In this guide
💡 The Short Version: The Eagle’s Nest (Kehlsteinhaus) is open only to 8 November 2026, daily 8:55 to 16:00, and then closed until about mid-May 2027. The ticket is €34.70 for the bus and the lift; entry to the building is free. Munich to Berchtesgaden is about 2 hours 50 minutes with a change at Freilassing, and the Kehlstein bus is not covered by the Bayern-Ticket. Be at the bus departure point 30 minutes before your booked bus. The Königssee boat to St Bartholomä is €23.40 return, and the Dokumentation Obersalzberg beside the bus stop is €4.50. On weekdays the Bayern-Ticket only starts at 9:00, so the first train it covers reaches Berchtesgaden at 12:38. Or book a tour: the Berchtesgaden foothills and Obersalzberg tourad is from €68 for 10 hours, and the expert-led Eagle’s Nest tourad from Berchtesgaden itself is from €70 for 3 hours (GetYourGuide). The first replaces about six hours of trains.
Getting there on your own
Train and bus times are for the timetable valid to 12 December 2026, which changes on 13 December.
| Leg | Journey | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| RE5 to Freilassing, then the S4 to Berchtesgaden | About 2 hours 50 minutes to 3 hours | On a weekday in November the trains leave Hauptbahnhof at 5:42, 6:49, 7:43, 8:47 and 9:43 and reach Berchtesgaden between 8:38 and 12:38 |
| Back from Berchtesgaden | 13:19 and hourly at :19 to 19:19 | They reach Hauptbahnhof between 16:09 and 22:20. The last train leaves at 21:07 and arrives at 00:05 |
| Bus 838, Berchtesgaden Busbahnhof to Kempinski Hotel | 13 minutes | On a weekday at 8:15, 9:15, 11:15 and 12:50. Then a 4-minute walk to the Kehlstein bus departure point at Salzbergstraße 45 |
| Bus 840 or 841 to Königssee | 12 to 22 minutes | Then a 10-minute walk to the Seelände jetty |
- The Bayern-Ticket (€34 for one, €44 for two) covers the trains and the 838 as an ordinary line bus. It is valid on weekdays only from 9:00, so the first covered train is the 9:43, arriving at 12:38. At weekends it is valid all day. It is not valid on the Kehlstein bus.
- Cost on your own, one adult: €34, the Eagle’s Nest at €34.70 and the Königssee boat at €23.40 come to €92.10; two adults come to €160 (€44 and €116.20).
- The day: arrive in Berchtesgaden around 8:38, take the 9:15 bus to the departure point, be at the Eagle’s Nest by 10:30, reach the Königssee by early afternoon and take the 19:19 train. That needs an earlier train than the Bayern-Ticket allows on a weekday.
Tours
A tour absorbs the long journey. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices for one adult.
From Munich
From €68 · 10 hours · 4.5 stars from 511 reviews
From Munich: Berchtesgaden Foothills and Obersalzbergad visits the Eagle’s Nest or, in bad weather, the salt mines, the listing says. After 8 November the Eagle’s Nest is closed, so check what the day covers instead.
From Berchtesgaden or Salzburg
| Tour | Length | From | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berchtesgaden: Expert-Led WWII Eagle’s Nest Tourad, starts in Berchtesgaden | 3 hours | €70 | 4.5 stars from 262 reviews |
| Eagle’s Nest and Berchtesgaden Tour from Salzburgad | 4.5 hours | €105 | 4.6 stars from 1,976 reviews |
| Königssee Group or Private Tour with Boat Ridead, from Munich | 10 hours | €107 | 4.3 stars from 56 reviews |
The 3-hour tour lists a ride on the mountain bus and the brass lift and a guide accredited as an expert. The Salzburg tour suits a night in Salzburg, from where bus 840 reaches Berchtesgaden in 49 to 55 minutes: see Eagle’s Nest from Salzburg.
The Eagle’s Nest
€34.70 for the bus and lift · entry free · 8:55 to 16:00 daily to 8 November 2026 · plan about 2 hours
The Kehlsteinhaus is a mountain building at 1,834 metres, reached by a 6.5 km road blasted out of the rock in 13 months. The operator says it was designed by Martin Bormann and that Hitler rarely visited. Today it is a restaurant and viewpoint, and the operator asks visitors to remember the dictatorship it served.
