Is the German Twin Rail Pass ever worth it?
 

So, for those who have been helping me as I plan my vacation (and I thank you immensely!), I am now leaning towards not traveling by car and instead using the trains. I think it will make my vacation a little less stressful (driving in a foreign country, finding parking, additional costs that add up, gas) and let me enjoy myself and graba nap on a train every now and again. It looks like we can hit Munich, Salzburg, GP, Fuessen, etc. and not go crazy traveling by train.

The Bayern regional train pass looks like a great deal. In researching, I also came across the German Twin Rail Pass. An 8 day pass would cost 398 euro for two, and it includes free travel on boats on the Rhine and discounts on the Bayerische Zugspitzbahn rack railway. Has anyone used this before and recommend one way or the other?

One question - I know it includes travel to Salzburg, but not to Zurich, where we are flying in (but does include Bern). Does this mean I would have to buy an individual ticket from Zurich to Munich before I start using the twin pass (if I were to get one) and again on a return to the Zurich airport?

Thanks!

We used the pass three years ago and found it absolutely worth it. Generally, the more days you use, the cheaper per day it gets. But it really depends on your travel plans. If you plan to travel mostly in Bavaria, the Bayern day ticket is probably your best (and cheapest) bet for those trips. The twin pass has a minimum of three days. You really need to plan how many days you need for each. I will let someone else answer the Zurich question -- I believe you would need to buy a ticket only to/from the first/last town in Germany.

Yes the more days you buy the cheaper per day the pass becomes with extra days at some point being just abour $20 p.p. or about 14 euros p.p. in 2nd class and unlike regional passes you are not restricted to significantly slower and less comfy IME regional trains (like to Salzburg you could use the Bavarian Pass but have to take regional trains that could be an hour slower each way - two hours less to look around Salzburg, etc.)- and you can literally hop on any German train anytime - fully flexible fares can cost a ton as you can see at www.bahn.de - the German Railways site - a few long trips full fare can make the pass pay off.

If doing just a few trips you may want to go the online discount - limited availability so you have to book early to insure them - and then cannot change nor refund, etc.

I have had many passes in Germany and always enjoyed the freedome to just go to a train station and hop on.

Check pass prices also in US dollars as they can be cheaper (or more expensive) at times - if buying in Germany most credit cards have a 3% surcharge to figure in as well.

Some great sites for German train info and pass info - www.bahn.de - German Railways official site; www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com.

as for the Munich to Zurich - yes just buy a ticket from Zurich to Lindau (I think the first German station but check www.bahn.de to be sure) then use your German railpass from there on.

Listen to PalenQ; he/she answered many of my questions. I was hoping you would jump into this, PalenQ. Thanks so much for all your help!

Thank you GandCT!

If OP has a German Railpass and is starting a train journey from Zurich and continuing into Germany on the same train, as will be the case then they can activate the railpass on the train - no need to get off and go to a ticket window to activate it as is the case if you are starting the pass inside the country.

The only case the conductor will activate a pass on a train, at least without a hefty fee, is when you are coming into the country on a train.

You need to also look at the TIMES of day you wish to travel and check whether or not there are any time of day restrictions on that Bayern Pass and if there ARE, whether or not they are a deal breaker.

Re Bavarian Pass and German Railpass - again I think it is what kind of rail travel you are doing in Bavaria, a rather large area, extending, for pass purposes at least, from Fuessen to Rothernberg to Salzburg to Nurenburg, etc.

Going to Fuessen and Mad Ludwig's castles the Bavarian Pass would probably be best as mainly regional trains run this route I believe and thus the Bavarian Ticket allows you on same train and Railpass - no time saving but say to Salzburg using regional trains means a significantly longer journey - perhaps and hour each way as said before so on a Twin Pass the savings come a a time expense. and regional trains IME are also significantly less comfortable - I recently was on one to Fuessen and second class became suddenly mobbed by an army of schoolkids as these trains, which stop at every little town also serve as school buses - even my first-class compartment was impacted by the overflow of kids standing everywhere - and I am not against school kids just the mob scene and the noise etc endemic to mobs of folks of that age group.

Re Bavarian Pass and German Railpass - again I think it is what kind of rail travel you are doing in Bavaria, a rather large area, extending, for pass purposes at least, from Fuessen to Rothernberg to Salzburg to Nurenburg, etc.

