Changeover Saturday: How to Beat Ski Traffic Between Munich and the Alps
In most Alpine resorts, holiday apartments, chalets and many hotels change guests on Saturday. That means thousands of cars, coaches and minibuses on the same roads at the same time – in both directions.
Where the queues are
- The Inn valley motorway (A12) near Kufstein and Innsbruck – the main road into Tyrol.
- The Zillertal valley road (B169) towards Mayrhofen.
- The Fernpass road (B179) towards Lermoos and the Tyrolean Zugspitz Arena.
- The approach roads to the Arlberg (St. Anton, Lech) and the Ötztal (Sölden, Obergurgl).
- The Brenner motorway towards South Tyrol and the Dolomites.
How much extra time to allow
On a normal day the driving times on our route pages are realistic. On peak Saturdays between Christmas and Easter we recommend adding 30–60 minutes, and more after heavy snowfall.
Our tips
- Land early in the morning, or travel on Sunday if you can.
- For your flight home, plan to be at Munich Airport 2–2.5 hours before departure – we calculate your pick-up time backwards from that.
- Austria requires a motorway vignette and winter equipment; with a private transfer, tolls, vignettes, winter tyres and snow chains are our job, not yours.