The Kehlsteinhaus on its summit. Photo: Ondřej Žváček, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5.
- How it works: a special electric bus climbs the road in about 15 minutes from the departure point beside the Dokumentation Obersalzberg. Then a 124 metre tunnel leads to a brass lift that rises another 124 metres into the building. Buses leave every 25 minutes.
- Tickets: online tickets are full price and for a booked bus, and can be cancelled free of charge up to 15:30 the day before. Discounts, including guest cards and the child price for ages 6 to 14, are sold only at the cash desk. A family ticket for two adults and children is €70.90.
- Be at the departure point at least 30 minutes before your bus. Late arrival means no rebooking and no refund.
- Weather: the road and the bus close in snow, storms and rockfall. The season usually opens around mid-May and ends between the middle and the end of October.
What else to see
Dokumentation Obersalzberg
€4.50 · daily 9:00 to 17:00, last entry 16:00 · under 18 free
The permanent exhibition on the history of the Obersalzberg and the Nazi dictatorship, beside the bus departure point at Salzbergstraße 41, including the bunker complex. A multimedia guide is free with the ticket, and there is a long tour of 80 minutes in German and English and a short tour of 40 minutes in several languages. It is closed on 1 November, 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 January, and for maintenance from 16 to 24 November 2026 and from 1 to 8 March 2027. It is the one thing in Berchtesgaden that is open after the Eagle’s Nest closes.
The Königssee
Boat to St Bartholomä €23.40 return · €11.70 one way · to Kessel €9 one way
The boats of the Bayerische Seenschifffahrt run from Seelände all year except 24 December. The landing stage at Salet is no longer served. You can pay at the ticket office in cash or by card, or in the website shop (seenschifffahrt.de). St Bartholomä’s church is one of the sights the €40 Bavarian palaces ticket covers.
St Bartholomä on the shore of the Königssee. Photo: H.Helmlechner, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Before you go
| Date | What |
|---|---|
| To 8 November 2026 | The Eagle’s Nest is open 8:55 to 16:00; the season then ends |
| 1 November | The Dokumentation Obersalzberg is closed |
| 16 to 24 November | The Dokumentation Obersalzberg is closed for maintenance |
- The one thing that ruins the day: a late bus. Be at the departure point 30 minutes early, and book the bus online.
- Walking up: the tourist board says the Kehlsteinstraße is closed to pedestrians as well as to vehicles.
Berchtesgaden is one of the day trips from Munich. Salzburg is on the same line, and Dachau and Nuremberg cover the other Nazi-era sites near Munich. Munich public transport explains the Bayern-Ticket, what to book before you go to Munich has the closed days, and where to stay in Munich compares the areas.
Common questions
Is the Eagle's Nest open in November 2026?
Only to 8 November 2026, daily from 8:55 to 16:00, weather permitting. It then closes until about mid-May 2027. The road and the bus close in snow, storms and rockfall, and the daily status is on the Berchtesgaden tourist board's Ausflugsticker.
How much does the Eagle's Nest cost?
€34.70 for an adult: the bus return and the lift. Entry to the building is free. Children aged 0 to 5 are free, and the child price for ages 6 to 14 is sold only at the cash desk, as are guest-card discounts. Online tickets are full price and for a booked bus.
How do I get to the Eagle's Nest from Munich?
Take the RE5 to Freilassing, then the S4 to Berchtesgaden, about 2 hours 50 minutes. Bus 838 runs to the stop Kempinski Hotel in 13 minutes, and a 4-minute walk leads to the Kehlstein bus departure point. A special electric bus climbs for about 15 minutes, then a 124 metre tunnel and a lift.
Does the Bayern-Ticket cover the Eagle's Nest bus?
No. The Bayern-Ticket covers the trains and the normal line bus 838 from Berchtesgaden, but it is not valid on the Kehlstein bus. The Eagle's Nest ticket is bought separately.
Is Berchtesgaden a day trip from Munich?
It can be, but the day is mostly the train. Be at the Kehlstein bus departure point at least 30 minutes before your booked bus; late arrivals get no rebooking and no refund. On weekdays the Bayern-Ticket starts at 9:00, and the first train it covers reaches Berchtesgaden at 12:38, too late for the Eagle's Nest and the lake in one day.
