More train questions - Sorry
 

I have driven myself crazy looking at the options of PtP and various rail passes, so this isn't really me writing :).

Anyway, Looking at Germany/Austria 5 day 1st class pass for hubby and me. When I looked to book reservations right away for first segment on railsaver, the website said there were no 1st class reservations available for the 8:20am service from Vienna to Salzburg when I checked that I had a railpass.

Then when I also looked for reservations from Salzburg to Munich it showed no availabililty for 1st class reservations at all. When I check bahn.de it shows first class available.

We are travelling with luggage from Vienna to Salzburg to Munich which is why I am looking at 1st class service in those segments. From there we will be staying in Munich and doing day trips around the area.

Questions:
1. Will I have less of a chance to get first class reservation seats if I am on a rail pass?

2. Are the bar cars mainly located amongst 2nd class cars?

Any help will be appreicated Thanks, Gwen

IMO, a railpass would be a waste of money.

The 1st class fare for Vienna-Salzburg is €77.40. (2nd class is €44.20.)

For Salzburg-Munich you can book a Dauer-Spezial fare as low as €19 (2nd class) at bahn.de and print the tickets yourself. Or you can buy a Bayern-Ticket which allows up to five people to travel all day (after 09:00 on weekdays and anytime on weekends) on regional trains for a total of €27. The ticket is also good all day for transportation in Munich. See here: http://tinyurl.com/29mh69. Buy a Bayern-Ticket for each of your day trips, too.

Thanks TimS for responding. There aren't any Dauer-Spezial fares for when I want to travel on Dec 01 from Salzburg to Munich. Am I reading bahn.de incorrectly?

You can ride from Salzburg to Munich on a Regional Express or a Regional Bahn on a Bayern-Ticket(2 people for 27 euros). These trains are about 1/2 hour slower than an ICE.

Just buy your Bayern-Ticket from the DB ticket automat and leave after 9AM.

Regards, Gary

Leaving out the suggestions of Dauer-Spezial or the Ländertickets, there is no, i repeat, no reason to bother with any reservations in the first class. The place is half empty even at the rush hour. That's what you actually pay extra for.

>Then when I also looked for reservations from Salzburg to Munich it showed no availabililty for 1st class reservations at all.

If it was a regional train (RE, RB) there won't be any reservation possible. It's not a question of "chance", there are no reservations.

I see a Dauer-Spezial fare of €29 available for the 09:03 ICE train. However, that's more than the standard fare for either IC or regional trains.

Thank you altomiro for responding. So if I do purchase the railpass for its flexibility I should not have a problem when I arrive in Vienna on Friday to get seat reservations of my choice for the Sunday Vienna to Salzburg train? That is my biggest fear.

I count at least nine direct Vienna-Salzburg trains departing between 06:00 and 10:00--plus a few departures requiring one connection. You don't need a railpass for flexibility. Just buy a ticket for the train of your choice when you get to Vienna.

Gwen, you DON'T NEED any seat reservations! You just purchase a ticket (there are no tickets "for this or that train", just general tickets valid within specified 48 hours) and take whatever train you want within the specified period. In 1st class you do^'t have to spend additional money on reservations as it is half empty anyway.
There is no more flexibility with a rail pass than with normal tickets like TimS said. The only advantage may be (if you travel a lot!) some money saved.

>When I looked to book reservations right away for first segment on railsaver

Railsaver? Sounds like another reseller a la RailEurope.
The Austrian Railways' web address is www.oebb.at if you want to buy anything online from them...

>2. Are the bar cars mainly located amongst 2nd class cars?

The bar cars (if there are any) are usually positioned between the 1st and 2nd class...

<i>Author: altamiro
Date: 10/17/2008, 06:55 pm

Railsaver? Sounds like another reseller a la RailEurope.</i>

Click this, and tell me where you see tickets being sold: railsaver.com/railsaver.asp

Sorry everyone. It is Raileurope not Railsaver. I was looking at the Raileurope SaverPass.

You haven't given us a specific enough itinerary to really tell, but if all you are doing is Vienna to Salzburg to Munich, and then day trips around Bavaria, you probably don't need to spend $700 for a 5 day, 1st class rail pass. I found 2 1st class ticket on the Austrian Rail website, Vienna to Salzburg, with reservations, for &euro;137,50. I also found 2 1st class tickets, Salzburg to Munich, with reservations for &euro;90. So that's about $320. Assuming you're not continuing to take a ton of luggage on your day trips around Bavaria, you should be able to do those with 2nd class on regional trains for &euro;27 per day for both of you with Bayern-Tickets. So now you are looking at about $400 vs almost $700 for rail passes.

I agree with the others that you can just buy tickets at the stations. I also question that you need 1st class. I've traveled all over Germany in 2nd class and never had a problem with luggage.

If you are willing to forgo 1st class from Salzburg to Munich, there are some specials out there. Best is the Bayern-Ticket for &euro;27 for both of you in 2nd class on regional trains.