plannerbell

Hello - I have been attempting to research the means of getting by train (as inexpensively as possible) from Basel to Munich next august. My family of 4 will be ending a river cruise in Basel and would like to go on to Munich to base ourselves for some day trips for the next 5 nights - I cannot seem to navigate the German railway site successfully and know that there are some Fodorite experts out there!

Bird

go to www.bahn.de and switch to English. Type in your info and you should be fine.

PalenQ

If you have trouble using the bahn.de site go to www.budgeteuropetravel.com and on their home page they have a link to the bahn.de site's English schedule page where you'll find a From and To Box and date box, etc and you'll get the schedules without effort - i refer to this home page because they also give you several tips on how to fully use the many features on this Wunderbar site, where you may be able to cop discount tickets for that trajectory if you act far enough in advance. (Though i can see one possible route going mainly thru Switzerland - Zurich, etc.)

bahn.de has schedules for all of Europe and is the easiest schedule site i've come across

And no need to buy this ticket ahead of time in terms on getting on trains - the only reason would be to get the SPAR discounted fare - but that will lock you into certain trains at certain times without possibility of change i believe.

traveller1959

The train takes about 5 hours. You should depart from Basel Bad Bf (the German train station), NOT from Basel SBB (the Swiss train station).

Ticketing starts 90 days prior to departure. If you book early, there should be special prices available (29 Euros per person).

PalenQ

Most of the train connections i saw on bahn.de actually start at Basel SBB - the main Swiss station in Basel and then have you changing in Karlsrhue or some other place up there - one has you going via Zurich but for the 29 euro fares i think you'll have to go via Germany only.

traveller1959

The trains start at Basel SBB and will stop at Basel Bad after 9 minutes before they continue northwards. If you enter the train at Basel SBB you have to buy a Swiss train ticket for these 9 minutes.

This is the reason why it is better to board the train at Basel Bad. The Sparpreis for 29 Euros is valid only for the date and time as booked, so if you need to take a different train you have to pay a supplement.

But a cruise is so predictable that the Sparpreis will work for you.

PalenQ

t1959

tell me why when i put in Basel SBB to Munich they give me the 29 euro fares from Basel SBB? I checked five trains for October and all were from SBB with no change in Basel Germany station and all had either 39 or 29 euro - are you indeed sure about having to buy the ticket only from the Basel Bad German station?

what am i missing?

plannerbell

I am encouraged by all of the expert advice I'm getting - and you all highlight the difficulties I've faced in trying to determine the train stations and best pricing available - keep your thoughts coming - I'll follow up on all advice.

traveller1959

When you departure from Basel Bad the cheapest tariff is "Dauer-Spezial" at 29 EUR.

When you departure from Basel SBB the cheapest tariff is "Europa-Spezial Schweiz", also at 29 EUR.

At first glance, this does not make a difference. But it may happen that the Europa-Spezial Schweiz is sold out but the Dauer-Spezial is still available.

So, if you depart from Basel Bad you are simply on the safe side. And you have 9 minutes more time to go to the train station.

PalenQ

At first glance, this does not make a difference. But it may happen that the Europa-Spezial Schweiz is sold out but the Dauer-Spezial is still available.>

and could it not be the other way around - Dauer-Spezial sold out and Europea-Spezial Schweiz still available

anyway chose the station that is closest to your dock and then get the lowest fare from that station if possible - if not a taxi to either one is about the same time i would think

Larryincolorado

The Basler Verkehrs-Betriebe (www.bvb.ch) has excellent public transportation in that area. There is a streetcar line from SBB to Basel Bad.

I just looked up Basel (SBB or Bad) to Munich for later this week and the €29 fares from SBB were sold out and all that was left were €79 fares. The €29 fares from Basel Bad were also sold out, but the remaining fares were for €59.

But, if all you want to do is to get to Munich ASAP, shame on you. There is a lot of wonderful scenery between Basel and Munich and you won't see it from express trains. Leave from Basel Bad Bhf with a Baden-WürttemburgTicket (€27 for up to 5P) and take the regional trains via Schaffhausen (falls on the Rhine river) to Singen, then along the Bodensee through Friedrichshafen (Zeppelin museum) to Lindau. You'll probably want to spend the night around Lindau. From Lindau you can use a Bayern-Ticket (also €27 for up to 5P). Don't go directly from Lindau to Munich. Go to Kempten and take the "Außerfernbahn" through the Tirol from Pfronten to Reutte to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, then a regional train to Munich. It will take longer, but you will see so much more, and it will only cost €56 for all 4 people!

For help with the Bahn site, go to www.germantravel-info.com/query.htm.

Larryincolorado

Correction! A €27 Baden-Württemburg-Ticket plus a €27 Bayern-Ticket is a total of €54 for four people, not €56. Other than hitchhiking, that's as inexpensively as possible.