Going to Fuessen and Mad Ludwig's castles the Bavarian Pass would probably be best as mainly regional trains run this route I believe and thus the Bavarian Ticket allows you on same train and Railpass - no time saving but say to Salzburg using regional trains means a significantly longer journey - perhaps and hour each way as said before so on a Twin Pass the savings come a a time expense. and regional trains IME are also significantly less comfortable - I recently was on one to Fuessen and second class became suddenly mobbed by an army of schoolkids as these trains, which stop at every little town also serve as school buses - even my first-class compartment was impacted by the overflow of kids standing everywhere - and I am not against school kids just the mob scene and the noise etc endemic to mobs of folks of that age group.

Passes also provide free travel on S-Bahns within large cities like Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Berlin, etc. and whilst you would not want to burn one day on a pass just to ride S-Bahns on days when you do use your railpass you could use these S-Bahns for the rest of the day or night - or in the morning to get to the main train station when leaving or day tripping.

Like when you get to Munich you can ride the S-Bahn from the main train station thru the heart of downtown Munich - to the Marienplatz, etc with a pass - just hop on - saves a few euros and another benefit of a pass.

An 8 day pass would cost 398 euro for two>

You may want to check U.s. prices for passes bought in the U.S., if a U.S. resident - I've looked at some sources that say an 8-day German Twin Railpass would cost $281 per person or $562 all told

If I take 398 euro and x it by 1.40 I get around $562 - and actually in today's paper $1.40 is the official rate which you rarely IMO get and then for foreign transactions on many credit cards you have a 3% foreign transaction fee tagged on - another $18 or so. Check for sources with no mail fee - and I did the math quick so will stand corrected if wrong but seems it would be a bit cheaper here than there if tight cost comparisons are being taken.

8 days at $281 p.p. = $35/day or about 24 euros a day - and this is for fully flexible hop on any train with a very very few exceptions the average tourist will not encounter - now to answer the OP's question this makes an emphatic yes that the German Twin Railpass is often well worth it and one of the true travel bargains in Europe - Berlin to Frankfurt 24 euros hop on hop off - Frankfurt to Berlin -24 euros - such fully flexible tickets would cost well over $100 each if bought at the station. A great great deal.

Hi mjknycmjk,

If you don't mind being locked into a time/date of departure, you can get really great deals that makes a pass obsolete. For example, you can get a fare for anywhere in Germany for 29 E each.

You have to buy your tickets about 90 days in advance in order to get the discounted fares, though. You can find them at

www.bahn.de

You can buy online & print your tickets on your computer.

Also recommend that you buy your Zürich-München ticket in advance and get a good deal. I travel to Switzerland a few times a year and generally get first class for around 49 E buying in advance.

Have fun!

s

<If you don't mind being locked into a time/date of departure, you can get really great deals that makes a pass obsolete. For example, you can get a fare for anywhere in Germany for 29 E each.>

8 days at $281 p.p. = $35/day or about 24 euros a day - and this is for fully flexible hop on any train

q- how does paying 29 euro for severely restricted tickets that much be secured weeks in advance to guarantee make a pass at unfettered at will travel of 24 euros a day obsolete.

Do folks who robot-like say railpasses never pay off even take time to look at the figures?

German Twin Pass - the more days the incredible cheap per day it becomes - cheaper than the discounted online fares and no restrictions - a no-brainer in this case the pass is the ticket to ride.

Re the boats the German Railpass, including Twin Pass, covers - these are just a portion of the Rhine, but the best part the Rhine Gorge is included - best IMO to hop on the K-D boats at rudesheim, where most of them begin so you can get a choice seat (up front for me outside) before more folks often swarm on when the boat docks at Bingen on the other side of the Rhine and heads north and then get off at Koblenz, an interest largish city at the confluence of the Rhine and Mosel rivers - check the Deutsches Eck Monument right where the rivers meet - very famous in Germany and today a monument to German Unity but once an equestrian statue of Kaiser Wilhelm - the Kaiser's statue was blown to bits in the days after WW2 ended by an American GI firing ordance from just across the Mosel, where today's campsite is - now the monument is to German Unity (this as told to me by the campsite's manager).

Re the boats the German Railpass, including Twin Pass, covers - these are just a portion of the Rhine, but the best part the Rhine Gorge is included - best IMO to hop on the K-D boats at rudesheim, where most of them begin so you can get a choice seat (up front for me outside) before more folks often swarm on when the boat docks at Bingen on the other side of the Rhine and heads north and then get off at Koblenz, an interest largish city at the confluence of the Rhine and Mosel rivers - check the Deutsches Eck Monument right where the rivers meet - very famous in Germany and today a monument to German Unity but once an equestrian statue of Kaiser Wilhelm - the Kaiser's statue was blown to bits in the days after WW2 ended by an American GI firing ordance from just across the Mosel, where today's campsite is - now the monument is to German Unity (this as told to me by the campsite's manager).