state95

Here's our itinerary:

09/19: Brussels to Brugge (train)
09/21: Brugge to Amsterdam (train)
09/23: Amsterdam to Munich (overnight train)
09/27: Munich to Vienna (car rental)
10/01: Vienna to Budapest (car rental)
10/05: Budapest to Krakow (car rental)
10/08: Krakow to Prague (car rental)
10/12: Prague to Berlin (car rental)
10/14: Berlin to Brussels (overnight train)

The dates are subject to change here and there. Regardless, I'll be renting a car one-way from Munich to Berlin and taking a train for the other 4 legs. I'm currently looking at the Eurail Benelux-Germany Pass which allows unlimited travel for 5 days within a 2 month period for $506.00 each (not including the extra costs for tickets/seat reservations). Is there a better source for train tickets than Rail Europe? Can I buy the tickets directly from another source while still in the U.S.?

Thanks for any help!

Mike

Gretchen

ALWAYS check the price of point to point tickets. RailEurope is overpriced. The German rail site is the place to check.

kerouac

ANY option is better than RailEurope. Book directly through the national railways of the concerned countries.

PalenQ

www.bahn.de for the German rail site that has special fares R Europe does not offer - for full fare and fully flexible tickets RE is not always that much more and I've even seen them cheaper actually at times - but if you do not require flexibility then book the discounted tickets which cannot be changed nor refunded from the specific train I believe then go for that.

Otherwise the Benelux-Germany Railpass allows fully flexible hop on at will travel on nearly all trains in Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg and Germany and you seem to be traveling enough to make it pay off - with sleeper trains the pass pays for the basic train fare but you still must pay the optional extra for sleeping berths - running from a few euros in reclining seats on trains that offer them to say $25-30 for a place in a multi-person couchette and more for private compartments

But if you can scour www.bahn.de and see what advance purchase discounts you can get on the two overnight trains then I'd say if a good price - discounted deep then go for just regular tickets - in Belgium and Holland you have pretty much a flat fee with no discounts available often I think so just buy those tickets as you go along if the pass does not come into play.

Here are some great sites IMO for learning lots about overnight trains and answers to questions like you ask - http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id9.html; www.ricksteves.com and www.seat61.com - the latter has especially good info on online discounts for Germany (which are sold in very limited numbers so should be booked weeks in advance to guarantee).

state95

Thanks, everyone! Thanks for providing the links, Palen!

PalenQ

BTW . I'm currently looking at the Eurail Benelux-Germany Pass which allows unlimited travel for 5 days within a 2 month period for $506.00 each (not including the extra costs for tickets/seat reservations)>

Not each - each person pays $253 or about $50/day which is about 40 euros a day (for five days - a great price for a longish fully flexible trip IME - even the online discounts can cost 39 euros if the 29 euros are exhausted and they are train-specific and cannot be changed and must be booked weeks in advance often to secure.

Just in case you meant $506 for each person when in fact it is $506 total for both.

A first-class pass is not all that much more and benefits of first class in those countries IME is great - and perhaps on sleeper trains you may need a first class pass for some of the better options (not sure of that but was the last time I took a German overnight train).

ira

Hi S,

PtoP tickets from the national rail services are almost always cheaper than RailEurope.

Check with www.railsaver.com. change "always railpasses" to "only if less expensive".

jkbritt

Go to seat61.com and read his suggestions. Lots of information there. Also, I agree that the point2point option is usually cheaper.

Mimar

I've only driven in Munich of all those cities, but as a general rule in Europe I take the train between cities, stay in the center, and use public transportation or taxis. Usually it's hard to get around by car in cities and expensive to park. I reserve car travel for trips in the countryside and to small towns.

Also why not fly home out of Berlin? I assume you already have your tickets but it might be worth the money to change them. Vs. the cost of the train back to Brussels.

PalenQ

Also, I agree that the point2point option is usually cheaper.>

depends on whether you want flexibility or not - full fare tickets in Germany are really expensive - a few train trips could make the pass pay off - discounted tickets can be cheaper but must be booked weeks in advance to guarantee as they are sold in limited numbers and not on all trains and are train-specific and cannot be changed nor refunded I believe.

So flexibility to just show up at the station and hop on any train anytime could be a key and if so the pass may be the best price all in all.

state95

Thanks again, to everyone. We have decided to forego the smaller towns so we're now using train travel for the entire trip. I've already booked the following trains: BRU->Brugge->Amsterdam->Munich. I booked them directly from the national companies. Before I book the rest, I have to figure out where we'll be spending our time. I started a new thread for that question in hopes of garnering more views. If you're interested in offering your opinion, please do so at the following thread:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...gueberlin.cfm#

Thanks!

Mike

PalenQ

Berlin to Brussels overnight train - does not exist I believe but you can take an overnight train from Berlin to Cologne and change there to either the Thalys train or German ICEs to Brussels. score discounted fares from www.bahn.de.

nytraveler

I don;t believve that passes cover berths in overnight trains. they would cover only seats- if the train has seats. My understanding is that if you want berths in a compartment that is an additional charge which can be significant.

PalenQ

nytraveler is right on about passes and overnight trains - passes only cover basic train fare not optional or mandatory sleeping berths or compartments - but the costs are IME not that great from a low end - reclining seats can be just a few euros a berth in a multi-person couchette usually runs me about 20-25 euros (on top of using the pass) but private compartments can cost $50-60 p.p. or more - but these are standard charges - for the private compartments that I believe are reflected in higher regular fares if not having a pass.

OP is not getting a pass so if he/she books at www.bahn.de the fare will include some type of sleeping option - cheaper ones maybe only reclining seats (not all trains have these) or couchette berths.

PalenQ

they would cover only seats- if the train has seats>

very few overnight trains any more have just seats in regular cars like they used to some years ago so that is a moot point.