Oh, BTW, if one of those day trips from Munich was going to be to Füssen and the castles, you can take the bus from Pfronten to Füssen to Hohenschwangau (about a half hour, I think, still on the Bayern-Ticket).

plannerbell

I cannot thank you all enough for your wonderful recommendations - We had planned to spend 5 nights in Munich and day-trip from there, but perhaps the en-route stops would be best.....I'm a seasoned traveler, but never done Europe with kids....By the way - would my 13 year old qualify for fee travel on the one way 29 or 39 euro tickets? Many thanks, again, for the insights.

Larryincolorado

>>would my 13 year old qualify for fee travel on the one way 29 or 39 euro tickets?

No!

Children under 6-14 only qualify for free travel on German Rail when accompanied by a parent paying full fare.

From http://www.bahn.de/p/view/preise/akt...spezial.shtml:
Mitfahrer-Rabatt: Nein
Familienkinder kostenlos: Nein
Kinder-Ermäßigung: Nein

plannerbell

Larryincolorado - thank you for your detailed information....particularly the link to interpret the bahn site...most helpful...If we were to follow your plan of meandering our way to Munich, I'm curious about our trappings....er luggage....and that is why I had planned on going directly to Munich, then taking day trips from there....any thoughts? We live in Denver - perhaps my husband and I should take you to lunch and pick your brain!

Larryincolorado

We should probably take this conversation offline. You can contact me at [email protected]. Since you don't go until August we have some time. I get together with several others on one Saturday (usually the 3rd Sa) of the month at Panera in Aspen Groove (So. end of the SW light rail line). There is a link on my homepage to the page on the meeting.

How big a problem is luggage? Is it enough that changing trains is a problem? Do you try to pack light? See the page on my website about packing.

I was thinking of Singen as a change of trains only. If you wanted to look around, there might be lockers at the station, but I don't know.

The Zeppelin museum in Friedrichshafen is very interesting for someone technically inclined, boring for someone not. There are lockers at the "Stadt Bahnhof". There might also be a check room at the museum.

I know there are lockers at the Bahnhof in Lindau.

There are lockers at the train station in Füssen. The tourist office in Hohenschwangau also told me that they either have lockers or will watch your luggage. They are right across from the bus stop in Hohenschwangau.

There are lockers at the station in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

PalenQ

The lockers in Fussen's station at times i was there were full - not that many available and a lot of day trippers to castles, etc.

But i think there is (there was) a manual left-luggage office as well.

I would do Fussen as a day trip from Munich - i love basing - taking all your luggage to your hotel and then luggage-free do day trips from the base.

Re-locating to me is a waste of time for a day at a time and you spend some hour or so packing and unpacking as well IME

Changing trains with luggage is no problem provided you are mobile with the bags - even then there are luggage carts always available it seems on the platform - carry a euro coin or whatever coin they take to disengage them and then the coin is returned when you return the luggage cart to a rack in the station - so they are free. No porters usually IME

One advantage of first class is that there is IME much more room for luggage - especially since there are often empty seats to put bags on next to you IME - may be worth the extra if you have TOO much luggage.

But packing light is imperative for a train trip as you will have to go up and down many stairs - and then once aboard at times navigate narrow cluttered aisles -esp in 2nd class.

Larryincolorado

Unfortunately packing light might be a problem for them, as they are coming off a river cruise. Cruise mentality seems to be to "pack as much as you can".

Pannerbell said she wanted to do this trip as inexpensively as possible - since Länder-Tickets are only for 2nd class and any 1st class full fare is going to be MUCH more than Länder-Tickets, that's probably not consistent with the objectives here.

Lastly, I prefer "basing" as well, but if you're going right past the place (Füssen), it seems to make more sense to stop and spend the night rather than going on to Munich and then coming right back.

PalenQ

I agree and staying in one of those proverbial German fanily-run guesthouses with down comforters, etc. is priceless - lot more warmth than a Munich hotel usually

And Fussen is a neat town that most of the hoards that go to Neuschwanstein outside of town rarely poke around

a delightful regional and resort town

check out the formidable water cascade near the town center - a gorge with walking paths leading to it from the parish church - really neat area.

plannerbell

Thanks for the recent notes about train travel - the river cruise isn't formal so we won't have our ballgowns with us and can limit ourselves to one medium sized bag each....I like the idea of staying overnight in Fussen - probably getting there as directly as possible from Basel, then going on to Munich - we'll still have four nights in Munich from which to day-trip....Any of you experts have ideas about Munich hotels - I had a really easy time figuring out what we wanted in Amsterdam, but Munich is much harder - we need two rooms mostlikely which makes the euro 150-200 rooms a bit much when you have to multiply by two each night.