robpizzamissy
Traveller
1 comments
Posted 12 years ago
I'll be traveling through Germany during the first couple of weeks of July with my boyfriend. We plan on buying a Second Class Twin 5-Day rail pass and were wondering if we should to make reservations for the routes we plan to take:
1. Berlin to Heidelberg
2. Heidelberg to Rothenburg ob der tauber
3. Rothenburg ob der tauber to Munich
4. Munich to Salzburg
5. Salzburg to Berlin
We're flexible on the time of day for these trains, but are set on the dates of travel. Do these routes typically sell out in advance in July? Are there a limited number of seats available for Second Class pass-holders? If we do need reservations, should they be made well in advance or could we do that once we get to Germany?
Any help is much appreciated!
Peter
Traveller
9337 comments
Hi.
Which rail pass you are exactly talking about? :)
But to answer your question:
NO - don't buy reservations for these connections. Some are served by local/regional trains where it is even not possible to buy reservations for.
You will always find seats on these connections.
Except on Berlin to Heidelberg and Salzburg to Berlin: if you travel on a weekend (Friday or Sunday) or other peak times, it is recommended to buy a reservation - not required, but more relaxing (even you will find free seats without reservation!). Decide spontaneously as these reservations are easily to purchase at ticket machines of Deutsche Bahn (German national railway) in every railway station. Per person the reservation is EUR 4.
[b]Berlin-Heidelberg[/b]: at least every hour. First Berlin to Mannheim, then Mannheim to Heidelberg: using the S-Bahn, I recommend to exit at Heidelberg Hauptbahnhof (central railway station) or Heidelberg Altstadt (old town - closer to the city centre).
In Heidelberg I recommend the Hostel Lotte, which is very close to the castle:
[u]https://rail.cc/en/heidelberg/lotte-the-backpackers/l448[/u]
More information about Heidelberg: [u]https://rail.cc/en/heidelberg/c[/u]
[b]Heidelberg - Rothenburg ob der Tauber[/b]:
[u]https://rail.cc/en/train/heidelberg-to-rothenburg-ob-der-tauber[/u]
[b]Rothenburg ob der Tauber - Munich[/b]:
Have a stop on your journey in [b]Nuremberg[/b]. A very old town with a nice castle. Just leave the main entrance of the railway station and walk into the city. Castle is 15 minutes by foot (you can see it). Leave your luggage in lockers at the station (EUR 4).
Have lunch here (it is on the way to the castle - traditional, good and inexpensive food!): [u]https://rail.cc/en/nuremberg/bratwurst-roeslein/l314[/u]
Frequent connections on this route:
[u]https://rail.cc/en/train/rothenburg-ob-der-tauber-to-munich[/u]
In Munich you can have a day trip to [b]Füssen[/b] with the famous (but also very touristy) [b]Castle Neuschwanstein[/b].
Buy a Bayern-Ticket valid for up to 5 persons on one day at the ticket machines in the station for EUR 29 (www.bahn.com/i/view/USA/en/prices/germany/laender-ticket.shtml).
You can use it for your travel to Füssen (on local and regional trains - but that's fine for this route) and return and it is even valid on the public transportation of Munich (bus, subway, ...).
[u]https://rail.cc/en/train/munich-to-fuessen[/u]
[u]https://rail.cc/en/train/fuessen-to-munich[/u]
The same for your trip [b]Munich to Salzburg[/b]: if you want to save one of your travel days of your rail pass, do it by Bayern-Ticket. It is valid until Salzburg (even being in Austria, but it is the border station).
[u]https://rail.cc/en/train/munich-to-salzburg[/u]
[u]https://rail.cc/en/train/salzburg-to-munich[/u]
So you could add (with the saved travel day) an other city to your trip. For example [b]Cologne, Hamburg or Dresden[/b].
[b]Salzburg to Berlin[/b]: usually via Munich, then continue to Berlin.
[u]https://rail.cc/en/train/munich-to-berlin[/u]
I hope this answer will help you planing your trip. :)
And if you like the railcc project, support it with your purchase of your rail pass in our partner (if I know which ticket exactly, I will give you the direct link). Thank you. :)
Peter :)
robpizzamissy
Traveller
1 comments
Peter,
Thanks for the excellent response!
