kesnow

Hello there. My friend and I will be arriving from the US into Frankfurt, Germany on Oct. 11. Have booked a room for 2 nights in Heidelberg (11th/12th), so we need to get from Frankfurt to Heidelberg, then after 2 days we are booked in Rothenburg for 2 nights, then booked for 3 nights in Lucerne, Swizterland, then for 3 nights in Venice. Question is...how do we get from place to place....most price economical way. I see we can get a 5 day Eurail pass (for 3 countries) for $392/person (although we only need 4, the smallest is a 5-day pass). These 4 trips average $100 USD per trip...seems a little high to me. I know I can probably find cheap fares from Frankfurt to Heidelberg and then from Heidelberg to Rothenburg as they appear to only be 2 hour trips; however, I am concerned that if we "wing it" and not purchase a rail pass, that we'll have trouble getting from Rothenburg to Lucern (being 2 different coutries) and then Lucern to Venice (2 countries again). Does anyone have any suggestions? Does a $392/person rail pass sound like a decent price? Thanks in advance for any help!

Robespierre

There really isn't any issue with 2-country (or more) point-to-point tickets. I've booked Paris to Cologne via Brussels, Paris to Munich via Zuerich, Cologne to Amsterdam, and many other variants.

A $392 pass is about the most you can possibly pay for your route. Order from BudgetEuropeTravel.com and they'll gladly help you work out the details, and send the tickets to your home. I'd be surprised if it costs $200 pp.

violetduck

If you take the train from Frankfurt to Heidelberg you will have one train change in Mannheim. A better choice for us was the Lufthansa airport bus that is direct and takes about an hour and was about 20 euros per person. See www.lufthansa-airportbus.com for more information.

altamiro

>however, I am concerned that if we "wing it" and not purchase a rail pass, that we'll have trouble getting from Rothenburg to Lucern (being 2 different coutries) and then Lucern to Venice (2 countries again).

Why should it be a problem? And why should a pass change anything? You just buy a ticket from A to B and take the train, no matter whether A and B are in the same or in different countries.

Aramis

I agree with the rest.

European train travel is made for "winging it" unless you require a reserved first class seat or want the fastest train. Seek advice on the best way to get from each of your points and then plan on acquiring those tickets/scheduling. The FRA to Heidelberg bus information is a perfect example.