Yoshi212

There is a train option that departs Munich HBF at 17:51 that takes 2 hours.

Astaroth

Have done it many times but it does depend on the time of your flights, how well you sleep on the flight etc. I do find it slightly more tricky if switching side of the road driven on as your more likely to go onto autopilot if you're more tired and so roundabouts etc can lead to errors.

Ultimately, if you get to the other end tired, check in for the night.

Annalisa12

What do you consider a long flight?

Used to live 3 hours from airport. Would travel from US and Canada. Night flights were a nightmare when you couldn't sleep.

downinit

Last year, I took back-to-back 12 hour red-eyes (LAX-LHR, LHR-JNB). I arrived in JNB in the morning, where I proceeded to drive 2+ hours to a safari park. Drove around the safari park for 4-5 hours, and I drove 2+ hours back to JNB that same night. Of course I managed to get some sleep on the flights, but I have never had an issue with jet-lag when I go somewhere I want to visit. It is only after the dreadful and dreary flight home where I crash and burn.

That said, I only chose to drive because there were no other viable options in ZA. I rely exclusively on the train in Europe and Japan.

Long Train Runnin

I think it depends on if you are coming or going.

I drive home after flying something like SGN-NRT-JFK without an issue.

It's more JFK-FRA-SZG that would make me nervous. Way less flying time, but driving in Europe is something I do a lot less of, and coming off the overnight flights from the east coast I know I'll be tired.

yrs

I have driven PHL-DCA before, as well as NYC-DCA after ex-Asia TATL flights.
The key is to get well rested on your last flight so that you are fresh for the drive.

Proudelitist

AVOID THIS IF YOU CAN!!!

There have been studies showing that fatigued driving is as impaired as drunk driving. And after a long flight like that, trust me, you are NOT going to be as fresh as a daisy. You are going to be exhausted..punchy...drawn out...neurologically functioning at a significantly lower state than your baseline average. Jet lag. Hunger. Mental exhaustion. I don't care how energetic you may feel as you are deplaning and walking down the jetway..after a few short minutes in the car you will realize just how exhausted you are.

I have experience with this. I am based in SAN, which from an international perspective limits many of my options to having to depart out of LAX instead. There are SOME flights to Asia and Europe out of SAN, and of course connections to other cities directly out of SAN..but sometimes LAX is my only option. About 2 years ago I went to Copenhagen, and this required a flight from CPH to LAX, after which I had to drive myself home to SAN.

The drive between Los Angeles and San Diego is roughly 2 hours in good traffic, which at this time of day (9pm on a weeknight) was perfect. Traffic was not an issue. But it was dark, and I had been up roughly 30 hours by that point. I was OK at first, but by the time I had reached San Clemente I began to realize that I was exhausted...not tired, but exhausted. Drowsiness began to set in. I was blasting the radio, trying to keep myself awake. I also realized that my brain was not running at full capacity, even though I was awake. I was mentally foggy. Slow on the uptake. Really, unable to pay attention to the changing and rapid traffic I was trying to drive in. I realized that what I was doing was dangerous..not just for me, but for other people on the road.

I should have pulled over, but I powered through. By the time I pulled up to my house in San Diego, I was probably taking what neurologists call "Micro-Naps"...a sleep state that lasts for 1 to 2 seconds. You think you are awake, but your brain actually forces the brainwave activity of sleep in small bursts. Involuntarily. I realized that this was the most tired I had ever been behind the wheel..and vowed never to do it again.

And keep in mind, this was a freeway and a route I am quite familiar with. In an unfamiliar setting in a different country with different traffic rules, this would have been much much more serious. Imagine your first drive on the Autobahn while you are practically falling asleep and cannot concentrate. It's dangerous and stupid.
If I have to come back from Europe or Asia to LAX, I make sure I spend another night in LA at a hotel, or I get a ride back to San Diego, or I pony up the 200 dollars for the flight to SAN from LAX.

abhisheks77

I will staart from Seattle at 18:10 and will reach Frankfurt after 10 hours, which means, it would be around 4:00 AM Seattle time. Then 1:40 hrs stop and another 55 minutes flight and will reach Munich, when it will be around 7:00 AM in Seattle. It would have been easy, if it is a day flight.

pinniped

I've flown into MUC and driven to Slovenia from there a couple times. (MUC is, unfortunately, the most optimal place to fly into from the U.S. to get to Ljubljana.)

For me, fatigue the day after a TATL flight to Europe hits me at about 8PM. We've stopped in Austria for lunch and taken breaks whenever necessary and still arrived with plenty of daylight and well before dinner in Slovenia.

Coming the other way is definitely tougher for me. We've had a couple Europe trips that we've booked ex-ORD and driven one-way rental vans to/from the airport. On those, we may land at ORD at 2pm but never try to drive all the way back to KC on the same day. Usually go to about the Illinois-Iowa border and grab some hotel rooms.

mike_la_jolla

Read this from HBR: Sleep Deficit: The Performance Killer

yyznomad

I used to do this often.

Just some examples off the top of my head:

Flew into BZN at night and drove to my hotel in West Yellowstone - roughly 145 km.
Flew into BOI and drove to my hotel in SLC.- roughly 540 km.
Flew into LAX and drove to my hotel in Ventura - roughly 105 km.
Flew into YVR and drove to my hotel in Whistler - roughly 135 km.

As to "why would I do that" for some of the above, I had my own reasons.
The point is, yes, I drive long distances after flights (even after LH/ULH transcon, TATL, and TPAC flights).

pinniped

I don't really count any of the 160 km (100 mile) drives are really "long".

540k / 330 miles....yeah, that's kinda long-ish after a day of travel. Enough that I'd be in a hotel if this was taking place late in the day.

Only time I can recall doing an airport hotel to defer a 100-mile drive was flying into LAX late evening. I just didn't want to screw with LA traffic down to San Diego after 6 hours on a plane. Grabbed some sleep and then hit the road at sunrise the next day. It ended up being kind of relaxing, comparatively speaking.

abhisheks77

LA to San Diego traffic is bad. I stayed in LA for few years, so I know, that is not not a relaxed route. I am assuming that Munich-Fussen may not be that bad

darthbimmer

I've driven 2.5 - 4 hours numerous times coming off red-eye flights. To me the major considerations are:

1) How well do you sleep on airplanes / how well do you expect to sleep on this particular flight?
2) How well do you function against the demands of driving when you're low on sleep?
3) How difficult will this drive be? (Road conditions/heavy traffic/complex directions)

The first two items are personal matters so OP or anyone contemplating such a drive should engage in serious self-reflection before planning such a drive. Item 3 can be estimated with modern map apps, which should also be checked carefully as part of decision process unless first hand knowledge is available.

jrl767