes) to the main train station (HB)
* Next Day
Train Schedule
To/From:MUENCHEN HB (Germany) - ST ANTON AM ARLBERG (Austria)
Average travel time 3 hours, 50 minutes
Distance 255 km / 150 miles
Departure City / DEP. / ARR. / Train # / Destination City / FrequencyMUNICH HB / 09:30 / 13:55 / ICE-85 to EC-160 / ST ANTON AM ARLBERG / Daily
MUNICH HB / 13:30 / 17:10 / EC-89 to D-886 / ST ANTON AM ARLBERG / Daily
MUNICH HB / 15:50 / 19:57 / D-1281 to IC-668 / ST ANTON AM ARLBERG / Daily
MUNICH HB / 18:11 / 22:04 / EC-98 to IC-765 / ST ANTON AM ARLBERG / Daily
ST ANTON AM ARLBERG / 10:06 / 14:30 / IC 669, EC 12 / MUNICH HB / Daily
ST ANTON AM ARLBERG / 12:06 / 16:30 / EC-163, EC-88 / MUNICH HB / Daily
ST ANTON AM ARLBERG / 14:06 / 18:30 / EC-569, EC-84 / MUNICH HB / Daily
ST ANTON AM ARLBERG / 16:06 / 20:30 / EC-161, EC-86 / MUNICH HB / Daily
Note: In Munich, you need to take a train to/from the airport (leaves every 15 minutes) to the main train station (HB)
* Next Day
2Train Instructions
- Purchase the entire ticket to St. Anton, Austria at the train station underneath the airport.
- Take the commuter train downtown that leaves about every 15 minutes from the airport and transfer – allow an extra 30 minutes for the transfer.
- Scheduled departure times are from the Zürich/Münich Hauptbahnhof (main train station downtown). You can check baggage at the main train station.
- We will meet you at the train station upon your scheduled arrival time and take you to your accommodations
- Cost: ~$40. There are no discounts for roundtrips, so don’t buy it in case you take a taxi on the return.