fritzrl

Back in travel planning mode. Yay!

I'm planning on a 3-week trip in May-June to Austria and Germany, with stops in Vienna, Munich, Dresden and Berlin -- perhaps also a stopover in Salzburg and a daytrip from Berlin to Leipzig. *Lots* of train travel.

My quandary is: Rail pass or pay individual fares for each leg? The answer is almost clearly 'rail pass', unless I can take advantage of the "Sparpreis" offer on the DB website. The Sparpreis is significantly lower than even the second-class fare. However, the website doesn't exactly make clear when this special lower price is available, for how long, and for whom.

Does anyone have info on this special offer to help me make an informed decision?

Thanks in advance.

Fritzrl

swandav2000

Hi Fritzrl,

There are Dauer Specials that go on sale about 89 days out, but they sell out pretty quickly. It's available for anyone. I usually opt to print the tickets myself, and they send me a pdf of the ticket. Here is more information:

http://www.bahn.com/i/view/DEU/en/pr...-spezial.shtml

Have fun!

s

Palenque

In perusing the bahn.de site a lot it seems that the Sparpreis of 29 or 39 euros are widely available if you act far enough in advance - but not always on all trains so you do have to be flexible. But still compared to the German Railpass at least that many Sparpreis fares may add up to the cost of the pass, which does let you hop on practically every train in Germany (except a handful of ICE Sprinters, which the average tourist will never encounter) - the more days you buy with the pass the cheaper per day it becomes - extra days above the minimum being only about $20 or so per day per person - prices that even approximate the Lander Tickets and can be used on any train of course. Now there is also the Germany-Austria Railpass to consider but if only doing Vienna to Germany border you may find the Germany alone pass a better deal. (Salzburg is considered to be a German rail station for pass purposes.) For lots on Germany and Austrian trains and passes i always spotlight these info-laden sources - www.seat61.com (this site may have info pertinent to your original question); www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com.

TimS

The terminology has changed on the DB site. Dauer-Spezial fares are now called Sparpreis fares.

Yes, they are for anyone and you can book up to 92 days in advance. However, they are for a specific departure date and time and are non-refundable and non-exchangeable. If you need flexibility in your travel plans, they won't work for you.

Ingo

Like the others say, Sparpreis in general works if you're flexible and book far in advance (three months). At first sight it looks like a rail pass might be the better option for you.

However - a second look at your itinerary makes me wonder ... I use to travel quite a couple of times between Dresden and Munich, Dresden and Leipzig, and Dresden and Berlin. For Dresden-Munich Sparpreis tickets are available quite often; Usually they mean high-speed train (ICE) Munich-Nuremberg and then regional train (RE) to Dresden. Another option and almost as fast is ALX train Munich - Regensburg, regional trains (RE) Regensburg-Hof and Hof-Dresden. On this route you can travel with Ländertickets Bavaria and Saxony or the Weekend-Ticket. This pays off big time if you're a party of two or more travelling together.

For Dresden-Berlin the bus is much cheaper than the train. There are six connections per day (and increasing) at the moment. Fare starts as low as 9 Euro per person for bookings in advance, 14 Euro or so regular ticket. Trains are very unreliable on this route because they arrive from Prague and use to be notoriously late (a half hour is minimum, but I have seen delays of two hours or not running at all).

Dresden-Leipzig is best done by regional train with a Saxony Ticket. 20 Euro for single traveller, 28 or 29 Euro for a group up to five people.

So - no rail pass for you IMO.

I.

Palenque

The German Pass starts at 3 days of unlimited travel in a one-month perirod - a so-called Flexipass - can use the days anytime within a month

2nd Class Twin (two people together) p.p. is $204 2nd cl and $277 1st

but a 4-day pass is only $222 p.p./$298p.p.

and it goes up to 10 days and the difference between the 4 and 5 day pass is just $15 more per day p.p. ($237 in 2nd cl) and only $22 more per extra day p.p. in 1st class

So a 5 day pass p.p. would be $237or less than $50/day (2nd cl) or about 35 euros - about the price of a Sparpreis ticket but you need do nothing in advance- just show up and hopon the train- no tying yourself into a non-changeable non-refundable train

And for such flexible fared tickets the prices can be outrageous - I believe a pass could well be your best bet and certainly simplifies planning IMO

I've had railpasses at least 50 times in Germany and always appreciated just showing up and boarding - i also encourage first class - and in first class pricing i think the pass even stacks up better.

2nd class can always be rather crowded or may not be - first class in 40 years of traveling German trains i have never ever not found empty seats and often many - i usually put my luggage right next to me, etc. Not so guaranteed in 2nd class and you may have to fight for room in overhead racks, etc. For a trip of a lifetime i say spend a little extra - if you were traveling like Germans - a lot then i'd go 2nd class but for a real leisurely trip i'd go for a first-class German railpass.

fritzrl

Wow, guys. You've given me a bit to chew on here.

