german rail ticket question

Old Apr 20th, 2014, 05:25 AM
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german rail ticket question

I was looking at rail tickets for two persons travelling from Baden Baden to Munich on the morning of May 29. I seems like the tickets are a bit high in price, and we are trying to stay on a budget, but would rather pay extra than waste a lot of extra time travelling. Would it be practical to use two different regional train passes (Baden Wuerttemberg and Bayern) on the same day to accomplish this trip? If so, where would you connect to switch between the two passes? We have never used the German train system but have traveled on other trains around Europe. Any help appreciated.
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Old Apr 20th, 2014, 05:32 AM
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Are you going to get enough use out of those passes to make their cost worthwhile? You realize the timing restrictions on them I am sure. The cheapest fare I see for two is currently Euro 81.
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Old Apr 20th, 2014, 05:36 AM
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I expanded the time on the ticket website and now see the 81 euro fare. It looks like that might be the best option. Thanks.
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Old Apr 20th, 2014, 05:51 AM
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I think it has to do with the Ascension day.
I see 3 train combination 9:28-13:37 for 45€ at http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/ for May 29. I don't know if this is the "high" price mentioned.

As an example of a normal day price, I see a 2 train combination on May 27, 12:34-16:27 at 29€ on ICE.
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Old Apr 20th, 2014, 06:21 AM
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That 3 train combo is 81 Euro FOR TWO people unless I am doing something wrong on the input, Greg.
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Old Apr 20th, 2014, 06:25 AM
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You are restricted to regional trains on the Lander Cards - takes a lot longer and probably changes - and regional trains are much less comfy.
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Old Apr 20th, 2014, 06:36 AM
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How much train travel in Germany are you doing - if several trains check out the German Rail Pass (Twin if traveling in twos) as that lets you hop on any train, including fastest trains, anytime - just show up. And if doing 4 or so or more the pass per day can be nearly as cheap as a series of discounted and restricted tickets or Lander Passes.

For lots of great info on German trains check out these info-laden sites: www.seat61.com (great info on discounted tickets); www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com - check the latter two for pass prices and details.
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Old Apr 20th, 2014, 07:18 AM
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For example if traveling four or more days on a flexipass (valid for one month - you chose your days of 100% coverage to use as you go along, need not be consecutive - any single days within the month overall validity period - unlimited travel days cost just about 40 euros p.p. and you can hop any train anytime - like ICE between Baden-Baden and Munich that will save you tons of time and also be much more comfy trains that regional trains which IME can be less than comfy - even have hard metal seats on many I have been on and since they are for local traffic no large overhead luggage racks, etc.
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Old Apr 20th, 2014, 10:34 AM
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Perhaps the German posters can shed a light on this particular date chosen. I am presuming that the particular date the OP chose, May 29, is a national holiday. And being on Thursday, makes it attractive to bridge the holidays to the weekend. That probably makes May 28,29,and 30 high demand dates. If this is the case, others reading this forum would benefit by managing the itinerary to reduce having to buy train ticket for travel on high demand days and not be surprise by the prices much higher than what others might have mentioned who had traveled on low demand dates.
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Old Apr 20th, 2014, 11:32 AM
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Thanks for all the input. The ticket for 81 euros involves an 8 minute connection time at Stuttgart. Since there is no flexibility in this ticket, that doesn't sound like a lot of time for a transfer. Any thoughts?
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Old Apr 20th, 2014, 01:48 PM
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For flexibility and the best price buy a Quer durchs Land ticket (daypass.) Cost for two is €52. It's good all day after 9 am on any regional trains you choose. It will require 3-4 trains and around 6-7 hours (depending on your departure time) instead of the 4 hour, 3-train sequence that locks in your trains.

For the €81 ticket, you would be required to use each train as scheduled. However, if any train were late enough to make connections impossible, this fact would be known to the DB personnel who check your tickets, and you'd be permitted to travel on later trains.

You can find regional train schedules by specifying "only local transport" under "means of transport" at the DB itinerary page:

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en
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Old Apr 20th, 2014, 02:13 PM
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Just confirming: May 29, Ascension, is indeed a nationwide public holiday. The long weekend can expected to be a very busy travel date. If you are after savings fare tickets, book them as soon as possible as they will quickly be gone.

Have you found the connections with the direct IC train from Karlsruhe to Munich, without having to change in Stuttgart? Those would be easiest. Baden-Baden has frequent connections to Karlsruhe so you could use a connection which gives you a comfortable timeframe to change in Karlsruhe.
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Old Apr 20th, 2014, 11:42 PM
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check out Deutsche Bahn website.
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Old Apr 21st, 2014, 03:47 AM
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ICE Baden-Baden to Munich via Karlsrhue change ing there to ICE takes 3.5 hours all told - regional trains seem to take 7-8 hours with more changes.

Want to spend all day on trains to save some euros? Uncomfortable as compared to ICE trains?
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Old Apr 21st, 2014, 10:32 AM
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There are no ICE connections that change in Karlsruhe because there are no ICEs from Karlsruhe to Munich. An ICE-only connection means you have to go via Mannheim.
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Old Apr 21st, 2014, 10:33 AM
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Sorry, clicked "submit" too early.
Apart from the IC's the only direct long-distance trains from Karlsruhe to Munich are three French TGV's per day.
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Old Apr 21st, 2014, 11:30 AM
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Oops I meant Mannheim - when I looked it up on bahn.de - sorry for mistake and thanks for correcto!f
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