We were talking about getting the Twin Second Class German Rail Pass for 5 Days in 1 Month. Based on our itinerary, do you think that's the right pass? Is it more effective to use a Bayern-Ticket and fewer days on the Rail Pass? Does it make more sense to just book each train separately and not get a rail pass? Once we decide what the best option is, please provide me a link as I would love to buy directly through railcc. You have been very helpful and I would like to support you.
Our current plans and dates are as follows:
Berlin 29-Jun-01-Jul
Heidelberg 01-Jul-03-Jul
Rothenburg 03-Jul-05-Jul
Nuremberg 05-Jul-05-Jul
Munich 05-Jul-09-Jul
Dachau 06-Jul-06-Jul
Füssen 08-Jul-08-Jul
Salzburg 09-Jul-12-Jul
Berlin 12-Jul-15-Jul
Berlin to Heidelberg will be travelled on a Sunday.
Nuremberg will be a stopover and we will use lockers when travelling from Rothenburg to Munich.
Dachau and Füssen will be day trips from Munich, but I don't know if we will be using rail.
Does it make sense to take a night train from Salzburg to Berlin? Or Munich to Berlin if you can't take one from Salzburg?
With all of these new details, do we need to make any reservations or will our rail pass be enough? If we do need reservations, should we buy them before we go, or when we arrive in Berlin?
We appreciate your hostel and restaurant recomendations. We will look into them.
If we do use the Bayern-Ticket for some of the trains, do we purchase that in advance or when we are in Germany? Do we need reservations with that ticket?
We were considering adding another city, maybe Cologne, but we don't want to rush the trip. We have 2 nights in most cities, with a little more in Munich and Berlin. Do you think any of these cities can be seen and enjoyed in only 1 day? If so, we can look into adding another city.
Once we decide all of the details, I would like to purchase through railcc. I tried finding the Twin Second Class German Rail Pass for 5 Days in 1 Month on railcc but couldn't find it. Can you send me a link?
- Melissa
Peter
Traveller
9337 comments
Hi Melissa.
Here the answers.
[quote]Peter,
We were talking about getting the Twin Second Class German Rail Pass for 5 Days in 1 Month. Based on our itinerary, do you think that's the right pass? Is it more effective to use a Bayern-Ticket and fewer days on the Rail Pass? Does it make more sense to just book each train separately and not get a rail pass? Once we decide what the best option is, please provide me a link as I would love to buy directly through railcc. You have been very helpful and I would like to support you.
[/quote]
You have to calculate by yourself. railcc does not offer the German Rail Pass.
Cities you can reach with the Bayern-Ticket are: Rothenburg, Nuremberg, Munich, Dachau, Füssen and Salzburg.
Perfect for day trips.
For long distance connections (either by day or night train) on all German routes have a look at the offers of Deutsche Bahn: [ux]https://rail.shop/bahn[/ux]
Long distance special fares (if booking some weeks in advance) from EUR 29/39 per person. E-tickets are available.
[quote]
Berlin to Heidelberg will be travelled on a Sunday.
Nuremberg will be a stopover and we will use lockers when travelling from Rothenburg to Munich.
Dachau and Füssen will be day trips from Munich, but I don't know if we will be using rail.
Does it make sense to take a night train from Salzburg to Berlin? Or Munich to Berlin if you can't take one from Salzburg?
[/quote]
Night train is good from Munich to Berlin. Special fares available. See link above.
[quote]
With all of these new details, do we need to make any reservations or will our rail pass be enough? If we do need reservations, should we buy them before we go, or when we arrive in Berlin?
[/quote]
Except the night train, you won't need any reservation.
[quote]
If we do use the Bayern-Ticket for some of the trains, do we purchase that in advance or when we are in Germany? Do we need reservations with that ticket?
[/quote]
No reservation. Buy it at the ticket machine of a station, just before departure. No limitations on seats or something as you will use local trains.
[quote]
We were considering adding another city, maybe Cologne, but we don't want to rush the trip. We have 2 nights in most cities, with a little more in Munich and Berlin. Do you think any of these cities can be seen and enjoyed in only 1 day? If so, we can look into adding another city.
[/quote]
For you to decide. Cologne is nice, I prefer personally Hamburg.
Peter :)