Joe

I am planning a 12 day trip through Germany and France in late May. There will be 3 travelers. Does anyone have any ideas on renting a car vs. railpass? I know we will be able to see more with a car, but will the cost of railpasses exceed that of a rental car? Thanks for any input. Trip includes Munich to Paris.

themis

it really comes down to what do you want to see. Using a car allows you to go everywhere and anywhere, but i would guess it is more expensive than railpass. On the other hand, a railpass is good if you want to see many places in a short period. I did an interail and it was great, trains in Europe are comfortable and fast. Look around for good car deals (try expedia.co.uk) and dont forget that petrol is also quite expensive in Europe. I would go for train, if this is your first time travelling in the areas, you dont need to get off the beaten track. good luck

Michael

If you plan on staying only in major cities (Munich, Strasbourg, Paris) and larger towns (Nancy, Reims, Troyes), take the train. If you rent a car, other postings have indicated that you need to switch rentals in Strasbourg or other border towns to avoid a stiff drop-off charge.

bill

Last year in Germany we did a combination of train and car. Landed in Frankfurt and took train to Bamberg. 3 nights in Bamberg and then train to Munich. 3 nights in Munich and then rented a car for the rest of the trip as some places we were headed to had no rail service, the towns were small with no parking problems, and we wanted to get off the beaten path a bit.<BR><BR>Driving was not difficult. Train service was very good. The car, an Opel station wagon with automatic transmission, cost 433 euro for 8 days, including insurance. It would have seated 4 adults &amp; luggage comfortably, and it was able to hit 200 kph on the autobahn. Manual transmission would have cost much less.

Rex

Car rental will virtually always save money over train travel, when three travel together - - whether buying individual train tickets (the most economical method) or rail passes (the more expensive way).<BR><BR>And the tip about Strasbourg is &quot;spot on&quot;. In fact, might even be worth your while to train straight to Strasbourg, and rent there (or Kehl, right across the river) for your travels in either country.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

andy

Last summer a group of 6 travelled by both- Flew into Frankfurt and picked up our van and drove to Rothenburg and then on to Nuremberg and Herzogenaurach (for 1000th anniversary of town) and then to Garmisch and back to Munich where we dropped off the van and took the train to Berlin. We then took a night train to Paris and a local to Bayeux. Back to Paris and night train to Frankfurt and home! Van and train worked well- we did all the arrangement from home via internet- got Railpasses and van without any problems along the way.

Russ

The answer to this depends on the circumstances. A car is probably cheaper for 3, but not always. If you are just seeing Paris and Munich, flying into one city and out of the other, there is a good chance that your car will set you back a lot more. Per www.ricksteves.com, the (overestimated) full fare between Paris and Munich on the train is $120 one way. Gas, insurance, drop-off fees for dropping in another country, on top of your rental fee, will likely be comparable to the train. Daytrips from Munich by train can be very cheap (between 21-28 Euros/day for your whole group) if you're planning to get out of town, and a lot easier than trying to negotiate your way through Munich traffic. <BR><BR>If you're flying in and out of the same city (and country), however, a car is probably going to be a good deal cheaper.<BR><BR>Daytrips in and out of Paris by car aren't much fun either. But if you're planning to tour the D-Day beaches or the Loire Valley from Paris, you'll probably want a car, at least for a day or two; there's really no way to get around to the D-Day sights without one, unless you take a formal tour. If you rent there, try to pick up the car on the outskirts; if you'll be in Versailles anyway, it's a good place to pick up a car and avoid the traffic tangles.

Snoopy

How do you intend to compare costs? I would rent a car over taking the train almost anytime . . . which means that if it was purely an economic issue, in my mind I would be sacrificing some enjoyment for expense reduction. <BR><BR>If the car expense was $1000 and the train expense was $800 what would you do? What size car?

topper

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