Interesting side note on the Berlin-bound trains out of Dresden, originating in Prague. I had no idea that putting Prague in the mix could inject so much uncertainty into the proceedings. Any particular reason that happens?

A bus ride between Dresden and Berlin has some appeal, especially if the ride is as scenic from the road as was the Berlin-Dresden train trip I took a few years ago. Though I note the schedule on the BerlinLinien website shows it's about a 4-hour trip. Ah, what the heck: I'm on holiday, and there appear to be a large number of buses scheduled on this route, as well.

The constrained flexibility around the Sparpreis approach is a bit disconcerting. Since I'm now fewer than 90 days away from my departure date, I may have trouble getting the cheap tickets, especially if they sell out quickly.

I may elect the Railpass route after all, enjoy the flexibility it offers, and include a bus or two in the travel scheme.

Salzburg is considered a German station? Now *there's* a great example of inter-European cooperation for you!

Many thanks, everyone, for your considered input.

Fritzrl

PS to Ingo: Ingo, I've regretted for almost 5 years the fact that, on my last trip to Germany, I spent only 1.5 days in your wonderful city. This time, I've alloted 3, and I believe I'll have no problems enjoying each of them. Especially fueled by that oh-so delicious Saxon cuisine. Yum.

fritzrl

Oops. Apologies: misread the schedule on BerlinLinien. it's only about a 2-hour trip by bus between Dresden and Berlin. Easy.

Ingo

Yes, it is only about two hours between Dresden and Berlin. The problems that the trains between Prague, Dresden and Berlin face result from the (mostly) aged cars and engines, operated by the Czech and Hungarian Railways. Last time I was in Prague (Dec 2009) the train left on time from Prague Hlavni Nadrazi but was stuck in Prague Holesovice for 45 minutes (no info, no light, it got cold) because (as we later heard) one of the cars of that Hungarian train needed repair.

I am glad to hear you'll spend 3 days in Dresden this time. Yup, you'll have no problems to fill them with activities and I am sure you'll enjoy your stay. In case you should run out of things to do you could still do excursion to the neighbouring small towns or the Natinal Park. Let me know if you have any questions.

Btw, I am afraid the ride between Dresden and Berlin is not scenic at all - whether train or bus. You must mix it up with the Prague - Dresden journey.

I.

Palenque

To me Saxon Switzerland - along the gorgeous stretch of the Elbe River just south of Dresden is one of the prettiest stretches of river valley in Europe and often overlooked. The train from Prague tracks right along the river and you can see the great reddish sandstone cliffs topped by fortresses such as the famous Bastei. From Dresden you can take local trains along this part of the Elbe and in season even go by boat. A great great day out of Dresden IMO

Palenque

Btw, I am afraid the ride between Dresden and Berlin is not scenic at all - whether train or bus.>

Agreed - industrial detritus of the old DDR can be interesting, to me at least, but not scenic

But Lutherstadt-Wittemberg (burg?) is smack on the way or could be and this is a gem of a town, Luther associations or not. I did it as a day trip from Berlin but would have rather stayed in this neatly restored old historic town.

fritzrl

Well, if the scenery outside the train window won't entertain me, I'll just have to console myself with a good book, and a glass of excellent German beer in the dining car enroute.

Thanks, everyone, for the great info.

Fritzrl

Palenque

Actually i find the relics of the DDR or East Germany era the rail trek by to be interesting - the huge heavy industry factories - many now shuttered with broken windows, etc. One can wonder how humming those areas once were

meistereder3

if you need to find the newest special rates of the deutsche bahn then you should check the website
http://www.spezialtickets.de

even though it is ingerman, you just click on the first banner and you will find the deutsche bahn website which can be translated in to english.
i hope you enjoy Europe!
many greetings and blessings
Manfred Eder

fritzrl

Danke sehr, Manfred.

Actually -- we had a wonderful time. In the end, a 4-trip railpass made the most sense for us, and we used every moment of it.

The ride between Dresden and Berlin was, as many noted, not particularly scenic. However, we fell into conversation in our compartment with another couple from the US who had also been traveling in Germany for several days. So, we swapped stories and tips -- preparation for future visits, of course. The time passed quickly, of course, and we were in Berlin before we knew it.

BTW, the new Hauptbahnhof in Berlin is absolutely spectacular! What an improvement over the old Zoo station.

jhkringel

fritzrl,
Did you have any late train problems Dresden-Berlin? Does this continue to be a problem?

fritzrl

Late train? No, not at all, actually -- though folks had warned me about that.

It was a very *full* train, though. Had it not been for some very friendly fellow-passengers, we might have been compelled to stand during the trip. But 6 of us amicably shared a compartment -- 4 with reservations, and 2 without.