Merano is connected to Bolzano by train (the Merano–Bolzano line, about 40 minutes) and by bus. Bolzano is in turn on the main Brenner railway line from Innsbruck and Munich in Austria and Germany, and from Verona and the rest of Italy. The nearest airports are Innsbruck (1.5 hours by car or train via the Brenner) and Verona (2 hours). Bolzano airport serves some domestic Italian routes.
By car, Merano is accessed from the A22 Brenner motorway via the Bolzano Nord or Bolzano Sud exits, and then a 30-minute drive west up the Adige valley. Parking in the town centre requires a ZTL sticker for residents; visitors park in the municipal car parks at the edge of the old town.